Besides the content, there is a lot that can make or break an audiobook.
One of the first things I often encounter is music leading into the text. This can work well and really set the scene, so I usually appreciate it. However, the wrong choice of music would ruin or even overpower the introduction. I would think that even some music throughout could be welcome if well-selected.
The narrator's voice is also key. Now, I don't like to say it, but some people are gifted with glorious voices, or the ability to mask their voices, and others are simply not. Some voices I find grating (though not usually because of vocal fry, I'm fairly used to that). Some voices are simply enchanting and I'd listen to them read a phonebook. These are rare, but I have encountered them.
How the audiobook handles different voices also says a lot. Some books will switch narrators for different voices. I can remember this working well in The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. Fisher read most of the portions, but there were segments that were her diary from when she was in her 20s. Those portions were read by her daughter, Billie Lourd. It was explained that this switch in narrators was because Fisher wanted the diaries to come across in a young voice as she was young when she wrote them and not the voice of someone who was reflecting upon them with the wisdom of hindsight. I thought this worked exceptionally well.
Now, sometimes, for different characters (either in dialogue or perspective) the audiobook only features one narrator, but has the narrator change their voice. This can be done deftly and with artistry. However, I'll never forget listening to one of the Game of Thrones books by George R. R. Martin and the male narrator tried to do the voice of a little girl and it was just atrocious. I can't even mimic it because I don't know how to do a gravelly voice attempting to go high, light, and naïve. In short, how to handle multiple characters and even perspectives can make an audiobook stand out in good or bad ways.
How fast the narrator reads can also affect the audiobook experience. Now, there is some level of control over this in most audiobook apps in that you can speed up or slow down the narrator, so not all is determined ahead of time. However, I do find it annoying to choose one of these options as I feel like the audiobook should be presented at a listenable speed. I usually haven't adjusted the speed of an audiobook, but I do remember doing it for the ill-spoken of Game of Thrones book mentioned earlier. The narrator was just..so...dreadfully...slow. Not every word has to be read with a level of gravitas. Not every moment needs a pause to be considered carefully. Not every scene needs to play out at slow speed. Now, this certainly wasn't the narrator's fault, but, rather, the director's. I'm sure the narrator could've sped up his read if instructed to do so, but he clearly was not. Now I have never encountered a narrator who was too fast, but I imagine that that would be equally off-putting. Putting in pauses at important moments or speeding up to add to the anxiety of a scene are welcome plays with pace, but playing too much I think would be jarring and not provide the ease of having someone read to you.
The length of an audiobook is also something to be considered. I have listened to some fairly long ones, but I actually kind of wish there were some breaks in there besides the chapters or that there was a musical interlude between sections of the book (as many longer books are broken into sections). I suppose in the days that I listened to CDs (or even cassettes), there was a built-in break, but now, in the digital age, a book can go on for 16 hours without structured moments of quiet or, at least, no words. I prefer audiobooks that are 10 hours or less, but that may also have something to do with how much of a commitment the audiobook feels like and not necessarily the lack of pauses.
I love audiobooks and listen to them often, but there are certain things that make some stand out over others.
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
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