Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Author: Roald Dahl

Reader: Eric Idle

Short Review: Dahl’s award-winning children’s book read wonderfully by Eric Idle.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Reader: Stephen Briggs

Short Review: Another very entertaining Discworld novel read wonderfully by Stephen Briggs. This story follows forcible-reformed former con-artist Moist von Lipwig (a.k.a. Albert Spangler) as he attempts to reform the Ankh-Morpork post office at the behest of Lord Vetinari. The story teems with great characters, intrigue, technomancy, bureaucracy, golems, ponzi schemes, small gods, mail, stamps, secret societies, and a pirate.

Thud! by Terry Pratchett

Reader: Stephen Briggs

Short Review: This fun, funny, and often thoughtful story follows Sam Vimes as he investigates the murder of dwarven leader Grag Hamcrusher. Vimes is a father and husband, an unwilling member of the nobility, Commander of the watch, and a good old copper. He is pressured into hiring the first Vampire on the watch and has to manage religious and racial tensions between humans, vampires, werewolves, igors, dwarfs, and trolls while simultaneously solving a murder and preventing the outbreak of a troll v. dwarf war. The book is read by the wonderful Stephen Briggs, a regular reader for Pratchett’s books and one of my absolute favorite audiobook narrators.

The Young Wan by Brendan O’Carroll

 The Young Wan  Author: Brendan O’Carroll  Reader: Donada Peters  Short Review: A sweet, funny prequel to O’Carroll’s earlier trilogy about Agnes Brown, read with great energy, humor, and personality by the incomparable Donada Peters.  Long Review: The Young Wan tells the story of Agnes Browne’s early life and her parents’ romance and marriage. Set in […]

A Hat Full of Sky: The Continuing Adventures of Tiffany Aching and The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Reader: Stephen Briggs

Short Review: If you loved Wee Free Men, you will love Hat Full of Sky. Same great reader – same fun mix of humor, youth, adventure and self-discovery. Tiffany Aching is now 11 and training with a mountain witch. She finds herself faced with a new opponent called a Hiver. It takes all her strength of will (plus the help of the Nac Mac Feegle and a number of other witches) to make it to the end of this entertaining story.

The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Reader: Stephen Briggs

Short Review: Fabulous and laugh-out-loud funny. Tiffany Aching, 9 year old witch-in-training, takes us on a wild ride to fairyland to rescue her baby brother and save the world from the evil queen. She has the help of the Nac Mac Feegle who happen to be 6 inch tall, fearless, phenomenally strong, kilt-wearing, blue-skinned, red-haired little men who speak with a strong Scottish brogue and are prone to thieving, drinking and fighting. Stephen Briggs reads this brilliantly. It is Terry Pratchett and Discworld at their best.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel Author: Susanna Clarke Reader: Simon Prebble Short Review: A gorgeously read version of a Hugo Award winning modern epic I absolutely love. Clarke’s novel is part Harry Potter, part Tolkein, part comedy of manners, and part historical fiction of the Napoleonic Wars. It’s long, detailed, engaging, and by […]

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

Mostly Harmless Author: Douglas Adams Reader: Martin Freeman Short Review: A good reading of my least favorite book in the series. Long Review: The disappearance of Fenchurch, the appearance of Random, the multiple Trillians–it’s all too much, and too dark to fit well into the series. Adams himself was open about his disappointment in the […]

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Author: Douglas Adams Reader: Martin Freeman Short Review: Another decent reading of a book I love, which suffers by comparison to the Stephen Frye reading of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Long Review: Er, fourth verse, same as the second? Thankfully, no. I love this series, […]

Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything Author: Douglas Adams Reader: Martin Freeman Short Review: Another decent reading of a book I love, which suffers by comparison to the Stephen Frye reading of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Long Review: My opinions on this audiobook are, sensibly, quite similar to my opinions on The Restaurant at […]

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Author: Douglas Adams Reader: Martin Freeman Short Review: A decent reading of a book I love, which suffers by comparison to the Stephen Frye reading of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Long Review: I love this series, as I mentioned in my review of The Hitchhiker’s […]

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Short Review: A great reading of one of my favorite goofy novels.