Wibbo's Words

April's entertainment

Secret Service [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Tom Bradby, narrated by Juliet Aubrey

The Great Train Robbery [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Michael Crichton, narrated by Michael Kitchen

The Body in the Library (Miss Marple) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Agatha Christie, narrated by Stephanie Cole

A Pocketful of Rye (Miss Marple) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Agatha Christie, narrated by Joan Hickson

And Then There Were None [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Agatha Christie, narrated by Hugh Fraser

How to be a Footballer [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Peter Crouch, narrated by Peter Crouch

Lockdown [Kindle Edition] by Peter May

The Snowdonia Killings (A Snowdonia Murder Mystery)  [Kindle Edition] by Simon McCleave

The Harlech Beach Killings (A Snowdonia Murder Mystery)  [Kindle Edition] by Simon McCleave

The Dee Valley Killings (A Snowdonia Murder Mystery)  [Kindle Edition] by Simon McCleave

No Place to Die [Kindle Edition] by Neil Broadfoot

March's entertainment

A Silent Death [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Peter May, narrated by Peter Forbes

The Guest List [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Lucy Foley, narrated by Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble, Aoife McMahon

Original Sin [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by P. D. James, narrated by Daniel Weyman

The Lantern Men (Ruth Galloway Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Elly Griffiths, narrated by Jane McDowell

The Prisoner of Zenda [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Anthony Hope, narrated by Peter Joyce

The Mirror and the Light (Wolf Hall #3) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Ben Miles

Penshaw (DCI Ryan Mystery) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by L. J. Ross, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

The Quartet Murders (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery #2) [Kindle Edition] by J. R. Ellis

The Murder at Redmire Hall (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery #3) [Kindle Edition] by J. R. Ellis

The Catch (A Slough House Novella) [Kindle Edition] by Mick Herron

Three Rivers [Kindle Edition] by David Blake

The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) [Kindle Edition] by Ann Cleeves

Staying at home

i don't really mind staying at home (I'm over 70, so being very cautious about Covid-19). Self-isolation feels rather like working freelance from home which I did for many years but this time it's without the work! 

My studio table is tidy and today's plan is to get out the pdf sewing patterns that I've printed on paper and stick the pages together. I'm in need of new clothes and have lots of fabric washed and ready to cut out.

Apart from sewing clothes, I have plenty here to keep me occupied and happy. Music, books, audiobooks are all essential to my mood (thank goodness for Spotify, Kindle, Audible and library apps) and there's a sizeable yarn stash to keep my fingers busy.

February's entertainment

Black Summer (Washington Poe #2) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by MW Craven, narrated by John Banks

How the Dead Speak (Carol Jordan/Tony Hill #11) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Val McDermid, narrated by Saul Reichlin

Familiar Rooms in Darkness [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Caro Fraser, narrated by Steven Crossley

The Scarlet Pimpernel [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Baroness Orczy, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

King Solomon's Mines [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by H Rider Haggard, narrated by Toby Stephens

Princes at War [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Deborah Cadbury, narrated by Cameron Stewart

Wolf Hall [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Slater

Bring up the Bodies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Vance

Come and Find Me (DI Marnie Rome #5) [Kindle Edition] by Sarah Hilary

All the Rage (DI Fawley Series) [Kindle Edition] by Cara Hunter

A House Divided [Kindle Edition] by Rachel McLean

Too Close to Breathe [Kindle Edition] by Olivia Kiernan

The Couple Next Door [Kindle Edition] by Shari Lapena

The Body in the Dales (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery #1) [Kindle Edition] by JR Ellis

January's entertainment

Operation Mincemeat [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Ben Macintyre, narrated by John Lee

Catch and Kill  [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ronan Farrow, narrated by Ronan Farrow

Cast Iron (Enzo Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Peter May, narrated by Peter Forbes

Solitaire (Clara Vine Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Jane Thynne, narrated by Julie Teal

The Devil's Edge (Cooper/Fry Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Stephen Booth, narrated by Mike Rodgers

The Stranger Inside [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Lisa Unger, narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla and Vivienne Leheny

The Order of the Day [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Eric Vuillard, narrated by Leighton Pugh

Wakenhyrst [Kindle Edition] by Michelle Paver

The Quaker [Kindle Edition] by Liam McIlvanney

The Never Game (Colter Shaw 1) [Kindle Edition] by Jeffrey Deaver

Half a year of books: audiobooks

For several years, I've listed books/ebooks/unabridged audiobooks that I've read/listened to on Pinterest. No reviews, just pictures of the covers so I could remember titles and avoid duplicates. In the first half of 2019, I listed 64 titles. For some reason, books/ebooks I listed from Amazon were linked through to 'Amazon Fashion'. I've always been able to delete unwanted links; now I can't. So it's goodbye Pinterest...

