Reasons to be Cheerful
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Reasons to be Cheerful
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Narrated by:
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Gemma Whelan
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By:
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Nina Stibbe
About this listen
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Reasons to Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe.
18 year old Lizzie Vogel finds herself a new job in a dentist's surgery after answering a classified advert in the Leicester Mercury for a 'mature lady with a strong interest in dental issues'. Working for an eccentric dental surgeon who's obsessed with becoming a Freemason, Lizzie's life is uneventful, until Andy Nicolello turns up one day to deliver a crown. Lizzie seizes her chance to find love, and soon begins calling him her boyfriend even though they have never so much as kissed or even sat next to each other on the sofa. But Andy doesn't turn out to be quite what he seems...
Reasons to be Cheerful is a painfully funny account of life as a hapless teenager in 1970s Leicestershire from the bestselling author of Love, Nina, Man at the Helm and Paradise Lodge.
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Story4 out of 5 stars 71
You will love every moment of this absolutely brilliant wartime saga, perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Soraya M. Lane, and Nadine Dorries. As war takes its toll, the love and care of two brave young nurses become everything to the wounded soldiers they tend... 1914. Two plucky young nurses pledge to help the war effort: Mairi, a wholesome idealist hoping to leave behind her past and Elsie, a glamorous single mother with a weakness for handsome soldiers. Despite their differences, the pair become firm friends.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I really really wanted to like this book...
- By Teresa M. Thornborough on 09-26-19
By: Lizzie Page
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Queen of the Mersey
- By: Maureen Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Queenie is only 14 and has been deserted by her mother. Set in Liverpool and Wales at the outbreak of World War II, this story explores themes of female friendship and betrayal from the perspective of a group of women of widely different ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining
- By W on 05-27-08
By: Maureen Lee
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The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4
- Adrian Mole, Book 1
- By: Sue Townsend
- Narrated by: Isaac Rouse
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents' marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual', Adrian's painfully honest diary is still hilarious and compelling thirty years after it first appeared.
By: Sue Townsend
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Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
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The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova
- A Novel
- By: Ruth Hogan
- Narrated by: Nina Wadia
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 108
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
After inheriting her mother’s fortune-telling business as a young woman, Imelda Burova has spent her life on the Brighton pier practicing her trade. She and her trusty pack of Tarot cards have seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Now, after a lifetime of keeping other people’s secrets, Madam Burova is ready to have a little piece of life for herself. But she still has one last thing to do—to fulfill a promise made in the 1970s, when she and her girlfriends were carefree, with their whole lives still before them.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Trigger warning
- By Kristyn Rose on 01-30-23
By: Ruth Hogan
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Vanishing Falls
- A Novel
- By: Poppy Gee
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
Deep within the lush Tasmanian rainforest is the remote town of Vanishing Falls, a place with a storied past. The town’s showpiece, built in the 1800s, is its Calendar House - currently occupied by Jack Lily, a prominent art collector and landowner; his wife, Celia; and their four daughters. The elaborate, eccentrically designed mansion houses one masterpiece and 52 rooms - and Celia Lily isn’t in any of them. She has vanished without a trace.… Joelle Smithton knows that a few folks in Vanishing Falls believe that she’s simple-minded.
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2 out of 5 stars
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OK Story
- By Cindy House on 12-21-21
By: Poppy Gee
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The Home
- By: Karen Osman
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 195
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 178
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Story4 out of 5 stars 177
Angela was just a baby when she was abandoned, and a children's home is no place to grow up. When manager Ray takes girls off to his 'den' in the garden, they always come back crying.... So, when wealthy couple James and Rosemary come to choose a child to adopt, Angela is desperate to escape. Years later, Angela starts to search for her birth mother, Evelyn, hoping to heal the scars of her childhood. But strange and sinister events start to unfold. And Evelyn fears she may not survive her daughter's return.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Did not see the twist coming
- By Michelle Yaple on 08-20-19
By: Karen Osman
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A Thousand Roads Home
- By: Carmel Harrington
- Narrated by: Jill Crawford, Frank Grimes
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 181
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 166
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 166
Meet Tom. Or Dr O’Grady, as he used to be called. When you pass him on the street, most people don’t even give him a second glance. You see, Tom isn’t living his best life. Burdened by grief, he’s only got his loyal dog, Bette Davis, for company and a rucksack containing his whole world. Then there’s Ruth and her son, DJ, who no longer have a place to call home. But Ruth believes that you can change the world by helping one person at a time - and Tom needs her help. There are a thousand ways to find your home - you just need to be brave enough to look for them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't put it down
- By Allison Swart on 09-22-19
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What Happens Now?
- By: Sophia Money-Coutts
- Narrated by: Sophia Money-Coutts
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 174
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Story4 out of 5 stars 154
After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’ - that is, until he dumped her for a blonde 20-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen? Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Beach Listen
- By Anonymous User on 06-02-21
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The Other Son
- By: Nick Alexander
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
Alice has been lying to herself for years, holding fast to the belief that the needs of her family far outweigh her own. But her outwardly successful marriage hides dark secrets, and for much of her life the children were the only reason she stuck around. These days, though her successful banker son lives nearby, his young wife seems to do everything she can to keep Alice at bay. As for Alice's other son, he has always been something of a stranger and has been traveling for so long that Alice isn't even sure what continent he is on anymore.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderfully Done!
- By Ann on 11-06-16
By: Nick Alexander
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The Nanny
- A Novel
- By: Gilly Macmillan
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Patience Tomlinson, Ben Eliot
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,616
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,195
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,182
In this compulsively listenable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great gripping story!
- By Jordan Zenzel on 10-01-19
By: Gilly Macmillan
What listeners say about Reasons to be Cheerful
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gretchen
- 04-09-19
Delightful!
Reasons to be Cheerful was a pleasure to listen to! The quirky characters made me laugh, and the main character I found endearing and easy to love. The story was well written, often humorous, and carried an important message without being preachy. Gemma Whelan's narration only added to the fun. I look forward to more books by Nina Stibbe and hopefully narrated by Gemma Whelan.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dorothy Quinn
- 09-05-19
Charming
I read the review in the NYT and was intrigued. What a charming girl. I’m a sucker for quirky families and loved Lizzie. Laughing out loud while driving is the best barometer for a good book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-18-23
loved it
what a delightful book. there were enough literary references and topical plot threads to make a fun and sweet story healthy as well as delicious.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Quinn
- 06-24-20
Somewhat disappointing.
As much as I enjoy and appreciate British storytelling, this book is not what the summary hints toward. It isn’t bad, but just okay. Gemma’s performance is great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LynnInColorado
- 05-31-21
Cleverly humorous.
This author was mentioned in the New York Times and I’m so glad to have listened to all her books so far.
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