Audiobooks by Nick Hornby

The Richest Man in Britain: A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Series

"All-star comedy about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment, written by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith Dave Mabbutt is having a crisis. He’s the richest man in Britain, a bona fide rockstar with fans, fame and fortune. He even has a personal assistant called Mr. Tumble, who is in fact an elephant - but he’s not happy. When you have more money than sense life can have hilarious consequences. And how rock and roll does it really feel to have your mum at every gig? Dave’s crisis begins when he is persuaded to preview his 'drums-only' version of 1970s classic album, ‘Temple of the Human Mind’. Things don’t go to plan when he introduces ex-lead singer Andy to his new best friend and personal assistant, Mr Tumble the elephant. However, this is nothing compared to the drama that is unleashed when Dave’s mum is kidnapped. On the plus side, the international crisis does provide the perfect excuse to get rid of shed-loads of cash and take a trip overseas. Yet when the richest man in Britain buys some last-minute holiday Euros it promptly brings down the entire global monetary system… Written by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith, this radio comedy series stars Mark Williams (best known as Mr Weasley in the Harry Potter films) and Russell Tovey (star of TV’s Being Human) with a stellar line up of supporting cast members including Lydia Bellingham, Noddy Holder and Rosamund Pike, this is a laugh-out-loud comedy not to be missed. Writer Nick Hornby is a best-selling author with many of his books being adapted for film, including High Fidelity, About a Boy and Fever Pitch. Giles Smith is a Sunday Times journalist, New Statesman columnist and the writer of three books including Lost in Music, about life and growing up with music. Episode list: · The Interview · The Elephant in the Room · The Kidnap · The African Village · The Cultural Attache · The Meltdown Cast and credits Written by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith Produced by Lucy Armitage Dave Mabbutt - Mark Williams Dom - Russell Tovey Dave's Mum - Lynda Bellingham Jane the Guardian Journalist - Kerry Fox Andy - Noddy Holder The Lawyer - Gus Brown Mr Green the Banker - Geoff McGivern Dimitri the Kidnapper/Ken the Maintenance Man - Phil Cornwell Sophie/Waiter - Matt Addis Naomi, the Charity Worker - Ayesha Antoine Francesca, The Cultural Adviser - Rosamund Pike First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 Nov-11 Dec 2009 ©2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Giles Smith, Nick Hornby (Author), Full Cast, Kerry Fox, Lynda Bellingham, Mark Williams, Rosamund Pike, Russell Tovey (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Nick Hornby, Miss Blackpool und das Swinging London - lit.COLOGNE live (ungekürzt)

"England Anfang der 60er: Die hübsche blonde Barbara nimmt die Wahl zur Miss Blackpool nicht an, sonst müsste sie womöglich noch ein Jahr in ihrem provinziellen Heimat-Kaff verbringen. Sie will ins Swinging London, ihr Traum: eine berühmte Komikerin werden. Was zunächst aussichtslos erscheint, wird Wirklichkeit, sie findet geniale Drehbuchschreiber und einen klugen Produzenten. Die Sitcom 'Barbara (and Jim)' wird im Fernsehen ein Riesenerfolg ... Nach fünf Jahren dürfen wir endlich wieder einen neuen Roman von Nick Hornby lesen. Er nimmt uns mit ins brodelnde London der 60er-Jahre, mitten hinein in die Welt der am Hungertuch nagenden Gagschreiber, der überarbeiteten Regisseure, der egozentrischen Schauspieler und der vom großen Durchbruch träumenden Mädchen. 'Ein geistreiches, ergreifendes, lustiges Buch über Comedy, Klassengesellschaft, sozialen Wandel, Hornbys bisher bester Roman!' (The Times). Mod.: Philipp Schwenke, dt. Text: Annika Schilling. Ein Gespräch mit Lesung im Rahmen der lit.COLOGNE 2015."

