Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench review – a class act
The Conversation
Spotify’s new audiobook bundle may reduce music royalties and shortchange authors
Millicent Weber for the Conversation
June 2024
Audiobook of the week
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith audiobook review – a compelling classic
Actor David Menkin deftly captures the antihero’s blend of guilelessness and deceit in Patricia Highsmith’s psychological thriller
Audiobook of the week
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller review – Jodie Comer narrates with charisma and firepower
The star of the original award-winning play about sexual assault brings emotional complexity to this novel adaptation
Audiobook of the week
The Fraud by Zadie Smith audiobook review – exuberant and funny
Narrated by the author, this story of a Victorian author and his housekeeper cousin, who is obsessed by the Tichborne claimant, explores the lies people tell themselves
May 2024
Audiobook of the week
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett audiobook review – Meryl Streep narrates a bittersweet tale of first love
Audiobook of the week
Thunderclap by Laura Cumming audiobook review – the golden age of Dutch art
Audiobook of the week
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad by Daniel Finkelstein audiobook review – a gripping tale of endurance
The Guardian view on audiobooks: a growing market that asks existential questions
‘I made curtains on the train’: the commuters livening up their journeys
UK audiobook downloads up 17% last year, Publishers Association data shows
Audiobook of the week
What by John Cooper Clarke review – sharp social commentary from the Bard of Salford
April 2024
Brief letters
Proof that teaching’s going down the pan
Audiobook of the week
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy audiobook review – a thrillingly blunt take on new motherhood
Audible to turn all seven of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books into full-cast audiobooks
Audiobook of the week
1984 by George Orwell audiobook review – a starry cast drive this powerful dramatisation
March 2024
Audiobook of the week
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady review – moving account of undiagnosed autism
Other lives
Saul Reichlin obituary
Audiobook of the week
A History of Women in 101 Objects by Annabelle Hirsch audiobook review – from hatpins to glass dildos
The magic of audiobooks? Deep down, we still long to be read to