Caveat lector: I am not a good reccer. If I love something, I love it, but I'm a bunch of fail at explaining why. So, basically, these are podfics of stories I love by writers I love. YMMV.
IntroHow I fell head over heels for podfics:
I was set up to love podfics for years before podficcing became the phenomenon it is today. I've been hooked on fanfic for over thirty years, and as time went by it became my reading of choice to wind down from a stressful job and help keep me sane (well, sane-ish).
The only downside to this was that I had no time to read anything else—until I found books on tape. After this discovery, my work commute became much more enjoyable. Over time, books on tape became audio CDs, then digital audiobooks (yay, ipods!). Life was good.
Inevitably, though, as online fandom flourished, there were more and more stories I just didn't have time to read. This led me to looking for software to make computer generated recordings. Yes, the digital voices left a lot to be desired, but for the first time I could take my fanfics with me when I left the house, so it was all good.
Something wonderful happened in the summer of 2007, though, that changed everything: podficcing started to come into its own, largely due to two prolific readers,
dodificus and
zabira. Because of these two, it occurred to me that other fans might enjoy the audiobooks I had long been making for myself. This was the genesis of podbooks, which I and others continue to compile today.
So—this is both a podfic rec post and a podficcer rec post. Be aware that I only scratch the surface of the great podfics these two readers have posted.
First, the readers. Dodie and Zabira share several characteristics I value:
They are both careful readers; they clearly take pride in what they are doing; they clearly love the stories they are reading, and they put a lot of themselves into their work. These things shine through in their podfics. They also differ in several ways. Dodie is Australian; Zabira is American. Dodie reads in numerous fandoms; Zabira (in this time frame) read only in Due South (Fraser/Kowalski). Dodie has a natural, soft reading voice and pace, and a lovely Aussie accent; Zabira's reading is more stylized, less spontaneous, and totally American. I love both styles equally. :-)
On to the podfics. These are only a few of my favorite "classics" from the summer of 2007.
Podfics by Dodificus:
SV-The Milk And Cookies War by Punk mp3;
m4bSummary: Lex Luthor's Penthouse for Wayward Boys.
SPN-The Firefly That Loved Metallica by Fleshflutter mp3,
m4bSummary: In which Sam has a bottle full of soul.
The Sentinel-Paranoia by Speranza mp3,
m4bSummary: Was it paranoia if something was actually out to get him?
SGA-Intersections by Kaneko mp3,
m4bSummary: Rodney's Antarctica is a lot like Siberia in that it's full of scientists who work 16-hour days and bathe once a week (twice when they're feeling social).
Podfics by Zabira:
DS-How Ray Got His Groove Back by thisisbone and cimmerians mp3,
Epilogue mp3,
m4bSummary: How Ray got into Fraser's groove.
DS-Chicago's Most Wanted by Speranza mp3,
m4bSummary: "Of course he got the money--he's Fraser, he's organized, he's a fucking criminal mastermind, what do you think?!"
DS-Juggling Act by Speranza mp3,
m4bSummary: So this whole mess begins with Frannie and her goddamned masturbating parrot.
Bonus Read-by-the-Author Recs:
Lamardeuse's Podfic PageLamardeuse reading Lamardeuse: there ain't nothing better!
Fandoms include lots of SGA, one each Sentinel, Due South, and Die Hard, all read by the author. The page also includes two Merlin podfics of stories by Lamardeuse, one read by Nny and another by FayJay.