Tuesday, 9 April 2013

You can never have enough Jake Gyllenhaal audiobooks - first Great Gatsby and now Ducklings!

A quick update today to remind you that Jake Gyllenhaal's reading of The Great Gatsby is available today to listen to. No longer will commuting be a pain, now the longer the drive the better. Who needs to learn a foreign language when instead you can fill your car journey with Jake's well-formed vowels?

The audio book - all 4 hours and 49 minutes of it - is available from Audible.com. You can listen to snippets here. In the UK, you can download it from Amazon. The CD will be available on 7 May to buy if you want something tangible to keep.


However, if the Great Gatsby is not to your taste and you fancy something a little less....human, then you are in luck! It would appear that Jake has caught the narrating bug and has managed to combine it with a healthy interest in ducks. Jake is also narrating for the nook three kiddie books by Robert McClusky: Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine. Admittedly only one is about ducks but I like ducks. Of course, Jake once very nearly appeared in Howard the Duck but his mother wouldn't let him (sensible woman). Thanks for Gyllencrazy for the tweet!

21 comments:

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hello everyone! Hope you have a good evening :)

mermon said...

Hahaha! It's fantastic news. Jake reading kids' books is a best choice ever! I don't know those children's tales, but I bet kids will love it!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

I think it's great, Mermon! I wish we could put in requests!

lemniscate said...

Ok... This is getting weird. Psychic kinda weird.
Or... perhaps it's simply a case of knowing one's subject so well that one can anticipate their next move?
Whatever it is, this e.g. - Jake narrating children's books (or animation btw) - is one of now many examples of things I wish he would do... and he ended up doing. Honestly, he's such a great mimic, I'm surprised he has not tried doing this before.

Please tell me we all experience JG psychic weirdness from time to time, cause I'm a very rational person, but now thinking I might be goin' "insane in tha brain".

My "wishful thinking" list included: come to Sydney (yeah, and I ended up being in Melbourne at that time - more advance notice please, thank you!), move to NYC, do more stuff with kids and food, do a film noir, work with my fav Aussie actors... and the list goes on.

I guess I've really got to know "my man" over the past few years... (now there's some seriously ridiculous wishful thinking ;-). Where's Paulo Coelho power when you need it!

Anonymous said...

leminscate

I had a crush on Al Pacino and fantasized about sitting outside his house once. A few years later I actually (in reality) found myself waiting outside his New York apartment for a mutual friend of ours...so keep up the wishful thinking it - works! I'm now working on Jake appearing in our little Cornish village ;-)
Amanda (BMC) x

Anonymous said...

oh, and I love how Jake's voice has got deeper over the years, mmm.... ;-) Or has the recording been slowed down slightly?! Amanda

Sonja said...

Things just get better and better lately, don't they?! Maybe Jake will appear in The Netherlands some time soon, too!

Yeah, I'll keep dreamin'! ;-)

*JG psychic weirdness* :-)

lemniscate said...

Ooh, I love this!

Let's all keep sending out our positive vibes... Who knows what might happen? It's all just good, innocent fun.

Thanks so much for sharing your amazing story Amanda. Al definitely is an electrifying presence... Woopa! Hope Jake makes an appearance for you soon in your little Cornish village! ;-)

And for you too Sonja in the Netherlands. ;-) JG psychic weirdness to the max!

Listening to an excerpt of Jake's narration of "The Great Gatsby", I couldn't help wondering, when is he going to pause properly to take a breath? There was a slightly, unnatural pace about it. It's all in the editing, I guess…
A warm, lovely voice. Deeper now, with a slight hint of hoarseness. For a moment I thought: hey, is he mimicking Tobey? Hmm… Recorded in the wake of a cold or due to his newly found enjoyment/need for smoking perhaps...

One of the great things about doing narration is, you can show up in your yammies with bedhead and no one will bat an eyelid. None of the usual superfluous "appearance" crap. It's hard work though. Requires intense focus. Lots of repetition… I've dabbled in it a bit.
And, as a listener I find a narrated book brings so much more focus to the story. You need to listen carefully, actively, and create the accompanying images in your mind. A proper brain workout! Being read to is... much more... stimulating... intellectually. ;-)

We should definitely put in requests hey!
Which other projects would we love him to put his beautiful voice to? A book, an animated film, a documentary? Any other ideas?

