Tag: Audio books

Listening to books

The best of 2021

The books I read in print form last year were a disappointment so I won’t share the pain. On the other hand, 2021 brought me some fabulous listening pleasure with the following audio books. As usual, I flit between genres so it’s hard to present them in any particular order. Let me know if you enjoyed any of these too!

Top favourite of 2021

Slow Horses: Slough House, book 1 (2010, John Murray Publishers) by Mick Herron

(audio book narrated by Sean Barrett)

In the first book of the series, we meet British MI5 agent River as he is bungling an important training mission. For this, he gets sent to the sad and miserable dumping ground for failed spies, Slough House.  However, it is River’s boss, Jackson Lamb, who captures our attention for the series. Fat, farting, swearing, smoking, and without a politically correct bone in his body, Lamb torments River and his fellow failures. The plot is intriguing and the writing witty. Best of all, the BBC is currently filming some of the series, with the wonderful Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, in a cast that includes Kristen Scott-Thomas and Jonathan Pryce.

Best light fare for 2021—two contenders

  1. The Thursday Murder Club (2020, Viking Press) by Richard Osman

(audiobook narrated by Lesley Manville, Richard Osman, Marian Keyes)

Having seen Richard Osman being amusingly knowledgeable on British television game shows, I was intrigued to hear that he’d written a few cosy crime novels. The setting is a retirement village where (shock and horror) the residents are anything but sweet senior citizens. With a ‘Midsomer Murders’ sort of plot, this novel was very much in the style of the author’s personality: clever, warm, with a few unexpected twists and turns.

(audiobook narrated by Zara Ramm)

This is a continuation of a consistently amusing series that is among my favourites. The Time Police were the bad guys in the original ‘Chronicles of St Mary’s’ Series, which is all about historians who ‘investigate major historical events in contemporary time’ (i.e., time travel, but don’t let our heroes hear you say that). In the Time Police series, we follow three raw recruits who don’t fit the usual tough guy Time Police mold.  In this book, they’ve graduated and are doing things in their own hilarious way.

Best Young Adult fiction for 2021

The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015, Quill Tree Books) by Patrick Ness

(audiobook narrated by James Fouhey)

What happens if you’re the teenagers in the background while the superhero kids go head to head with zombie monsters and mysterious blue lights? This novel uses this fun premise to explore sadder themes that are all too real for adolescents. The writing is tight and the characters are compelling—definitely worth a look.

Best dystopia for 2021

Metro 2033 (2005, English edition Gollancz) by Dmitry Glukhovsky

(audiobook narrated by Rupert Degas)

The novel, originally written in Russian, inspired a widely popular video game. Translated into English, I loved how ‘Russian’ it still felt. Basically, the world above ground has been destroyed and contaminated by nuclear fallout. Our hero, Artyom, lives in the Moscow Metro system where every train station has evolved into its own State while subjected to the ever present threat of the mutant monsters that lurk above. Artyom is entrusted with a quest to deliver an important message. His journey is a post-apocalyptic odyssey where new characters emerge to help or hinder the battles he must fight as he navigates his way through the underground. Warning: it is long, but then—it is Russian!

Best non-fiction for 2021

Educated (Windmill Books, 2018) by Tara Westover

(audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan)

This memoir tells how the author grew up in the back blocks of Idaho, raised in a Mormon family which was dominated by her father whose survivalist ideology became increasingly bizarre and damaging to his wife and children. It’s a grim tale, but written evocatively in a way that allows us to sense the inner resilience that burned within the author who eventually found her way out to engage with formal education and a wider world view.

And finally,

Best re-read for 2021

The Lord of the Rings (1955, Allen & Unwin) by J.R.R. Tolkien

(audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis)

Really, what is there to say? I’ve listened to a couple of versions of Lord of the Rings, but I think Andy Serkis (aka Gollum) is the best narrator. My only complaint is the songs….I confess I skip these when reading LoTR, but I can’t do that in an audiobook very successfully, and Serkis’ singing isn’t up to his voice acting level. Still, good on him for being authentic, I guess!

Reading with 2020 vision

2020 was a good year for reading (when we weren’t glued to our screens). Looking back, I find that I chewed through over forty books, either by reading or listening to an audiobook. I confess that I abandoned a few half-way (life in the times of COVID is potentially too short to be bored). However, here are some I’d recommend if you’re looking for something to read during a snap hotspot lockdown.

My top 3 audiobooks of 2020

(judged on both story and narrator)

  • Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol – read by Hugh Grant who brings the dark ironic tones of Dickens to the fore.
  • Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling), Troubled Blood: Cormoran Strike, Book 5 – read by Robert Glenister. Rowling’s controversial comments meant that this book received critique by people who hadn’t read it. I recommend a read, or enjoy listening to the hard-boiled detective voice of Robert Glenister.
  • HG Wells, War of the Worlds – read by David Tennant in a way that captures the intense psychological struggle of the protagonist in a time of fear and uncertainty. Definitely a story for our time.

My top non-fiction book of 2020

  • Alan Davies, Just Ignore Him. Seeing the funny side of things is the life raft that Alan has used to overcome tragedy and abuse. In this well written memoir, his lightness of touch makes this memoir all the more poignant.

