Looking for Book Recommendations

I've been an insomniac all of my life and I listen to audiobooks at night when I can't sleep and to keep my mind somewhat occupied to help me get to sleep. After doing this for the past 15 years, I've heard most everything I'm aware of, so I'm looking for new books.

There are some criteria. I don't want something too action packed or suspenseful, that just keeps me awake longer. I prefer who-dun-it style mysteries, over science fiction or adventure and definitely not horror. I also need books that are just for entertainment, I can't handle true literature, as I have to focus too much on those books that also keeps me awake.

Any thoughts?

If you like mysteries, how about Ian Rankin's "Rebus" series? Hardboiled detective in Edinburgh, Scotland. Michael Dibdin's "Aurelio Zen" series is pretty good too--set in Italy. I'd recommend John le Carre's novels on audio book too.

Perhaps more adventure than mystery, but Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series series may well appeal to your gentlemanly nature. (It's the series that the "Master and Commander" film was based upon -- the first book in the series has the same title.) Plus, there's about a billion of these (okay, 21), and they're available as audiobooks, of course. I enjoy them on long drives.

There are numerous sources of public domain audio books that might fill your requirements - Sherlock Holmes, perhaps?

http://librivox.org/
http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/screen_main.asp
http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
http://www.openculture.com/2006/10/audio_book_podc.html

http://www.imcpl.org/reading/guides/mysteries.html

Right in your neck of the woods.

Get Wally Lamb's book The Hour I First Believed. It is an incredible story of the effects of the Columbine tragedy on the lives of those in and around it. 20 CD's about 25 hours long.

Gruder said:

Perhaps more adventure than mystery, but Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series series may well appeal to your gentlemanly nature. (It's the series that the "Master and Commander" film was based upon -- the first book in the series has the same title.) Plus, there's about a billion of these (okay, 21), and they're available as audiobooks, of course. I enjoy them on long drives.

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Amazing! I immediately tough the same thing.

I am a fan of P.D. James.

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pdjames/library.html

Sherlock Holmes is my first pick. John le Carre's books are very good also, Dorthy Sayers and Simon Brett are good, but not so intense you have to stay up to finish them.

I've recently been listening to 'No.1 Ladies Detective Agency' audio books in the car (I do a lot of driving). They're good - easy listening, humorous, not overly intense. Not great literature admittedly.

If you want to get rid of insomnia, lay down in bed all ready to go to sleep, and crack open a college chemistry text book. That thing put me to sleep every time. And I liked chemistry. If that doesn't work, the most boring book I ever read-- or rather tried to read--is Olmstead's "History of the Persian Empire". And that's coming from a guy that stays up in bed until 4 in the morning reading Herodotus. Don't know of these come in audio books.

Can't help you with better suggestions, since I mostly read old horror.

Most Robert Crais. Almost all Andrew Vachss. Absolutely all Michael Connelly, except the non-fiction. All of the Lee Child Jack Reacher series. Read the Reacher books in the order written though, and do not worry too much if, say, the third and fourth ones do not seem as good. They get back up to snuff and better pretty quickly.

Absolutely the Ian Rankin Rebus series. Tartan noir. Excellent and long.

Greyfox said:

Get Wally Lamb's book The Hour I First Believed. It is an incredible story of the effects of the Columbine tragedy on the lives of those in and around it. 20 CD's about 25 hours long.

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Seems like an interesting book, but definitely not something to help me sleep.

In keeping with the theme of the thread I'd suggest the classic, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

I also really liked Dracula. I wouldn't call it an out and out mystery novel, but it kind of fits the bill and is a really good book, imo.

Gruder said:

Perhaps more adventure than mystery, but Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series series may well appeal to your gentlemanly nature. (It's the series that the "Master and Commander" film was based upon -- the first book in the series has the same title.) Plus, there's about a billion of these (okay, 21), and they're available as audiobooks, of course. I enjoy them on long drives.

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I should have recommended those too! I love O'Brian's work--I think that I'll start reading them again this summer. The audio book versions are done really well.

I would suggest John LeCarre. Writes great spy novels. Spies are unlikely people and spycraft is cool.

Do you speak Hungarian?

Spade said:

Do you speak Hungarian?

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No.

Rats! That cuts you off from the world of Hungarian audio products.

I sometimes get the same itch, and I scratch it with good old Mike Hammer books from the late, great Mickey Spillane. You'll be chain smoking Luckies and beating up "foreigners" in no time.