Joy

I believe 'one should' read Virginia Woolf and this was a painless way to peruse her thoughts and views expressed in fiction. It was maybe to highbrow for me, though, and a relief when it was done.

This takes us right into the 3G of medieval living - families, forests, beasts and beliefs. T.H.White gives us layers of perspective and wisdom and fantasy. Beautifully written and harmoniously read.

Simon Vance reads the humour between the lines of Trollope's classics in a way that keeps me wanting more. Many threads come together in this 3rd volume, and many also begin here. The rich smorgasbord of characters also offer a great listen, and re-listen.

What fun! A young blue stocking standing up to Sherlock Holmes and engaging his, and my, interest!

The dour, oh so confident Sherlock Holmes excited, challenged, even caring! Delicious. And by 'the child' Mary, for who's life and being he demands respect "Do NOT use her name!" These are character who draw me in! Loved this vignette, and am starting this series with confidence and delight. The wisdom of bees and the overlapping rules of bee keeping and investigation are fun and thought provoking!

I would be so glad to dive into this series, it is covers a central part of my history and includes social and emotional and political understanding. I'm aware of the people who lived this season of our history slipping over the horizon with all they lived and knew, as the decades pass. And they lived it without self pity or over-analysis, so a considered and nuanced understanding of life and it's meanings then is valuable to us now.

Why I stopped listening was from a sense of irritation, it felt arrogant and pointless. This is a clever book, intelligently written; for me, though, truly good reading and intelligent writing naturally include a dimension which adds value to the reader.Cynicism without the leaven of love for the protagonists, as I see it, undervalues the human condition which I love.

Although I've read this book through several times, listening to it was a novel (sorry) experience. Each word entered my mind more clearly, each word chosen with care, and built the sensory drama of life all around me.

I enjoyed the author's reading of her own work very much. I remembered having read her essay "taming the two-humped beast,' if I remember right, about writing this book. She generated for me a lavish sense of summer and of the inter-connectedness of all life; deeply refreshing from my arid plot in the now cold, grey Karoo winter.

Emma is my favourite Jane Austen, and Richard Baker is classical BBC. Combined they make a restful and humurous listening experience. From the copyright information at the start I imagine this was read for the Wrens to listen to during WWI; a very connecting experience. I'm glad I chose this version to hear.

Oh this so-called historical romance is to be avoided at all costs. It is neither historical nor romantic, but literally a bodice ripper. I ripped my bodice in desperation at the lack of historical research, the silliness of the story and the hilarious mistakes in language, such as:that will take him down "a peg or three!"

No, I didn't finish it.

Not a minute of listening wasted in the unfolding of this detailed and complex tale. This classic had passed me by in my youth, but is worth all the hours of thought and exploration and listening invested now! Beautifully paced and expressed, read with clarity and compassion, this book has enriched my life.