However David Mitchell has a book out about the history of the British kings (and queens, but far less of them) called Unruly, and I was like, "Obviously I need to let David Mitchell rant about this in his own voice." And this was the right decision. The book is chatty and sometimes silly and sometimes insightful and it gains a lot from being read by Mitchell himself. I have always been very fond of him, even though he occasionally pisses me off (there's some fatphobia that makes me want to shake him like a terrier with a rat), and hearing him go off about the ridiculousness of British history is a fun way to spend some time. He's just serious enough about certain themes (the importance of stability and predictability in a reign, the slow development of ideas of Englishness, changes in what people were willing to accept from their leaders, the fact that those in power like to use the narrative of "restoration" to legitimize what is in fact sweeping change) to make the book something more than just silliness. If you like David Mitchell and you can handle audiobooks, you should definitely listen to this.

This sounds like so much fun! I know my library has audiobooks, I guess now I have to figure out how to audiobook. :D