Audiobook industry honors its finest

My selections of what to upload to my iPod for this column are typically made by browsing Audible.com for titles, authors and subjects that interest me. After all, if I'm going to invest many hours into listening, it might as well be something I want to invest the time in.

That leaves a broad swath of audiobooks that I'd never have the time or interest to get to. For guidance on the rest of the market, listeners can subscribe to AudioFile magazine (audiofilemagazine.com) or just wait for the annual audiobook and spoken-word entertainment awards, the Audies, to be announced by the Audio Publishers Association.

They're not quite the Oscars -- no four-hour prime-time televised show with black-tie and evening gowns -- but they have the same impact on the winners as the golden statuette.

This year's ceremonies were May 31 in Los Angeles. The winners' list has plenty of titles that interest me, so look for at least a couple of them to turn up in a future column.

Chief among them would be the winner of the Audiobook of the Year award. "The Chopin Manuscript," available only by download, was written by a team of mystery writers including Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson, James Grady, S.J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo, Lisa Scottoline and P.J. Parrish.

Thrillers make fantastic listening because they are, well, thrilling, so that's headed straight to my iPod, as is the intriguingly titled "Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls" by Yuri Rasovsky, which swept the categories in which it was nominated: original work, audio drama and achievement in production.

Here's the list, so clip and save for listening all year. You can read reviews and listen to samples at theaudies.com, or download podcasts of excerpts of each title at audiofilemagazine.com/earshot /index.html.

Audiobook of the Year

"The Chopin Manuscript" by Jeffery Deaver et al. Read by Alfred Molina. Audible.com.

Achievement in Abridgement

"The Race" by Richard North Patterson. Read by Michael Boatman. Macmillan Audio.

Achievement in Production

"Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls" by Yuri Rasovsky. Read by Phil Proctor, Simon Templeman, Moira Quirk, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Robertson Dean and W. Morgan Sheppard. Blackstone Audio Inc.

Audio Drama

"Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls."

Audiobook Adapted from Another Medium

"The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas Collection 11" by various authors. Read by various narrators including Stacy Keach, Fred Willard and Blair Underwood. Blackstone Audio Inc.

Biography/Memoir

"Einstein: His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson. Read by Edward Herr-mann. Simon & Schuster Audio.

Business Information/ Educational

"Words That Work" by Dr. Frank Luntz. Read by Luntz with L.J. Ganser. Hyperion Audiobooks.

Children's Titles for Ages up to 8

"More About Paddington" by Michael Bond. Read by Stephen Fry. HarperChildren's Audio.

Children's Titles for Ages 8-11

"Clementine" by Sara Pennypacker. Read by Jessica Almasy. Recorded Books.

Children's Titles for Ages 12-Plus

"Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy" by L.A. Meyer. Read by Katherine Kellgren. Listen & Live Audio.

Classic

"Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Read by Alfred Molina. Random House Audio Listening Library.

Fiction

"Tallgrass" by Sandra Dallas. Read by Lorelei King. Macmillan Audio.

Humor

"I Am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert. Read by Stephen Colbert with Paul Dinello, Kevin Dorff, Greg Hollimon, Evie McGee, David Pasquesi, Amy Sedaris, Allison Silverman, Brian Stack and Jon Stewart. Hachette Audio.

Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction

"River Rising" by Athol Dickson. Read by Dion Graham. Recorded Books.

Inspirational/Spiritual

"Inspired By ... The Bible Experience: Old Testament." Read by Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and many more. Zondervan Audio.

Literary Fiction

"Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson. Read by Will Patton. Macmillan Audio.

Multi-Voiced Performance

"Inspired By ... The Bible Experience: Old Testament."

Mystery

"Tin Roof Blowdown" by James Lee Burke. Read by Will Patton. Simon & Schuster Audio.

Narration by the Author or Authors

"Pontoon," written and read by Garrison Keillor. HighBridge.

Nonfiction

"Roots: The Saga of an American Family" by Alex Haley. Read by Avery Brooks. BBC Audiobooks America.

Original Work

"Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls" by Yuri Rasovsky.

Personal Development/Motivational

"Fit to Live," written and read by Pamela Peeke, M.D. Macmillan Audio.

Romance

"Natural Born Charmer" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Read by Anna Fields. HarperAudio.

Science Fiction

"Dune" by Frank Herbert. Read by Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance and cast. Macmillan Audio.

Short Stories/Collections

"20th Century Ghosts" by Joe Hill. Read by David Ledoux. HarperAudio.

Solo Narration -- Female

"Tallgrass, " read by Lorelei King.

Solo Narration -- Male

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling. Read by Jim Dale. Random House Audio Listening Library.

Spanish Language

"Malinche" by Laura Esquivel. Read by Lucia Mendez. FonoLibro Inc.

Thriller/Suspense

"Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill. Read by Stephen Lang. HarperAudio.

An Earful of Words appears on the first and third Sundays of each month. Call 351-4930 or e-mail susan.rife@heraldtribune.com.