Annie Aldington has voiced hundreds of audiobooks, and among them are some of the most popular titles in the Listening Books collection, including novels by Dilly Court, Martina Cole, Katie Price, Aoife Walsh, and Kitty Neale. Here Annie tells us how she happened into audiobook narration, shares her secret tricks for conquering difficult accents, and reveals just how much fun peripheral characters can be. Books Mentioned Adams Family Series, Mary Jane Staples Polly of Penn’s Place, Dee Williams Voice and the Actor, Cicely Berry The Tulip Tearooms, Pam Evans The Good Time Girls, Fiona Ford Wool ..read more

Clinical psychologist and author Dr Julie Smith joins Jess to share some of the practical wisdom from her bestselling book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?  Want to know one of the most versatile tools to have in your mental health tool kit? Do you ever wish you could summon motivation when you need it most? Julie warns us of the pitfalls of chasing self-esteem and the rewards of living your life in line with who you want to be. You can find more of Julie's content on social media and on her website. Who Are We?  The Listening Books Podcast is hosted by audio producer Jessica Ston ..read more

Author Jonathan Whitelaw joins Jess for a cosy chat about cosy crime. He tells us how he landed such a fantastic narrator in Sid Sagar, how he approached character development in The Bingo Hall Detectives, why he chose the Lake District for the setting, and what we should be reading while we wait for his next book, The Village Hall Vendetta. Books Mentioned The Bingo Hall Detectives and The Village Hall Vendetta, Jonathan Whitelaw Rivers of London: Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch A Spoonful of Murder, J.M. Hall Her Majesty the Queen Investigates (series), S.J. Bennett The Marlow Murder Cl ..read more

Author Florence Wilkinson talks about her book Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife, giving lots of suggestions for noticing and encouraging the wildlife right on our doorstep. Books and Apps Mentioned  Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution by Menno Schilthuizen Warbler Picture This Who Are We?  The Listening Books Podcast is hosted by audio producer Jessica Stone and is a production of Listening Books, a UK charity that provides an audiobook lending service for over 115,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability ..read more

Jess is joined by colleagues Amy and Lieve to talk about notable books adapted to film—for better and for worse! Of course, this is all just a warm-up for the true highlight, which is of course our Very Serious Literary Game. Will Amy triumph against her new opponent, or will Lieve take down the reigning champion?  Who Are We?  The Listening Books Podcast is hosted by audio producer Jessica Stone and is a production of Listening Books, a UK charity that provides an audiobook lending service for over 115,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disabil ..read more

Emilie Pine, author of the personal essay collection Notes to Self and her recently published novel Ruth and Pen, tells us what it was like to narrate her emotionally difficult first book, what factored into the casting of Ruth and Pen’s audiobook narrator, and the sometimes surprising responses she’s received from readers. There is also wisdom here for the aspiring writer, or anyone attempting something that feels too enormous to begin. Mentioned in this episode: Notes to Self, a collection of personal essays written and narrated by Emilie, published by Tramp Press Ruth and Pen, a novel writ ..read more

Natasha Lipman writes about what it means to live, and live well, with chronic illness. Here she talks to Jessica about the strategies she’s adopted to return her to the pleasures of reading. Books Mentioned The Kites by Romain Gary The Paddington Series by Michael Bond, read by Stephen Fry The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland Important Links To subscribe to Natasha’s newsletter and to participate in online bibliotherapy on the 15th November, head to https://natashalipman.substack.com/ For more information about Listening Books, head to www.listen ..read more

Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood are founding editors of Slightly Foxed, the quarterly magazine and independent publishing house. As specialists in books that have stood the test of time even while falling out of fashion, Gail and Hazel bring us titles so good, they deserve to be heard as audiobooks, too. Books and Authors Recommended Humour My Grandmothers and I, Diana Holman-Hunt A Boy at the Hogarth Press, Richard Kennedy The Empress of Ireland, Christopher Robbins Natural History & the English Countryside Adrian Bell Trilogy: Corduroy, Silver Ley, The Cherry Tree James Rebanks: English Pasto ..read more

Amy, Edward, and Jessica are back for this summer special filled with all the books they’ve got lined up for the sunshine and the sea shore. Come for the stellar book recs. Stay for the most unfair literary game in history (our history anyway). The Listening Books Podcast returns in September for a new monthly series!  Edward is reading: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro  The Secret History by Donna Tartt  The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann  Amy is reading: Dead Famous by Greg Jenner  To the Greatest Heights by Vanessa O’Brien  Queenie by ..read more

Edward, Amy, and Jessica round up the books that have been bringing them joy this year . . . ‘joy’ veering very occasionally into malevolent glee, and Edward and Amy face off in a festive literary quiz.  The audiobooks (or plays!) bringing Edward joy  Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas  Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout  Right Ho, Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse  The audiobooks bringing Amy joy  Short Stories by Roald Dahl, especially ‘The Way Up to Heaven’  Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Pérez  Anything by Caitlin Moran!  The Descent of Man, Grayson Perry&nbs ..read more