Here are the stories of nine people whose energy, imagination, courage, and determination changed the world. From Christopher Columbus who set off into unknown seas in a small ship in the 15th century, to a young girl, Anne Frank, caught in the turmoil of the 20th, who wrote a remarkable diary while in...
When a woman is discovered in the basement of a psychotherapy clinic with a chisel through her heart, Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh investigates. What are the secrets hidden by the facade of the Georgian terrace? Is the killer a patient or healer? Dalgliesh uncovers a labyrinth of intrigue.
Neil Gaiman was the WINNER of the BBC Audio Drama Award 2015 for Outstanding Contribution to Radio Drama A full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman’s celebrated apocalyptic comic novel, with bonus length episodes and outtakes. According to the Nice and Accurate...
A Genius Performance by George Baker! "We're all racist in this country" said Wexford. "Without exception. People over 40 are the worst and that's about all you can say. " But until he became involved with the Akandes, whose daughter had gone missing, Wexford hadn't applied that reality to himself. Melanie Akande was black, one of only eighteen black people living in Kingsmarkham, and her father Raymond ...
Sony Cassette-Corder TCM-939 This item has been tested over a 24 hour period and has not exibited any issues. It comes with a 30 day RTB warranty. Over and above this we at Brainfood Audiobooks we are always happy to help and, though this not our area of expertise we will always ensure the satisfaction of our Customers.
Derace Kingsley's wife ran away to Mexico to get a quickie divorce and marry a Casanova-wannabe named Chris Lavery. Or so the note she left her husband insisted. Trouble is, when Philip Marlowe asks Lavery about it, he denies everything and sends the private investigator packing with a flea lodged firmly in his ear.
The first magical book in Matt Haig's festive series - now a major new film! You are about to listen to the true story of Father Christmas. If you believe that some things are impossible, you should stop considering listening right away. Because this audiobook is full of impossible things. Are you still there? Good. Then let us begin.... A Boy Called Christmas is a tale of adventure, snow, kidnapping, elves, more snow and an...
Philip Franks, Geraldine James, Michael Maloney and Kenneth Cranham star in the first "Radio 4" full-cast dramatisation of a bestselling P.D. James murder mystery for seven years. Venetia Aldridge QC is a distinguished criminal lawyer. When she secures the acquittal of a young man, Garry Ashe, from the charge of murdering his aunt, a series of bizarre events is set in train, starting with her own murder.
Beloved New York Times best-selling author Susanna Kearsley delivers a riveting novel that deftly intertwines the tales of two women, divided by centuries and forever changed by a clash of love and fate. For nearly 300, the cryptic journal of Mary Dundas has kept its secrets. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas travels to Paris to crack the cipher. Jacobite exile Mary Dundas is filled with longing - for freedom, for...
It is the far future, and the moon has been colonised. Although primarily a research establishment, wealthy space tourists bring in revenue to fund the facilities. One major tourist attraction is a sightseeing cruise across the lunar plains: flat and smooth, they are composed entirely of dust. The 'cruise ships'...
A Beginner's Guide to Audiobooks
A Very Brief Overview of the History of Audiobooks
To begin at the beginning.........
For thousands of years audiobooks or audio-books or audio books, were, for most people, the only kind of book there was. This was known as the oral tradition. Stories would be passed from generation to generation and changed over time as they were handed down. Then came writing and ultimately books. This meant that stories could be repeated over time in a pretty similar fashion. With the development of the printing press people such as you and I would be able to own the books that other wise we would have had to see in libraries. As technology developed audio recordings became possible. A great example of these early recordings is to be found here - BBUCIDACD08880and here - BBUCIDACD08795
We even have a very rare, very early recording from 1890 of a great Shakespearean actor here - BBUCIDACD13870
As things went on we see that cylinders turned to records and records turned to tapes, also known as compact cassettes. Tapes were then superseded by Audio CDs and more recently MP3 CDs.
