Jeffrey Archers ‘A Prisoner Of Birth’ pays homage to Alexander Dumas classic adventure tale ‘The Count Of Monte Cristo’ and it is safe to say Dumas fans will not be disappointed! ‘A Prisoner Of Birth’ tells the story of four friends from Cambridge University (who refer to themsleves as the ‘three musketeers’) and their plan to frame their friend Danny Cartwright for the murder of Dannys brother in law to be Bernie Wilson. Danny ends up facing a twenty-two year long life sentence in a maximum security prison, ‘Belmarsh’, but ends up being lucky enough to share his cell with Sir Nicholas Moncrieff, who teaches him to read and write. Danny manages to escape by impersonating him and begins his plot to exact revenge on the people who wronged him. Read more

This is a particularly interesting audio book series that I believe spans several weeks and essentially sets itself out as a bite sized guide to business success that works on a day to day model. I’ve listened to week 1 so far, and I have to say I am quite a fan of the format. Provided that you disregard the slightly worrying advertising that promises that the series will “reprogram” your brain in order to make you a better business program, there’s a wealth of information to be had that will be useful to most if not all of its target audience. Basically the first week seems to set out to teach you how to dress, behave and talk like an entrepreneur, which for most on the surface will seem like a good thing, especially if you’re coming from a different profession and have no experience in the business world. Read more

My feelings about this audio book are mixed, and that is because ultimately I think whether you find this book useful or not is a subjective matter. What this means is that for some people this book will feel like a revelation and will possibly have a positive impact upon their lives, whilst for others it may feel like a self-important, banal waste of time that feels hard to connect with. How you feel about this book will depend on a number of factors, and I won’t presume to delineate exactly what these factors will be, but personality and self-confidence will have a lot to do with it. Read more

As a big fan of Dawn French, I was concerned that I may not enjoy her autobiography quite as much as some of her brilliant work. Luckily for me I was not disappointed! Her talent for great comedy and story telling really shines through in this honest, funny and, at some points, heart breaking book. We get given a close look into her relationships with the most important people in her life including her parents, daughter, friends and of course her comic husband Lenny Henry. Dawn French leaves nothing out of her book and is very open about all the most important points in her life including her highs such as her influences in comedy and at some points, harrowing lows including the tragic death of her father. This gives the reader a chance to feel as if they know Dawn French on a more personal level. Read more

Previously released under the title ‘Q&A’, the story of Slumdog Millionaire has become an international sensation following Danny Boyle’s critically acclaimed film of the same name. Vikas Swarup’s uplifting yet somewhat disturbing book was written in only an incredible two months and brings to life the unique sights and sounds of Mumbai’s slums. Read more

One of my all time favorite books since I was a child has always been ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ I was delighted to hear that to mark its 50th anniversary, the entire series of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ had been made into an audio book. I have always felt that fantasy is the type of genre that works best in audio book form, mainly due to it’s imaginative writing and wonderfully descriptive language. Read more

John Lee Anderson’s book ‘Che Guevara – A Revolutionary Life’ is fantastically written and clearly very well researched. Che Guevara was a national hero and an adored rebel who dreamed of ending poverty and unfair treatment in Latin America and the developing world. Anderson details Che Guevara’s life and traces it from his happy upbringing in Argentina right through to the dangerous, dark battlefields of the Cuban Revolution. He delves into the most important moments of his life, including his failed campaign in the Congo to his Assassination in the Bolivian jungle. Read more

The self-proclaimed comedy genius that is Ricky Gervais returns – aided and abetted by two erstwhile cohorts, Stephen Merchant, co-writer of The Office and Karl Pilkington, producer of The Ricky Gervais Show – for this first in a new “Ricky Gervais Guide to…” series of audio books. “Medicine” is an in-depth, frank – in the sense that it is liberally interspersed with expletives – discussion of the history of medicine and medical practices from prehistory to the modern day, presented by the layman for the layman, as it were. Read more

Devil may care is the latest in the cool, action fueled James Bond series, but this time it has been written by Sebastien Faulks rather than Ian Flemming. And Faulks has certainly captured Flemming’s unique style of writing in this exhilarating book. Read more

The first book of Stephenie Meyer’s delightfully original Twilight series has been powerfully brought to life on audio book by Ilyana Kadushin. The dark romance tells the story of a young woman’s experience of moving to a new school and the characters she meets along the way. Bella soon develops an intense relationship with a fellow student named Edward and becomes fascinated by him after he mysteriously saves her from a traffic accident. Read more