Reference sites die of confidence. A spec gets copied from a copy, the source rots, and three years later everyone cites a runtime nobody ever checked. Our defense is boring on purpose, and this page is the whole procedure in the open.
The ladder
Verified means we checked the spec against the recording’s own listing, and the check date appears on the card. Reported means the figures rest on press coverage, the card says so plainly, and the listing check is queued. Pending means no specs shown at all, only a note. Entries climb, and you can watch it happen: the Fitzgerald recording recently moved from reported to verified once its own listing check cleared, and the two entries that were pending, Stephen Fry’s retelling and the Rouse prose read by Anthony Heald, have since been confirmed against their listings and added to the registry.
If you would rather not take our word for it, do not. Every verified runtime here is copied from the recording’s own retail listing and stamped with the date we checked it, so you can open that same listing and confirm the number yourself in about a minute. When a press article and an official listing disagree, the listing wins and the claim drops to reported until it clears. Nothing gets edited quietly: when a spec changes, its date changes too, so a stale check is always visible.
One more line in the open: our “best for” seals and our picks are opinions. They are reasoned from the verified specs and each recording’s own published materials, and we always say why, but they are our editorial call, not an objective award and not a claim about your taste. Disagree freely. The specs above the seal are the part we stand behind as fact; the pick is the part we stand behind as judgment.
What we refuse to print
Prices, because they change hourly and by region, and a stale price is a small lie with a short shelf life. Star ratings we did not earn. Claims we cannot date. If a number on this site has no visible check date behind it, that is a bug, and we would genuinely like to hear about it.
The money, plainly
Amazon and Audible affiliate links fund the site: purchases and program signups through them can pay a commission at no cost to you. No publisher pays for placement, no verdict has a sponsor, and our recommendations are suspiciously mainstream for the dullest possible reason: the famous recordings are, in fact, excellent. Audit any of it against the registry or start where most people do, at the verdict.
The questions behind the method
Who runs Hear Homer?
Hear Homer is an independent, one-person project with no team, no publisher, and no sponsor. Every runtime was read off a real retail listing and typed in by hand by someone who would rather be right than fast. That is the whole editorial staff, and it is why the registry stays small enough to verify honestly.
How does Hear Homer make money?
Through Amazon and Audible affiliate links, and nothing else. When you buy a book or start a trial through a link here, the retailer pays a commission at no extra cost to you. No publisher pays for placement and no verdict has a sponsor, which is exactly why the picks are so mainstream: the famous recordings really are the best ones.
How often are the specs updated?
Every spec shows the date it was last checked against the recording’s own listing, so you never have to trust an undated number. We recheck when a listing changes or a new recording surfaces, and anything that cannot be re-confirmed drops back to pending rather than sitting there quietly wrong.