Short Stories 2

Short Stories 2

Talking Books

The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.

Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan. When you return a title, you will then receive another one.

If you would like to read any of these titles then please contact the Customer Services Team on 0303 123 9999 or

If you would like further information, or help in selecting titles to read, then please contact the Reader Services Team on 01733 37 53 33 or email

You can write to us at RNIB NLS, PO Box 173, PeterboroughPE2 6WS

Best new horror. 1990. Read by various narrators, 15 hours 32 minutes. TB 10236.

From razor sharp terror to supernatural chills, this sensational showcase from the best short horror novels and stories collects spine melting material from all areas of the field, blood soaked reveries, splatterpunk nightmares and thought provoking fantasies that linger long into the night.Contains passages of a sexual nature.TB 10236.

Cat tales for Christmas. 1993. Read by Peter Wickham, 9 hours 53 minutes. TB 10229.

Subtle cats, stubborn cats, wicked cats, knowing cats, cats slinking, purring, pouncing, cats solitary and sociable, scruffy and sublime, all are here. From the English home counties to the streets of New York, writers as diverse as Ellis Peters, Damon Runyon, Italo Calvino and Roald Dahl spin stories by turns cosy and macabre, sentimental and strange. Between them they offer a collection that captures the essence of feline charm and, like every cat, is a source of surprise and delight.TB 10229.

Classic lines: more great racing stories. 1991. Read by Christopher Scott, 9 hours 14 minutes. TB 9530.

The sport of kings gallop into vivid life with this second selection of stories by two "dead certs". Among the runners are a number of new stories by them, and entries from such established favourites as Damon Runyon, Molly Keane and Edgar Wallace.TB 9530.

Classic tales of ghosts and vampires, volume 1; compiled by the Story Circle. Read byvarious narrators, 9 hours 21 minutes. TB 13282.

Classic tales of ghosts and vampires, volume 2; compiled by the Story Circle. Read by various narrators, 9 hours 6 minutes. TB 15320.

Classic Welsh short stories. 1992. Read by Sion Probert, 9 hours 12 minutes. TB 10052.

The storyteller has always been an important figure in Welsh society, and this collection draws on twenty five of the best Welsh short stories written this century, many of them translations from the Welsh. From the lyricism of Dylan Thomas to the telling prose of Kate Roberts, these tales testify to the vitality and uniqueness of the Welsh tradition.TB 10052.

Classic women's short stories. 2001. Read by Carole Boyd, Liza Ross and TeresaGallagher, 2 hours 46 minutes. TB 15684.

Five stories from influential women writers from the close of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.TB 15684.

Dark love. 1995. Read by various narrators, 15 hours 1 minute. TB 10933.

Twenty-two great modern masters of horror give new definition to being madly in love, in a gathering that includes a locket that unlocks forbidden fantasies; an out-of control erotic outlaw; a mother and daughter in a game of sexual one-upmanship with scarier and scarier stakes; a fashion designer who creates a dress to die for; and other stories that show there are no limits to dark love.Contains passages of a sexual nature.TB 10933.

Dark terrors: The Gollancz book of horror. 1995. Read by various narrators, 13 hours 37 minutes. TB 10977.

An anthology of horror and dark fantasy featuring chilling contributions from authors on both sides of the Atlantic, including Peter Straub, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Kim Newman, Graham Masterton, Christopher Fowler, Richard Christian Matheson, Mark Morris and many more. Dark Terrors will turn the blood in your veins to ice as it takes you to the furthest reaches of the imagination ...TB 10977.

Great golf stories. 1993. Read by Andrew Cuthbert, N Carrington, R MacNab, J Cartwright, Nigel Graham, D Thorpe, J Dunlop, R Gladwell, H Morse, L Lefkow, J King, 8 hours 53 minutes. TB 10773.

An anthology of golf stories revealing human nature at its most sublime and absurd, from detective stories to humour. It includes such authors as E.C. Bentley, P.G. Woodhouse, Stephen Leacock, George Macdonald Fraser, "Sapper", and A.A. Milne. TB 10773.

