Audio Book Week - narrators the good the bad and the ugly

 

Who are your favorite narrators and why? What do you look for in a narrator? Have a preference between male or female narrators?
Alternate suggestion: Narration preferences – single narrator, multiple narrators, full cast, etc.

I guess my all time favorite narrator is Davina Porter.  I couldn't imagine listening to the LONG  outlander books without her reading them.  She really brings all the characters to life and makes them each indiviual.  She is consistant throughout the series.  I also enjoyed Rob Reiner's reading of the Princess Bride.  I thought he did an excellent job and knowing that he directed the movie just added to the experience in some way for me.  I mentioned before that I really liked Wil Wheaton's narration of Ready Player One.  He did an excellent job. 

I like reader's that don't distract from the story.  I mentioned in an earlier post that one narrator I listened to totally made the experience almost painful.  She would pause in the middle of sentences and and her reading was just totally distracting from the story.  I was really disappointed as I had read the first book in the series and wanted my husband to listen to it as he is not a reader but loves audio books.  I was hoping to listen to the rest of the series but she narrates and I don't know if I can force myself to listen to her.

I really don't have a preference between male and female narrators but it depends on the book.  I think if the main character is female then the narrator should be  female and vice versa is main character is Male. 

I really liked the way that they narrated The Help with the different narrators for the different characters.  I really like full cast narration. but if a narrator is good they could be the only one and it feels like a full cast.