Stories to Make You Smile: The Reading Agency

Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation #5.2 - Blind Justice

by Fanny Blake, Mark Watson, Veronica Henry

A seriously entertaining collection of feelgood stories guaranteed to put the smile back on your face written especially by ten bestselling

Jenny Éclair
Mark Watson
Veronica Henry
Eva Verde
Richard Madeley
Katie Fforde
Dorothy Koomson
Vaseem Khan
Helen Lederer
Rachel Hore

From a hilarious race against time to a moment of unexpected eavesdropping, from righting wrongs in rural India to finding joy in unlikely places, these stories are all rich in wit and humour, guaranteed to lift your spirits and warm your heart.

Stories to Make you Smile is a co-commission between The Reading Agency and Specsavers as part of World Book Night 2021.

Genres: Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Contemporary, Ebooks, Humor, Romance

Audible Audio

First published April 23, 2021

About the author

Fanny Blake was a publisher for many years, editing fiction and general non-fiction before becoming a freelance journalist and writer. She has written several bestsellers and acted as ghost writer for a number of celebrities. She is also Books Editor of womanandhome magazine. Her novels include The Secrets Women Keep (Orion) and With a Friend Like You (Orion).

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories to Make you Smile is a co-commission between The Reading Agency and Specsavers as part of World Book Night

A book of short stories, some of which I really enjoyed, and others not so much, but they provided a pleasant interlude, along with a few smiles (so it’s befitting of its title). It gave time to draw breath before returning to my usual high octane rides!

[Jo Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t normally love short stories, but I put this on as a little bit of time filler, and the stories did indeed make me smile 😊 job done!

[SassyBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, nice book that does exactly what the title says. Stories didn't wow me, but was just a nice experience.

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

30 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these had my heart pounding in anxiety, but some were super adorable

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Some stories made me smile and some stories confused me as to why they were in this audio book. But there was one Stories that I really liked and could listen to often (when I'm in a sad mood). Other than that, the other stories were okay, but not very stunning. There was also a story that was really good, but it was a really sad, tragic story. Why was it in this collection???

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
Richard Madeley wrote a book?! Hold on, Madeley wrote a short story about JFK that was quite intriguing?!?

A mixed bag where half of the stories were good, and the other half not so interesting... wonderful narrations though

[Emily Pankhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this for free on World Book Night and read through it in one sitting. It was a lovely little book and the stories inside were fairly amusing. Some of them less so, but all pleasant enough in their own way. After each story there was a bit about the author which I quite liked.

A great way to celebrate World Book Night!

[Olivia Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really did make me smile. Its very lighthearted and fun. Each story is very short and sweet. I enjoyed this thoroughly and it brightened up my day. 5*

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook. Enjoyed the majority of these short stories but a couple were absolute duds

[Samantha Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories to make you smile
Unfortunately none of them made me smile

[Shriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Kelly Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the idea behind this book! I am part of one of the lucky organisations to receive and distribute these books as part of World Book Night. Some great stories which I feel will resonate with a variety of audiences.

[Kirstie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot to say…a collection of very forgettable stories

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one io because I truly needed some stories that would make me smile, and because I quite enjoy Jenny Eclair. Some of the stories were fun and smile-inducing, while a few just didn’t resonate with me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a short story collection, so I’m glad I picked it up!

[Paula]

Umm not really sure what I listened to apart from to say I listened with great hope of something funny or feel good to come but only to find I got to the end with just maybe a little smirk guess my humour just isn’t suited to this at all or this to me… I just don’t get it 🤔like nothing was funny 🤷🏻‍♀️ So disappointing! I can’t even give this any stars because I really don’t know what it was tbh!

[Caroline Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

short sweet

Perfect length stories to read before bed. No concentration needed just enjoy each story for 10 mins or so. Also a great opportunity to try out some different authors. I will be looking out for these writers in the future.

[Shahrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know about making me smile, but this is a decent collection of short stories, which provided me company and entertainment for a few hours. Love the narrator’s voices. Decent selection of them too.

[DANII · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of the stories were funny and did make me smile, but a few I think I missed how they were meant to make anyone smile they quite serious in nature, and in parts, I thought quite sad,maybe I was just in my feelings a bit too much and I didn't see the happiness in those stories,so maybe I'll read it again on a different day but right now only a couple made me smile the rest for me were questionable 🫤.

Happy reading, everyone 📚☺️

[Olivia (readswitholivia_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming stories from well known authors - they really are stories to make you smile. The Reading Agency has brought out a fantastic book this year! Granted only a few stories were my favourite, but I think all the authors told fantastic stories in just a few pages. It's also a brilliant way to explore new authors writing styles without committing to 200+ pages!

[Lux And · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think any of these made me smile, they were kind of boring all in all.

[Elizabeth Tomkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 funny short stories, a couple of them were 😴

[Niamh Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think any of these stories made me smile 🤙

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

None of these stories made me smile 😅 these were cringey and awkward, and just generally not fun

[Boo (Harriet) Eaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only one made me smile 😐 but honestly my mood is better… correlation/ causation?

[Jane McGuire · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the stories were memorable or particularly well written. I love a short story but each of these were very unremarkable.

[Tara Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this collection of small stories was free on kindle for World Book Night, of course I downloaded it straight away! I read it one day, it was perfect to pick up in between things during the day as each story only took about 5 minutes to read. ⁣
⁣
From family drama to single mothers helping each other out, an interview gone wrong, blind dates and retail therapy. This collection has got a bit of everything for everyone. I had only read books by one of the 10 authors before (Dorothy Koomson), but I had heard of quite a few of them already. I love collections like these as it gives you an opportunity to get a snapshot of what an author’s writing is like, and I really enjoyed these! ⁣
⁣
If I had to choose, I’d say that Behind My Fat Back, The First Birthday Party and Blind Justice were my favourites. I know, I didn’t really narrow it down choosing 3 out of 10 books 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 ⁣
⁣
I’d definitely recommend this little read, it’ll be perfect for if you’re in a bit of a reading slump and want something short and sweet to help get you out of it!

[Holly Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate that this was free from my work which is lovely, but I did not get a lot out of it. The two stories that made me smile were Blind Dates and The First Birthday Party, but the rest were full of cringey boomer humour and predictable plots.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection of stories, put together by the Reading Agency for World Book Night, an eclectic mix of different backdrops, characters and animals. My only reservation is the title. I sympathized with a shopping addict, winced at a misunderstanding during a job interview and celebrated when the detective worked out who stole the office files so 'stories to create empathy' might be more apt.

I will definitely go on to read novels by some of these authors as I have enjoyed the book so much. Thank you to the Reading Agency for the free download as part of the World Book Night celebrations.

[✿Kalcia✿ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nuda nuda i jeszcze raz nuda