Audio CD, MP3 CD or Cassette
For many of us there is no choice. Access to the respective players can restrict our choices. It is important to say that just because Audio CDs came after Cassettes they are by no means perfect. So, depending on what you wish to listen to, a cassette player may be a necessary purchase.
Audio CDs
Audio CDs have the advantage of portability, compatibility with widely available players and high quality of sound.
The disadvantages of Audio CDs include the physical sensitivity to damage. Skipping can be a problem caused both by the disks and by the optical sensor used in the players to read the disks.
We currently offer a total of over 5000 audiobooks on Audio CD.
MP3 CDs
MP3 CDs started appearing from manufacturers in the middle of 2000s. The advantage of these disks is their ability to hold large amounts of audio data. This means that where one normal Audio CD can hold a maximum of 79 mins these MP3 CDs can hold up to 900 mins per disk.
The downside of this technology is that it requires a special player, or specially enabled normal CD player, to access the audio. Of course you can also play these MP3 CDs on a PC or Laptop CD/DVD drive. In fact with recent developments in Audio CD players the majority of recently manufactured players will be MP3 CD enabled. If you are in any doubt please check with the seller of the player or contact us and we will help as much as we can. We currently hold over 1000 on MP3 CD.
Cassettes
Cassettes have the advantage of Longevity, Resistance to Damage and Sufficiently high quality sound.
The disadvantages of Cassettes include deterioration over time, where over 20-30 years, sound issues can develop as the tape loses it's ability to retain magnetic information. Also tape players can damage perfectly good tapes due to mechanism wear and a lack of maintenance.
We currently offer a total of over 1700 audiobooks on Cassette.
Abridged or Unabridged
The Whole Story or The Highlights
Once you have selected your technology the next key choice is how much time do you have to listen to your book?
When every single word of the book is needed. When time is not an issue and completeness is essential then Unabridged is the only way to go.
We currently offer a over 4000 Unabridged audiobooks on Audio CD and 900 on MP3 CD and Over 1100 Unabridged audiobooks on Cassette.
When time is of the essence. When, due to other commitments or so much to get through, it is more than enough to get the book in smaller chunks then Abridged is the way to go.
We currently offer a over 1000 Abridged audiobooks on Audio CD and 10 MP3 CD and Over 500 Abridged audiobooks on Cassette.
Unabridged CDs
Abridged CDs
Unabridged MP3 CDs
Abridged MP3 CDs
Unabridged Cassettes
Abridged Cassettes
This takes us up to the present day with one, rather large, omission.
We at Brainfood Audiobooks sometimes refer to the elephant in the room as Audible, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, (and all it's audiobook download partners). We do hope that, as the Kindle and various other electronic books have diminished in popularity after the initial hype, Audible and the many other download providers, will reduce their vice-like control of the new audiobook marketplace and give their customers something a little more tangible for their money. Until that day we will continue to laud the wonderful virtues of real (physical) audiobooks.
So Where Do We Start?
You'll be happy to hear that you've already started! Your quest now is to select from the many 1000s of titles which one, or few, should be nearing the top of your list.
We at Brainfood Audiobooks have taken a lot of time thinking about what makes an audiobook great. In the end it is considerably more difficult than choosing a paper-based book. The relationship between the book (text) and the Performer (what we like to call the Narrator or Reader) takes us back to an experience much like that of our ancestors many thousands of years ago. Each different Performer would tell the story differently and that is so true even today. One performer can, through their use of tone and pacing, fill the whole room with different characters. Then, depending on the structure of the narrative, whether the story runs from beginning to end or keeps hoping about in time, the best Performers help the listener to make sense of what they are hearing.
After listening to audiobooks for over 30 years where do we suggest you dip your toes?
Using our experience, and many suggestions from our wonderful Customers, we compiled a list of books that have consistently appealed to a wide range of our listeners. You will find these books, with The Stamp of Genius, below.
You can rest assured that these are some of the greatest audiobooks to have ever been produced.
A book from this list is, as near as possible, guaranteed to be great!
