HEARD ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

For many people, the best new thing in home entertainment is a step backward. Let everyone else rave about videocassettes, they say--we prefer audio cassettes. Specifically, the spoken-word kind generally referred to as “books on tape,” though they encompass much more.

While watching a video is often an experience indistinguishable from simply watching TV, listening to audiocassettes usually can’t be compared to just listening to the radio. There’s only a smattering of readings and dramas on non-commercial FM stations, but radio in general offers nothing to compare with the pleasures to be gained from books-on-tape and other audiocassette offerings.

Even such a seemingly innocent pastime is not without its controversy: Most books-on-tape are abridged versions of the original work. Though generally condensed with great care and skill, these two-cassette, two-hour (in most cases) abridgements are shunned by some audiocassette fans, who prefer complete readings offered by a few companies--despite the added cost or (if renting) trouble.

If this new breed of audiophile is represented on your holiday shopping list, here’s a sampling of recent releases by some of the top audiocassette producers. Most companies recommend ordering by Friday for arrival before Christmas. Or check your local bookstore--it probably has at least a small selection of abridged audiotapes.

If one of the examples below has been reviewed in the Home Tech column of the Times, the rating--from one check (poor) to four checks (excellent)--is added.

ABRIDGED BOOKS-ON-TAPE:

Listen for Pleasure. First-class condensations read by some of the stage and screen’s most expressive actors. (800) 843-8404. Among its two-cassette releases (all about $14):

--”One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. Read by Michael Moriarty.

--”The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” by Tennessee Williams. Read by Shirley Knight.

--”Henderson the Rain King” by Saul Bellow. Read by Tom Skerritt.

--”Lust for Life” by Irving Stone. Read by Sam Waterston.

--”A Murder of Quality” by John Le Carre. Read by the author.

--”Born Free” by Joy Adamson. Read by Virginia McKenna.

Dove. Much like Listen for Pleasure, but its condensations include more nonfiction. (818) 762-6662. Each package contains two cassettes at $14.95 unless otherwise noted:

--”Enter Talking” by Joan Rivers. Read by the author.

--”Rage of Angels” by Sidney Sheldon. Read by Susannah York.

--”The Great Getty: The Life and Loves of J. Paul Getty” by Robert Lenzner.

--”I Never Played the Game” by Howard Cosell. Read by the author.

Caedmon. Classy abridgements and readings, including a strong children’s line. Prices range from $6 to $30. (800) 223-0420:

--”The Unicorn in the Garden and Other Fables for Our Time” by James Thurber. Read by Peter Ustinov.

--”My Cousin Rachel” by Daphne Du Maurier. Read by Mel Gibson.

--”Sarah, Plain and Tall” by Patricia MacLachlan. Read by Glenn Close.

--”Read-Alongs by Beatrix Potter.” Series of tapes, read by Claire Bloom.

Newman. This company distributes tapes by several producers, including Dove and Listen for Pleasure, as well as its own abridgements. (800) 545-6260. General price range $9 to $15. The following are two-cassette releases:

--”Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories” by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Read by Theodore Bikel.

--”A Prairie Home Companion 10th Anniversary” with Garrison Keillor, others.

--”Miss Lonelyhearts” by Nathanael West. Read by Keir Dullea.

--”The New! Improved! Bob & Ray Book” by Robert Elliot and Ray Goulding. Read by the authors.

Warner. A wide-ranging selection of subjects, including fiction, relaxation, biography, business and young adult, including many one-cassette tapes selling for $6 to $10. Fairly easy to find in major-chain book stores. (800) 528-6050, Ext. 1890:

--”Great Escapes.” Series of relaxation tapes mixing sound effects and music, including “Ocean,” “Rainforest,” and “Space.”

--”When Bad Things Happen to Good People” by Rabbi Harold Kushner.

--”One More Time” by Carol Burnett. Read by the author.

--”Red Storm Rising” by Tom Clancy. Read by F. Murray Abraham.

UNABRIDGED BOOKS-ON-TAPE:

Books on Tape. Put a whole book on tape and you wind up with anywhere between four and a dozen 1 1/2-hour tapes, generally renting for between $10 to $20 or selling for between $30 and $100. The readers are usually not known names but tend to be very capable. Thick catalogue available. (800) 626-3333 or (714) 548-5525:

--”Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath” by John Toland. Read by John McDonald. Eight cassettes. Rental: $15.50. Purchase: $64.

--”Charles Chaplin: My Autobiography.” Read by Grover Gardner. 12 cassettes. Rental: $17.50. Purchase: $96.

--”Roughing It” by Mark Twain. Read by Michael Prichard. Six cassettes. Rental: $15.50. Purchase: $56.

Recorded Books. Not as large a selection as Books on Tape, but better prices. Thirty-day rentals generally range from $8 to $15, or multi-tape packages can be bought for $20 to $60. Many mystery and thriller novels. (800) 638-1304:

--”The Good Soldier” by Ford Madox Ford. Read by Frank Muller. Five cassettes. Rental: $9.95. Purchase: $29.95.

--”Gorky Park” by Martin Cruz Smith. 11 cassettes. Read by Henry Strozier. Rental: $14.95. Purchase: $54.95.

Bookcassette/Brilliance. This company gets more on each tape by using both channels, which means you have to switch from left to right channel, or if you can’t (as on a Walkman), you’ll need an adapter supplied by Bookcassette. Has both single-reader and multi-voice releases. Purchase only, generally $16-18. (800) 222-3225:

--”The Godfather” by Mario Puzo. Dramatization. Five cassettes, 13 hours. $19.95. 1/2

MISCELLANEOUS:

Metacom. Specializes in vintage radio shows and self-improvement tapes. (800) 328-4818:

--”Radio Reruns.” A 34-tape series of 30-minute shows like “The Green Hornet,” “Lum and Abner” and “The Lone Ranger.” $3.98 for each cassette.

--”Self-Hypnosis and Subliminal Motivation.” A 21-tape series of self-improvement techniques. $9.98 for each 90-minute tape.

--”Superstars Gift Sets.” Three packs of old radio shows, each in a plastic container resembling--what else?--an old radio. $24.95 for each set.

TDM. “Listen and Learn” cassettes. (714) 441-0782:

--”A Kick in the Seat of the Pants” by Roger von Oech. Creativity tape, read by the author. One cassette, $7.95.