Time to recap on my talking books of the last month:

Black Wattle Creek: (Charlie Berlin #3) – Geoffrey McGeachin

Love this author and find the talking book versions of his books are super! I need to get hold of the first (The Diggers’ Rest Hotel) and the latest (St Kilda Blues). Set in the late 1950s in Melbourne, Detective (and ex Lancaster pilot – all the good ones were in Lancs in Bomber Command, RIP Dad) Charlie Berlin gets hauled reluctantly into a very unpleasant body snatching business (actually, body parts) that is part of a huge conspiracy between our own and the UK/US governments. The plot revolves around the ugly truth of atomic testing in Australia and the dire, hidden radioactive results.  Though I still think Fat F***ed and Fifty  is my favourite, this was terrifically compelling.

A Delirious Summer; Flabbergasted #2 – Ray Blackston

As I said after reading the first one, I’m not a Christian but there is something quite endearing about this group of  young Christian men and women and their slightly wacky life in Greenville, South Carolina – and their endless quest to find a marriage partner. Relationships in a whole different (godly?) light! Very amusing and sweet.

A Silver Lining: The Hearts of Gold #3 – Catrin Collier

Aside from  A Child’s Christmas in Wales, I think this is my first book set in Wales (are you hearing me Roo?). Set in strictly Chapel Pontypridd in the Depression years, this is very character driven. Rife with vicious gossip, two women Alma Moore and Bethan John, natives of the mining sector of this narrow-minded town are beset and besmirched by the prim and often hypocritical tongues of the town. A mysterious Russian, Charlie, is however the central character and saviour of all in this interesting, though not fast paced, story.  Will definitely seek out others in the series after this one, aside from the excellent characterisation I learned much about a period of time in a country with whose history I am not very familiar.

Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

It had been years since I’d read this and also since I’d seen the movie, but it was definitely worth a re-visit. Much humour and light-heartedness nonsense to beguile much commute time. I believe the ‘voice’ was that of Tracie Bennett who absolutely nailed Bridget’s complete dottiness.

They’re a Weird Mob – Nino Cullota (John O’Grady)

This was the absolute stand out of the month. I had always been familiar with the movie and could remember my Dad saying how much he loved the book so pounced on it as I’d never read it. Spoken by Henri Szeps – brilliantly! – I must have amused fellow commuters for days by apparently hysterically laughing in traffic. Do yourself a favour, whether you have only seen the movie or don’t know either – you would no doubt enjoy reading it but get this audio version and revel in the joy of hearing Szeps bring Nino and his eccentric mates to life.(you could download it here. Interesting add on, when I posted having read it to my GoodReads record, found a comment from John O’Grady’s daughter – nice!