Long and Soothing Podfic Recs
Jan. 23rd, 2010 02:05 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
fluffyllama.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
amplificathonMuch as I enjoy the short and smutty fics, the main interest I have in podfic is to have something to relax to... okay, the truth is to help me get to sleep, but I'm wary of saying that without further explanation in case it gives the wrong impression. There's nothing dull or monotonous about these fics, they're all beautifully read, and well worth staying awake to listen to! They're also not lacking in smut scenes -- good smut scenes, because I'm no more a gen listener than I am a reader when it comes to fic.
It's just that they seem to have an extra something, whether the tone of voice, the style of writing and/or reading, or maybe the pace of the story, that is particularly suited to soothe. In the case of the all-time champion insomnia-killer (For Every Fog in August, which is too short to make the list of five but still needs to be mentioned), it's the descriptive passages (mostly the weather) that bring a lovely peaceful quality to the podfic.
They're also guaranteed free of sound effects and music, or odd volume changes, and they don't generally contain anything horribly traumatic happening to the main protagonists. Oh, and I went for long, because in a long (or long-ish) podfic the story tends to develop more slowly so you can let it wash over you and not be constantly distracted by new developments.
A couple of notes about my recs:
- I generally have to avoid sound effects (it doesn't go well with over-sensitivity to sound) and I'm cautious with ones that include music because sometimes the volume is very different for the music and the speech. If you're not familiar with any of the fics/readings in this post and the sound effects/music thing is an issue for you too, you can assume these don't include either unless I mention otherwise.
- I'm British, so it's possible that accents are less of an issue for me than if you're the same nationality as the characters in the fics.
- For the purposes of these posts, short means under an hour, and long is everything else.
Podfics listed in order of length. Links go to the entries on the archive so you can get more info there and find downloads.
Find You Out, by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lilysaid, read by rhea314, Stargate:Atlantis RPS (Joe/David)
Length: 1 hour 13 mins
I was incredibly happy to see one of the (relatively) few Joe/David fics out there had been recorded, and by someone I enjoy listening to a great deal. The story is beautifully paced, and although there are a couple of parts where I'd prefer the reading to slow down a tiny bit so is most of the podfic. There's a nice build up of tension between the characters that is slow enough not to distract a sleepy listener from floating along happily while they get on with it *g*
So Close to My Heart, byaudrarose, read by juice817, Supernatural RPS AU (Jared/Jensen)
Length: 1 hour 28 mins
This story had me confused for the longest time, because I listened to it without having read the fic andjuice817's voice is so easy to listen to I kept falling asleep and way too often re-started my listen in the wrong place. It's obvious why it worked so well for me – it's a sweet story (Jensen with a kid is too adorable for words and I'm really not a fan of kid!fic usually), more romantic than smutty, read in a lovely musical voice, and that's pretty much an ideal combination for a relaxing podfic.
Intersections, bykaneko, read by dodificus, Stargate:Atlantis (John/Rodney)
Length: 3 hours 9 mins
Nice slow development of a relationship against the background of Antarctica. The fic is written in a style that helps make it soothing – mostly short scenes, some flashbacks, and an alternating point of view that means you pretty much know where the characters stand all the time so you don't need to worry about them too much. The reading is well-paced and easy to follow (even for Rodney's POV!), anddodificus has a lovely gentle voice.
In From the Cold, byladyjanelly, read by group slashpad ([Bad username or site: paraka, <lj user=diurnal_lee @ livejournal.com] and kronos999) Supernatural RPS AU (Jared/Jensen)
Length: 5 hours 8 mins
One warning if you haven't read this -- but there's plenty of sad stuff in this story. Sad kind of works for relaxing, what can I say? It's sweet too, and the hurt/comfort aspects probably contribute to the overall soothing feel. It's the first time I've listened to a podfic read by multiple readers, so I wasn't sure what I'd make of it, but the readers are all great and there were no volume problems when switching between sections that I noticed.
Last Outpost of All That is, byeighthhorizon and maygra, read by rhea314, Supernatural (Sam/Dean)
Length: 6 hours 40 mins (approx.)
I laughed when I sawbreea1 has already recced this here, because what I have to say about it is so different! Although yes, the fic is bleak, and I don't recommend trying to relax or go to sleep to it unless you know the story already, I find the descriptive passages of the empty towns and cities, and the process of Sam and Dean going about the tasks necessary for survival and wondering about the things that you surely *would* wonder about in their situation surprisingly restful in podfic form. It may be because the reading avoids melodrama even in the most dramatic parts, while still conveying panic, desperation, need, and whatever else is required by any part of the fic, or it may be (something else I agree with breea1 on) the almost hypnotic voice, but either way it works for me.
It's just that they seem to have an extra something, whether the tone of voice, the style of writing and/or reading, or maybe the pace of the story, that is particularly suited to soothe. In the case of the all-time champion insomnia-killer (For Every Fog in August, which is too short to make the list of five but still needs to be mentioned), it's the descriptive passages (mostly the weather) that bring a lovely peaceful quality to the podfic.
