I've always been a fan of chinese novels, of course starting with Jin Yong's wuxia stories. I have been reading (and waiting for) translations because although I can understand spoken chinese, I can't read very well.
But due to some changes in life (new job and a longer commute) I've recently found a new way to enjoy chinese novels.
I thought I might share the method with you guys, because I'm pretty sure majority of the users here is in the same situation as I am (can understand, but can't read chinese)
If you own an Apple iDevice like an iPod or iPad, you might already know that you can select some chinese text and let your iDevice speak it out for you. It works splendidly. If you were to enable "settings->general->accessibility->speak screen" AND download the appropriate "Voices" you can actually listen to a whole textfile. (I use Hong Kong->SinJi)
Now that's neat, but cumbersome. I've still managed to "read" like 8 novels in past two months like this while commuting.
But if you have a Mac like me, then here's the true Hidden Technique:
Go to System Preferences-> Dictation & Speech. Open System Voice and select Customise. Download the voice you like with enhanced quality.
Then get the textfile (or webpage) of any novel you like. Select the text and right click on it to get the submenu. Select services->Add to itunes as spoken text. Select the correct system voice and after waiting for awhile you get something like this: 绝世武神 Peerless Martial God Preview.m4a
It's IMO the best (and probably the only) way to actually get Chinese audiobooks. It opens up a whole new world. And if you want to help translating novels, this works way better than using google translate.