Some of you might recall (because I have mentioned it before) that among the first declarations to Bookhound, as we were walking back to the car park at Heathrow, after my first flight back from New Zealand were the words, said with much emphasis..
'I'm never doing that again without noise-cancelling headphones.'
You had all told me as much when I asked, but I thought I'd get away with the £20 Sony things and how wrong could I be.
So before the next flight we took a trip down to Curry's in Plymouth where they have a fine display of headphones located underneath a speaker that simulates the noise of an aeroplane. I'd actually set my heart on a pair of Bose, because they're a bit on trend aren't they but, when it came to the testing, the beautifully crafted Bose might have made me look the bees knees but they weren't a patch on the Sony. This was going to amount to about three birthdays and two Christmas presents combined, but Bookhound persuaded me to buy the Sony MDR 1000X and I have to say two years on they have been the best investment ever. Not only do they block out all noises, engines and people, on a plane, they also block out the drone of a sewing machine when I'm back on the ground...
...as well as the sound of Bookhound coming in the door to tell me there's a cup of tea and scaring the living daylights out of me.
I now announce that I'm going into 'headphones' so he knows.
But this all means I can listen to audio books while I sew and I notched up 100 hrs-worth last year, not all of which may have been mentioned here but even so all worthy of a mention as Good Listens. For many of you the library will be the perfect place to borrow audio books for free. My problem is having to return them after three weeks so I subscribe to Audible on and off and keep my library nicely topped up. Audible also let you return a book for any reason which helps because I've had a few turkeys...
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Jane can do no wrong in my eyes. I have loved each of her three books, set in Australia and as a listen they are atmospheric, gripping and well-plotted.
"He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death.
Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart.
They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish...."
Pompeii by Robert Harris
One of you recommended this and though I obviously knew the outcome, I didn't know the route Robert Harris might be taking to get us there.
"A sweltering week in late August. Where better to enjoy the last days of summer than on the beautiful Bay of Naples? All along the coast, the Roman Empire's richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas. The world's largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum and Pompeii. Only one man is worried.
The engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct which brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. His predecessor has disappeared. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta's sixty-mile main line - somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius..."
Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
This was recommended as a good read by the Village Book Group but, like many psychological thriller / crime novels, it works brilliantly on audio too.
"The police say it was suicide. Anna says it was murder. They're both wrong.
One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life - a shocking suicide carefully played out to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with her parents' deaths ever since.
Now with a young baby herself, Anna feels her mother's presence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened. But as she looks for answers, someone is trying to stop her. By digging up the past, she'll set in motion something that can't be stopped and will soon discover that sometimes it's safer to let things lie...."
Erebus by Michael Palin
One of you recommended this one too and it was superb. I had several weeks of excursions to Antarctica and then the Arctic on the Franklin Expedition and would emerge from each session with much to tell Bookhound about. Lots of 'Did you know....' and 'You'll never guess what...' going on and all read in Michael Palin's warm smiley voice...you know the one where he's seen the funny/odd/eccentric side of something and hopes you see it too in the inflection. He will always be Monty Python to me and has never lost that cheekiness.
"In September 2014 the wreck of a sailing vessel was discovered at the bottom of the sea in the frozen wastes of the Canadian Arctic. It was broken at the stern and covered in a woolly coat of underwater vegetation. Its whereabouts had been a mystery for over a century and a half. Its name was HMS Erebus.
Now Michael Palin - former Monty Python stalwart and much-loved television globetrotter - brings this extraordinary ship back to life, following it from its launch in 1826 to the epic voyages of discovery that led to glory in the Antarctic and to ultimate catastrophe in the Arctic. He explores the intertwined careers of the men who shared its journeys: the dashing James Clark Ross who charted much of the 'Great Southern Barrier' and oversaw some of the earliest scientific experiments to be conducted there; and the troubled John Franklin, who at the age of 60 and after a chequered career, commanded the ship on its final, disastrous expedition. And he vividly recounts the experiences of the men who first stepped ashore on Antarctica's Victoria Land, and those who, just a few years later, froze to death one by one in the Arctic wastes as rescue missions desperately tried to reach them."
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
I've listened to rather than read all the Jackson Brodie books and without exception all have been fine listens, this one included.
"Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and ageing Labrador Dido, both at the discretion of his former partner Julia. It's a picturesque setting, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes.
Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network - and back into the path of someone from his past. Old secrets and new lies intersect..."
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
My dad was a huge Tolkien fan; read Lord of the Rings every year, listened to the book every year on a set of cassettes that we had bought him and so embarking on a listen was quite the nostalgia trip. I almost think better listening than reading with the beautiful singing of the songs by narrator Rob Inglis. Tom Bombadil comes to life in a way he never quite did in the book for me and I can see exactly why he was my dad's favourite character.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I'm listening to this while I stitch the Knot Garden quilt as revision before the third and final part The Mirror and the Light is published on March 5th 2020. I'm about half way and am finding so much to notice that I feel sure may be relevant in that final book. It's also good to be reminded (as if I needed it) what a meticulous and thorough writer Hilary Mantel is.
Hours of very enjoyable listening and who knew I'd done that much sewing. If you have listened to any of these please do share your thoughts...
And please do recommend any more audio books that you have enjoyed and that will see me through more sewing marathons.
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