Top 50: Audiobooks

If you enjoyed Midsomer Murders, you will love the Nosy Neighbour Mysteries. PC Jemima Cotton escapes to Little Cote from London for a quieter life...but she soon discovers she's found the nosiest, and the deadliest, neighbourhood possible.

The sleepy village of Little Cote was meant to be a quieter pace of life for ex-Met PC Jemima Cotton. But she soon discovers, here a petty rivalry can erupt into full-blown murder....

Police Officer Jemima Cotton expected Little Cote to be a quieter pace of life. But, unlike London, everyone knows everyone, and beyond the cake sales and coffee mornings, tea parties and village fetes, the neighbours aren't all the best of friends....

When Jemima is unpacking her mugs and teabags in her new home on Foxglove Close, she's called to attend her first murder investigation. She's excited, until she discovers it's only a few doors down from her. And she hasn't even met her new neighbours yet! As she steps out of her house in full uniform, Jemima can feel the eyes on the back of her neck, and she can see the curtains and blinds twitching.

But the crucial question is why did the lonely gentleman at the end of the road get murdered, eating dinner alone at his garden table, tucking into a new bottle of Chablis? As she digs deeper into the murder, Jemima discovers that here in Little Cote, underneath the surface, tensions bubble away . . . and the smallest vendetta can erupt into full blown murder.

Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Helen Cox, Betty Rowlands, and the Midsomer Murders series by Caroline Graham.

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THE MURDERS AT FOXGLOVE CLOSE by Rose Temple, read by Penelope Rawlins - audiobook extract

I Love My White Shoes

The funny, frank and full autobiography of the nation's favourite comedian.

It's the first time I've done this. Other people have written about me - or for me - but this time it's just my own life in my own words.

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.

Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of four, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.

Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.

As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal.

It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings...and writing.

Windswept & Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.

I didn't know I was windswept and interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs.

He said: 'Look at you - all windswept and interesting!'

I just said: 'Exactly!'

After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation....

WINDSWEPT & INTERESTING by Billy Connolly, read by Billy Connolly - audiobook extract

Trained Royal Marines Sniper, world record breaker and extreme TV adventurer Aldo Kane is known for his ability to navigate and lead through challenging and pressured environments, whether it be abseiling into an erupting volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo, rowing the Atlantic, getting locked in a bunker for 10 days with zero daylight, leading Steve Backshall into the jungle or being held at gunpoint....

In his debut audiobook, Lessons from the Edge, Aldo will inspire listeners with his jaw-dropping stories and show them how to survive and thrive through sheer strength of mind and sharp decision-making. It will reveal how this tough military man was able to cope with suddenly feeling worthless, how he overcame doors literally slamming in his face, how he came to realise that you can't wait for things to happen and instead how he rediscovered his identity and harnessed his emotions to his advantage to find determination, purpose and a renewed sense of belonging. And how, to use his own words, he became the captain of his own ship.

Aldo is a firm believer that with the right head game, however hard it feels, you can get through anything life throws at you. Lessons from the Edge will inspire listeners to find the spirit to do the things in life they've previously been too scared to tackle, build the courage to know that failure isn't the end and the knowledge that the impossible can be made possible.

LESSONS FROM THE EDGE written and read by Aldo Kane - audiobook extract

The heartwarming and hilarious new novel from the best-selling author of The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.

Three unlikely friends. A lot of scones. And one chance to save the community....

The Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria is at the heart of St Jude's Hospital. Staffed by successive generations of dedicated volunteers, for over 50 years, the beloved cafeteria has been serving up a kind word and sympathetic ear along with tea and scones.

Hilary, the stalwart manageress, has worked her way up through the ranks, Jo, the latest recruit, is driving Hilary mad by arriving late every day and 17-year-old Chloe, the daughter of two successful surgeons, is volunteering in the holidays and bemused by the older women.

But when they discover the cafeteria is under threat of closure, the unlikely trio must put aside their differences. As they realise the secrets and sorrows they have in common, the women grow closer - but can they bring the community together and save the day?