Nick Hornby (Author), Annika Schilling, Nick Hornby, Philipp Schwenke (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Dickens und Prince - Unvergleichliche Genies (Ungekürzte Lesung)

"Ein warmherziges und unterhaltsames Hörbuch über Kunst, Kreativität und die überraschenden Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen dem viktorianischen Romancier Charles Dickens und dem modernen amerikanischen Rockstar Prince. Mit der Bewunderung eines Fans und seinem typischen Humor und Witz zeigt uns Nick Hornby die kuriosen Ähnlichkeiten zwischen zwei auf ihre Art genialen Künstlern, die bis heute gelesen oder gehört, bewundert und nachgeahmt werden. Hornby untersucht die persönlichen Tragödien der beiden Ausnahmetalente, ihren sozialen Status und ihre grenzenlose Produktivität und zeigt, wie diese beiden ungleichen Männer aus verschiedenen Jahrhunderten 'die Welt erleuchteten'. Dabei schafft er ein anregendes Kaleidoskop über die Kreativität, die Extravaganz, die Disziplin und die Leidenschaft, die es braucht, um große Kunst zu schaffen."

Nick Hornby (Author), Thomas Nicolai (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius

"Brought to you by Penguin. In this joyous and illuminating book, the million-copy bestselling author brings together an unlikely pairing to explore the story of their creative genius What could possibly connect Prince, the great twentieth century singer songwriter, and Charles Dickens, the great writer of classics usually stuffed into the hands of adolescents too early? What could these two geniuses, one born in 1812 in England, and the other in 1950s Minneapolis, have in common? For Nick Hornby, Dickens and Prince are two artists that compare to no others. At the young age of 24, they both had their breakthroughs, Prince with '1999' and Dickens with The Pickwick Papers. At 26, Prince released 'Purple Rain' and Dickens' Oliver Twist was published, and, by 30, both artists were huge stars. No one else had such a relentless work ethic and produced such a staggeringly original and enormous body of work. Where did their magic come from? How did they use it? And, in the end, did it kill them? Tracing their lives, from the early years to their relationships with women, their finances to their inability to stop working, Dickens and Prince is a brilliantly surprising and joyous uncovering of the essence of a very particular and unique type of genius. © Nick Hornby 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022"

Nick Hornby (Author), Alex Jennings (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Spanish] - Alta fidelidad

"Rob Fleming está a punto de cumplir treinta y seis años y tiene una tienda de discos antiguos en el norte de Londres; una tienda entre cutre y chic donde solo vende la música que le gusta a él. Y nada más que vinilos, claro está, aunque su negocio, destinado a un público de serios coleccionistas de frivolidades, esté; siempre al borde de la bancarrota. Y ahora, además, Laura, su última y fantástica novia, le ha dejado. ¿Será porque Rob parece empeñado en prolongar su adolescencia hasta la decrepitud o, como piensa él, porque su colección de discos y la de Laura eran incompatibles? Para consolarse, Rob se refugia en la compañía de Barry y Dick, sus inefables cómplices en la tienda, y juntos hacen innumerables y muy masculinas listas de los 'top' del pop: las cinco mejores películas que siempre incluyen 'Reservoir Dogs', los cinco mejores episodios de 'Cheers' y las cinco mejores canciones de Elvis Costello... Y también comienza a salir con Marie, una cantante americana. Pareciera que por fin va a cumplir uno de sus sueños, tener una novia contratada por una discográfica, hasta que reaparece Laura. Y aunque Rob creyera al principio -o fingiera creer- que esta ruptura sentimental no estaba entre las más cruentas de su vida, que Laura no era digna de figurar en la lista de las cinco principales que le habían roto el corazón, muy pronto comenzará a hacerse preguntas, preguntas muy arduas, y las listas de los top del pop no bastarán para darles respuesta: preguntas sobre la familia, la monogamia, el amor y el desamor, la madurez. ¿Será que por fin va a descubrir que también hay vida, y música, después de la adolescencia?"

Nick Hornby (Author), Mario Otero (Narrator)

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Just Like You

"Brought to you by Penguin. 'Hornby is the poet of the everyday' Observer Lucy married just the sort of man you might expect: a university graduate who runs his own business. Unfortunately he turned out to have serious dependency issues. Joseph is shaking off the memory of his last date, a girl who ticked all the right boxes and also drove him up the wall. On an average Saturday morning in a butcher's shop in North London, Lucy and Joseph meet on opposite sides of the counter. She is a teacher and mother of two, with a past she is trying to forget; he is an aspiring DJ with a wide-open future that maybe needs to start becoming more focused. Lucy and Joseph are opposites in almost all ways. Can something life-changing grow from uncommon ground? Nick Hornby's brilliantly observed, tender and brutally funny new novel gets to the heart of what it means to fall headlong in love with the best possible person - someone who may not be just like you at all. 'Hornby is a writer who dares to be witty, intelligent and emotionally generous at once' New York Times 'Hornby's prose is artful and effortless, his spiky wit as razored as a number-two cut' Independent 'Hornby writes with a funny, fresh voice which skewers male and female foibles with hilarious accuracy' Guardian © Nick Hornby 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020"

