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A Peaceful Retirement (Penguin Audiobooks)

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by: Miss Read

September 30, 1996
A change in direction with not only retirement but marriage proposals as well for my most loved fictional character. With all of the Fairacre books, a book I have read over and over - only with particular sadness as it appears that this may be the final book. I found the illustrations a bit off putting - part of my love of Miss Read's books are due to J Goodall's beautiful illustrations - not that these are bad, just not what previous readers may be used to. My only complaint is that it is too short!

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Paperweight: v.2: Vol 2

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by: Stephen Fry

November 05, 2007
A change in direction with not only retirement but marriage proposals as well for my most loved fictional character. With all of the Fairacre books, a book I have read over and over - only with particular sadness as it appears that this may be the final book. I found the illustrations a bit off putting - part of my love of Miss Read's books are due to J Goodall's beautiful illustrations - not that these are bad, just not what previous readers may be used to. My only complaint is that it is too short!

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia/The Red-Headed League/A Case of Identity/The Boscombe Valley Mystery. Four Classic Stories with ... Williams Vol 1 (BBC Radio Collection)

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by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

May 02, 2000
The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the wonderful writings of Arthur Conan Doyle have always been a great passion of mine. Stories filled with suspense, atmosphere, love; every strain of human life. Add to the pot the greatest detective ever to roam the pages of crime literature and you have a potent cocktail.
Reading the stories over and over is a joy to behold, sadly listening to most audio tape interpretations is not.Usually some acheingly dull bore will laboriously read every word onto tape without the least hint of excitement in his voice. I wanted smoke filled rooms, a cold dark London full of Hanson carriages, with the taste of danger and crime ever present, different actors playing every role.
Thankfully BBC Radio ... Read More:

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The Lord of the Flies (Penguin/Faber audiobooks)

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by: William Golding

July 22, 1996
I spent years looking for a book that would make me forget everything around me and I finally found this. Golding's story is absolutely gripping and of huge interest as it explores the dark depths of human nature. Here you can see how humanity disintegrates outside formal social bounderies.

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Great Expectations: Starring Douglas Hodge & Geraldine McEwan (BBC Classic Collection)

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by: Charles Dickens

November 07, 1994
I have to admit that this is the first book by Charles Dickens that I have read. Of course, I know all the stories but have never read one, even at school. So I found myself being intrigued by what I appeared to be missing in successful novels and authors so I thought it about time that I took one up. I know this is an old classic with many reviews and many great admirers but I will just write my review based on what I thought of the story. I took an immediate dislike to the main character Pip but I can't really say why. I found him to be selfish and the part that he played with the convict was only because he was scared not to help. I found it confusing that each character seemed to have different names depending on who is refereeing to them. Great ... Read More:

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Winnie the Pooh: Starring Judi Dench & Cast (Winnie the Pooh)

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by: A A Milne

July 07, 1997

This book is just a wonderful collection of such charming stories. My eldest son is nearly 6 years and a fairly prolific reader but we have struggled to find books with enough words to challenge him but age appropriate storylines. Having not read Winnie the Pooh as a child myself I was a little sceptical but the stories are wonderful. The humour is gentle, the stories a delight, the text beautifully written. My eldest reads the book to himself, I read it to his younger brother. In short, we love it.

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Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Five Orange Pips/The Man with the Twisted Lip/The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle/The Adventure of the Speckled Band. ... Williams Vol 2 (BBC Radio Collection)

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by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

February 04, 1991
This compilation is excellent. The four stories dramatised:- The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle and The Adventure of the Speckled Band are all superb. They manage to be both highly intriguing and original. I have never regretted purchasing the recordings and would have no hesistation in recommending them to anyone. They are a delight to listen to.

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The Colour of Magic (Discworld)

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by: Terry Pratchett

November 01, 1993
This is certainly not one to start the series with if you are new to Terry Pratchett - it is thematically quite different (which is understandable considering that it's the first of his Discworld books) and rather rough in parts. It's certainly one to read once you're familiar with the world, but you'd be better off starting with something like Mort or Soul Music to get a better flavour of what Discworld is all about.

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Talking Heads: No.2 (BBC Radio Collection)

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by: Alan Bennett

October 05, 1998
The topics covered are similar to TH 1 but they are explored in different ways.

Again Bennett is ahead of his time, for example his portrayal of child abuse.

Throughout all of them we feel that the monologue is the only voice the subjects have and that they cannot talk to anyone else about the saddness in their lives. We are left feeling sympathy and pain for the charatcters.

Above all this is of high Bennett standard and the style awards no surprises.

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The Sign of The Four

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by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

August 03, 1998
The 2nd Sherlock Holmes novel follows in much the same vein as the first, with another mystery of revenge and murder for Holmes to unravel, though unlike in 'A Study in Scarlet' Doyle manages to keep his main character centre-stage for the most part this time. The expansion of Holmes includes the introduction of his drug use and flair for disguise, while Dr Watson gains a (slightly melodramatically concluded) love affair.

An engrossing plot and some fine writing makes this another winner.