My top relaxers of 2020

  • Jodi Taylor, Doing Time: The Time Police, Book 1 – audiobook read by Zara Ramm. In Jodi Taylor’s series ‘Chronicles of St Mary’s’, the Time Police are always portrayed as the arrogant dunderheads that fearless historians must outwit to save the day. In this new series, Taylor flips our perspective by introducing us to three new recruits to the Time Police – each of whom is uniquely unsuited to the role.
  • Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries (4 novellas and 1 novel). Making an android a compelling and sympathetic protagonist is the central achievement of this series. Sardonic humour laces the edges of fast-paced action and an unfolding mystery. Book 5, Network Effect was the latest stellar addition.

Other recommended listens and reads

(alphabetically by author surname)

Ben Aaronovitch, Tales from the Folly: Short Stories from the world of the Rivers of London series – read by multiple narrators

Anne Brinsden, Wearing Paper Dresses. If you liked The Dressmaker by Rosalie Hamm, then you’ll love this story of rural hardship.

Tiny Fey, Bossypants – read by Tina Fey. Finding out what makes comedians tick is always fascinating.

CS Forester, Mr Midshipman Hornblower – read by Christian Rodska. A rollicking tale on the high seas.

John Le Carré, Agent Running in the Field – read by John Le Carré, who turns out to be a dab hand at accents, as well as a riveting writer.

Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing (book). I never thought I could be so interested in marsh wildlife. Intensive botany lesson embedded in a compelling story.

Michelle Paver, Wolf Brother – read by Sir Ian McKellen. This is an old-fashioned tale of an American Indian boy coming to manhood and I loved every minute – entranced by McKellen’s ‘tell me a story’ voice.

Andy Weir, The Martian – read by Wil Wheaton. Seen the movie? Now read the book. Originally, I planned to read it in print, but I’m glad I opted for the audiobook. I think I would have skimmed the technical details in print, but they form a mesmerising rhythm that builds the believability of events when read aloud.

On to 2021 …

Best audio books 2017

Redphones: Listening to music while waiting for a friend, Garry Knight, Flickr, CC2.0 licence with attribution.

While cleaning out my father’s flat after his death earlier this year, I came across the notebooks in which both my parents kept a listing of the books they had read each year. My own reading habits are not nearly as methodical.  However, new ways of consuming books do such cataloguing work for us.  I have become addicted to audio books as it allows me the chance to read and knit at the same time (unlike my mother who learned to do both simultaneously to defend herself from my grandmother’s accusations of ‘wasting her time reading’).  I subscribe to audible and they sent me a summary of my own (well-spent) 20,250 minutes of listening time this year. Apparently, my favourite genre was ‘crime & thrillers’— which suggests some new writing directions for me later.  I entirely agree with their analysis of my ratings that showed that my favourite author was Philip Pullman and my favourite narrator was Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (narrator for the delightful PC Grant detective series by Ben Aaronovitch, but I’m saving a review about that series for another post).

my top three audiobooks for 2017

 (in no particular order)

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman (hard cover and paperback published 2017 by Harper Collins). Audio book released 2017, read by Cathleen McCarron.

Written in the first person, we are taken inside the character of a fascinating woman who leads a highly circumscribed life.  This is a novel about small moments and their effects. The narrator fully captures the tension between Eleanor’s self-awareness and her lack of insight. The newspaper reviews of the book are very positive but often contain spoilers, so if you like to know more about what’s ahead have a look at these: from the Guardian, or from the Washington Independent Review of Books. Reese Witherspoon’s production company has apparently optioned the book for a movie so you could wait till then or, best of all, just dive into the book and find the treasure there.

A Legacy of Spies

by John leCarré (hard cover and paperback published 2017 by Penguin Random House). Audio book released 2017, read by Tom Hollander.

Peter Guillam is called back by the Circus to account for the past Cold War operations of George Smiley.  The reviews of the book have been unanimous in their praise, see the review by the New York Times for example.

Actor Tom Hollander is exactly the right person to read it – a master of restraint in the context of overpowering emotions. (You may remember Tom Hollander from the TV mini-series ‘The Night Manager’, and the TV series ‘Rev’, amongst many other roles.)

 

 

La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust, Volume 1

by Philip Pullman (hard cover and paperback published 2017 in association with Penguin Random House). Audio book released 2017, read by Michael Sheen.

Philip Pulman takes us back to the very beginnings of Lyra’s life and the disturbance she brings, even as a baby, to the control exerted by The Magisterium. The heroes of the story are Malcolm and his daemon Asta who must save Lyra when the flooding of the Thames brings both corporeal and magical threats.

Actor Michael Sheen is a captivating narrator. (Michael Sheen was recently seen as Dr Masters in the TV series ‘Masters of Sex’, and you might remember him as David Frost in the film ‘Frost/Nixon’ back in 2008).

 

This is the first of three planned prequels to ‘His Dark Materials’. I, for one, will be lining up for the others. The reviews have welcomed the return to Lyra’s world, for example see the review in the Sydney Morning Herald. Like the reviewers, I look forward to the next instalment in this series.