The Atheist's Guide to Christmas

By: Richard Dawkins, Simon Le Bon, Ariane Sherine - editor

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Simon Le Bon

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

The Atheist's Guide to Christmas is a fantastic listen that was edited by Ariane Sherine, who started the Atheist Bus Campaign in response to an evangelical Christian bus advertisement that gave the URL of a website "telling non-Christians they would spend 'all eternity in torment in hell'."

With the backing of Richard Dawkins, officially supporting the UK's first atheist advertising initiative, Sherine managed to compile a wonderful concoction of the world's most entertaining writers, scientists, comedians, and philosophers to read, perform, and narrate pieces that they had all written for the print book, which was published on October 1, 2009. This audio version is magnificent! It's funny, uplifting, and is read by all of the book's contributors, including Derren Brown, Richard Dawkins, Mitch Benn, Ben Goldacre, Simon Le Bon, Charlie Brooker, and David Baddiel.

©2009 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Can’t duplicate Brit humor

Great rants from our friends across the pond. As my title implies, the Brits have a patent on very good, dry humor...and is worth the time to bask in it's glory. Recommend reading!

Merry X-mas

I Thought this was amusing to hear stories from the lips of the people they belong to. How Christmas effected them, changed them, and the emotion and pain that came with some on the stories were enlightening.
Those stories of the people I knew may have been more enticing then those belonging to those that I didn't know, but didn't make the stories themselves much less enjoyable.
affordable enough to get even if you don't like it.

It was great!

What did you love best about The Atheist's Guide to Christmas?

I love listening to people read their own work!! Especially Richard Dawkins

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Listening to people read their own words

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Their tone

Great Listen.

This is a collection of stories, each story narrated by the person that wrote it. Some stories are better than others. Great all the way around. and so worth the 6 bucks. Keep em coming.

Brilliant

Entertaining and thought provoking. I Thoroughly enjoyed it. A few readers were a little dry and repetitive, otherwise no complaints.

Surprisingly good

I listened to several audio books from Audible pertaining to atheism and this was the best by far. Educational and funny!

Good Humor, Bad Audio

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It is worth a listen for the price, especially since there are so many good writers contributing to the book as a whole. Just don't set your expectations too high.

Would you recommend The Atheist's Guide to Christmas to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend the physical book over the audio book. The content is often very funny and well-written, though at some points it gets a little slow.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrators generally do a good job, and it is nice to hear the works being read by the authors. However, the wild swings in audio quality are enough to make you sea sick. One reader will sound clear and professionally recorded, while the next will sound like he is reading from the back of the church.

Do you think The Atheist's Guide to Christmas needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not necessarily this exact book, though it is always fun to have material on the topic in general.

I loved it

A series of short stories ranging from good to excellent, but worth it alone just for Richard Dawkins' contribution. His works are always top notch and this time he is also very funny. Hilarious in fact.
An instant favourite.

Fun(d) Raiser

This Guide was obviously an adjunct to a fund raising venture to assist the Terry Higgins Trust, a UK HIV charity. It is a collection of 42 (in honour of the late Douglas Adams) short essays read by the respective authors. This makes for an eclectic mix of style, quality and interest. Some were very entertaining listens; funny or thought provoking. I enjoyed Simon Singh's ode to star watching and Simon Le Bon's simple message of festive (secular) cheer, to name but two. Some are a bit dull and some downright annoying. Some are from the famous (Dawkins etal) and some are a bit unknown (at least to Australian audiences). But overall, it's a bit of fun and was for a worthy cause.
PS: I suggest that you listen at Christmas. It makes it more pertinent.
PSS: the last two essayists are repeated, so don't sit through the same thing twice by accident, like I did!

Delightful And Varied Perspectives

As an atheist, it is refreshing to read/hear that you're not alone during the 3-month Christmas season: Oct-Nov-Dec. The whole bus thing.... wish it had been where I am. As it is, I'm an atheist island in a sea of Xiams. So it gets rather lonely. It's nice then to hear kindred spirits and to know that I am not alone.