2024 – My Favourite five audiobooks

My final look at books which I particularly enjoyed in 2024 looks at audiobooks. I read many fewer of these than I used to or than I want to so there are only five here. The narration is a vital part of the experience of listening to an audiobook so I have excluded books which I enjoyed but where I didn’t really like the way that it was told. All of these books were new to me in the year and four are non-fiction with one being fiction.

Click on the titles below to take you to my original review of the book.

Remember that I have also, this week, published lists of my favourite novels and non-fiction titles making 25 favourite books in total for the year.

• Difficult Women by Helen Lewis and read by the author – The lives and achievements of eleven women who have made a difference in the fight for women’s equality. Fascinating history of feminism.

• Great Hatred by Ronan McGreevy and read by Aidan Kelly – An account of the assassination of a British MP by the IRA in the years following WW1. Also good context and social history of the time.

• Henry V by Dan Jones and read by the author – An enthusiastic account of the life and times of one of our greatest kings. Informative and enjoyable.

• The Mission Song by John Le Carre and read by David Oyelowo – this story of an innocent interpreter becoming involved with the British government’s attempt to stage a coup in an African country is greatly enhanced by a brilliant narration which totally gripped me.

• The Siege by Ben Macintyre and read by the author – The story of the storming of the Iranian Embassy in London by the SAS. The book walks you through the events and introduces you to all the people involved. Excellently told.