I Think the Nurses Are Stealing My Clothes (AudioBook 2 x CD) by Linda Smith

$40.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

"One of the smartest, funniest and most sweet-natured people I ever encountered! Her voice lit up Radio 4's News Quiz, she was brilliant on QI and she tirelessly travelled the UK as one of the most respected and loved comics on the circuit." Stephen Fry Stephen Fry spoke for much of middle England w hen he responded to the news of Linda Smith's tragic death of cancer, aged 48. Linda was the brilliant mainstay of Radio 4s The News Quiz, Just a Minute, and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue for many years. She was just establishing her career on TV through blistering performances on Have I Got News for You, QI and Room 101, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In this brilliant anthology Linda's fans can now hear original recordings of her live performances, never before heard by the public, compiled and edited by her partner of twenty-three years, Warren Lakin, and with links narrated by Hattie Hayridge. These recordings were made for her own private use, and this is the definitive collection of Linda's work on audio. Two CDs. Running time approx 2 hours. ...Show more

Talking Heads 2 : Alan Bennett (AudioBook 3 x CD) by Alan Bennett

$35.00 NZD

$39.99 (12% off)

Category: AudioBooks

Television soundtracks of Alan Bennett's poignant, observant monologues. This second group of monologues from Alan Bennett retains the gripping stories, intensity of delivery and masterly style of the originals. The suburban normality of the world his characters inhabit once again belies their lives of secrets, revelations, fears, crimes and passions. They tell their stories, and in doing so reveal more than they know of the humour, passion and sadness of their lives. Alongside the original pieces, these superb monologues form one of the great contributions to television drama. Included in this collection is: Miss Fozzard Finds her Feet, with Patricia Routledge; The Hand of God, with Eileen Atkins; Playing Sandwiches, with David Haig; The Outside Dog, with Julie Walters; Nights in the Gardens of Spain, with Penelope Wilton; Waiting for the Telegram, with Thora Hird. Running Time: 3 hrs 20 mins 3 audio-CDs ...Show more

An Equal Music by Vikram Seth

$59.99 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

Michael is a violinist from Rochdale. He plays in a trio in Vienna with Julia, a pianist, and they are much taken with each other. But the trio splits up and they go their separate ways. One day in London, from the top of a double-decker bus, Michael catches a glimpse of Julia. They eventually meet up, and she tells him that she is contentedly married and has a child. Michael persuades her to visit Vienna and Venice with him. He discovers that Julia has become deaf, though her deafness comes and goes. When Michael reads a letter from Julia to her husband, he realises that Julia is never going to give herself to him. ...Show more

Eat, Pray, Love (5 x audio CD)

$40.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

It's 3 a.m. and Elizabeth Gilbert is sobbing on the bathroom floor. She's in her thirties, she has a husband, a house, they're trying for a baby - and she doesn't want any of it. A bitter divorce and a turbulent love affair later, she emerges battered and bewildered and realises it is time to pursue her own journey in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance. So she travels to Rome, where she learns Italian from handsome, brown-eyed identical twins and gains twenty-five pounds, an ashram in India, where she finds that enlightenment entails getting up in the middle of the night to scrub the temple floor, and Bali where a toothless medicine man of indeterminate age offers her a new path to peace: simply sit still and smile. And slowly happiness begins to creep up on her. ...Show more

Maggie Smith: A Biography by Michael Coveney

$55.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

No one does glamour, severity, girlish charm or tight-lipped witticism better than Dame Maggie Smith, one of Britain's best-loved actors. This new biography shines the stage-lights on the life and career of a truly remarkable performer, one whose stage and screen career spans six decades. From her days as a West End star of comedy and revue, Dame Maggie's path would cross with those of the greatest actors, playwrights and directors of the era. Whether stealing scenes from Richard Burton (by his own admission), answering back to Laurence Olivier, or impressing Ingmar Bergman, her career can be seen as a 'Who's Who' of British theatre in the twentieth century. This book also covers the little-known period in Canada, a prolific five-season run of leading roles that took place during the height of her success in Hollywood, soon after she won her first Oscar for her signature film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Recently Dame Maggie has been prominent on our screens as ever, with high-profile roles as Violet Crawley, the formidable Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the phenomenally successful television series Downton Abbey, and as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise: what she herself describes as 'Miss Jean Brodie in a wizard's hat'. Yet paradoxically she remains an enigmatic figure, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Michael Coveney's absorbing biography, written with the actress's blessing and drawing on personal archives, as well as interviews with immediate family and close friends, is therefore as close as it gets to seeing the real Maggie Smith. ...Show more

