The Penguin Podcast

Penguin Podcast 58 - Hornby, Clothed

In this special podcast Nick Hornby talks revealingly about living in England, writing, music and his new novel Juliet, Naked.Get the Podcast

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About this podcast

For information about any of the authors and books featured in these podcasts, plus features, interviews and news on the best in UK fiction and non-fiction, visit Penguin Books.

Annie and Duncan are a mid-thirties couple who have reached a fork in the road, realising their shared interest in the reclusive musician Tucker Crowe (in Duncan's case, an obsession rather than an interest) is not enough to hold them together any more. When Annie hates Tucker's 'new release', a terrible demo of his most famous album, it's the last straw - Duncan cheats on her and she promptly throws him out. Via an internet discussion forum, Annie's harsh opinion reaches Tucker himself, who couldn't agree more. He and Annie start an unlikely correspondence which teaches them both something about moving on from years of wasted time.

Nick Hornby's compelling new novel, four years after A Long Way Down, is about the nature of creativity and obsession, and how two lonely people can gradually find each other.

Visit Nick's site

And buy the book

Or read the first chapter

Or download Nick Hornby audiobooks on iTunes

PenguinPodcast 57 - D-Day

65 years after the Normandy landings, this special podcast commemorates the D-Day and the people and events that changed the course of history.

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About this podcast

For information about any of the authors and books featured in these podcasts, plus features, interviews and news on the best in UK fiction and non-fiction, visit Penguin Books.

For British children the Second World War was a terrifying time of deprivation, uprootings and separation. But many also endured intense air raids or found themselves, shockingly, caught up in the action.

Young Voices tells how British children across the globe lived in the days before and during the fighting. Meet nine-year-old Jean Greaves, whose father was taken by the Nazis for helping Jewish people; schoolboy Derek Bech who clung to a raft in heavy seas after his ship was torpedoed; baker's boy Ron Hurford in occupied Guernsey who stole German flour for his family; teenager and messenger Peter Izard who dodged a falling doodlebug; Manila internee Jacqueline Towell who couldn't walk for malnutrition; and many others who survived adversity and danger.

Through the breathtaking stories of over one hundred contributors, Lyn Smith has written an extraordinary history of the war as seen through child's eyes.

The audiobook edition features original archival recordings from the Imperial War Museum and a narration from Tim Piggott-Smith.

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The Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was simply awesome. What followed them was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war, at times as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides.

Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side. The war in northern France marked not just a generation but the whole of the post-war world, profoundly influencing relations
 between America and Europe.

Making use of overlooked and new material from over thirty archives in half a dozen countries, D-Day is the most vivid and well-researched account yet of the battle of Normandy. As withStalingrad and Berlin, Antony Beevor's gripping narrative conveys the true experience of war.

The Audiobook edition, narrated by Cameron Stewart, is unabridged on 3 MP3 CDs.

Buy the No1 bestselling hardback

Buy the unabridged CD

Penguin Podcast 56 - Serious Horsing Around

In today's podcast we welcome our new host, Hannah Flyn, and hear from Rupert Isaacson, father of The Horse Boy

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About this podcast

For information about any of the authors and books featured in these podcasts, plus features, interviews and news on the best in UK fiction and non-fiction, visit Penguin Books.

When their son Rowan was born, Rupert and Kristin's dream had come true. But the dream became a nightmare when their beautiful boy developed a disorder that left him incapable of communication, tormented by raging fits, requiring 24-hour care - and shattering their lives.

Then, one day, father and son were walking in the woods near their house and stumbled across their neighbour's old brown horse, Betsy. What happened next was unlike anything Rupert had ever seen. Certainly, the effect on Betsy was extraordinary: she went stock-still and bowed her head, wide-eyed and quivering before the child. But when Rupert lifted Rowan onto Betsy's back, the effect on his son was nothing short of miraculous: Rowan started to speak...

Shaken but exhilarated, Rupert proposed that the family make a journey to the ancient homeland of the horse, deep in the wilds of Mongolia, where he'd heard astonishing stories of healing and transformation. So began an epic journey on horseback, from their home in Texas to the furthest reaches of the planet - a journey that would test their love, challenge their beliefs, and change their lives.

See a video and buy the book

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Visit the Horse Boy Foundation



Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, Duchess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty. Bravely he works as hard as he can, suffering at the hands of men who treat animals badly. But Black Beauty has an unbreakable spirit and will, and is determined to survive...

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PenguinPodcast 55 - Breakin' Up Ain't Easy

In today's special edition of the Penguin Podcast we say goodbye to Preena 'The Voice' Gadher who has been our podcast host since we launched in 2005. Her enunciation has now left the building :-(

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For information about any of the authors and books featured in these podcasts, plus features, interviews and news on the best in UK fiction and non-fiction, visit Penguin Books.

PenguinPodcast54 - Grandparenting

Today's podcast features Simon Winchester and Penguin's own grandparents, Tony Lacey and Eleo Gordon

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About this podcast

For information about any of the authors and books featured in these podcasts, plus features, interviews and news on the best in UK fiction and non-fiction, visit Penguin Books.

Before fate intervened, Joseph Needham was a distinguished biochemist at Cambridge University, married to a fellow scientist. In 1937 he was asked to supervise a young Chinese student named Lu Gwei-Djen, and in that moment began the two greatest love affairs of his life – Miss Lu, and China.

Miss Lu inspired Needham to travel to China where he initially spent three dangerous years as a wartime diplomat. He established himself as the pre-eminent China scholar of all time, firm in his belief that China would one day achieve world prominence. By the end of his life, Needham had become a truly global figure, travelling endlessly and honoured by all - though banned from America because of his politics. And in 1989, after a fifty-two year affair, he finally married the woman who had first inspired his passion.

The Magnificent Barbarian is Simon Winchester at his best - at once a magnificent portrait of one man's remarkable life and a riveting exploration of the country that so engaged him.

Read an extract

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The Really Useful Grandparents' Book is the perfect book to share with your grandchildren and help you plan your time with them. Packed with information on the kinds of things a child will want to know about, from the world's most dangerous animals to Mount Everest and Alexander the Great, it also shows how together you can plan a camp in your garden, learn to do cross-stitch or make pop-up cards, do some basic carpentry, make your own fish fingers, play racing demon or learn chess, write a rap or a poem, make a curiosity box, decorate the table, create a special playlist on your iPod and many other activities which will truly enhance your relationship with your grandchild and leave both of you the richer for it. 

Buy the Book

Penguin Podcast 53 - Summer of Hits!

Today's podcast features three of our top summer titles, Marian Keyes' This Charming Man, the new James Bond adventure Devil May Care and a brand new Artemis Fowl novel from Eoin Colfer.  

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Penguin Podcast 52 - Englishmen and Englishwomen

Today's podcast, guest hosted by Anna Ridley, features popular blogger turned author Catherine Sanderson and popular poet turned pop star Simon Armitage.  

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Penguin Podcast 51 - Here Comes Somebody

Clay Shirky visited our studios last week to tell us about himself, his new book and the technologies that are affecting all of our lives. 

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Penguin Podcast 50 - Tainted Love

Today's early valentine's edition of the Penguin Podcast features two alternative romance titles.  

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Penguin Podcast Christmas Special

A special christmas podcast featuring one of the most anticipated titles for 2008. Tim Piggott-Smith reads a seasonal extract from Karen Maitland's Company of Liars. You will be hearing much more about this title in the new year!

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Download CompanyofLiarsXmas.mp3