December 14th, 2010 / 12:57 pm
 Random

Iambik Audiobooks: Lish, Tillman, Hunt, etc.

Iambik Audiobooks is a new publisher of audio editions of curated literary fiction. Their current roster includes Gordon Lish, Lynne Tillman, J. Robert Lennon, Laird Hunt, Lydia Millet, and several others, all priced at a very reasonable $4.99 for the majority of their titles.

I picked up the 18 hour compendium of Lish reading selections from his recent Collected Fictions. The recording is pristine, and includes often introductions or lead ins by Lish. It’s the first time he’s ever read his own work aloud for the public. Because the hefty length, this one is the most expensive at the site, but still only $9.99 for the whole set, and also available in smaller editions for a lower price. Hearing him read the work himself adds a whole other layer to the fold. You can preview it here [EDIT: the preview is not of Lish himself; some of the works are read by Gregg Margarite]. I feel like I’ll be listening to this again and again over the years. Maybe I’ll drive somewhere, and now I don’t have to buy like Clive Barker.

Really excited to see such an excellently executed version of a great idea. Check them out.

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15 Comments

  1. December 14th, 2010 / 5:43 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Hey thanks for pointing people in our direction, and glad you loved the lish as much as i did.

      I should note: Lish read some selections himself (about 10 stories) – which you can buy separately, or as part of the whole collection, which is read by Gregg Margarite.

  2. December 14th, 2010 / 5:51 pm Carl Malone—

      Is Gregg Margarite a robot?

  3. December 14th, 2010 / 5:53 pm Pie—

      I bought the Lynne Tillman last week. Really great. Next, I’m going for J. Robert Lennon’s new one.

  4. December 14th, 2010 / 6:45 pm Kyle Minor—

      I like the idea of a curated audiobook library. One frustration that mass dumps of anything causes is that you can’t find anything you want to read.

      There is a sense in which the better publishers have always had a curatorial bent. I have an idea of what a Borzoi book will be, what a New York Review book might be, of the range of tastes that fall under the labels Dalkey, FSG, Graywolf, Dzanc, Akashic, Black Cat, Two Dollar Radio etc etc etc. Sometimes I’ll take a chance on a book just because I’ve enjoyed the last six books that publisher chose to offer me.

  5. December 14th, 2010 / 6:51 pm Mike Meginnis—

      This seems cool. I always want to get into audio books but it never happens for me. I find the human voice puts me to sleep with remarkable speed and efficiency.

  6. December 15th, 2010 / 1:58 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Hi Kyle, We plan to curate small collections across various genres – so our next batch will be crime, and we have some scifi in the works. We’ll keep coming back to litfic, and will keep the curatorial approach to things though, as we spread into different areas.

  7. December 15th, 2010 / 12:42 pm Diya—

      Oh goodness, just got back from the Uncanny Valley. I’ll need a moment to recover.

      Voice aside, this is awesome. Thanks.

  8. December 15th, 2010 / 1:54 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Pie thanks for the feedback – I’ll pass that along to Karen, who did the narration.

  9. December 15th, 2010 / 1:56 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Ach, Gregg does tons of scifi, for which he is well suited. This one was a different kettle, and I wasn’t sure at first., but I found that the language itself comes out beautifully, once in the rhythm.

  10. December 15th, 2010 / 5:57 pm Gregg Margarite—

      Carl:

      As these readings are done in a vacuum with little or no instruction by author or publisher I am honestly interested in critical remarks. They are the only guide I have to improving my narration skills. I can assure you that I am organic and consequently fallible so I would be interested in any elaboration you could provide regarding your robotic criticism as this could mean many things.

      Thanks;

      Gregg Margarite

  11. December 15th, 2010 / 5:57 pm Gregg Margarite—

      Carl:

      As these readings are done in a vacuum with little or no instruction by author or publisher I am honestly interested in critical remarks. They are the only guide I have to improving my narration skills. I can assure you that I am organic and consequently fallible so I would be interested in any elaboration you could provide regarding your robotic criticism as this could mean many things.

      Thanks;

      Gregg Margarite

  12. December 15th, 2010 / 1:58 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Hi Kyle, We plan to curate small collections across various genres – so our next batch will be crime, and we have some scifi in the works. We’ll keep coming back to litfic, and will keep the curatorial approach to things though, as we spread into different areas.

  13. December 15th, 2010 / 1:59 pm Hugh McGuire—

      Actually, I find audiobooks a great cure for insomnia!

  14. December 15th, 2010 / 5:57 pm Gregg Margarite—

      Carl:

      As these readings are done in a vacuum with little or no instruction by author or publisher I am honestly interested in critical remarks. They are the only guide I have to improving my narration skills. I can assure you that I am organic and consequently fallible so I would be interested in any elaboration you could provide regarding your robotic criticism as this could mean many things.

      Thanks;

      Gregg Margarite

  15. January 16th, 2011 / 3:07 pm Iambik/LibriVox | HTMLGIANT—

      […] literature is so often what I’m now reading, I was happy to discover Iambik a few weeks ago (here on HTMLGiant, by the way.) Their newish catalog includes J. Robert Lennon’s Castle, Lydia […]