Sonja said...

"One of the great things about doing narration is, you can show up in your yammies with bedhead and no one will bat an eyelid." :-)

Jake in his yammies with bedhead?

Now, I'd like to see that!!! :-)

I'd like him to do a documentary of some kind. His voice is good to listen to. I'll listen to everything he reads!

BBMISwear said...

Great to see an update about Jake's audiobooks! How exciting to hear about the children's books he is doing...and all based in New England!! I love it!! We of course have a hard copy of MWFD (it's a classic in general and even more so in our area) We even have a copy of Blueberries for Sal which takes place in Maine (where we spend a lot of time) and obviously the third takes place in Maine as well...I need to check that one out. I can't wait to hear Jake "talk" about these places...fun stuff!

I only listened to the first minute of The Great Gatsby as I am saving it for the weekend when I can sit back and relax while I listen (no doubt with a goblet of wine - hee hee) too many commitments this week and I did not want to be rushed. But I had to hear that voice even for just a minute...he sounds delightful!

Love hearing everyone's input and looking forward to hearing more as people get these books and listen.

I'm all about the positive vibes and making things happen...I've done it a lot and have certainly had my share of great stuff happen!

Cheers to all...until next time!

:-)

Sheba said...

Absolutely loved the audio reading. I need to have the cd as my lack of trust for downloads and ownership is a bug bear for me. Jake's voice is perfect for the book. I felt soothed and transported to the 20s and even conjured up music to reflect the reading. What would have been even more perfection would have been Jake actually being in the film. Thanks WDW for the heads up as always. 7 years is a long time to wait for another audio reading from Jake.

Susan said...

Jake reading The Great Gatsby is pure vocal porn. I'm addicted!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi lemniscate! Please do keep up that wishful thinking. I really like the sound of it. Strangely, I wasn't surprised by the duckling news. I was delighted thugh :)

Hi there Amanda! I think the voice has got a little deeper over the years.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Sonja!

I would love to see Jake doing the voices to more documentaries on TV, Lemniscate :)

Hi there BBMISwear! :-) Sounds like these books were narrated for you! I'm sure you'll really enjoy the Great Gatsby at the weekend. What a lovely thing to settle down to with the wine. I expect I'll be doing the same thing.

Hi Sheba¬ That would have been fantastic if he'd been in the film too! I'd love to see him in something from the 20s. So elegant.

Hi Susan!

Have a good evening everyone! So pleased it's the weekend :)

Leslie said...

As far as Jake's voice getting "deeper" . . I think his voice is exactly the same. He is in a sound booth with specialized recording microphone(s) and things . . they tend to make the voice sound fuller and richer. Colin Firth sounds amazing reading "The End of the Affair" also.

I've seriously had to re-start listening at least 4 times. I only get so far into listening and then realize I have absolutely NO clue what the story is . . . having him talk in my ear is just so distracting! LOL!!!

BBMISwear said...

I cam back to make a quick comment and see Leslie just mentioned it...I have to keep rewinding this book! Ha Ha! That voice is so sexy. And he does each character in such an interesting way. And the narration is wonderful! I know I'm gushing but after listening to only a few chapters I am not only hooked but I am rewinding all the time...I keep finding myself thinking, "wait, what did he just say"?! I love it! But that voice in my ears like that is making it very hard to concentrate!! :-)

Anonymous said...

There are some great pics of Jake at the Edible Schoolyard NYC’s Spring Benefit. Nice to see up to date photos of Jake at last :-)

Um, I hope the face pet doesn't get any longer!
Amanda (BMC)

Anonymous said...

Forgot to say the pics are on Iheart jake,
Amanda
x

mermon said...

I have the same feelings! It's hard to focus on the text, cause Jake's voice sounds like singing, creates a special vibe, soaking in a listener, so I want to repeat it again and again. I have this experience with a snippets only. No audiobook yet.
New Jake's pictures on IHJ are great. He looks so good now. I enjoy his stubble, showing his both lips! :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, Jake's looking all grown up now ;-)
Amanda

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the comments :)

Lots of news so a new post!

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