Interesting Audio Stories

Patrick McManus Audiobook Sample - from The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

The most important part of an audio story is the story itself. In other media, various other senses are stimulated, but the audio story only has our auditory sense to stimulate. So first and foremost, the story must be good, it must captivate. This is why yarns and mysteries make for such great audio stories, as far as fiction goes. Plot is paramount. A pitfall that is important yet difficult to avoid is simply recording someone telling a story. The medium of audio for the distribution of stories has it’s own conventions. One cannot simply record a written story and expect it to captivate. The voice of the story is important in this regard. A good voice will go a long way. The printed story is written in a printed tone. The audio story must be recorded in the tone of someone telling a story. When your grandpa read you a storybook, you probably fell asleep, but when grandpa told you a story, you were captivated. It’s not that grandpas have better stories than story books, it’s the method of distribution. It’s the conversational tone. I don’t mind listening to podcasts about current events or special topics, but the audio stories that resonate with and captivate me the most are yarns--real life tall tales.

I love the stories of Patrick F. McManus. They conjure memories of the long car rides of my childhood and adolescence. I became so used to the narrator, Tom, that when I was given a printed copy of one of McManus's books, I couldn't read it. I wanted to hear the stories, not read them. We had several of his audiobooks and listened to them on road trips--which were frequent during my childhood. The combination of a clever writing--mostly comical yarns--and creative and engaging narration made for fascinating audio stories. Whenever the term "audio stories" is spoken, many people think of the old radio mysteries before the popularity of television. I instantly think of listening to Pat McManus audio books. What makes them great--beyond the stories themselves--is how captivating Tom Stechschulte is, not just a narrator, but a true voice actor. Listen to the short audio sample, and you'll be want for more.