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Hear all the latest book previews, author interviews and audiobook extracts from Hodder & Stoughton.

  1. My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Benedict Cumberbatch eats meal worms

    10/09/2024

    My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Benedict Cumberbatch eats meal worms

    In his first memoir, beloved comedian and national treasure Bill Bailey shares stories of his life - and the animals he's met along the way. Bill Bailey has always had dogs, including a Patterdale terrier called Rocky who would travel with him in the van to his first shows and occasionally join him on stage. Fast forward a few decades and Bill has shared his home with a variety of birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons and an armadillo called Tommy. 'We even had a giant chicken, a huge Malay cockerel called Kid Creole. After a few stand-offs he took against me. He had to go in the end, I was being stalked in my own back garden.' That chicken apart, animals have always been at the heart of an extraordinary life as one of the nation's favourite comedians, actors, musicians and (thanks to Strictly) dancers: from terriers to the orangutans of Sumatra and the parrots that share his breakfast every morning in west London. Full of the leftfield humour, wit and wisdom that has made Bill Bailey such a beloved performer around the world, My Animals and Other Animals is the story of Bill's life; but more than that, it's the story of how all of our lives are enriched by the animals who accompany us on that journey.

    1 min
  2. My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Bill struggles with Brazil

    10/09/2024

    My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Bill struggles with Brazil

    In his first memoir, beloved comedian and national treasure Bill Bailey shares stories of his life - and the animals he's met along the way. Bill Bailey has always had dogs, including a Patterdale terrier called Rocky who would travel with him in the van to his first shows and occasionally join him on stage. Fast forward a few decades and Bill has shared his home with a variety of birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons and an armadillo called Tommy. 'We even had a giant chicken, a huge Malay cockerel called Kid Creole. After a few stand-offs he took against me. He had to go in the end, I was being stalked in my own back garden.' That chicken apart, animals have always been at the heart of an extraordinary life as one of the nation's favourite comedians, actors, musicians and (thanks to Strictly) dancers: from terriers to the orangutans of Sumatra and the parrots that share his breakfast every morning in west London. Full of the leftfield humour, wit and wisdom that has made Bill Bailey such a beloved performer around the world, My Animals and Other Animals is the story of Bill's life; but more than that, it's the story of how all of our lives are enriched by the animals who accompany us on that journey.

    1 min
  3. My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Bill writes a tongue twister

    10/09/2024

    My Animals and Other Animals, written and read by Bill Bailey - Bill writes a tongue twister

    In his first memoir, beloved comedian and national treasure Bill Bailey shares stories of his life - and the animals he's met along the way. Bill Bailey has always had dogs, including a Patterdale terrier called Rocky who would travel with him in the van to his first shows and occasionally join him on stage. Fast forward a few decades and Bill has shared his home with a variety of birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons and an armadillo called Tommy. 'We even had a giant chicken, a huge Malay cockerel called Kid Creole. After a few stand-offs he took against me. He had to go in the end, I was being stalked in my own back garden.' That chicken apart, animals have always been at the heart of an extraordinary life as one of the nation's favourite comedians, actors, musicians and (thanks to Strictly) dancers: from terriers to the orangutans of Sumatra and the parrots that share his breakfast every morning in west London. Full of the leftfield humour, wit and wisdom that has made Bill Bailey such a beloved performer around the world, My Animals and Other Animals is the story of Bill's life; but more than that, it's the story of how all of our lives are enriched by the animals who accompany us on that journey.

    1 min
  4. HAZARDOUS SPIRITS by Anbara Salam, read by Samara MacLaren - audiobook extract

    10/03/2023

    HAZARDOUS SPIRITS by Anbara Salam, read by Samara MacLaren - audiobook extract

    A gothic literary mystery set in 1920s Edinburgh, Hazardous Spirits whisks the listener away to a world of seances and spiritualism. Edinburgh, 1923. Evelyn Hazard is a young woman living a comfortable and unremarkable middle-class life. One day, her quiet existence is shattered when her steady, reliable husband Robert makes a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead. As the couple are pulled into the spiritualist movement that emerged following the mass deaths caused by the First World War and the Spanish Flu, Evelyn's life becomes increasingly unsettled as dark secrets from her past threaten to surface. Faced with the prospect of losing all that is dear to her, Evelyn finds herself asking: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman or - most frighteningly - is he telling the truth? A gothic literary mystery, written in sparkling prose, Hazardous Spirits evokes the spirit of 1920s Edinburgh, in all its bohemian vibrancy.

