Well, actually, I also think the industry standard is changing. A few years ago all narrators were professional readers. Now there are increasing numbers of actors, celebrities, etc. who do a marvelous job, but who don't always stick to that glacial pace. Like -- and I'm going to spell this wrong -- Kobna Holbrook Smith reads the Rivers of London books. He's an actor, and he does a truly wonderful job with them, just excellent. And he's several knotches faster than that standard pace, which I think actually contributes to his range and the excellent flow of sarcasm he gets going.

I occasionally have access to two copies of an audiobook by different narrators, one commercial and one made by the National Library Service. And it's amazing the difference in length. One could be 10:15:00, and the other 11:30:00. It's interesting.