Nick Hornby (Author), Ben Bailey Smith, Hattie Ladbury (Narrator)

Audiobook

About a Boy

"Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of About a Boy by Nick Hornby, read by Stephen Mangan. Nick Hornby's second bestselling novel is about sex, manliness and fatherhood. Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he's discovered a brilliant new way of meeting women - through single-parent groups. Marcus is twelve and a little bit nerdish: he's got the kind of mother who made him listen to Joni Mitchell rather than Nirvana. Perhaps they can help each other out a little bit, and both can start to act their age."

Nick Hornby (Author), Stephen Mangan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fever Pitch

"Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby read by Julian Rhind-Tutt. As a young boy, growing up in the Home Counties and watching his parents' marriage fall apart, Nick Hornby had little sense of home. Then his dad took him to Highbury. Arsenal's football ground would become the source of many of the strongest feelings he'd ever have: joy, humiliation, heartbreak, frustration and hope. In this now-classic book, he vividly depicts his troubled relationship with his father, his time as a teacher, and his first loves (after football), all through the prism of the game, as he insightfully and brilliantly explores obsession, and the way it can shape a life."

Nick Hornby (Author), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Narrator)

Audiobook

How to be Good

"Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of How to be Good by Nick Hornby, read by Claire Higgins. According to her own complex moral calculations, Katie Carr has earned her affair. She's a doctor, after all, and doctors are decent people, and on top of that, her husband David is the self-styled Angriest Man in Holloway. But when David suddenly becomes good - properly, maddeningly, give-away-all-his-money good - Katie's sums no longer add up, and she is forced to ask herself some very hard questions. Nick Hornby's brilliant new novel, a No. 1 bestseller in the UK and Ireland, offers a painfully funny account of modern marriage and parenthood, and asks that most difficult of questions: what does it mean to be good?"

Nick Hornby (Author), Clare Higgins (Narrator)

Audiobook

High Fidelity

"In celebration of it's 20th anniversary, Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby, read by Russell Tovey. Nick Hornby's first novel, an international bestseller and instantly recognized by critics and readers alike as a classic, helps to explain men to women, and men to men. Rob is good on music: he owns a small record shop and has strong views on what's decent and what isn't. But he's much less good on relationships. In fact, he's not at all sure that he wants to commit himself to anyone. So it's hardly surprising that his girlfriend decides that enough is enough."

Nick Hornby (Author), Russell Tovey (Narrator)

Audiobook

Funny Girl: Now The Major TV Series Funny Woman Starring Gemma Arterton

"Brought to you by Penguin. THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING GEMMA ARTERTON AND RUPERT EVERETT Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . . Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh. So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts. Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes. But when life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the channel? 'Simply unputdownable' Guardian 'Hilarious' Daily Telegraph 'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times 'Warm, funny, touching . . . winningly perceptive about human relationships and changing social trends' Daily Telegraph 'Like all Hornby's best work, it is both hugely enjoyable and deceptively artful' Spectator 'A beguiling, thoroughly enjoyable read' Sunday Times 'Hugely enjoyable' Sunday Mirror 'Resolutely, winningly light-hearted' Observer 'Hornby's sunniest novel' Metro ©2014 Nick Hornby (P)2014 Penguin Audio"

Nick Hornby (Author), Emma Fielding (Narrator)

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A Long Way Down: the international bestseller

"Brought to you by Penguin. 'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?' For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve, he's going to end it all ... But not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons. Yet it's hard to jump when you've got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices of cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living? Nick Hornby's hilarious bestseller about strangers and secrets, now a major motion picture starring Rosamund Pike and Pierce Brosnan."

Nick Hornby (Author), Beattie Edmondson, Christopher Ragland, Nicky Henson, Pauline Mclynn (Narrator)

Audiobook