Reasons to be Cheerful
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Narrated by:
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Gemma Whelan
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By:
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Nina Stibbe
About this listen
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Reasons to Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe.
18 year old Lizzie Vogel finds herself a new job in a dentist's surgery after answering a classified advert in the Leicester Mercury for a 'mature lady with a strong interest in dental issues'. Working for an eccentric dental surgeon who's obsessed with becoming a Freemason, Lizzie's life is uneventful, until Andy Nicolello turns up one day to deliver a crown. Lizzie seizes her chance to find love, and soon begins calling him her boyfriend even though they have never so much as kissed or even sat next to each other on the sofa. But Andy doesn't turn out to be quite what he seems...
Reasons to be Cheerful is a painfully funny account of life as a hapless teenager in 1970s Leicestershire from the bestselling author of Love, Nina, Man at the Helm and Paradise Lodge.
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Story
Deep within the lush Tasmanian rainforest is the remote town of Vanishing Falls, a place with a storied past. The town’s showpiece, built in the 1800s, is its Calendar House - currently occupied by Jack Lily, a prominent art collector and landowner; his wife, Celia; and their four daughters. The elaborate, eccentrically designed mansion houses one masterpiece and 52 rooms - and Celia Lily isn’t in any of them. She has vanished without a trace.… Joelle Smithton knows that a few folks in Vanishing Falls believe that she’s simple-minded.
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OK Story
- By Cindy House on 12-21-21
By: Poppy Gee
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The Home
- By: Karen Osman
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Angela was just a baby when she was abandoned, and a children's home is no place to grow up. When manager Ray takes girls off to his 'den' in the garden, they always come back crying.... So, when wealthy couple James and Rosemary come to choose a child to adopt, Angela is desperate to escape. Years later, Angela starts to search for her birth mother, Evelyn, hoping to heal the scars of her childhood. But strange and sinister events start to unfold. And Evelyn fears she may not survive her daughter's return.
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Did not see the twist coming
- By Michelle Yaple on 08-20-19
By: Karen Osman
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A Thousand Roads Home
- By: Carmel Harrington
- Narrated by: Jill Crawford, Frank Grimes
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Tom. Or Dr O’Grady, as he used to be called. When you pass him on the street, most people don’t even give him a second glance. You see, Tom isn’t living his best life. Burdened by grief, he’s only got his loyal dog, Bette Davis, for company and a rucksack containing his whole world. Then there’s Ruth and her son, DJ, who no longer have a place to call home. But Ruth believes that you can change the world by helping one person at a time - and Tom needs her help. There are a thousand ways to find your home - you just need to be brave enough to look for them.
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Couldn't put it down
- By Allison Swart on 09-22-19
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What Happens Now?
- By: Sophia Money-Coutts
- Narrated by: Sophia Money-Coutts
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’ - that is, until he dumped her for a blonde 20-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen? Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant.
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Good Beach Listen
- By Anonymous User on 06-02-21
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The Other Son
- By: Nick Alexander
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Alice has been lying to herself for years, holding fast to the belief that the needs of her family far outweigh her own. But her outwardly successful marriage hides dark secrets, and for much of her life the children were the only reason she stuck around. These days, though her successful banker son lives nearby, his young wife seems to do everything she can to keep Alice at bay. As for Alice's other son, he has always been something of a stranger and has been traveling for so long that Alice isn't even sure what continent he is on anymore.
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Wonderfully Done!
- By Ann on 11-06-16
By: Nick Alexander
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The Nanny
- A Novel
- By: Gilly Macmillan
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Patience Tomlinson, Ben Eliot
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In this compulsively listenable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
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Great gripping story!
- By Jordan Zenzel on 10-01-19
By: Gilly Macmillan
What listeners say about Reasons to be Cheerful
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gretchen
- 04-09-19
Delightful!
Reasons to be Cheerful was a pleasure to listen to! The quirky characters made me laugh, and the main character I found endearing and easy to love. The story was well written, often humorous, and carried an important message without being preachy. Gemma Whelan's narration only added to the fun. I look forward to more books by Nina Stibbe and hopefully narrated by Gemma Whelan.
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- Dorothy Quinn
- 09-05-19
Charming
I read the review in the NYT and was intrigued. What a charming girl. I’m a sucker for quirky families and loved Lizzie. Laughing out loud while driving is the best barometer for a good book
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-18-23
loved it
what a delightful book. there were enough literary references and topical plot threads to make a fun and sweet story healthy as well as delicious.
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- Quinn
- 06-24-20
Somewhat disappointing.
As much as I enjoy and appreciate British storytelling, this book is not what the summary hints toward. It isn’t bad, but just okay. Gemma’s performance is great.
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- LynnInColorado
- 05-31-21
Cleverly humorous.
This author was mentioned in the New York Times and I’m so glad to have listened to all her books so far.
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