A special festive episode discussing books that feature celebrations. Amy and Edward return for a final a face-off as Jess attempts to foil them with her literary quiz. 

Books mentioned: 

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh 

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers 

The Party, by Elizabeth Day 

Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding 

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen 

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen 

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

Emily Woo Zeller is an American voice actress and audiobook narrator whose work has earned heaps of awards, including AudioFile’s prestigious Golden Voice Award. You may have heard her reading fantasy books like R.F. Kuang’s Poppy War series, romance novels like Helen Hoang’s The Bride Test, or perhaps a spy thriller like Chloe Gong’s Foul Lady Fortune. Today she tells us what she appreciates about those books, and a little of what she’s learned about creating a well-balanced life.

Other books mentioned:

Phoenix Extravagant, by Yoon Ha Lee

The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease, by Elissa Epel

The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer; by Elizabeth Blackburn, Elissa Epel 

Links!

Emilly Woo Zeller and Gabra Zackman’s short-form romance and erotica: https://www.lovebytesoriginals.com/

AudioFile interview: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/articles/interview-with-golden-voice-narrator-emily-woo-zeller/

Give the gift of audio this Christmas with a Listening Books gift membership: https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership

Members' Choice Award

To vote for your favourite audiobook to win the Members Choice Award, visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/extra/members-choice-award

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Stephanie Cannon is an American voice actor, circus performer, and audiobook narrator living in England. In this conversation with host Jessica Stone, she tells us what that’s like, how walking on stilts complements reading in a box, which kinds of books she loves to narrate, and conversely which ones she'll take a pass on. We also discuss Kate Dylan’s cyberpunk dystopian novel Mindwalker and its sequel Mindbreaker, both narrated by Stephanie. 

Books and other recommendations:

• The Sharp Edge of Silence, by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum, narrated by Stephanie Cannon 
• Mindwalker, by Kate Dylan, narrated by Stephanie Cannon
• Mindbreaker, by Kate Dylan, narrated by Stephanie Cannon
• Noir, by Christopher Moore, narrated by Johnny Heller 
• Heidi’s Guide to Four Letter Words, by Tara Sivec and Andy Arndt, narrated by Andy Arndt
• The Space Race, docudrama from B7 Media, narrated by Kate Mulgrew

Links!

For more of Stephanie’s work, head to her website www.sparkthecannon.com

To vote for your favourite audiobook to win the Members Choice Award, visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/extra/members-choice-award

 Give the gift of audio this Christmas with a Listening Books gift membership: https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Jane McDowell is a talented actress and narrator with many credits to her name, including the Dr Ruth Galloway mystery series by Elly Griffiths. In this conversation with host Jessica Stone, Jane tells us what it was like to record the last book of the series The Locked Room during a Covid lockdown, how animals help her create character voices, and what book was so moving that she wrote the author to thank her. 

Books mentioned, all narrated by Jane: The Locked Room, by Elly Griffiths Delicious, by Nicki Pellegrino Snow Widows, by Katherine MacInnes Curlew Moon, by Mary Colwell The Hidden World of the Fox, by Adele Brand The Confession of Katherine Howard, by Suzannah Dunn A Killer's Confession, by Karen Edwards

Gift MembershipGive the gift of audio this Christmas with a Listening Books gift membership: https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership

Members' Choice AwardTo vote for your favourite audiobook to win the Members Choice Award, visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/extra/members-choice-award

We’d love to hear from you! If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Polly Lee is an award winning actress and narrator of over 200 fiction and non-fiction books. She has also narrated over 200 romance novels under the name Ashford McNab/MacNab. Raised in the UK, she has lived in the US now for 25 years working equally in both her British and American dialects. Today she tells us about some of the books that have stayed with her, including Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil series, and the voices she would have done differently if she’d known how the series would play out. 

Other books mentioned: 

A Place to Hang the Moon, by Kate Albus Better Late than Never: Understand, survive and thrive a midlife diagnosis of ADHD, by Emma Mahony and Sari Solden

Members' Choice Award

To vote for your favourite audiobook to win the Members Choice Award, visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/extra/members-choice-award

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Bonnie Garmus is the author of Lessons in Chemistry, the bestselling novel about a chemist named Elizabeth Zott who becomes the host of a cooking show in the 1960s. In this conversation with host Jessica Stone, Bonnie tells us about how her career as a copywriter shaped her approach to writing the novel, the one mispronunciation in the audiobook, and why she needed to break some rules to write this story. 

Other books mentioned in this episode: 

Chasing Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof   Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

Members' Choice Award

To vote for your favourite audiobook to win the Members Choice Award, visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk/extra/members-choice-award

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you're enjoying this podcast, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, can help others find us (and makes us feel good, too).

You can also give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram: @ListeningBooks

Or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ListeningBooks12

We also have more content on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningBooks

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 120,000 members who find that an illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. Visit https://www.listening-books.org.uk for more information. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Gordon Griffin has narrated over 900 audiobooks and in 2017 received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth for his services to audiobooks. He tells us about that experience, how the industry has changed over the years, how he prepares for each audiobook, and what the secret is to being a truly good narrator.  

Books Mentioned 

Rooftoppers, Katherine Rundell

Billy Elliot, Melvin Burgess 

The New Woman, Charity Norman 

The Final Testimony of Raphael Ignatius Phoenix, Paul Sussman

For more about Gordon Griffin's work and workshops, visit gordongriffin.com.

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 affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. For more information, head to www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

Here’s a good place to review the podcast. 

You can also give us a shout on Twitter: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Instagram: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Facebook, 

And we also have some content on YouTube. 

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

Woolworths Series, Elaine Everest

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, Hallie Rubenhold

Authors Mentioned

Dilly Court

Martina Cole

Kay Brellend

The Good Time Girls, Fiona Ford

Jean Fullerton

Kerry Barnes

Edie Baylis

Apps and Podcasts Mentioned

The Accent Kit (app)

Murder Mile UK True-Crime Podcast

Scotland Yard Confidential

Catford 6699

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 affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. For more information, head to www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

Here’s a good place to review the podcast. 

You can also give us a shout on Twitter: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Instagram: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Facebook, 

And we also have some content on YouTube. 

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 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 affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. For more information, head to www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

Here’s a good place to review the podcast. 

You can also give us a shout on Twitter: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Instagram: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Facebook, 

And we also have some content on YouTube.  

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 Club and Death Comes to Marlow, Robert Thorogood

Links

Q&A with Ben Aaronovitch

Conversation with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

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 affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. For more information, head to www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

Here’s a good place to review the podcast. 

You can also give us a shout on Twitter: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Instagram: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Facebook, 

And we also have some content on YouTube. 

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 affects their ability to read the printed word or hold a book. It’s simple to join. For more information, head to www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

We’d love to hear from you! 

Here’s a good place to review the podcast. 

You can also give us a shout on Twitter: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Instagram: @ListeningBooks, 

Or Facebook, 

And we also have some content on YouTube.