BBC Radio Four has a programme at 10:45 (GMT) where they read books (usually very current and sometimes classics) in installments of 15 minutes. Books are abridged and are usually 5 or 10 episodes. These programmes are professionaly produced and the readings are done by actors. What makes it possible to listen to in our part of the world is that they are archived and can be listened to anytime. You probably need high speed to be able to do it.
We recently got interested in this as Jim's edition of the rediscovered Graham Greene novella "No Man's Land" was chosen as a selection. Since then we've listened to Julian Barnes' new novel "Arthur and George" and Paul Auster's recent release "Brooklyn Follies". It was interesting to listen to this one because friends in France are very keen on him and he has written a tremendous amount although we weren't really familiar with him (although we do have a novel of his in our library). Quite fun to listen to (who can't resist being read to at bedtime!) but I didn't get the impression he's an outstanding writer. They say it's his style that is so good so probably need to read a book before I can really make a judgement. Also, listening to an abridged version isn't a true test.
