I was talking to a guy over the weekend who said he liked Elmore’s work well enough but more so when it was read aloud on an Audio CD than when it was read on the page.  What do you guys think about that?

That guy has one more media type from which to compare than I do.

Have only heard short snippets of Elmore reading his work or someone else reading his work.
Someone posted a bunch of podcast links awhile back had a famous person reading Elmore’s books on tape.
These were rough, guttural renderings as I recall, sounding exactly the way I imagined Elmore would have sounded were he reading them, based on the impressions made from his jacket photos alone.

Hearing Elmore’s voice in interviews since then has altered those perceptions.
Elmore’s voice is almost too nice (sweet, friendly, fatherly) to effectively narrate his own work.
That said, I wouldn’t miss an EL reading for the world.
I’m just not going to purchase or listen to his works on tape long as these eyes still function.
Probably something about hearing the story told in your own imagined, third person’s voice.

There’s also something about seeing the words on the page—the punctuation, the layout (dialog separated into paragraphs vs. integrated; the white space), the ability to revisit entire passages or chapters—that is lost in spoken language. The author’s voice and inflection is left too much to interpretation.

I agree with Scrum. I need to see the words, sentences and paragraphs laid out on the page.
Discovering wonderful authors is a treat. Being able to reread the words, slowly savouring how a line was so cleverly put together is an extension of that, which I feel, would be sorely detracted from by leaning over to hit the rewind button again, and again.
Need to have the paper in my hands.

I would agree with hearing it on audio when my wife and I go to the islands for 2 weeks she reads the books and i much perfer them on audio. I load them in my mp3 player and when i get on the beach I push play on sony player and lay down and relax.
Jay

It all depends on the narrator. I first discovered Elmore Leonard about 14 years ago through an audio book. I had a long commute to college and was looking for something to kill the time in the car. As luck would have it, I picked “Swag” off the shelf at the local library, read by the incomparable Frank Muller, and have been hooked ever since (to both Mr. Leonard, and Mr. Muller). I have since read or listened to (and in a lot of cases, both) almost all of Mr. Leonard’s book. Listening is a different experience to reading. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. And Mr. Muller’s reading is dead on. If you’ve never listened to a book, I urge you to go to the library and check out anything by Frank Muller. He’s read (from what I can remember) Swag, Stick, Cat Chaser, Bandits, Freaky Deaky, Gold Coast, Mr. Majestyk, Bandits, and (I believe the last book he narrated) Tishamingo Blues. In 2001, Frank Muller was in a horrible motorcycle accident. While he survived, he waged an unbelievable battle to recover from his injuries. He lost that battle in 2008. While I enjoy Mark Hammer doing The Switch or The Hunted, or Arliss Howard reading the The Hot Kid and Up In Honey’s Room, and even Robert Forster reading Mr. Paradise, I know it would’ve been better if it were read by Frank Muller.

Jira - 13 March 2009 12:18 AM

It all depends on the narrator. I first discovered Elmore Leonard about 14 years ago through an audio book. I had a long commute to college and was looking for something to kill the time in the car. As luck would have it, I picked “Swag” off the shelf at the local library, read by the incomparable Frank Muller, and have been hooked ever since (to both Mr. Leonard, and Mr. Muller). I have since read or listened to (and in a lot of cases, both) almost all of Mr. Leonard’s book. Listening is a different experience to reading. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. And Mr. Muller’s reading is dead on. If you’ve never listened to a book, I urge you to go to the library and check out anything by Frank Muller. He’s read (from what I can remember) Swag, Stick, Cat Chaser, Bandits, Freaky Deaky, Gold Coast, Mr. Majestyk, Bandits, and (I believe the last book he narrated) Tishamingo Blues. In 2001, Frank Muller was in a horrible motorcycle accident. While he survived, he waged an unbelievable battle to recover from his injuries. He lost that battle in 2008. While I enjoy Mark Hammer doing The Switch or The Hunted, or Arliss Howard reading the The Hot Kid and Up In Honey’s Room, and even Robert Forster reading Mr. Paradise, I know it would’ve been better if it were read by Frank Muller.

Welcome to the forum, Jira. It’s nice to see a new member actually post after they join; quite a rarity.
In regard to your comments, I guess I’ll have to pick up some Elmore on audio, read by Frank Muller, and give it a go. Perhaps I’ll pick one of my favourites and start with that. Although I would never ‘truly convert’ to this medium, it may prove to be a nice way to spend a long drive, for example.

By the way, Jira, did you used to be a member of the old forum? A member by the same name used to crop up quite a bit in Touchstones.

I would have to say that it depends on the narrator as well. One of my first experiences that got me hooked on Mr. Leonard’s work was an audio version of Mr. Paradise. Interestingly, Jira mentioned his experience of commuting to and from college with a recording of Swag. I am currently in finishing second year University and my daily to and from school trip is a lengthy one. I have passed the time by listening to Frank Muller’s version of Swag, which as Jira said, is fabulous. Although I do like reading more than listening,as it allows my minds eye to create characters and voices more personally and vividly, a great narrator can really transform a Mr. Leonard book into a great experience.