I saw Toksvig talking about her book on the TV show Sunday Brunch and it sounded fascinating and in listening to the audiobook I was not disappointed. The biggest criticism is of the book’s title; “Toksvig's Almanac” doesn’t give the book credit of the importance of the material held within. The book is written in a day by day form covering a year and each day ties into a specific un-sung history of hundreds of women. There are so many facts about people and their accomplishments (and misdeeds for those women of infamy!) I was totally oblivious to, this was undoubtedly just made my 2020 list of most important book I’ve read this year. I really enjoyed the audio format and I have no criticism of Sandi’s reading however the written format may be better in being able to highlight notes and do further research into the people mentioned, a bit difficult to remember names when listening to this on my commute to work!

'Toksvigs Almanac 2021' by Sandi Toksvig tells, in small nuggets, a plethora of tales about fantastic women throughout the ages. The idea is that from these brief synopses the reader can go off and discover more for themselves.

As an audiobook, the Almanac is both an empowering and overwhelming listen. Because it is composed of multiple stories arranged according to date, Toksvig takes you for a whistle stop tour of many of the amazing females that have come before us. She does this with great wit and humour, but they quickly add up, so that as a listener it is difficult to remember each tale. The positive of this for Toksvig and her publisher, is it just makes you want to have the physical book so you can keep returning to it, The overwhelming take away is that there have been innumerable amazing women. Toksvig is one of them.

There are some really interesting/ wacky/ cool stories in here and I adored Sandi's narration! For me, it was quite confusing in audiobook format to follow, but I bet it's a super lovely book, especially for christmas presents!

This is an amazing (audio) book read by Sandi Toksvig herself which is brilliant as everything she says sounds like she’s just chatting away as I drive to work. A very informative almanac of women through the ages and their contributions to society, whatever their field of expertise. It really is a delight and I will be buying this audio book for many of my close friends. It’s like a springboard of information which encourages deeper investigation into the lives of those mentioned. An excellent contribution to women’s acknowledgement through history, unearthing new and fascinating women who may have been omitted (on most occasions) from history.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yes. 6 stars
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Fact packed and fun, I really enjoyed listening to the wonderful Sandi Toksvig's narration of this fascinating and educational zip through significant moments in history, and of amazing women, worldwide, and their impact. Some of these women get a fleeting mention and others are more detailed. Hearing about their contribution to society in all fields was as entertaining as it was fascinating. Thank you to Sandi Toksvig, Net Galley and Trapeze for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this will be a brilliant book in another format as the audio didn't work for me at all. I'd prefer to read a bit of this each day and I'm not sure how easy it would be to do that with the audio. It's a shame as I enjoyed what I did hear, but my mind ended up wondering and I wasn't listening any more. The introduction was very funny though and Sandi Toksvig's narration is faultless. Maybe I'm just not the right person for this format.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend others to read (or listen to the audiobook)!

Sandi’s narration of this was great - I always prefer when an author reads the audiobook, and I think Sandi did a great job!

I learnt a lot in this book, and it was an easy listen.

Thanks to Netgalley for the 🎧 audio arc which is narrated by Sandi. I like that she narrates it as she has a very recognisable voice.
An almanac is a book containing information about certain events.
It’s a light hearted look at famous and infamous women through the ages world wide. Although it does digress on to unrelated subjects.
It’s light hearted with some amusing sections, it doesn’t seem to have any kind of structure.
Lots mentioned with a very brief snippets about each.
All told found it heavy going. This book isn’t for me.
Glad I listened to it rather than read it, as I think Sandi’s enthusiastic narration added to it.

Fancy ‘An Eclectic Meander Through the Historical Year’? The main focus is on women that have been all but forgotten. There’s Begum Samru – an Indian dancer who led an army of mercenaries, Ida B. Wells – an activist and suffragist who co-founded the largest civil rights organisation in the United States, and Annette Kellerman, whose stunts including diving from 60 feet into a pool of crocodiles. There are also poems, trivia and other fascinating snippets.

My biggest complaint is that at 9 hours and 41 minutes this book isn't nearly long enough. Sandi Toksvig is a writing genius. If she'd taught me history at school, I'm sure I would have gone on to do something marvellous historically and then she'd have been able to include me in one of her future almanacs. Since falling hopelessly in love with Ms Toksvig after listening to her book, Between the Stops, (https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Between-the-Stops-Audiobook/1405534796?qid), which could well be the best audio book ever written in the history of audio books, I'll listen to anything she writes. She does not let s down with this book, packed full of education, unheard of yet vitally important woman and littered with an abundance of witty and acerbic asides, This book should be at the top of everyone's Christmas list. You don't need to be a woman or a feminist to enjoy if, you just need to appreciate people. I sincerely hope there will be more from the pen of Ms Toksvig and I, for one, will be head of the queue to purchase them. A brilliantly insightful book that goes from strength to strength. SUPERB

I like this meander throughout history, each day dedicated to looking (briefly) at a woman throughout history, all of whom did extraordinary things but most/all of whom have been mostly forgotten (guess which gender wrote the history books, folks?). A line or two for some women, a paragraph to others.

While I enjoyed Sandi narrating this, I sense a book might be the better choice for some people as, if a woman and her history catches your mind, you might be a stuck on researching them if you don't know how to spell her name (I had this several times, hence me asking for this as a stocking filler for Christmas).

This review is for the audiobook.
I really enjoyed listening to Sandi Toksvig meandering through history to uncover some of the most interesting women ever. Toksvig is always fun to listen to and I had no doubts that she'd be a great narrator, I like the idea of the book too, of Toksvig shining a light into the dark corners of history and illuminating forgotten brilliant women but briefly, teasingly, and encouraging us to dive further in. I think there's an attempt to discover women of all social, historical and racial backgrounds but as ever, it could go further. I think for me, I'd enjoy this book more as a tangible copy rather than an audiobook, just because I can linger over the dates a little more and allow them to make more of an impression on my mind, I found I was quickly forgetting the names and dates of these women, probably because I'm much more of a visual learner. Still a great listen.

This book should be required reading for any girl with a reasonable reading ability. Failing that listen to it in Audiobook format with a notebook in hand. I tried to eke it out in bite size segments like an almanac should be read, but once begun it is hard to put down!

It would take several years to do the research that some of these brilliant women deserve to truly learn their stories. Sandi provides the most alluring titbits to trigger a deeper desire for more!

Sandi has long since been a favourite of mine and her tongue in cheek jovial style hides a steel trap intelligence and impressive grasp of desperately important issues affecting women today. I enjoyed the breadth of experience and brilliance of the fairer sex across history and the truly global exposure this book showcases Is gratifying.

It was educational, shocking, frustrating and edifying but most of all it was terrific fun!

Sandy Toksvigs Almanac is such a treat that I scoffed it up in one sitting but I know I will be back time and time again to dip back into its pages.
Right throughout, this almanac is abundant with facts and nuggets of information and in particular about incredible women that I never knew had existed. Sandy dangles the carrot and gives you enough information to tantalise and to encourage you to go and do your own research to find out more. With her wit and humour, Sandy narrates this audio book herself which makes it a complete delight to listen to and I didn’t want it to end.
Thank you for my gifted copy from Trapeze and Netgalley.