Another from my list of all-time favorites….
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, starring Simon Jones, Peter Jones, and Geoffrey McGivern, BBC Radio, 1978
This BBC audio drama is the original version of the insanely popular science fiction comedy, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s been through many forms since then, including novels and a BBC television series. But this radio series is not only the original version, it’s the best version. The actors are crisp and hilarious, the scripts brilliant, the sound and music first-rate. If you don’t know what Vogon poetry is, this is the place to start.
The original run, called “Fit the First”, was six half-hour shows. Later, six more shows (“Fit the Second”) were done for a total of 12 shows. The Collector’s Edition (available from Amazon.com UK) includes all of those along with two CD’s filled with Douglas Adams interviews.
Another note – Douglas Adams recorded a live reading of some sections of the novels. The tape runs about 90 minutes, and is extremely funny. It’s called Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Live in Concert. It appears to be out of print, but is available on Audible.com.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Jesse just informed me that the Caedmon version of “Green Hills of Earth” is included in 
He also let me know that “Green Hills of Earth” was done by Waldentapes, a label that is generally excellent. Pic at left there… And speaking of Waldentapes, I have Childhood’s End and To Your Scattered Bodies Go from them. Childhood’s End is wonderful, and I just recently acquired To Your Scattered Bodies Go from an eBay auction – haven’t listened yet.
Green Hills of Earth/Gentlemen Be Seated by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Leonard Nimoy, Caedmon, 1977
I type that from memory, hearing Leonard Nimoy’s voice in my mind’s ear. These two stories make my favorites list probably for nostalgic reasons, though Leonard Nimoy is an excellent narrator. This was one of the first audiobooks I listened to as a youth – it was one of the tapes in my local library’s small collection. I found it one day while looking through the few old time radio cassettes. This was also my first exposure to Robert A. Heinlein, and I was hooked. I was struck (and still am) by Heinlein’s ability to make his future so normal to all the people in it. 
In the news… Neil Gaiman continues to collect well-deserved awards. A couple of weeks ago, he accepted the Nebula Award (Best Novel) for his American Gods. He’s on the list of Hugo nominees (Best Novella) for Coraline. The 
In 1999, Del Rey published Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore. This novel was the first in a projected 22 novels in a series called The New Jedi Order. This week, the 
These books have an overriding story, which readers (and listeners) like me really appreciate. Most media tie-in series are held in a tight grip – stuff is not allowed to happen. Each novel must end exactly where it began, allowing the next author’s tale to make sense. But in the New Jedi Order series, there was an overall plan to the 22 volumes to start with. Each author wrote his or her part of the story arc, and the results are excellent. In short, stuff happens in these books.