The Digested Read podcast

The Guardian
  • 3.8 (4)
  • ARTS

A podcast version of John Crace's wickedly satirical Guardian column, lampooning the literary style of leading authors by summarising their books in five minutes

  1. 31/12/2015

    EL James: black and blue and read all over? – books podcast

    John Crace whips through the lastest instalment of EL James’s sado-masochistic bestseller, Grey, and asks if it’s time to apply the safe word

    14 min

  2. 30/12/2015

    Michel Houellebecq: profane or prophetic? – books podcast

    John Crace squashes Houellebecq’s Submission and asks whether the sacred monster of French fiction is just making trouble for its own sake

    17 min

  3. 29/12/2015

    TS Eliot: beyond commentary? – books podcast

    John Crace puts the annotated editon of the Nobel laureate’s poetical works through the wringer and assesses the stature of the modernist master

    16 min

  4. 28/12/2015

    Kazuo Ishiguro: roaring giant or sleeping dragon? – books podcast

    John Crace boils down The Buried Giant and asks whether this genre-bending quest novel is destined for the halls of glory or the mists of forgetfulness

    16 min

  5. 25/12/2015

    Harper Lee: a happy return to Maycomb? – books podcast

    John Crace puts the squeeze on Go Set a Watchman, and considers its effect on the author’s reputation

    15 min

  6. 02/01/2015

    Hillary Clinton: the big reveal? – books podcast

    John Crace digests Hillary Clinton’s latest autobiography, and picks it over for clues to vital questions – what does she really think of Obama?

    12 min

  7. 01/01/2015

    Haruki Murakami: Cult of the colourless? - books podcast

    John Crace digests Murakami's latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage, and wonders if the bestselling Japanese author has bleached the life out of his fiction

    10 min

  8. 31/12/2014

    Val McDermid: Jane Austen's equal? - books podcast

    John Crace digests Val McDermid’s update of Northanger Abbey, and asks if her attempt to square up to Austen’s gothic melodrama is fine or foolhardy• More digested reads podcasts

    12 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.8
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

A podcast version of John Crace's wickedly satirical Guardian column, lampooning the literary style of leading authors by summarising their books in five minutes

Information

  • Channel
    The Guardian
  • Creator
    The Guardian
  • Years Active
    2008 - 2015
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Digested Read podcast

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