General Comedy Audiobooks | Comedy

Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink

Since its earliest days, The New Yorker has been a tastemaker–literally. As the home of A. J. Liebling, Joseph Wechsberg, and M. F. K. Fisher, who practically invented American food writing, the magazine established a tradition that is carried forward today by irrepressible literary gastronomes including Calvin Trillin, Bill Buford, Adam Gopnik, Jane Kramer, and Anthony Bourdain. Now, in this indispensable collection, The New Yorker dishes up a feast of delicious writing on food and drink, from every age of its fabled eighty-year history. There are memoirs, short stories, tell-alls, and poems–ranging in tone from sweet to sour and in subject from soup to nuts. M. F. K. Fisher pays homage to “cookery witches,” those mysterious cooks who possess “an uncanny power over food,” while John McPhee valiantly trails an inveterate forager and is rewarded with stewed persimmons and white-pine-needle tea. There is Roald Dahl’s famous story “Taste,” in which a wine snob’s palate comes in for some unwelcome scrutiny, and Julian Barnes’s ingenious tale of a lifelong gourmand who goes on a very peculiar diet for still more peculiar reasons. Adam Gopnik asks if French cuisine is done for, and Calvin Trillin investigates whether people can actually taste the difference between red wine and white. We journey with Susan Orlean as she distills the essence of Cuba in the story of a single restaurant, and with Judith Thurman as she investigates the arcane practices of Japan’s tofu masters. Closer to home, Joseph Mitchell celebrates the old New York tradition of the beefsteak dinner, and Mark Singer shadows the city’s foremost fisherman-chef. Selected from the magazine’s plentiful larder, SECRET INGREDIENTS celebrates all forms of gustatory delight.

David Remnick (Author), Various, Various Artists, Various Narrators (Narrator)

Audiobook

Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table

Written in a style similar to that of Nigel Slater's multi-award-winning food memoir 'Toast', this is a celebration of the glory, humour, eccentricities and embarrassments that are The British at Table. The British have a relationship with their food that is unlike that of any other country. Once something that was never discussed in polite company, it is now something with which the nation is obsessed. But are we at last developing a food culture or are we just going through the motions? 'Eating for England' is an entertaining, detailed and somewhat tongue-in-cheek observation of the British and their food, their cooking, their eating and how they behave in restaurants, with chapters on - amongst other things - dinner parties, funeral teas, Indian restaurants, dieting and eating whilst under the influence. Written in Nigel Slater's trademark readable style, 'Eating for England' highlights our idiosyncratic attitude towards the fine art of dining.

Nigel Slater (Author), Nigel Slater (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pure Drivel

Steve Martin's talent has always defied definition: an actor who's kept us riveted for over 25 years, a razor-sharp screenwriter, an acclaimed playwright. In this ingeniously funny collection of humorous riffs, those who thought Martin's gifts were confined to the screen will discover what readers of The New Yorker magazine already know: that Martin is a master of the written word. Hilariously funny and intelligent in their skewering of the topic at hand, the audiobook's pieces, some of which first appeared in The New Yorker, feature Martin at his finest. With a playwright's ear for dialogue, a sense of irony only Steve Martin could muster, and a first-class comic ability to perfectly time the punch line, Pure Drivel will have listeners crying with laughter, and marveling at the fact that in addition to all of his many talents, Steve Martin is also a superb writer.

Steve Martin (Author), Steve Martin (Narrator)

Audiobook

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue: In Search Of Mornington Crescent

Mornington Crescent is a game enshrined in many of the legends of our sceptred isle. Now, at last, the eminent broadcaster Andrew Marr peers - with the help of Humphrey Lyttelton, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer and many famous fans of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - behind the veil of secrecy which has until now surrounded it. In this extended hour-long special, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the myth and mystery of the ever-popular game is finally uncovered, with contributions from well-known experts and enthusiasts of the game: Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Gambon, Antony Worrall Thompson, Adam Hart-Davis and Barry Davies. Including extra unbroadcast material, the almost unbelievable story of this illustrious game is told via interviews with historians, scholars and members of the public. It is a fascinating documentary, both for 'Mornington Crescent' novices as well as more seasoned players of the game. As if that wasn't enough, the Clue team also provides readings of four historical accounts on the subject: The Artful Dodgson, The Scandal of Mad Jack Camden, Game and Death On The Line. From Roman times to Chaucer and beyond, 'Mornington Crescent' has become a legend at its own tube stop. Now, at last, its true history can be told.