These are the remaining audiobooks of Books 2019: 

London Rules (Slough House Series 5) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Mick Herron, narrated by Sean Barrett

Joe Country (Slough House Series 6) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Mick Herron, narrated by Sean Barrett

The Infirmary [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by L J Ross, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

The Siren [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Silence [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Backs [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Book of Mirrors [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by E O Chirovici, narrated by Corey Brill, George Newbern, Jonathan Todd Ross, Pete Simonelli

Me [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Elton John, narrated by Elton John, Taron Egerton

Well of the Winds [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Denzil Meyrick, narrated by David Monteath

In a House of Lies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ian Rankin, narrated by James Macpherson

The Cobra [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Frederick Forsyth, narrated by John Chancer

Dark Winter [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Mark, narrated by Toby Longworth

The Quest for Queen Mary [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by James Pope-Hennessy, narrated by Tim Bentinck, Gareth Armstrong

The Brothers York [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Thomas Penn, narrated by Roy McMillan

Original Skin [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Mark, narrated by Toby Longworth

The Stone Circle [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Elly Griffiths, narrated by Jane McDowell

A Dying Breed [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Peter Hanington, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

Travellers in the Third Reich [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Julia Boyd, narrated by Stephanie Racine

The Fourth Friend (Jackman and Evans 3) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Joy Ellis, narrated by  Richard Armitage

Sweet Little Lies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Caz Frear, narrated by Jane Collingwood

Voodoo Histories [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Aaronovitch, narrated by James Langton

The Wall [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by John Lanchester, narrated by Will Poulter

The Night Manager [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by John Le Carre, narrated by Michael Jayston

The Nuremberg Trial [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ann and John Tusa, narrated by Ralph Cosham

Taking up where I left off

I thought I would take up blogging again where I left off in 2018. It's hard to believe that more than a year has gone past since my last post, in spite of lots of good intentions on my part. I'm a bit of an expert at putting-off-stuff-until-tomorrow.

So, what's been happening here? Nothing of note really - it's been one of those fallow years where I've felt as if I've been marking time rather than forging ahead. I've read a lot of books and listened to countless audiobooks while despairing about the state of this country and the government. And I feel it's only going to get worse after January 31.

In other news, I'm beavering away on several new knitting and crochet designs. There has been much swatching.

The models are now finished but instructions still need bashing into shape before the patterns are tech edited and tested. Why does everything take an age?

Best of 2018, part one

I listened to a lot of audiobooks this year, partly because I've been busy doing hours and hours of sample knitting for new designs.

My audiobooks of the year are Chris Ould's Faroes Trilogy, The Blood Strand, The Killing Bay and The Fire Pit. Matt Addis gets a special mention for his superb narration.

My top two fiction choices are William Shaw's Salt Lane and John Harvey's Body & Soul - both excellent reads.

Non-fiction best-of-the-year are The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre, and Viking Britain, Thomas Williams.

Listening

I listen to a lot of audiobooks; they're perfect listening while I work.  I have an Audible subscription and also download audiobooks from Brighton & Hove Libraries free BorrowBox service. There's list of this year's books (including physical books, e-books and audiobooks) on Pinterest.

This audiobook is my best non-fiction listen so far this year; it's an incredible story that sounds like a good spy novel but it's all true. 

 

Back in the land of the living....

Well, I'm almost there after three weeks of flu. My hacking cough has gone, I no longer have a head full of cotton wool and food tastes like food instead of cardboard!

In other news, I'm working my way through all the Harry Potter audiobooks again. I've nearly finished Book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and  thoroughly enjoying them. Stephen Fry is a genius narrator and makes the books perfect knitting listening.

Two other things - I'm seriously delighted that the wonderful Def Leppard have released their back catalogue on Spotify (other streaming services are available...) and the new Magnum album sounds pretty good after a couple of listens. I love my music!

Best of 2017, part one

Best audiobook of 2017 has to be The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, all 50 hours of it, even though I've read the book several times before. Ignore the rubbish cover, this is a wonderful retelling of the Arthurian legends and it's beautifully narrated. Oh, and I'd forgotten what a irritating drip Guinevere is. Honourable mention of 2017 goes to What Does This Button Do? written and read by Bruce Dickinson. I'm not an Iron Maiden fan but after hearing Mr D reading extracts on the radio I figured I would take a chance on the audiobook. Absolutely brilliant and very, very funny.

Best book of 2017 was any one of William Shaw's Breen and Tozer books, all set in 1960s London. I bought the first one, A Song from Dead Lips, after reading a review and liked it so much that I bought the rest of the series and read them straight after each other. Interesting characters and his take on 1960s London is spot on. I'm now waiting for his next book, Salt Lane (not in this series), due to be published in May 2018.