    1 min
  5. HAZARDOUS SPIRITS by Anbara Salam, read by Samara MacLaren - audiobook extract

    10/03/2023

    HAZARDOUS SPIRITS by Anbara Salam, read by Samara MacLaren - audiobook extract

    A gothic literary mystery set in 1920s Edinburgh, Hazardous Spirits whisks the listener away to a world of seances and spiritualism. Edinburgh, 1923. Evelyn Hazard is a young woman living a comfortable and unremarkable middle-class life. One day, her quiet existence is shattered when her steady, reliable husband Robert makes a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead. As the couple are pulled into the spiritualist movement that emerged following the mass deaths caused by the First World War and the Spanish Flu, Evelyn's life becomes increasingly unsettled as dark secrets from her past threaten to surface. Faced with the prospect of losing all that is dear to her, Evelyn finds herself asking: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman or - most frighteningly - is he telling the truth? A gothic literary mystery, written in sparkling prose, Hazardous Spirits evokes the spirit of 1920s Edinburgh, in all its bohemian vibrancy.

    3 min
  6. SEARCHING FOR JULIET - written by Sophie Duncan, read by Nicky Diss - audiobook extract

    04/26/2023

    SEARCHING FOR JULIET - written by Sophie Duncan, read by Nicky Diss - audiobook extract

    'A thirteen-year-old girl is at a party. A boy, slightly older, sees her. Juliet. This book is about that girl.' A cultural, historical and literary exploration of the birth, death and legacy of the ultimate romantic heroine—Shakespeare's Juliet Capulet. Juliet Capulet is the heartbeat of the world's most famous love story. She is an enduring romantic icon. And she is a captivating, brilliant, passionate teenage girl who is read and interpreted afresh by each new generation. Searching for Juliet takes us from the Renaissance origin stories behind William Shakespeare's child bride to the boy actor who inspired her creation onstage. From enslaved people in the Caribbean to Italian fascists in Verona, and real-life lovers in Afghanistan. From the Victorian stage to 1960s cinema, Baz Luhrmann and beyond. Sophie Duncan draws on rich cultural and historical sources and new research to explore the legacy and reach of Romeo and Juliet far beyond the literary sphere. With warmth, wit and insight, she shows us why Juliet is for now, for ever, for everyone.

    2 min
  7. THE WARLOCK EFFECT written by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman, narrated by Andy Nyman - audiobook extract

    04/26/2023

    THE WARLOCK EFFECT written by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman, narrated by Andy Nyman - audiobook extract

    From Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman, creators of the international smash-hit play and film Ghost Stories, comes a new novel: The Warlock Effect. Meet Louis Warlock. Man about town, denizen of Soho's nightclubs and cabaret bars - and the most skilled magician of his time... As a boy, Ludvik Weinschenk fled Nazi Germany to England with a pack of playing cards and three tricks to his name. Twelve years later, in 1950s London, having risen through the ranks of concert parties, night clubs and variety theatres, Ludvik - or Louis Warlock as he is now known - is the most famous magician in Britain. But after his talent for deception attracts the attention of the British secret service, Louis is thrown into the perilous world of espionage and finds himself sent across Europe with a dangerous mission to fulfil. When he comes face to face with a nemesis whose cunning rivals his own, Louis will need to use every trick in the book - or risk the most terrible consequences, both for the country and for himself. A highly entertaining, fiendishly clever thriller, The Warlock Effect offers a twist-filled, rollicking adventure - and a glimpse into the phenomenal mind of an extraordinary magician.

    2 min
  8. HOW TO READ A TREE written and read by Tristan Gooley - audiobook extract

    04/25/2023

    HOW TO READ A TREE written and read by Tristan Gooley - audiobook extract

    Do two trees ever appear identical? No, but why? Every small difference is a clue. Each tree we meet is filled with signs that reveal secrets about the life of that tree and the landscape we stand in. The clues are easy to spot when you know what to look for, but remain invisible to most people. In How to Read a Tree, you'll discover the simple principles that explain the shapes and patterns you can see in trees and what they mean. And you'll learn rare skills that can be applied every time you pass a tree, whether you are in a town or a wilder spot. As the author of the international bestsellers The Walker's Guide and How to Read Water, Tristan Gooley knows how to uncover the phenomena worth looking for. He has been instructing people in the art of reading trees for two decades and this book includes signs that will not be found in any other book in the world. Once you have learned to see these things it is impossible to unsee them. We will never look at a tree the same way again.

    3 min
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4.5
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11 Ratings

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Hear all the latest book previews, author interviews and audiobook extracts from Hodder & Stoughton.

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