BBC Audio, Bbc Audio (Author), Andrew Marr, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Humphrey Lyttelton, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Various (Narrator)

Audiobook

The News Quiz: Stop Press!

The News Quiz, 'the finest topical comedy panel game known to radio', has been providing headlines and punchlines since it first aired in 1977, and spawned the hit television panel game Have I Got News For You. These four episodes see the plucky panellists, including Alan Coren, Andy Hamilton, Phill Jupitus and Jeremy Hardy, tackling the biggest news stories (and some of the smallest) with their inimitable wit and wisdom. With guest stars such as Clive Anderson, Jo Brand, Phil Hammond and Carrie Quinlan, they face questions on a variety of topics, from Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Iraq and the NHS to baffled hedgehogs, feisty female chimps, Jose Mourinho's dog and the shocking discovery that mice don't like cheese. Sandi Toksvig is at the helm, whilst newsreaders Harriet Cass, Corrie Corfield and Rory Morrison read a selection of the funniest cuttings. So sit back and enjoy the highlights of 2006 and 2007 from this smart, silly and satirical game show, distilled by the very best and wittiest commentators.

John Lloyd (Author), Sandi Toksvig, Various (Narrator)

Audiobook

Clare In The Community: Series 1

In this second hilarious series, social worker Clare Barker is still struggling to control both her professional and her private life. There are troublesome clients to deal with, as well as colleagues and her long-term partner Brian, who is as hapless as ever. These six episodes see Clare setting up a date between Helen and Simon, taking a holiday (and worrying that the office will fall apart without her), and accepting an invitation to be interviewed for Woman's Hour. Meanwhile, Brian walks out on her, the team volunteers for a street count to help the homeless, and Megan's baby is due. Based on the long-running Guardian cartoon strip, Clare in the Community has garnered huge critical acclaim and an audience of over half a million listeners. Starring Sally Phillips as Clare, with Alex Lowe as Brian and Nina Conti as Megan, this release is guaranteed to appeal to all fans of the sublimely self-important social worker.

David Ramsden, Harry Venning, Various (Author), Sally Phillips (Narrator)

Audiobook

Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe

Sports fans are hungry for access! Fans of football are tired of lame, poorly written memoirs or technical fantasy football books. Rich Eisen is going to give them what they want-a chance to share his world of a never-ending football season. As host of the NFL Network's marquee show Total Access, Eisen is truly the ultimate fly on the wall and one of only a handful of people who attend almost every event on the NFL calendar from the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl to the NFL Draft to the Hall of Fame Weekend and regular season kickoff. Talking in a style that is truly his own, Eisen provides the rabid fan with news, interviews, and analysis with his razor sharp wit honed by years of experience. Total Access will cover every aspect of pro football including: o Eisen's unique take on the off season events o On and off field controversies o The facts you don't get from a stat book Eisen shows listeners the football world in a completely new, entertaining and insightful way, just like Jon Stewart revolutionized America's political news. It is the ultimate audiobook for fans everywhere.

Rich Eisen (Author), Rich Eisen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Just A Minute: The Best Of 2007

‘Welcome to Just a Minute! And as The Minute Waltz fades away... please talk for 60 seconds on a random subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation...’ First broadcast in 1967, Just a Minute is one of the longest-running radio comedy shows. A national institution, it is also loved and listened to all around the world. In these four episodes, attempting to talk non-stop for sixty seconds are regulars Paul Merton and Clement Freud, with a host of special guests including Jenny Eclair, Maria McErlane, Chris Addison, Marcus Brigstocke, Maureen Lipman, Pam Ayres, Julian Clary, Gyles Brandreth and Graham Norton. Long-suffering host Nicholas Parsons controls the proceedings (and the unruly panellists) while among the subjects hilariously tackled are 1066, Welsh rarebit, Timbuktu, the aristocracy, my favourite sin, how to be a thespian, public relations, forbidden fruit, taking the waters and Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. Don’t waste a minute: there’s two whole hours of frenetic, fast-moving fun to enjoy here in these four episodes of Radio 4’s most devious panel game.

