Do you have a favorite audiobook reader?

I do. I like Anna Fields, a Pacific Northwest resident (her real name was Kate Fielding) who died in 2006. She had a smooth, soothing contralto voice and was capable of rendering a wide array of accents and speaking styles. Fields gave one of my very favorite audiobook performances, narrating Betty Smith's delightful 1943 novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Fields' neutral accent slipped easily into the shrill, flirtatious Brooklynese of Aunt Sissy, calling out the window to a police officer: "Yoo hoo! Johnny!" she cries, and blows him a kiss. Sissy calls all her men Johnny.


Did you know that you can search for your favorite narrator in the Newport Library's catalog? Just type the narrator's name in the box and set the search to "Author keyword," and you will soon have a list of audiobooks narrated by the performer of your choice.



Many of these will be Library2Go items, which are free downloadable audiobooks. If you aren't interested in these, you can limit the search to tapes and CDs.

And if you are interested in the Library2Go audiobooks but aren't sure how to begin, the library is offering a free class. Downloadable audiobooks are free and easy to use; you can listen to them from your computer, burn them to disks, or put them on your MP3 player. The class will be held on Friday, June 19; space is limited, so please pre-register.