Poets, politicians, and a pet hamster

The Year 1000, by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger, read by Derek Jacobi (HarperCollins, 2 tapes, 3 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

Now that the M-thing is safely behind us, there may be room for a little intelligent contemplation of the `whence/whither" variety; and where better to start than this vivid and compelling look at what everyday life was like at the turn of the first millennium? You'll learn that Ethelred the Unready was anything but; that Dublin was an important centre for the slave trade in the 11th century; that country folk in northern Europe who took to eating leaves and berries in time of famine often got an outrageous high, thanks to the presence of a compound similar to LSD in certain plants; and a million other fascinating facts, organised into a fascinating narrative by the authors and imparted with benevolent calm by Derek Jacobi. This book would be a treat at any time: at this particular time, it's a godsend.

News That Stays News: the 20th century in poems, edited by Simon Rae, read by Alex Jennings, Eileen Atkins, Andrew Sachs and Timothy West (Penguin, 2 tapes, 4 hours, £8.99 in UK)

AND here's another one: a photograph album of the cataclysmic century just past, with snapshots by T.S.Eliot, W.B. Yeats, Wilfred Owen et al, right up to the present day. It's a sobering journey, this, as the optimism of the early years is overtaken by slaughter, devastation and the insane paralysis of the Cold War; the poems are, by necessity, short, but Simon Rae's succinct introductions are both informative and evocative, the rhythm of the passing years adds considerably to the momentum, and the readers are superb. Never a dull moment: but quite a few surprises.

A Star Called Henry, by Roddy Doyle, read by the author (Random House, 4 tapes, 6 hrs, £12.99 in UK)

RODDY DOYLE'S latest hero, the rebellious, streetwise Henry Smart, received a mixed critical reception this summer, but there's no denying the vivacity and pace of this trot through 1916 and all that. Doyle reads himself, with an appropriately cynical spin, but there are times when the prose cries out for a more varied approach than his somewhat world-weary Dublin tones can provide.

The Restraint of Beasts, by Magnus Mills, read by Peter Capaldi (HarperCollins audio, 2 tapes, 3 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

`A DEMENTED, deadpan comic wonder" was the verdict of no less a personage than Thomas Pynchon on this tale of itinerant fencers (the high-tension kind, not the ones who prance about in helmets and tights): and that's exactly what it is, as read with demented, deadpan perfection by Peter Capaldi. Brilliant, understated, hilarious and not to be missed on any account, and I'm away off tae buy the book.

Strange Places, Questionable People, by John Simpson, read by the author (Macmillan, 2 tapes, 3 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

THE expression "right place at the right time" might have been coined to describe John Simpson (the North for Bloody Sunday, Baghdad during the Gulf War, Tianenmen Square for the massacres, South Africa for the killing of Steve Biko and the release of Nelson Mandela) but as this astute, provocative autobiography reveals, this was no series of happy accidents but the result of a dedication to duty which bordered on the obsessive - worse, bordered on lunacy. Full of smart observations, amusing in a laconic, BBC sort of way, occasionally scathing - "I wouldn't cross the road to shake the hand of Gerry Adams," he declares at one point, while the luckless sub-editor who cut 15 seconds from one of his Baghdad reports is condemned as another Saddam Hussein - this is an absorbing book which will fascinate both newshounds and those who confess to a certain cynicism about news as a product.

The Final Score, by Brian Moore, read by the author (Hodder, 2 tapes, 2 hrs, £7.99 in UK)

AT A TIME when cynicism has hit soccer harder than a Gabriel Batistuta volley, the decency, optimism and sheer wall-to-wall goodness which radiates from the former ITV commentator Brian Moore is a joy to contemplate - and for those who imbibed The Big Match with their Sunday dinners, The Final Score represents a delicious helping of nostalgia. No post-match demolition jobs here; Moore has a kind word for just about everybody (even Brian Clough), and brings back countless memories, not all pleasant - remember Good Old Arsenal? - but all caressed by that wonderful ripe plum of a voice.

The Remorseful Day, by Colin Dexter, read by Kevin Whately (Macmillan, 2 tapes, 3 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

YES, this is the one where Morse breathes his last, and believe me, it's a case of "abandon hope, all ye who enter here", for there'll be no miraculous resurrection from this downbeat, almost casual demise. Having revealed the end, I'm going to turn all coy about the rest: suffice to say, Kevin Whately reads with the same patient amiability he brings to his role as Sergeant Lewis, and that by the end of the final reel, Morse fans will feel as if they've had a death in the family.

The Poetry Quartets 4 (Bloodaxe/British Council, 2 tapes, 113 mins, £10.00 in UK.)

ANOTHER volume in this excellent little series featuring contemporary poets reading their own work - the Paddy volume, as it happens, featuring Paul Durcan, Michael Longley, Brendan Kennelly and Medbh McGuckian. Superb poems, splendid voices, entertaining introductions; send it as a gift to a loved one far away, for it carries a huge chunk of Ireland with it.

Watermelon, by Marian Keyes, read by Niamh Cusack (Penguin, 2 tapes, 21/2 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

THIS book certainly begins with a bang, not a whimper: on the day Clare gives birth to their first child, husband James tells her he's leaving her for the nice woman in the flat downstairs. The whimpering, needless to say, comes later, as Clare is left to cope with emotional breakdown, a baby, and a burgeoning fondness for alcohol; enter her supportive, if somewhat irritable, Irish family, followed in due course by a New Man of the most salubrious kind. A witty, effortlessly enjoyable story, read with warmth and humour by Niamh Cusack - who also reads Marian Keyes's Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and Last Chance Saloon for Penguin audio.

High Five, by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King (Macmillan, 2 tapes, 3 hrs, £8.99 in UK)

DONTCHA just love Stephanie Plum? This is the fifth instalment of Janet Evanovich's sassy bounty hunter, and it's as fresh and juicy as the first, with our heroine torn between true love with handsome cop Joe Morelli and a naughty night with shady Ranger, he of the dubious deals and hot black wheels. Then there's the weird and wonderful granny, the pet hamster, a mad munchkin (vertically challenged person to you, pal) and Lorelei King, who brings this gallery of wackos to exhilarating and hilarious life. Light entertainment, folks, don't come much lighter.

Arminta Wallace is an Irish Times journalist