Feelgood Post of the Week: On-duty Audiobooks, anyone?

Working in security or LE can be tedious. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all high speed chases and stalking catburglars, trying to thwart mission impossible style snatchings of precious gems and art. Well, there’s a lot of that, of course, but there’s also all the downtime in between the black-clad burglar hanging upside down from the ceilings that need apprehending. So what do you fill that downtime with? We’ve got a suggestion.

Audiobooks. No, really. Audiobooks. We’ve been doing this for years, now, and gone through a couple of hundred audiobooks between us, while roaming outside, on patrol in vehicles, while sitting at guard posts, while filling out reports, while laying boots on in a bunk on a ship, waiting for the phone to ring or the alarm to sound… it’s been a great stress reliever and source of entertainment, and here’s a few of the best ones we’ve heard.

Stephen King: “Salem’s Lot“

Read by Ron McLarty, this thing goes on for a good many hours – you’ll easily kill three or four shifts worth of boredom with this. Probably even more, since it clocks in at 17 hours and 35 minutes. McLarty is the perfect narrator for this one – a “modern” vampire novel, without all the gooey Twilight nonsense, there’s no sparkly, lovesick teenage bloodsuckers here, only old and ugly evil pitted against the seemingly helpless humans fighting to stay alive.

J.L.Bourne: “Day by Day Armageddon“

Bourne is a military man, and his vivid descriptions of surviving a zombie apocalypse, made worse by the government’s desperate use of nuclear weapons against the hordes, is captivating. Jay Snyder reads this perfectly, getting at the nuances of desperation and determination in describing the treks through infested lands, avoiding radiation zones and the radiated undead. Bourne has a lot of experience in tactical survival, which shows in his text. The diary style suits the text well, and whether you’re LE or security or in the military, we’re sure you can learn some great survival tips from Bourne.

Oh, and there’s zombies. Which is awesome.

Ray Bradbury: “Something Wicked This Way Comes“

Ray Bradbury is an aquired taste in many ways, but this is the exception. Starting off with the ominous feel of a storm on the way, rolling in over the two boys playing as the traveling salesman of lightning rods approaches, this only gets better. We pretty much guarantee that you’ll listen to this more than once, since you’ll just know there was something you missed on the first run-through.

Bradbury has so many details, it’s hard not to get immersed in the story – and if you enjoy the idea of ordinary, or at least mostly ordinary, people plunged into the extraordinary, then this should be your first stop. Under 10 hours, but with extreme value for the price.

Pat Frank: “Alas, Babylon“

The world, alas, doesn’t survive the cold war, which turns hot with the rolling thunder of nuclear explosions. This is the story of a few lucky survivors and their community – how they stockpile and scavenge, fight highwaymen and attackers and how they make it through both man made and natural trials.

Oh, and Will Patton reads this. It’s worth the price just to be able to listen to him for almost 12 hours. It’s true.

Brian Keene: “Ghoul“

This is just for fun, really. Wayne June reads this in his extreme bass voice, making everything from the ghoul itself to the kids playing in their “dugout” seem as much a sign of doom as a pale horse with a skeleton riding it.

Ghoul is the story of a small band of young boys who discover that the local cemetery has a ghoul in it – a supernatural being who eat corpses. This one wants a family, and the local females are far from safe…

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All of these can be bought and downloaded from Audible, and listened to in their app, or through iTunes and in a regular iPod or iPhone without the app – you decide. If you’ve got other audiobooks that are favorites, or you’ve got other comments, feel free to voice those below! We read all comments and answer all questions. Neat, huh?