If you are interested in an atmospheric thriller of an extraordinary order - this is probably the Best Audiobook you will ever hear. A great book is transformed, by Sean Barrett, into a production of Genius! If you haven't heard it yet then you have an amazing journey before you......
Peregrine Roderick Clyde-Brown is a bumbling, naive and savagely dim-witted teenager, who, as his name reveals, cannot possibly be exposed to the evils of a comprehensive school. However, with his penchant for taking even the most innocent command literally, no reputable school will accept the boy...
This wonderful book is read by 2 of the very best audiobook readers bar none! Sean Barrett's Chapter 1 is pure genius! Writing of this quality combined with the reading of Mr Barrett and Teresa Gallagher is an absolute must! This one is a life-long keeper!! Naxos
A Genius Performance by Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe! A true breakthrough for Tolkien and the BBC! Brian Sibley's dramatisation of the fantasy epic in 1981 is an essential listen for any audiobook listener.
Our gut is as important as our brain or heart, yet we know very little about how it works and many of us are too embarrassed to ask questions. In Gut, Giulia Enders breaks this taboo, revealing the latest science on how much our digestive system has to offer.
A Genius Performance by Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Jeremy Brett, Michael York, Cyril Cusak and Nigel Davenport! This production of Shakespeare's classic tragedy is the best we have heard! In very short supply and only just in front of the Naxos - Kenneth Branagh production
This is a perfect example of why Brainfood Audiobooks exists! William (Willie) Rushton brings all of his comedic talent to bear on this wonderful tale. This audio set comes with a complimentary Audio CD version of this book.
A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and violence threaten to blow their privileged lives apart, they drag Richard into the nightmare that engulfs them.
Whether you listen to this on a dark winter's night of a sunny summer morning Leonard Rossiter's performance will take you on a journey. This is a perfect combination of text and performer. Leonard Rossiter makes this text his own and with such a quality of delivery that, if you close your eyes, you are there!
Includes The Hitch-hiker's Guide, The Resaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, The Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless! All read by the Master Himself!
This is a perfect example of why Brainfood Audiobooks exists! William (Willie) Rushton brings all of his comedic talent to bear on this wonderful tale. This audio set comes with a complimentary Audio CD version of this book.
This is a selection of readings from Shakespeare. Selected by HRH Prince of Wales, the cast includes Robert Stephens, Richard Briers, John Gielgud, Juliet Stevenson, Glenda Jackson, William Hurt and John Sessions. Brilliant performances by these wonderful actors!
** We currently have 2 of these in stock. They BOTH come with a FREE copy of this wonderful recording on Audio CD. The Acceptable copy has been graded due to a 30 sec dropout after 15 mins of side 1. Rest assured that in the Audio CD copy, that comes FREE with this title, the audio plays perfectly **
*** Now Includes a complimentary Audi oTransfer onto Audio CD *** Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever.
These are masterly readings, by renowned thespian Paul Scofield, of two substantial works of poetry by T.S. Eliot. They form the core of Eliot's later work and, with Scofield's wonderful interpretation have been a regular visitor to the Brainfood Audiobooks cassette player over the last 20 years!
Richmal Compton's Williams Stories read by Kenneth Williams on two cassettes. Side 1 The Show, Side 2 William the Invisible, Side 3 A Witch in Time, Side 4 William's Day Off. Sometimes people are made to perform certain works - this combination is exceptional!
One of Our Stamp of Genius audibooks! For years actor and author Brian Blessed had an impossible dream - to follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero, George Leigh Mallory, who disappeared near the summit of Mount Everest in 1924. Finally in 1990, aged 53, Brian Blessed...
Terry Jones, Joan Greenwood, Michael Hordern, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and Tim Rice read of a collection of original fairy tales for 8 to 11-year-olds, written by master storyteller Terry Jones, introducing such bizarre creatures as the fly-by-night, the rainbow cat, and the wonderful cake-horse.
Girls, memory, parenting, millennial fear - all served Coupland-style. Karen, an attractive, popular student, goes into a coma one night in 1979. Whilst in it, she gives birth to a healthy baby daughter; once out of it, a mere eighteen years later, she finds herself .....
