My BFFSWWFYE (best friend since we were four years old) just recommended the Louise Penney books to me, and I’ve finished listening to the first one. Loved it.
I just started Music and Silence. OMG. So good. I love Jenny Agutter, too. Listening to her read the book makes me want to watch the BBC Pride and Prejudice again.
So I will share my recommendation for Music and Silence which also has ACTUAL KNITTING CONTENT! in addition to its other merits.
The Secret Piano from Mao Labor Camp to Bach is a autobiography of a young girl attending the music conservatory during the Cultural Revolution in China.
I know, I know! Knitting is forbidden! Causes women to be . . . inattentive. What a hoot!
I just loved that. So many wonderful little quirks in this book, and this is one of the sweetest.
Someone on twitter posted a quote from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) today, and it was so perfect I went to Audible, listened to samples from several(!) recordings and then spent one of my treasured “credits” on an unabridged recording of the 3-volume work. Sure hope I love it - 20 hours of listening ought to be very helpful for the simple socks I’ll be casting on at the end of this week!
I recently finished Mrs. Queen Takes the Train. It was a fun, light listen: a fictional account of Queen Elizabeth sneaking out of the palace on an adventure. She does yoga in it!!!
A previous listen I should mention is Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia. I thoroughly enjoyed it; some people complained that it was just Downton Abbey repackaged (I don’t agree). Not particularly complex, so a good thing to knit to.
Lastly, Pride and Prejudice, read by Rosamund Pike. I’ve read the paper book a billion times, seen all the movies and I still cried buckets of joy at the end. Utterly brill.
I recently ate a particularly delicious orange.
One thing lead to another and now I’m listening to Commonwealth, written by Ann Patchett and read by Hope Davis.
I read the story when it was first published, but hearing it, anticipating what’s next and being reminded of a forgotten bit of the tale has been a great accompaniment to finishing the border of my little shawl…
Thanks for this. I read Commonwealth a long time ago and never thought of
listening to it. I am glued to a recliner recovering from shoulder
surgery. No knitting for 11 more weeks. Closing my eyes and listening to
Hope Davis read Ann Patchett is just what I need.
I just listened to Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward. It is divine. Also loving Preet Bahara’s podcast, if you are politically inclined.
I decided to give podcasts a try recently and I really like the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. I love having something to listen to while I knit. I’ve tried shows and movies, but I get distracted by the picture.
I’m a newbie here, but I love audiobooks & podcasts (and produce podcasts for a living!). The audiobook I listened to last winter - and I am still thinking about it - was The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale (I think?). It’s about a chimpanzee that gains the ability of speech and the book is set up as though he is dictating his memoir. There’s something very Humpert Humpert-esque (from Lolita) about his character. So, not entirely likable, which I find intriguing. Highly recommend!
Audiobooks and knitting is the best! All the enjoyment of TV and knitting without needing to look away from your fiddly cable pattern.
I absolutely adore the Cormoran Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (that’s Rowling’s crime pseudonym) - the stories are excellent and the audiobook narration is brilliant. I could listen to the narrator’s voice all day (and have, repeatedly). I went ahead and purchased a Morse audiobook last week just because the narrator is the same!
Other audiobook recs are “Born a Crime” (autobiography) by Trevor Noah, “American Gods” (fantasy) by Neil Gaiman, and “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” (urban fantasy…ish) by Neil Gaiman - all at least partly self-narrated; and Brian McClellan’s “Sins of Empire” and “Wrath of Empire” (the first 2 of an epic fantasy series)
Just finished those. They are great. I could listen to them again.
Podcast Wine & Crime. 3 women pair wine with my favorite addiction “Muder Porn”. https://wineandcrimepodcast.com/blog/ Each episode is about an hour long.
I just downloaded Overdrive and have been borrowing from our public library. I didn’t realize how important the reader is to the pleasure of listening to the book. I’ve borrowed and returned numerous books dissatisfied with the reader BUT finally found one that I enjoy listening to so am now beginning my adventure into the Dune series. Am about 6 hours into the first book and enjoy every minute of it. I also listen to the Yarniacs podcasts and watched/listen to Kristy Glass on Youtube, oh and I watch Joji Locatelli’s Youtube Journals all while knitting.
I borrow A LOT of interlibrary loan audiobooks, and I agree with you about the importance of the narrator. Now I always listen to the Sample before I borrow a book, unless I already know and enjoy the narrator. For example, I’m #41 on the wait list for Michelle Obama’s new book, and I won’t need to hear a sample on that one
Yes, I learned that lesson to listen to the sample first. I have Michelle Obama’s new book on the wait list and it’s set for FOURTEEN weeks
While waiting, I’ve been listening to her book about the vegetable gardens she created with schoolkids at the White House
I’m currently listening to “Becoming” and it is a beautifully written and narrated book. Michelle Obama is tremendous and I don’t want it to end.
Thanks. Will try it!