Read to Me, Mr. Darcy!

Could anything be more glorious than Colin Firth reading you a story? Thanks to the profound wisdom of the folks at audible.com, the fabulous Mr. Darcy will read to you Graham Green's classic, The End of the Affair for a mere $7.49. I've never had any interest in the story, but perhaps now it's time give it a try.

There are other audio books that have readers so perfectly matched to the book that the experience of listening to the story feels better than reading it yourself. I won't create a "top 10 list" because there are so many great ones that I cannot pick who would fit better at each number, but I will list 10 titles that I will add to in time.

1. Dress Your Family in Courderoy and Denim by written and read by David Sedaris - Really anything by David Sedaris is fabulous, but there is something magical about him reading his work that makes it funnier, particularly when you hear him reading live before an audience. His interaction with the crowd and their response to his work is priceless.
2. Neverwhere written and read by Neil Gaiman - Again, anything he reads is worth listening to. There is something so enchanting about his quintessentially English fairy tale tones and rhythm that pleasure could be derived from listening to him read a parking ticket.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird ready by Sissy Spacek - The absolute perfect voice for this book. No remakes please!
4. Lolita ready by Jeremy Irons - I don't think I need to say anything here except that you might need to listen to this in private.
5. On the Road read by Matt Dillon - Matt Dillon was the only reason why I finished this story. He was perfect and you felt like you were listening to Jack Kerouac himself telling you his story. But let's face it, Kerouac is a dick, at least from a woman's perspective. Perhaps because I'm in my 30's and not a 17 year old looking to break free of parental bonds, I just want to flip him off! But if you have any interest in this story, listening to it with Matt Dillon is the only way to make this medicine go down.
6. Sense and Sensibility read by Kate Winslet - This combination of reader and story is so perfect that anything else is just silly.
7. Othello read by a full cast including Ewan McGregor - If you have trouble swallowing Shakespeare, try a dash of Ewan and see if doesn't taste any better.
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society read by a full cast - This is a good book, but the pleasure of listening to this story read by the perfect cast makes this one that I want to listen to again.
9. Bob Dylan's Chronicles ready by Sean Penn - If you're going to have anyone read from Bob Dylan's diary, for the sake of all of us, make it Sean Penn.
10. Get in the Van written and read by Henry Rollins - Like David Sedaris and Neil Gaiman, no one other than Henry Rollins should ever read Henry Rollins' work aloud. The magic would simply be lost.

Hope you enjoy the list. Feel free to post your favorites as well!