An account of the relationship between Simon Callow and the play agent, Peggy Ramsay. Despite an age difference of over 40 years, Peggy and Callow enjoyed an 11-year relationship conducted in meetings and passionately unbridled letters until Peggy's
In clinical trials, it's called the placebo effect. But patients treated with placebos don't just feel better. It's not just 'in their heads'. They can heal their bodies by healing their thoughts. For years, pioneers in the medical community have been extolling the virtues of the mind's power to heal the body.
The award-winning author of A Stone Boat offers a deeply personal look at depression in which he draws on his own battle with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, researchers, doctors, and others to assess the vast complexities of the disease, its causes and symptoms, available therapies ..
The first title of the GORMENGHAST trilogy of fantasy novels. Titus groan is born the heir to Gormenghast castle, and finds himself in a world predetermined by complex rituals that have been made obscure by the passage of time. Along the corridors of the castle, the child encounters some of the dark characters who will shape his life.
He says he loves you. So...why does he do that? You've asked yourself this question again and again. Now you have the chance to see inside the minds of angry and controlling men-and to change your life. In this groundbreaking book, a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men shows you...
An exciting historical adventure from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. Gracie and her friend Daniel have always been warned to stay away from the Birdman and his side of the island. But then they find a message in the sand and discover the Birdman is not who they...
In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board a ship called the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways on one of the most savage regions of the world.
These fantastically imaginative origin stories are amongst the best known of Kipling's works, and offer entertaining explanations as to how various animals came into being.
Days after winning OASIS Founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous - and addictive - than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle and a new quest - a last Easter egg...
In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was: 'Hey, you!' This is the Discworld, after all, and religion is a controversial business. Everyone has their own opinion, and indeed their own gods, of every shape and size, and all elbowing for space at the top. In such a competitive environment, shape and size can be pretty crucial to make one's presence felt. So it's certainly not helpful to be reduced to appearing in the form...
The Beiderbecke Connection was a four-part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of The Beiderbecke Trilogy and stared James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. Now with a baby in tow, Jill and Trevor are asked by Big Al to look after a refugee called "Ivan".
Doctor Dolittle sets sail for an adventure on the high seas, accompanied by nine-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, who comes to live with the great man to learn the language of the animals. The pair head for Spider Monkey island, a mysterious floating isle somewhere in the South Atlantic.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS In the National Book Award–winning Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann thrilled readers with a marvelous high-wire act of fiction that The New York Times Book Review called“an emotional tour de force.” Now McCann demonstrates once again why he is one of the...
Douglas Petersen’s family is on the brink of dissolution. His marriage of 21 years to Connie is almost over. When autumn comes around, their son Albie will leave for college. Connie has decided to leave soon after. But before everything falls apart, there's still the summer holidays to get through - a Grand Tour of Europe's major cities - and over the course of the journey, Douglas devises a plan to win back the love of his...
With gentle humour and a gift for detail, [Gaile Parkin] brings Rwanda to life, with its physical beauty, food and customs... [Baking Cakes in Kigali] is fluent and deeply moving - Independent From the author of Baking Cakes in Kigali comes the irresistible story of Benedict Tungazara, a ten-year-old boy in Swaziland who loves beautiful birds, his mother's cakes, and making people happy... Ten-year-old Benedict is...
Des O'Connor has been a major star in Britain since landing his first television series in 1963. Now, in his own words, he relives the events of his extraordinary life in an autobiography that is both candid and entertaining. From his childhood struggle against ill-health in London's impoverished East End to his current positions as international showbiz icon, Des O'Connor talks with humour and affection about his...
A brilliant and compelling account of the apprentice years of Elizabeth I. An abused child, yet confident of her destiny to reign, a woman in a man’s world, passionately sexual yet – she said – a virgin, Elizabeth I was to be famed as England’s most successful ruler. This absorbing new book, by concentrating on the early years from her birth in 1533 to her accession in 1558, shows how her experiences of danger...
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