Books and Authors
888 episodes - English - Latest episode: 22 days ago - ★★★★ - 331 ratingsThis podcast features Open Book and A Good Read. Open Book talks to authors about their work. In A Good Read Harriett Gilbert discusses favourite books.
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Episodes
Andrew O'Hagan and Helen Garner
April 03, 2024 13:58 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBAndrew O'Hagan and Helen Garner
Carol Morley and Will Hislop
March 26, 2024 16:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBFilm director Carol Morley and comedian Will Hislop discuss their favourite books.
Open Book: Carys Davies, Annie Ernaux
March 24, 2024 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBCarys Davies on her new novel, Clear. Plus Annie Ernaux and photography
Jonathan Buckley, Lit Crit and David Baddiel
March 21, 2024 15:26 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBJonathan Buckley, Lit Crit and David Baddiel
A Good Read: Christopher Eccleston and Lindsey Hilsum
March 19, 2024 16:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBJUST KIDS by Patti Smith, chosen by Lindsey Hilsum MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING by Viktor E. Frankl (trans. Ilse Lasch), chosen by Christopher Eccleston TOWARDS THE END OF THE MORNING by Michael Frayn, chosen by Harriett Gilbert The television journalist and actor share favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor of Channel 4 News, loves Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids, her account of coming to New York as a young woman and of her relationship with the photograph...
Katy Hessel and Amy Blakemore
March 12, 2024 16:30 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBArt historian Katy Hessel and author Amy Blakemore discuss their favourite books.
Daphne du Maurier
March 10, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBOpen Book explores Daphne du Maurier and the enduring qualities and appeal of her writing
A Good Read: Andrew McMillan and Kathryn Williams
March 05, 2024 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBON WRITING by Stephen King, chosen by Kathryn Williams THE BITCH by Pilar Quintana (translated by Lisa Dillman), chosen by Harriett Gilbert ON THE BEACH by Nevil Shute, chosen by Andrew McMillan The singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams loves books about the craft of writing and her choice of a good read is 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft', by the master of horror, Stephen King. The book gave her practical tools and advice which helped her to write her debut novel, The Ormering Tide. She al...
A Good Read Paterson Joseph and Richard Coles
February 28, 2024 10:07 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBMore books worth reading chosen by well known guests
Kate Davies
February 25, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBKate Davies talks to Chris Power about her new novel, Nuclear Family.
A Good Read: Anjana Vasan and Anne-Marie Imafidon
February 20, 2024 17:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBAn actor and singer and a computer scientist and author pick their favourite books.
Sheila Heti
February 18, 2024 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBSheila Heti on her new experimental book, Alphabetical Diaries.
A Good Read: Joe Talbot and Nancy Medina
February 13, 2024 17:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThe frontman of Idles and the artistic director of Bristol Old Vic share book choices.
Madeleine Gray
February 11, 2024 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBMadeleine Gray on her witty, heartbreaking novel, Green Dot, about a young woman's affair
A Good Read: Rachel Brown-Finnis and Anna Bogutskaya
February 06, 2024 17:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBa former professional footballer and a film critic pick their favourite books.
A Good Read: Ian Rankin & Colin MacIntyre
January 30, 2024 17:25 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBThe crime writer and the singer aka Mull Historical Society choose favourite books
Michael Cunningham
January 28, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25 MBMichael Cunningham speaks to Johny Pitts about his new novel, Day.
Gerald Murnane
January 21, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBGerald Murnane talks to Chris Power about his writing life.
Hisham Matar
January 14, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBPulitzer Prize winning author, Hisham Matar, discusses his new novel My Friends.
Endings and New Beginnings
December 31, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBChris Power is joined by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Aminatta Forna & Lucy Caldwell
The Year in Fiction
December 25, 2023 17:45 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBChris Power shares some of the highlights of the year on Open Book.
Janice Hallett
December 17, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBJohny Pitts speaks to Janice Hallett about her new book, The Christmas Appeal.
A Good Read: Chantal Joffe and Séamas O'Reilly
November 28, 2023 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBThe artist Chantal Joffe picks I Capture The Castle, the English classic by Dodie Smith. Set in 1930s rural England, it relates the adventures of an eccentric family over the course of about a year. It's a book Chantal has come back to again and again, ever since she was a teenager. Séamas O'Reilly champions the Irish novel, A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy, which he argues deserves to be more widely known. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a graphic memoir by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, calle...
Alexis Wright
November 26, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBAward winning novelist Alexis Wright talks to Chris Power.
A Good Read: Janet Ellis & Jason Arday
November 21, 2023 17:00 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBThe presenter and the sociologist share favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.