They're also guaranteed free of sound effects and music, or odd volume changes, and they don't generally contain anything horribly traumatic happening to the main protagonists. Oh, and I went for long, because in a long (or long-ish) podfic the story tends to develop more slowly so you can let it wash over you and not be constantly distracted by new developments.
A couple of notes about my recs:
- I generally have to avoid sound effects (it doesn't go well with over-sensitivity to sound) and I'm cautious with ones that include music because sometimes the volume is very different for the music and the speech. If you're not familiar with any of the fics/readings in this post and the sound effects/music thing is an issue for you too, you can assume these don't include either unless I mention otherwise.
- I'm British, so it's possible that accents are less of an issue for me than if you're the same nationality as the characters in the fics.
- For the purposes of these posts, short means under an hour, and long is everything else.
Podfics listed in order of length. Links go to the entries on the archive so you can get more info there and find downloads.
Find You Out, by
lilysaid, read by rhea314, Stargate:Atlantis RPS (Joe/David)Length: 1 hour 13 mins
I was incredibly happy to see one of the (relatively) few Joe/David fics out there had been recorded, and by someone I enjoy listening to a great deal. The story is beautifully paced, and although there are a couple of parts where I'd prefer the reading to slow down a tiny bit so is most of the podfic. There's a nice build up of tension between the characters that is slow enough not to distract a sleepy listener from floating along happily while they get on with it *g*
So Close to My Heart, by
audrarose, read by juice817, Supernatural RPS AU (Jared/Jensen)Length: 1 hour 28 mins
This story had me confused for the longest time, because I listened to it without having read the fic and
juice817's voice is so easy to listen to I kept falling asleep and way too often re-started my listen in the wrong place. It's obvious why it worked so well for me – it's a sweet story (Jensen with a kid is too adorable for words and I'm really not a fan of kid!fic usually), more romantic than smutty, read in a lovely musical voice, and that's pretty much an ideal combination for a relaxing podfic.Intersections, by
kaneko, read by dodificus, Stargate:Atlantis (John/Rodney)Length: 3 hours 9 mins
Nice slow development of a relationship against the background of Antarctica. The fic is written in a style that helps make it soothing – mostly short scenes, some flashbacks, and an alternating point of view that means you pretty much know where the characters stand all the time so you don't need to worry about them too much. The reading is well-paced and easy to follow (even for Rodney's POV!), and
dodificus has a lovely gentle voice.In From the Cold, by
ladyjanelly, read by group slashpad ([Bad username or site: paraka, <lj user=diurnal_lee @ livejournal.com] and kronos999) Supernatural RPS AU (Jared/Jensen)Length: 5 hours 8 mins
One warning if you haven't read this -- but there's plenty of sad stuff in this story. Sad kind of works for relaxing, what can I say? It's sweet too, and the hurt/comfort aspects probably contribute to the overall soothing feel. It's the first time I've listened to a podfic read by multiple readers, so I wasn't sure what I'd make of it, but the readers are all great and there were no volume problems when switching between sections that I noticed.
Last Outpost of All That is, by
eighthhorizon and maygra, read by rhea314, Supernatural (Sam/Dean)Length: 6 hours 40 mins (approx.)
I laughed when I saw
breea1 has already recced this here, because what I have to say about it is so different! Although yes, the fic is bleak, and I don't recommend trying to relax or go to sleep to it unless you know the story already, I find the descriptive passages of the empty towns and cities, and the process of Sam and Dean going about the tasks necessary for survival and wondering about the things that you surely *would* wonder about in their situation surprisingly restful in podfic form. It may be because the reading avoids melodrama even in the most dramatic parts, while still conveying panic, desperation, need, and whatever else is required by any part of the fic, or it may be (something else I agree with breea1 on) the almost hypnotic voice, but either way it works for me. ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-23 02:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-23 08:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-23 10:55 am (UTC)I just kept nodding all through this post :-)
I listen to podfic for the same reasons you do, and love the ones you've recced. The only one I have listened to is "In from the cold", so I'm off to download that one right now.
Great rec! Thanks.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-23 12:02 pm (UTC)Librivox is a site where you can download volunteer recordings of books in the public domain. I've been listening to a lot of travel stories and explorer's journals, like Amundsen's "South Pole", Shackleton's "South!", and Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around the World". They're interesting, but I also find the structure really soothing--slightly old-fashioned language, lots of landscape description, a clear narrative.
Of course, they're very much gen, which might not suit you (although there are certainly slashy moments in Shackleton's book, especially).
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-14 02:25 am (UTC)there were no volume problems when switching between sections that I noticed.
I'll admit, we cheated a bit. We actually all live together so made sure to record in the same room on the same computer with the same settings making matching up the volumes a lot easier :)