In other words: new writings by Indian women. 1993. Read by Rosalind Shanks and Rosemary Miller, 6 hours 42 minutes. TB 10785.

"In other words" brings together 14 of the most innovative and adventurous of contemporary Indian writers. From the harsh realism of cultural displacement, through a poignant vignette of growing up urban in the eighties, to a witty and sardonic debunking of mysticism, the stories reproduced here in their original English are remarkable for their richness of subject and style and for the confidence, poise and panache of their writing.TB 10785.

Murder by the book: literary mysteries. From "Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazine" and "Ellery Queen's mystery magazine". 1996.Read by variousnarrators, 11 hours 48 minutes. TB 11346.

Literary inspirations for murder range from Shakespeare to Jane Austen to Dickens and Dashiell Hammett, whether in the form of rare books, missing manuscripts, or in parody and pastiche. This volume of bookishly entertaining tales includes a combination of classics and new works which take you into the worlds of publishing, book collectors, rare book dealers and last, but certainly not least, the writers themselves.TB 11346.

Relative to me: short stories about families. 1990. Read by various narrators, 5 hours 53 minutes. TB 10224.

Families can be a source of inspiration or desperation. In this book families help each other through the traumas of war, of leaving home, of never having enough money and still manage to have fun. Greatly varied in style and tone, this collection captures the essence of family life in all its unpredictability.Contains strong language.TB 10224.

Robert Silverberg's worlds of wonder. 1988. Read by Arthur Blake, 19 hours 36 minutes. TB 7525.

Three books in one: not only has the editor chosen "ten of the finest short stories in the history of science fiction", but he has added a short critical essay on the art and craft of writing each one and a short biographical memoir on each writer also. The stories are by Damon Knight, Alfred Bester, C.L.Moore, Henry Kuttner, Robert Sheckley, James Blish, Cordwainer Smith, Brian Aldiss, Jack Vance, Philip K.Dick, Kornbluth, Bob Shaw and Frederik Pohl.TB 7525.

Separate journeys: short stories by Indian women writers. Read byBrigit Forsyth, 5 hours 33 minutes. TB 10625.

A selection of thirteen stories, some first written in English, some specially translated from a variety of Indian languages. Each one is a journey in which author and characters alike are transformed; each gives its own powerful insight into the human spirit.TB 10625.

Something to do with love. 1996. Read by various narrators, 5 hours 47 minutes. TB 11359.

Stories that have something to do with God, and therefore something to do with love, by some of our finest contemporary writers. The book's diversity of settings and styles reveal divine love in all manner of human experience: a remote Quaker house seemingly violated by malicious neighbours; an angel in a tower block; the exchange of roles between the Virgin Mary and a harassed housewife; and suffering in an Indian hospital are just some of the themes of this collection.TB 11359.

The green man revisited: classic English short stories. 1988. Read by Christopher Scott, 11 hours 47 minutes. TB 8723.

A collection of the best stories written in English in the 1960s and 1970s by authors living all round the world. They are: Chinua Achebe, Kingsley Amis, George Mackay Brown, Morley Callaghan, Elspeth Davie, Susan Hill, Dan Jacobson, Benedict Kiely, Bernard Malamud, Olivia Manning, Gordon Meyer, V.S. Naipaul, R.K. Narayan, Jean Rhys, Frank Sargeson, Elizabeth Taylor, William Trevor and many more.Contains strong language.TB 8723.

The Heinemann book of African women's writing. 1993. Read by Di Langford, 8hours 47 minutes. TB 10400.

How do African women feel about the home, children, love, death, tradition, politics, careers, religion, husbands, food, war? This pan-African collection of women's writing since the late 60s includes stylish short stories as well as original translations of fiction and nonfiction. A choice selection of work both innovative and traditional, these writings explore male and female identity in a rapidly changing world.TB 10400.

The mammoth book of best new horror. 2003. Read by John Chancer, Penelope Freeman, Jeff Harding, Steve Hodson, Anthony Jackson, RobbieMcNab, Liza Ross, Christopher Scott, David Thorpe, 26 hours 39 minutes. TB13970.

