Audiobooks narrated by Will Self

The Examined Mind: A BBC radio collection exploring the history, philosophy and science of self-help

This collection brings together history, science, philosophy and comedy to explore our age-old search for meaning. We live in an age of self-improvement and self-examination - lifehacking, wellbeing, self-care, mindfulness retreats - but this seemingly very modern phenomenon is a pursuit that dates back for millennia. Join comedian Robin Ince to explore how the ancient Greeks aimed to get happier, healthier and richer. Will Self asks some of Britain's key scientists, philosophers and faith leaders to share their conclusions on the meaning of our existence. Historian Kate Williams investigates the Grandfather of Self-Help, Samuel Smiles' 1859 book Self Help, and its lasting influence. In 'Hell is Other People', performer Byron Vincent attempts to overcome his paralysing fear of social situations. Emma Barnett traces the multi-billion dollar mindfulness industry to its Buddhist roots to discover whether it's just another health fad. Comedian Felicity Ward tries to solve her mental health issues, one app at a time. Sian Williams presents a practical guide to boosting brain power through exercise, relaxation, stimulation, sleep and diet. From the ancient Greeks to the present day and even into the future, The Examined Mind provides an unique insight into our constant quest to be better people.

Byron Vincent, Emma Barnett, Felicity Ward, Kate Williams, Robin Ince, Will Self (Author), Bryon Vincent, Emma Barnett, Felicity Ward, Kate Williams, Robin Ince, Sian Williams, Will Self (Narrator)

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The Quantity Theory of Insanity

The fictional world of Will Self is unlike any other. In The Quantity Theory of Insanity, we learn, amongst other things, the dark and terrible secret of Ward 9, why you are right to think that London is full of dead people and that each and every human being is caught up in a colossal balancing act between the sane and the insane ... The Quantity Theory of Insanity is acerbic, satirical, hilarious and, most of all, utterly unique in imaginative vision.

Will Self (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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Dr Mukti and Other Tales of Woe

Shiva Mukti is a hardworking and conscientious psychiatrist, who, in the inauspicious surroundings of St Mungo's - a central London hospital of more than average decrepitude - does his level best to staunch the flow of mental illness. But Mukti is not a happy man, beset by thwarted ambition and sexual frustration, he now finds himself in thrall to the more successful and urbane Dr Zack Busner, consultant psychiatrist at Heath Hospital, and an originator of the once modish Quantity Theory of Insanity. Why is it that Busner seems so intent on fostering a professional relationship with Mukti? Is it his way of putting his junior colleague in his place? Or is Busner - as Mukti begins to suspect - a member of a sinister cabal? And what about the schizophrenic patients Busner refers to Mukti for his opinion, are they merely sick people, or in fact human weapons in a bizarre psychological duel?

Will Self (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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Will

Will Self (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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Will Self's Great British Bus Journey: A BBC Radio 4 documentary

Will Self takes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK by bus and coach, exploring urban Britain and British identity at a time of flux. Bus and coach windows afford him a different perspective on the nation. He eschews the bright lights of the big cities, heading instead for smaller urban centres. His objective is to speak to Britons about how they view their cities and themselves in 2018. Over ten programmes, Will's trip takes him to Plymouth, Swansea, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Preston, Middlesbrough, East Kilbride and Derry-Londonderry. In the fish and chip shops, the B&Bs, the pubs and car repair garages, Will debates the state of British identity - and discovers that Britain today has become a highly debatable land. Produced by Laurence Grissell.

Will Self (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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The Book of Dave

What if a demented London cabbie called Dave Rudman wrote a book to his estranged son to give him some fatherly advice? What if that book was buried in Hampstead and hundreds of years later, when rising sea levels have put London underwater, spawned a religion? What if one man decided to question life according to Dave? And what if Dave had indeed made a mistake? Shuttling between the recent past and a far-off future where England is terribly altered, The Book of Dave is a strange and troubling mirror held up to our times: disturbing, satirizing and vilifying who and what we think we are.

Will Self (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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Cruelty

From Roald Dahl, the master of the sting in the tail, a newly collected audiobook of his darkest stories, read by Will Self, Adrian Scarborough, Stephanie Beacham, Andrew Scott, Richard E Grant, Tamsin Greig, Mark Heap, Juliet Stevenson and Jessica Hynes. 'Cruelty has a human heart . . .' Even when we mean to be kind we can sometimes be cruel. We each have a streak of nastiness inside us. In these ten tales of cruelty master storyteller Roald Dahl explores how and why it is we make others suffer. Collected together for the first time, stories include The Great Automatic Grammatizator, Royal jelly, Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat,The Swan, Poison, Skin, The Princess and the Poacher, Genesis and Catastrophe and Mr Feasey. Dahl understood our deepest secrets, desires and fears and Cruelty is one of four books - the rest being Lust, Deception and Madness - that explore our hidden selves.

Roald Dahl (Author), Adrian Scarborough, Andrew Scott, Jessica Hynes, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Heap, Richard E Grant, Richard E. Grant, Stephanie Beacham, Tamsin Greig, Will Self (Narrator)

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The Great Automatic Grammatizator (A Roald Dahl Short Story)

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Great Automatic Grammatizator, a short, sharp, chilling story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale. Read by the writer Will Self. In The Great Automatic Grammatizator, Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors, tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, a powerful computer designed to help people starts to supplant them . . . The Great Automatic Grammatizator is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes seventeen other devious and shocking stories, featuring the wife who serves a dish that baffles the police; a curious machine that reveals the horrifying truth about plants; the man waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach; and others. This story is also available as a Penguin ebook. Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today. Will Self is a novelist, journalist, reviewer, broadcaster and short story writer. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The London Review of Books, Esquire, the Guardian and numerous other publications.

Roald Dahl (Author), Will Self (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Will Self