At Home: A Short History of Private Life CD by Bill Bryson

$48.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

In "At Home", Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made "A Short History of Nearly Everything" one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating books ever written a bout the history of the way we live. Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business - eating, sleeping and merely endeavouring to get more comfortable. And that most of the key discoveries for humankind can be found in the very fabric of the houses in which we live. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, wandering from room to room considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way he did a prodigious amount of research on the history of anything and everything, from architecture to electricity, from food preservation to epidemics, from the spice trade to the Eiffel Tower, from crinolines to toilets; and on the brilliant, creative and often eccentric minds behind them. And he discovered that, although there may seem to be nothing as unremarkable as our domestic lives, there is a huge amount of history, interest and excitement - and even a little danger - lurking in the corners of every home. This is an abridged version and read by the author. ...Show more

Living a Life of Inner Peace (2CD Set)

$40.00 NZD

Category: Buddhism & Mindfulness

For Eckhart Tolle and the millions whose lives he's touched, words that are spoken from a state of presence can carry seekers into that same state, the basis for all true spiritual teachings. Beyond the information that is being conveyed, something deeper happens. For the listener, a field of alert stil lness arises where before there was mental noise, signaling the entry to a state of presence that precedes transformation. While Tolle's writing is not simple, he does not "speak down" to his audience in any way — his talks are far more informal, relaxed, and funny. Tolle makes people laugh at themselves, with the result being powerfully effective therapy. Living a Life of Inner Peace records one of Tolle's most moving, transformative talks. For those new to his teachings, this is an ideal introduction. Those familiar with his work, including the bestsellers The Power of Now and Stillness Speaks, should be prepared for something extraordinary. ...Show more

Journey to the River Sea (Audio CD) by Eva Ibbotson

$45.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

It is 1910 - Maia, orphaned at 13, travels from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is very unhappy with her exceptionally bizarre new family but befriends Finn, a mysterious English boy who lives with the local Indians and shares her passio n for the jungle. Then Finn's past life catches up with him and they are forced to flee far upriver in a canoe, pursued by an assortment of brilliantly eccentric characters that only Eva Ibbotson could invent. ...Show more

War Horse (Audio CD) by Michael Morpurgo

$40.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

'War Horse' is the story of Joey, a thoroughbred horse, and how he is forced into the thick of the harrowing, poorly-led battles of the First World War.

The Thirteenth Tale (AudioBook CD) by Diane Setterfield

$55.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

Studious biographer Margaret Lea is shocked when she receives a letter from renowned novelist, Vida Winter. The inimitable Winter is aging and ill, and she beseeches Margaret to come to her home and hear her story. It is the unforgettable tale of the doomed and beautiful Angelfield family, and Lea is im mediately as captivated by the account as she is by her extraordinary storyteller. But she is also skeptical, and becomes determined to discover how much of this tragic story is real. As Margaret gets closer to ascertaining the truth, she must also reconcile her own hidden family secrets. Beautifully atmospheric and haunting, this inspired first novel is reminiscent of classic works such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights , and is certain to take its place among them as a timeless masterpiece. ...Show more

When God Was a Rabbit

$37.00 NZD

Category: AudioBooks

WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT is an incredibly exciting debut from an extraordinary new voice in fiction. Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhoo d and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to its bare bones, it's about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister. ...Show more

Grumpy Old Women (AudioBook) by Judith Holder

$35.00 NZD

$37.99 (7% off)

Category: AudioBooks

Move over Grumpy Old Men - it's time for the Grumpy Old Women to have their say in this hilarious guide, read by the narrator of the BBC TV series Alison Steadman. Ok, enough is enough. Grumpy Old Men have had their turn at complaining and now the Grumpy Old Women are taking over. It's about time the wo rld knew what struggles and trials they have to go through. Not only do they multi-task in double figures every day, they have to learn to cope with their changing bodies (it's just not possible to wear kitten heels and sexy clothes without looking like a tart) and all those domestic goddesses don't help. And on top of all that, a lot them have their very own Grumpy Old Man to deal with. Sandwiched between the spoilt, lazy youth of today and the next generation up, these women are properly fed up. But they are also experienced, wise and serene, and it's about time their tirade against the world and their pearls of wisdom about coping with life's problems were heard. Especially as these women are really rather funny as well. As Sheila Hancock says, 'Who wants to be dreary old Snow White doing the housework when you can get all the laughs as Grumpy?' And, laugh you will. ...Show more