"The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror" is an annual compilation of contemporary horror fiction, showcasing the talents of the finest writers working in the field of terror. This volume includes the best stories by up and coming stars of the genre.Contains strong language.TB 13970.

The mammoth book of extreme science fiction. 2006. Read by various narrators, 25 hours 35 minutes. TB 15391.

Extreme science fiction means what is says. Science fiction is at its best when it's pushing the boundaries, beyond what we would normally think or even dream, and taking us into worlds we might never imagine. This book offers us a journey of vast imaginings, from the simplest of beginnings to the most complex of finalities.Contains strong language.TB 15391.

The omnibus of 20th-century ghost stories. 1990. Read by various narrators, 14 hours 59 minutes. TB 10316.

Haunted houses and rooms, demon lovers, children's visions, ghosts of the self revenge, guilt and love from beyond the grave are the themes of the 20th century ghost story. Graham Greene, Dylan Thomas, Walter de la Mare, Muriel Spark, John Updike, Truman Capote, Jean Rhys, Henry James, Virginia Woolf, Tennessee Williams and E.M. Forster all wrote about ghosts and the supernatural. This omnibus collates 27 stories from these authors and many more.TB 10316.

The Oxford book of English ghost stories. 1986. Read by various narrators, 24 hours 56 minutes. TB 10364.

Ghost stories have a universal fascination, but the literary ghost story, as opposed to the tales of oral tradition, is of relatively recent origin. This selection of 42 stories written between 1829 and 1968 is the first to present the full range of the English tradition by demonstrating its historical development as well as its major themes and characteristics.TB 10364.

The Penguin book of modern British short stories. 1988. Read by Simon Vance, Helen Bourne, 20 hours 35 minutes. TB 7205.

Thirty four stories of love, crime, comedy and the supernatural with settings as far apart as London and Los Angeles, Bucharest and Tokyo and which have been chosen from contemporary British writers.TB 7205.

The three-rope trick: an anthology of modern world writing. 1995. Read by various narrators, 8 hours 6 minutes. TB 10957.

Magic, illusion, sleight-of-hand, the strange, are the signature of this fiction anthology. Kathy Page joins in with new talent from Britain, Eire and the USA in this celebration of all things illusory.TB 10957.

The vampire omnibus. 1995. Read by various narrators, 22 hours 14 minutes. TB 10839.

Peter Haining has brought together some of the earliest and rarest vampire tales; short stories on which many great horror films of the genre are based; and contributions by some of the great modern masters of horror such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury, William F. Nolan and Richard Laymon. This is the development of the tales of the 'Undead' over the past two hundred years, and will chill the blood ...TB 10839.

The way it wasn't: great science fiction stories of alternate history.1996. Read by Nigel Carrington, Adam Henderson, 11 hours 30 minutes. TB 11301.

This book takes an excursion into speculative history. Here are thirteen memorable stories by renowned science fiction writers, telling what things might be like if... If Elvis Presley was the President of the United States; if the Black Death had killed the entire population of Europe; if John F. Kennedy had survived the 1963 shooting in Dallas; and other short fiction.TB 11301.

Thou shalt not kill. 1994. Read by Jack Roberts, Laurel Lefkow, Nigel Graham, 8 hours 34 minutes. TB 10724.

This is a collection of ecclesiastical mystery stories. The protagonist in each story is a person of the cloth who becomes involved in an intriguing mystery and subsequently faces a moral dilemma in resolving it. In this anthology we meet a number of familiar sleuths such as Ralph McIerny's Father Dowling, Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael, G K Chesterton's Father Brown and Alice Scanlon Reach's Father Crumlish. Other authors in this collection include Charlotte Armstrong, Janet O'Daniel, Mary Amlaw, Dorothy Salisbury Davis and John Mortimer.TB 10724.

Victorian tales of mystery and detection: an Oxford anthology. 1992. Read byChristopher Scott, 27 hours 6 minutes. TB 9922.

