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Best of best in audiobooks

26.06.08 Anna Richardson

The Book Marketing Society is launching its "40 Best Audiobooks" promotion this week, with the Guardian featuring the final selection of titles in a special supplement on Saturday (28th June) and the National Year of Reading offering free downloadable samples of some of them.

The promotion aims to showcase the wealth and quality of audiobooks. Included in the top 40 are: The Wit of Cricket by Brian Johnston et al and P G Wodehouse's Summer Lightning in the humour category; Anthony Horowitz's Snakehead and Michael Bond's A Bear Called Paddington in children's; Yann Martel's The Life of Pi and Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen in fiction/classic/crime; and Simon Barnes' A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion (Naxos) and Andrew Marr's A History of Modern Britain in non-fiction/poetry/plays.

The list was chosen from more than 160 books submitted by publishers. Judges made their selections based on quality of literary content, abridgement, reading, production value and sound quality. The public can vote for their favourites online at www.40bestaudiobooks.co.uk, with a chance to win £500 of National Book Tokens. A top 10 will be revealed on 21st July and an overall winner on 31st July.

The NYR is enabling visitors to download free samples of the titles from its website. It will also host "free download week" from 14th July, with titles donated including Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb, courtesy of Orion. GoSpoken is offering sample chapters on mobile phones.

Full audiobooks list

Children's
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (HarperCollins)
My Completely Best Story Collection: Charlie & Lola by Lauren Child (Penguin)
Four Favourite Stories by Roald Dahl (HarperCollins)
Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb by Francesca Simon (Orion)
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan)
William's Happy Days by Richmal Compton    (CSA)
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz (Walker)
           
Humour/comedy
The Wit of Cricket by Johnston, Blofeld & Bird (Hodder)
Summer Lightning by P G Wodehouse (CSA)
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Anniversary Special (BBC Audiobooks)
Flight of the Conchords (BBC Audiobooks)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary Phase by Douglas Adams (BBC Audiobooks)
Hancock: The Very Best  (BBC Audiobooks)
The Mighty Boosh (BBC Audiobooks)
           
Fiction/classics/crime           
The Fellowship of the Ring by J R Tolkien (BBC Audiobooks)
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (Random House)
Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Random House)
The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Hachette)
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (HarperCollins)
Flashman on the March by George MacDonald Fraser (HarperCollins)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday (Orion)
Dissolution by C J Sansom (Macmillan)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Naxos)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Naxos)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré (Hodder)
Death Message by Mark Billingham (Hachette)
Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham    (Hachette)
Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery by Francis Durbridge (BBC Audiobooks)
Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins)
Exit Music by Ian Rankin (Orion)
The Broker by John Grisham (Random House)
           
Non-fiction/poetry/plays           
Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connolly (Hachette)
History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr (Macmillan)
Agent Zigzag by Ben MacIntyre (Orion)
A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion by Simon Barnes (Naxos)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey (S&S)
The Essential Dylan Thomas by Dylan Thomas (Naxos)
Talking Heads Vol 1 by Alan Bennett (BBC Audiobooks)
84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (Hachette)
Romeo and Juliet (Smart Pass)

Audio Anna Richardson Books

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