Unabridge This!

[spiston]

Perhaps a question more suited to a publisher's page rather than the author's book club, but here goes: Why are so few of the Russell series currently readily available as audiobooks? The only titles available for download seem to be Beekeeper's Apprentice, Justice Hall, Locked Rooms, and The Art of Detection. Some are available only on cassettes, and abridged (! as if !) and although I can dust off my walkman, (it must be somewhere in that box, or perhaps the other one...) it's not exactly the medium of the new millennium. Are there plans to make the other titles more readily available? Why such inconsistencies?

I do so love Jenny Sterlin's ability to give the written word justice in this format. Sometimes I spend long hours on jobs with my MP3 player close at hand and the ability to listen to books makes the work far less tedious than it can often become. I wouldn't imagine it a financial decision on the part of the publishers as the audiobooks cost considerably more than the paperback versions.

Am I correct in my research? I hope someone can show me a site I have missed.

We could embark on a letter-writing campaign to the publisher if need be; I'm no stranger to civil disobedience if we have to take it that far. :)

[Hypatia]

I have The Game, Night Work, Keeping Watch, and The Folly available on CD in my library.

Still I agree, the others must come out...especially the Russell novels.

[jtb1951]

My local libraries have available The Art of Detection, Locked Rooms and Keeping Watch unabridged on cd, and The Game, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Night Work, Justice Hall, The Moor, O Jerusalem, and With Child, unabridged on cassettes.

Probably the best you can do is to ask your local librarians (gently and persistently) to put your want list on their purchasing list. Best of luck!

John.

[Strawberry Curls]

I have the entire Russell series as books on tape unabridged. They can be purchased through recordedbooks.com. I believe they have all of them available in CD format and are starting to offer some as downloads but I think that may still be in the works.

[lauriebain]

I just checked RecordedBooks.com, who publish all of LRK's mysteries unabridged, and there are a few titles that are still only available as audiotapes, rather than CDs.

There IS a way to get these converted inexpensively to a digital format, but it requires hardware and software, and a certain amount of computer savvy. (I would be happy to send the instructions to those who want, and only if you assure me that you are copying your OWN books, not pirating!) There are about 15 steps involved in getting them onto your i-pod.

There are machines (around $300 - 500) that can do this for you, if you don't have the time or ability to do it yourself. Check out improvements catalog, for one source. There are many.

As with everything else in life, you either have time or money. It's a rare person who has both simultaneously.

[spiston]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I do hope they catch up, technologically speaking, but for now I suppose I should be content with the current options.

I do agree; it is either money or time, and for now my issue is the relative poverty of both. I am familiar with the process of converting antiquated media to MP3's on my computer and do not bristle at the prospect of such a laborious project, but I have two jobs and am in rehearsals two or three nights each week. And of course, the cost of the cassettes is prohibitive and I would much rather purchase than pirate them. I have become accustomed to the lazy comfort of business on the internet and my philisophical objections to instant gratification are much challenged when it comes to passions such as literature, music, and the like.

I was hoping there was a bit of research on the internet that I missed. Oh well. I shall save my pennies and get there when I get there.

<deep meditative breath>

Although, in the midst of my frustrations I did have a wonderful idea for a collaborative and harmless direct action in the interest of hastening the release of downloadable unabridged Russells. We could all take pictures of ourselves as Russell or Holmes (or both) and email them as attachments to the publisher (with polite but stern demands for their release) and spam them to submission. Perhaps more humorous as a concept than effective as an organizing tactic but one has to entertain one's self, no?

[Bachi]

I've 'read' all the MRH and KM series in audio format. My source is Recordedbooks.com where you can rent or buy. If you are interested in buying you might want to inquire about their complete series offer, which would save you money. They start you with the 1st book in the series and then send one a month until complete. I think you can return a title if you already have 'read' it, but you should make sure about that.

[vicki]

I'm listening to the unabridged edition of A Darker Place by recordedbooks.com, and it's excellent! Maybe we'll just be able to download these things onto our iPods before too long, which would be cool.

[Bachi]

One thing I should have metioned was that when I ordered the series from Recordedbooks I received some of the books on cassette and others on CD even though my preference was CD always.

Maybe we'll just be able to download these things onto our iPods before too long, which would be cool.

Audible.com has 5 of LRK's books available (unabridged) now for downloading.

[vicki]

Excellent--now all I need is an iPod! Maybe I need to put that on my Santa-list. :)