Where ghost stories caution against too great a faith in reason, and show men and women persecuted by the inexplicable, detective stories celebrate the human ability to explain and comprehend. In this anthology of 31 of the best short stories from the Victorian era, ranging from Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins to Baroness Orczy and Sax Rohmer, there are police detectives, gentleman amateurs, ladies, professional consultants, psychics, and even an "anti-detective".TB 9922.

Whispers in the walls: new black and Asian voices from Birmingham. 2001. Read by various narrators, 8 hours 1 minute. TB 14225.

The text contains 17 stories from the pens and hearts of black and Asian writers in Birmingham.Contains passages of a sexual nature.TB 14225.

Aldiss, Brian W

The secret of this book: 20-odd stories. 1995. Read by Mark Straker,Jacqueline King, 12 hours 54 minutes. TB 11313.

This book is unconventional, even for an Aldiss collection. Many of the stories are inter-related, their themes being life, death, transformation. A linking commentary between stories shows how such themes are explored in storytelling - and, in one of the most amusing links, how a story may be stretched out until long after bedtime.Contains strong language.TB 11313.

Aldiss, Brian W.

A romance of the equator. 1989. Read by Robin Browne, 14 hours 25 minutes. TB 8705.

Twenty-four fantasy stories, many set in exotic locations in both space and time - from the Black Forest and Sumatra two million years ago to modern-day India. Awide range of situations linked by grim humour.TB 8705.

Amis, Kingsley

Mr Barrett's secret, and other stories. 1993. Read by Stephen Thorne, 5 hours 31 minutes. TB 10090.

Variety is the spice of this volume. You can read about Mr Barrett'ssurprising secret worry about his daughter's involvement with the poet Browning, share the experiences of a mild literary agent held hostage in bizarre circumstances, or join Lord Lucan and Captain Nolan in an evocation of the charge of the light brigade. Some of the stories are eerie, as when a parson meets his unknown identical twin, but all are vastly entertaining.TB 10090.

Archer, Jeffrey

Twelve red herrings. 1994. Read by various narrators, 9 hours 27 minutes. TB 10150.

These twelve stories feature people under pressure: how do they react when there is an opportunity to seize, a crucial problem to solve, a danger to avoid? Each tale has its twist each its diversion - a red herring – to uncover, while the last one provides a choice of endings.TB 10150.

Asimov, Isaac.

Robot visions. 1990. Read by David Banks, 16 hours 49 minutes. TB 9033.

"Robot Visions" contains 36 of Asimov's short stories and essays,including three never before collected. It summarises a half century of thought about robots and robotics by the man who inspired and named an entire field of study.TB 9033.

Asimov, Isaac

I, robot. 1996. Read by William Roberts, 8 hours 12 minutes. TB 14229.

Robots series; book 1.The three Laws of Robotics ensure that humans remain superior and the robots are kept in their rightful place. But an insane telepathic robot results from a production error, and logically deduces its superiority to non-rational humanity.TB 14229.

Atwood, Margaret

Moral disorder. 2007. Read by Lorelei King, 6 hours 42 minutes. TB 15386.

This book can be seen either as a collection of eleven stories that is almost a novel or as a novel broken up into eleven stories. It resembles a photograph album - a series of clearly observed moments that trace the course of a life, and also the lives intertwined with it - those of parents, of siblings, of children, of friends, of enemies, of teachers, and even of animals. And as in an album, times change: the 30s, the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s and 80s, the present time - all are here. The settings are equally varied: large cities, suburbs, farms, northern forests.Contains strong language.TB 15386.

Atwood, Margaret

Wilderness tips. 1992. Read by Liza Ross, 7 hours 20 minutes. TB 9652.

A leathery bogman transforms an old love affair; a sweet gruesome gift is sent to the wife of an ex-lover; landscape paintings are haunted by the ghost of a young girl. This new collection of short stories reveals the many textures of contemporary life, and the logic of irrational behaviour.TB 9652.

Austen, Jane

Love and friendship: and other early works. 2000. Read by Rachel Atkins, 3 hours 50 minutes. TB 14975.