Audio Book

I found John Lennon's letters absolutely riveting - and yes they are quite often mundane, but it is in this mundaneness that we learn more. It was fascinating to hear Yoko Ono read the foreword - it just felt weird as if she didn't quite feel comfortable with it! But the introduction by Hunter Davies was very very long but again lots of fascinating details of how owners of letters discovered that they'd been sold on by family and friends never to be gotten back and of course much much more.

I loved reading the books, but here in this omnibus edition of the audio books are Stephanie Cole and Anna Reid bringing to life Jennifer Worth's three books - Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End.

Hearing Barbara Flynn reading Jennifer Worth's words brought back a picture of when I saw after the interview I did with her. She was sitting in the bay window in her back room with the sun light streaming on her while she signed her first book 'Call the Midwife' - Barbara whilst not sounding like Jennifer certainly evoked what she was - a caring no nonsense person who wrote with a great deal of common sense.

This is an exciting episode in the Jason Bourne series. A tense and exciting thriller which takes the reader across continents as the plot is unfolded.

As the story opens, there's a deadly secret being passed along to help foil a dangerous terrorist plan. The U.S. intelligence community is in great turmoil, and there are lots of people who want to grab the reins of power. Jason Bourne has resumed his David Webb persona and is teaching again. Events quickly conspire to intertwine those plot threads into a huge conflict that imperils even Jason Bourne.

Normally when I listen to an audio book I like to multitask by either quilting, knitting or crocheting - but this time listening to Andrew Sach's rendition of Simon Sebag Montefiore's words, stopped me in my tracks as I got deeper into the unfolding story about Jerusalem.

Pete Postlethwaite's autobiography is brilliantly read by Philip Jackson who also starred with him in 'Brassed Off' - it also has an introduction by Sean Bean.

This is quite an extraordinary  autobiography that is very down to earth, giving us an inside view of Pete Postlethwaite, of his acting career and his personal relationships. I discovered what a man of compassion he was - about everything!

What can one say about David Tennant and his rendition of Annabel Pitcher's book that hasn't been said before. It is quite simply stunning, brilliant, fantastic - well you know the rest!

David grabs you by the goolies within seconds of you listening to the story about Jamie, his sister Jasmine, his dead twin sister Rose, father and mother and last but not least Roger the cat!

I was incredibly moved when I read the hardback, but this version read by David Tennant perfectly captures all the feelings I felt originally and then magnifies them!

Last time I saw Michael Brandon was in the TV series Dinotopia so it was a lovely surprise to hear how gravelly his voice was for his rendition of The Lincoln Lawyer. Infact it was brilliant - I was immediately drawn into the story and how was our hero Mickey Haller going to survive his latest case.

Life by Keith Richards is one of the most fascinating audio books I have ever listened to, not just because it is an autobiography but because it is read by 3 people - Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley and Keith Richard himself. It creates quite a different atmosphere which I feel makes listening more exciting. Johnny Depp through his acting is able to sound a much more low key Keith Richard, whereas Joe Hurley has the depth of voice that takes us to the East end and into Essex, but add Keith Richard's Voice and somehow the 3 meld together to make a whole.

Conversations With Myself is quite brilliantly read by John Kani who has the ability in his rendition of Nelson Mandela's words, to make you feel every nuance of what Mandela went through both in prison and when he was released.

This is an illuminating unabridged audio cd of 10 hours which I highly recommend should be listened to. We hear about what Mandela cares about most, but it also shows that he has a dry sense of humour that seems to have kept him going through thick and thin.

Ten hours of excellent and thought provoking listening of a modern day icon.