Full of wisdom and warmth, The Tea Ladies of St Jude's Hospital is a gorgeously poignant, hilarious story about unlikely friendships, growing old disgracefully and coming together to save the things we love....

THE TEA LADIES OF ST JUDE'S HOSPITAL by Johanna Nell, read by Julie Nihill - audiobook extract

Join us each episode for author interviews, audiobook extracts and exciting features.

We'll be covering fiction and non-fiction of all different genres and topics. From thrillers to romance, literary fiction to horror, we'll be covering it all on HodderPod, as well as from all of our imprints, including John Murray Press, Sceptre, Two Roads and more.

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Please get in touch! Tell us what you've been reading, which authors you'd like us to interview next, and any other feedback or comments. Email us on podcast@hodder.co.uk, tweet us @HodderBooks, and find us on Facebook and Google+.


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SCREWDRIVERED audiobook excerpt by Alice Clayton, read by Heather Smith 

SCREWDRIVERED Audiobook Excerpt 1

From Louise Hay's "Love Your Body"
Louise Hay narrates the positive affirmation treatments from her book of the same name, which are designed to help you manifest a beautiful, healthy, happy body. This audio clip focuses on from your waist to your rectum.

To receive the optimal benefit from this audio experience, it's best to listen to it often-especially if you are challenged by a particular area of your body-and allow the ideas to permeate your consciousness.

Louise Hay - I Love My Body

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, Read by Rob Inglis

A hilarious diary of married life with the sensible, no-nonsense man of all our dreams: Jürgen Klopp, from critically-acclaimed comedian and Twitter sensation Laura Lexx.

Inspired by the viral tweet: 'If I ever met Jürgen Klopp I'd say "omg if we have a baby we should call it Klipp" just so he'd raise an eyebrow at me and tell me I'm a moron and I'd be so naked by the time he'd finished doing that...'

In these uncertain times we all need a coping mechanism. And Laura Lexx has found the obvious one - imagining life married to the sensible, no-nonsense man of our dreams, Jürgen Klopp. She thinks maybe he has something to do with football? More importantly, he definitely knows how to efficiently stack a dishwasher and would tell you honestly if you were being unreasonable about a colleague.

From job interviews to furniture shopping in IKEA to making a birthday cake for their daughter, Klipp, Klopp Actually is a hilarious, warm and deeply silly diary of life with everyone's favourite baseball-cap-wearing, bespectacled German football manager.

'I shiver, my skin breaking out into tiny goosebumps. "Are you cold?" He whispers, his lips brushing my ear, making the fine hairs ripple. "A little." I grin, pressing against his thigh. He runs a hand down the curve of my spine... "You should put a jumper on."'

KLOPP ACTUALLY, written and read by Laura Lexx - Audiobook extract

An extract from the audiobook CD Storytime with Peppa. A collection of thirteen fantastic stories based on Peppa Pig, the hit TV show, featuring newly recorded narration, original TV dialogue, music, and special effects from the Milkshake and Nick Jnr. series.

The stories included are: Peppa Meets the Queen, Peppa Goes Swimming, Sports Day, Dentist Trip, Nature Trail, Tiny Creatures, Daddy Pig's Old Chair, Peppa Plays Football, Fun at the Fair, Recycling Fun, School Bus Trip, Peppa Goes Camping, Peppa's First Sleepover.

Peppa Pig: Peppa Goes Camping (Audiobook Extract) read by John Sparks and various

Welcome to the Hodder & Stoughton Soundcloud, home of HodderPod, the Hodder Books Podcast. Keep checking back for our latest author interviews, audiobook extracts and previews.

Hodder is the UK publishing home of Jeffery Deaver, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Ray Mears, Alan Titchmarsh, Melvyn Bragg, David Mitchell and many more...

Hodder books are available from all good bookshops. Find your local bookshop here: http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch.aspx 

LESSONS FROM THE EDGE written and read by Aldo Kane - audiobook extract

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