Preface: ah, it's a good thing I 'hibernate' the computer instead of rebooting it, I actually started this (well, almost all of it) when I listened to it originally. I've tidied it up (speelinge erors and such) and added the technical details (specifically, the timings) which I meant to fit in before. Thanks for reminding me to find the window I'd opened for it...
Content: You have a way with voices. OK, only one (apart from your normal one) on this, but I'd like to hear more. I've been interested since you first mentioned that you were reading aloud to the Countess. I like it, and it's an interesting story told in an interesting way. The 'twist' at the end reminds me of something, and I'll track it down eventually.
I didn't find the plot hole though, and that is probably because of my next point. Or possibly because I'm pretty bad at spotting plot holes.
It's a long time since I've listened to "audio books", and I've re-found why (apart from my tendency to filter out audio if I'm doing something like working or driving, which in this case I wasn't, but that makes them not useful to me unless I am actually doing nothing else at all at all). I don't take much in when listening to voice, and I've just realised why. When I read, I actually reread, even something new, I read each paragraph several times, or at least bits of it, it's non-linear on a small scale. I backtract to catch bits which I know I missed. It's fast so I don't generally notice it. When I'm listening, though, I can't backtrack, or not easily or smoothly, and so things get lost because the new information is coming faster than I can store it. In interactive speech that's not so bad, because a speaker will generally pause (and one-to-one I can ask for a repetition), and I also get visual cues (but the 9:30 company meeting at work I lose most of it, again because I can't see them or control the pace or ask for a 'replay'). And with music I listen to the same thing over and over again (it used to drive my mother mad) to get the details.
For some reason the last part stuck more. Possibly because by then I had got more of the 'pattern' so it needed less processing, or possibly I'd adjusted more to the format by then. That probably happens with books as well, I think.
Technical:
The break between the first part and second (where he gets carried away listening to the music, around 02:10) jars, I found. It's too abrupt and sounds almost as though it has stopped (indeed, I checked the file and almost got round to pausing it and investigating what had gone wrong). Some background noise, even low level hiss (it is supposed to be on tape) would, I think, have covered that.
At 10:25 there is a sudden quality difference (it seems to me as though some of the bass has disappeared, and sounds 'boxy'), with no in-context explanation (he didn't say that he'd changed room or something). There's a slight click at that point, I suspect that this was two takes and you had different settings.
So yes, I enjoyed it, but I'm not the target audience I'm afraid.
no subject
Content: You have a way with voices. OK, only one (apart from your normal one) on this, but I'd like to hear more. I've been interested since you first mentioned that you were reading aloud to the Countess. I like it, and it's an interesting story told in an interesting way. The 'twist' at the end reminds me of something, and I'll track it down eventually.
I didn't find the plot hole though, and that is probably because of my next point. Or possibly because I'm pretty bad at spotting plot holes.
It's a long time since I've listened to "audio books", and I've re-found why (apart from my tendency to filter out audio if I'm doing something like working or driving, which in this case I wasn't, but that makes them not useful to me unless I am actually doing nothing else at all at all). I don't take much in when listening to voice, and I've just realised why. When I read, I actually reread, even something new, I read each paragraph several times, or at least bits of it, it's non-linear on a small scale. I backtract to catch bits which I know I missed. It's fast so I don't generally notice it. When I'm listening, though, I can't backtrack, or not easily or smoothly, and so things get lost because the new information is coming faster than I can store it. In interactive speech that's not so bad, because a speaker will generally pause (and one-to-one I can ask for a repetition), and I also get visual cues (but the 9:30 company meeting at work I lose most of it, again because I can't see them or control the pace or ask for a 'replay'). And with music I listen to the same thing over and over again (it used to drive my mother mad) to get the details.
For some reason the last part stuck more. Possibly because by then I had got more of the 'pattern' so it needed less processing, or possibly I'd adjusted more to the format by then. That probably happens with books as well, I think.
Technical:
The break between the first part and second (where he gets carried away listening to the music, around 02:10) jars, I found. It's too abrupt and sounds almost as though it has stopped (indeed, I checked the file and almost got round to pausing it and investigating what had gone wrong). Some background noise, even low level hiss (it is supposed to be on tape) would, I think, have covered that.
At 10:25 there is a sudden quality difference (it seems to me as though some of the bass has disappeared, and sounds 'boxy'), with no in-context explanation (he didn't say that he'd changed room or something). There's a slight click at that point, I suspect that this was two takes and you had different settings.
So yes, I enjoyed it, but I'm not the target audience I'm afraid.