Ian Messiter (Author), Nicholas Parsons, Various (Narrator)

Audiobook

Ayres On The Air: Series 2

Just over thirty years ago, a little-known poet named Pam Ayres made her debut on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks. Since then, she has taken the nation by storm, entertaining millions of people with her books, stage shows and radio and television appearances. Her first BBC Radio 4 series, Ayres on the Air, was a huge success, and this second series proves to be every bit as droll and delightful. A mix of comic poetry, sketches, and observations on life, each programme is themed around a different subject: Fame, Animals, Travel, Motherhood, The Old Days and Food. Here are much-loved poems such as 'Do You Think Bruce Springsteen would Fancy Me?', 'I'm Going to Be Surgically Enhanced', 'Clamp the Mighty Limpet', 'How Can That Be My Baby?', 'The Dolly on the Dustcart', 'With These Hands' and 'Thoughts of a Late-Night Knitter'; and sketches about the frustration of calling rail enquiry lines, the art of text messaging, and trying to stick to a diet. These six programmes show the inimitable Pam Ayres at her warmest and wittiest, and are guaranteed to amuse and delight her many fans.

Others, Pam Ayres, Peter Reynolds (Author), Felicity Montagu, Geoffrey Whitehead, Pam Ayres (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mitchell & Webb In Daydream Believers

'Daydream Believers', written by and starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, follows the parallel stories of two flatmates, Ray and Colin, and the mighty alien empire of Baron Amstrad and Info, his retro-looking android. Ray (Mitchell) writes popular science fiction stories when he doesn't get writer's block. He does, however, get many interruptions - thanks to his lodger, Colin (Webb). Colin starts ante-natal classes in the hope of finding a girlfriend, and Colin and Ray's kitchen is suddenly infested with ants. Meanwhile, in the infinite reaches of space, Baron Amstrad is feeling a bit broody, and the galaxy is suddenly invaded by ruthless alien hordes... The Baron gives birth to an idea that might just help. But Will Colin get lucky with a girl? Does the red alert have to be so loud? And do the alien Labradons look more like locusts, bees, ants - or dogs? David Mitchell and Robert Webb are the stars of the Bafta award-winning 'That Mitchell and Webb Look' (BBC2), 'That Mitchell and Webb Sound' (BBC Radio 4) and 'Peep Show' (Channel 4). As heard on BBC Radio 2, 'Daydream Believers' also stars Mark Benton, Olivia Colman, Simon Greenall and Mark Evans.

David Mitchell, Robert Webb (Author), David Mitchell, Robert Webb (Narrator)

Audiobook

Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off: Glastonbury Special

He's back, and this time he's muddy. You can follow the exploits the guru of Budleigh Salterton as he enjoys the sights, the smells and the sheer footling misery of Glastonbury 2007. With his ever-unhelpful fiancée Bella, played by Catherine Tate, and a ragtag assortment of hippies and hummus, Giles shows you that all you need for the perfect festival is 4000 Cornish pasties, Shirley Bassey and a hat in the shape of a muppet. That's Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off... To Glastonbury

Graeme Garden, Jeremy Salsby, Marcus Brigstocke (Author), Marcus Brigstocke (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dave Gorman Genius: Series 1

In a quest to unearth a genius idea, Dave Gorman, with the help of special guests Paul Daniels, Richard Madeley, John Fortune, Neil Innes and Stewart Lee, peruses a parade of proposals, be they innovations, gadgets, gizmos, philosophies or follies, in an attempt to sort the worthy from the worthless, the inspired from the insipid and decide which pitch wins the legendary Genius trophy. Ideas proposed in this first series include the use of laughing gas to quell rioters; bubble wrap filled with helium (an ideal stress buster, plus cheaper postage); breathalysers on mobile phones to stop you making regrettable calls; a 99p coin; edible fruit labels; genetically engineered mini-elephants as pets; and running the House of Commons by the rules of Just a Minute. If you've ever had an ingenious invention, a sublime plan for solving problems both small and large, or a twisted scheme for making the world a better, or more interesting, place then Genius is the midwife to your brainchild.

Dave Gorman, Dave Scott (Author), Dave Gorman, Guests (Narrator)

Audiobook

General Comedy Audiobooks in Comedy