A Good Read

BBC Radio 4
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Find reading inspiration with favourite books chosen by our guests.

  1. 8 DEC

    Gwyneth Lewis and Annabel Abbs

    This week's books are: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by the Welsh poet and writer Gwyneth Lewis The LIving Mountain by Nan Shepherd picked by author Annabel Abbs Emma by Jane Austen chosen by Harriett Gilbert ahead of the writer's 250th birthday in December 2025 Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre Photo credit: Edward Brown

    28 min

  2. 1 DEC

    Michelle Ogundehin and Lisa St Aubin de Terán

    Michelle Ogundehin is a broadcaster, magazine editor and author also known as a presenter on TV's Interior Design Masters. She and author Lisa St Aubin de Terán give their book recommendations. Michelle's is 4000 Weeks: Time Management For Mortals by Oliver Burkeman which she says has helped her simplify her life. Lisa chooses Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix the powerful retelling of the 2021 incident in which 27 people drowned in the English Channel attempting to make the crossing from France. It's a fictionalised account of a real event told from the perspective of the French Coastguard blamed for not taking adequate action. Harriett's choice is The Party by Tessa Hadley set in post war Bristol. Have your say on any of these books on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

    28 min

  3. 24 NOV

    Roma Agrawal and Kate Lister

    WEDLOCK: HOW GEORGIAN BRITAIN'S WORST HUSBAND MET HIS MATCH by Wendy Moore, chosen by Kate Lister GRAYSON PERRY: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG GIRL by Wendy Jones, chosen by Harriett Gilbert PLASTIC EMOTIONS by Shiromi Pinto, chosen by Roma Agrawal Structural engineer Roma Agrawal, known for her work on buildings such as the Shard in London, and historian Kate Lister, who specialises in the history of sex, join Harriett Gilbert to share their favourite books. Kate's choice is Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore, a gripping biography that tells the true story of Mary Eleanor Bowes's distrastrous marriage to Andrew Robinson Stoney, one of the wealthiest women in 18th-century Britain. Roma’s pick is Plastic Emotions by Shiromi Pinto, a novel inspired by the life of Minnette de Silva, Sri Lanka’s pioneering modernist architect, exploring love, politics and creativity in a time of upheaval. And Harriett brings Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl by Wendy Jones, a candid and colourful account of the artist’s early life and identity. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Eliza Lomas Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne

    28 min

  4. 17 NOV

    Richard Benson and Amy Sackville

    THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux chosen by Richard Benson THE CORNER THAT HELD THEM by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by Amy Sackville COFFEE AND CIGARETTES by Ferdinand von Schirach chosen by Harriett Gilbert Writer and former editor of the Face Richard Benson talks to fellow writer Amy Sackville and presenter Harriett Gilbert about favourite books. Richard chooses The Years by Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux, saying it brings back memories of his French penpal's bohemian mother. Amy's choice of The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner, about convent life in the 1300s, isn't as dry as that might sound, and Harriett's pick is Coffee and Cigarettes by German criminal defence lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

    28 min

  5. 10 NOV

    Julia Shaw and Hayaatun Sillem

    FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis, chosen by Julia Shaw YOUR LIFE IS MANUFACTURED by Tim Minshall, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem ROSARITA by Anita Desai, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw joins engineer Hayaatun Sillem to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Julia's choice, Fundamentally, is a bold debut novel by Nussaibah Younis which sparks a bit of debate. Younis writes a comedy story about an academic who takes a UN job in Iraq to lead a deradicalisation program for ISIS women. Hayaatun puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Tim Minshall, Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge. His book Your Life is Manufactured reveals the seismic impact that manufacturing has both on our lives and on the natural world. Finally, Harriett's choice is a haunting novella called Rosarita by Anita Desai, an unsettling riddle that follows a young Indian woman's quest through Mexico to find out more about her mother. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

    28 min

  6. 3 NOV

    Nicola Sturgeon and Alistair McGowan

    Two books featuring teenage killers feature this time. Nicola Sturgeon MSP votes for Elif Shafak's Honour as her good read. It details the reasons behind the so-called honour killing carried out by a young Turkish Kurd living in London in the 1970s. Nicola says it provides valuable cultural insight into the reasons behind a particular form of violence against women. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet is set in the feudal system of the Highlands in the late 1800s where crofters were at the mercy of the local Laird and his staff. Roddy's father is barely eking out a living from a small patch of land near Applecross. When his family's livelihood is threatened by a local man exerting his power over them, Roddy commits a brutal triple murder. Harriett enjoys it because it traces the events leading up to the event and Roddy's subsequent trial posing the question of whether he is legally insane or criminally violent. Something gentler is Alistair McGowan's choice. Fair Stood The Wind For France is HE Bates' wartime novel of an RAF airman crash landing in occupied France. As he recovers from his injuries he falls for the daughter of a farming family who take him in. Alistair believes Bates to be one of the finest English writers of last century but being best known for The Darling Buds of May says he's often overlooked. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre Photo credit: Charlotte Hadden

    28 min

  7. 28 OCT

    Tom Cox and Sophie Scott

    THE STONE DIARIES by Carol Shields, chosen by Tom Cox HOW TO WRITE A THESIS by Umberto Eco, chosen by Sophie Scott PARADISE by Abdulrazak Gurnah, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Writer Tom Cox joins neuroscientist Sophie Scott to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Tom's choice is the 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner, The Stone Diaries. Following the story of one woman’s life from birth to death, the novel also charts the unsettled decades of the twentieth century. Sophie puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Italian writer and academic, How to Write a Thesis. It first appeared on Italian bookshelves back in 1977, but still rings true for many. And finally, Harriett's choice is a historical novel called Paradise by the Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah, which is both a coming-of-age story, and a tale of the corruption against the backdrop of European colonialism in East Africa. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

    28 min

  8. 20 OCT

    Chris Tarrant and Mike Gayle

    OPEN by Andre Agassi SONIC YOUTH SLEPT ON MY FLOOR by Dave Haslam THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron Television and radio broadcaster Chris Tarrant nominates the autobiography of tennis legend Andre Agassi, and novelist Mike Gayle has gone for Dave Haslam’s memoir of his time spent DJing at Manchester’s famous Hacienda. Harriett is hoping the two of them will enjoy an espionage novel by Slow Horses author Mick Herron. Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

    28 min
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Find reading inspiration with favourite books chosen by our guests.

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