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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">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. 

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

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 written by Emilie and narrated by Jody O’Neill, published by Hamish Hamilton
• Good Sex, a play written by Emilie, produced by Dead Centre, and directed by Ben Kidd
• Small: On motherhoods, a memoir written by Claire Lynch, published by Octopus Publishing Group
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Virginia Woolf

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 condition, 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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">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. 

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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">https://www.listening-books.org.uk/gift-membership 

Who Are We? 

The Listening Books Podcast is hosted by audio producer Jessica Stone and is produced by 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. books.org.uk">www.listening-books.org.uk

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 Pastoral, A Shepherd’s Life

Lark Rise to Candleford Trilogy, Flora Thompson: Lark Rise, Over to Candleford, Candleford Green 

The Brensham Trilogy, John Moore: Portrait of Elmbury, Brensham Village, The Blue Field

Children’s Books

BB (Denys Watchkins-Pitchford): The Little Grey Men, Down the Bright Stream

Ronald Welch’s novels

Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman and post-Roman novels*

Memoirs & Diaries

Blue Remembered Hills, Rosemary Sutcliff

A Late Beginner, Priscilla Napier

A Sort of Life, Graham Green

Roald Dahl: Boy, Going Solo

The House of Elric, Gavin Maxwell

Giving Up the Ghost, Hilary Mantel

Conundrum, Jan Morris

Nella Last’s War, Nella Last

Recommended Audiobooks

Richard Crompton’s Just William series, read by Martin Jarvis

Anthony Trollope: The Barsetshire Chronicles, The Pallisers, read by *Timothy West

Will She Do, Eileen Atkins, read by the author

In My Mind’s Eye: A Thought Diary, Jan Morris, read by Phyllida Nash

A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth

For more information about Slightly Foxed, visit foxedquarterly.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 books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership">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. 

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 Candice Carty-Williams 

I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown 

Jessica is reading:

Home Stretch by Graham Norton 

The Master by Colm Toibín 

The Magician by Colm Toibín 

Ulysses by James Joyce as read by Friends of Shakespeare and Company Read Ulysses 

Who Are We? 

Edward Herring is Membership Support Officer at Listening Books. Amy Flinders is Publisher Relations Manager. And Jessica Stone is Audio Producer, and host of the Listening Books Podcast. 

For more information about Listening Books, whether you’re interested in our Sound Learning initiative or our collaboration with PressPreader, head to books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership"> 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. 

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 

 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman 

 The Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick 

Crooked Heart, Lissa Evans 

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig 

A Streetcat Named Bob, James Bowen 

The audiobooks bringing Jessica joy 

Light a Penny Candle, Maeve Binchy 

Circle of Friends, Maeve Binchy 

The Frayed Atlantic Edge, David Gange (You can hear Jess’s conversation with David in an earlier episode) 

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Judith Kerr (You can hear Jess’s conversation with narrator Helen Barford in an earlier episode)  

Who Are We? 

Edward Herring is Membership Support Officer at Listening Books. Amy Flinders is Publisher Relations Manager. And Jessica Stone is Audio Producer, and of course, host of The Listening Books Podcast. 

For more information about Listening Books, whether you’re interested in our Sound Learning initiative or our collaboration with PressPreader, head to books.org.uk">www.listening-books.org.uk. To purchase a gift membership, go directly to books.org.uk/gift-membership"> 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. 

‘I have to say as an editor, I was very pleased when I saw “flensing”. I thought, “Yes exactly! That’s exactly . . . Hurrah! Yes!”

Publisher Cherry Potts from Arachne Press and indigenous Mexican Latinx author Marina Sánchez talk with Jess about the newly published anthology Where We Find Ourselves: Stories and Poems of Maps and Mapping from UK Writers of the Global Majority.

The poems you hear are Geography Lesson, by Marina Sánchez, read by Marina Sánchez; and Departure Lounge, by Rhiya Pau, read by Farhana Khalique.

Marina recommends the Zapotec poet Irma Pineda, and Cherry recommends Jay Bernard’s debut collection of poetry, Surge.

***

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. 

For more information about Listening Books, whether you’re interested in our Sound Learning initiative or our collaboration with PressPreader, head to books.org.uk/">www.listening-books.org.uk.