Femi Kayode
November 19, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBCrime writer Femi Kayode on his new novel, Gaslight.
A Good Read: India Knight and Emma Dabiri
November 14, 2023 17:00 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBThe journalist and the writer talk to Harriett about favourite books.
Teju Cole
November 12, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBChris Power talks to Teju Cole about his wide-ranging and powerful new novel, Tremor.
A Good Read Nigel Kennedy and Clare Perkins
November 07, 2023 17:24 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBGood books chosen by well known guests as reading recommendations
A Good Read Cressida Cowell & Romy Gill
October 31, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBBooks worth reading chosen by Harriett Gilbert and guests
AI and the Novel
October 29, 2023 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBElizabeth Day and Johny Pitts discuss AI and the novel.
A Good Read: Anneka Rice and Maureen Freely
October 24, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBThe TV presenter and the writer share favourite books with Harriett.
Karl Ove Knausgård
October 22, 2023 15:30 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBChris Power speaks to Karl Ove Knausgård about his new book, The Wolves of Eternity
A Good Read: Cornelia Parker and Jeremy Lee
October 17, 2023 15:30 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBArtist Cornelia Parker is with the chef Jeremy Lee and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to pick their all-time favourite books. Cornelia chooses South by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the story of his extraordinary journey to Antarctica. Jeremy is a fan of the food writer Elizabeth David, and recommends her book of essays, Omelette and a Glass of Wine. Finally Harriett Gilbert suggests the novel Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie, centred on two American academics' escapades in London. Cornelia has recen...
Daniel Mason
October 15, 2023 15:30 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBThe US author and psychiatrist on his new novel, North Woods
A Good Read: Rhys Stephenson and Esther Manito
October 10, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBThe children's TV presenter and stand up comedian advocate for favourite books.
Lydia Davis
October 08, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBLydia Davis on the writing of Our Strangers.
A Good Read Vaseem Khan and Lucy Winkett
October 03, 2023 16:37 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBTwo guests choose their favourite books
Ben Lerner and Anne Enright on poetry and fiction
September 17, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBBen Lerner and Anne Enright on poetry and fiction
Zadie Smith
September 10, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBElizabeth Day talks to the novelist Zadie Smith about her new novel, The Fraud.
Introducing the Whodunnits collection
August 31, 2023 16:41 - 1 minute - 1.8 MBCases to baffle and intrigue. What to expect from BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra’s treasure trove of murder mysteries. Available only on BBC Sounds.
Ayelet Gundar-Goshen speaks to Johny Pitts about her new book, The Wolf Hunt
August 20, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBAyelet Gundar-Goshen speaks to Johny Pitts about her new book, The Wolf Hunt
Ann Patchett, plus Magical Historical Fiction with S. J. Parris and Laura Shepherd-Robinson
August 13, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBOctavia Bright talks to Ann Patchett about her captivating new novel. Tom Lake is the story of a young actor Lara under the spell of a future Hollywood star, but it is also about how she retells that story in later life to her adult daughters, and the power of storytelling itself. Two masters of historical fiction, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S. J. Parris (aka Stephanie Merritt) discuss the allure of magic and mysticism in their latest books set either side of the Enlightenment. Plus Nana ...
Johny Pitts explores Birmingham's literary heritage and contemporary writing scene.
July 30, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBJohny Pitts explores Birmingham's literary heritage and contemporary writing scene.
A Good Read: Olivia Laing and Charlie Porter
July 25, 2023 15:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBAuthor and cultural critic Olivia Laing, whose books include The Lonely City, Funny Weather and Everybody, is joined by fashion writer and curator Charlie Porter, of What Artists Wear and Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion, and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to talk about the books they love. Olivia recommends Bad Blood by literary critic Lorna Sage - a memoir of her eccentric childhood and adolescence in 1940s rural Wales. Charlie loves Honey From A Weed by Patience Gr...
Elizabeth Day celebrates the centenary year of the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard
July 23, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBElizabeth Day celebrates the centenary year of the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard
A Good Read
July 18, 2023 17:13 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBSusanna Hoffs and Nina Wadia choose their good reads
Megan Nolan, plus crime summer reading recommendations from Vaseem Khan, Laura Wilson and Val McDermid
July 16, 2023 15:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBJohny Pitts speaks to Megan Nolan about her new novel, Ordinary Human Failings. The book explores the demonization of an Irish family and tabloid journalism in nineties London following a shocking tragedy. Plus what is the best crime fiction out there this summer? Vaseem Khan, incoming chair of the Crime Writers Association, and critic Laura Wilson give their tips, from hot new psychological thrillers to reissued classics. And Val McDermid chooses a very modern-feeling 1940s whodunit for h...