I get your point about the voices of readers for audiobooks. Some of them are definitely no good. Also, I constantly fall asleep while listening to them unless I'm being active.
Generally, the paid readers who do Audible are better than free volunteers. I find speeding it up can help. Some times I am aware of my surroundings if my eyes are open. But definitely, eyes closed headphones on can be dodgy on some trains.
Agricola is nice and short. I like a lot of the old stuff written by the Romans. I really wish I could read Latin, but studying that is probably worse than reading Joyce.
I'm thinking of separating my reviews, especially when I read a book that really makes me think, actually come to think of it, most of them make me think.
Thanks for your opinions. I knew I would get someone else who read Heart of Darkness. In my opinion, the theme has been overdone now, but it's still a good one.