The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Narrator: Alan Bennett
Published by BBC Audiobooks on October 1, 2008
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 2 hours 42 minutes
Format: Audio, Audiobook
Source: Library
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Goodreads

From the author of The History Boys comes a deliciously funny celebration of reading, in which the Uncommon Reader is none other than Queen Elizabeth II, who accidentally drifts into reading after her corgis stray into a mobile library parked in front of Buckingham Palace.

This book first caught my eye a few years ago, but I finally picked it up to fulfill a reading challenge requirement (I needed a book with a title that started with “U”). What a charming little book. It’s also quite funny in some places—a nice little diversion. I can well imagine that Queen Elizabeth II was as funny and cheeky as she was written in this book. I laughed out loud at a line about sending the lesser grandchildren out to get more books. I love the image of the Queen as an intractable reader (even if it’s a fictional image). I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a palate cleanser.