Books and Authors

BBC Radio 4
  • 4.3 (346)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
Books and Authors Podcast

This 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.

  1. AUG 25

    Elif Shafak

    Elif Shafak discusses her new novel. Hanna Pylväinen on writing about the Arctic Circle.

    28 min

  2. AUG 18

    Evie Wyld talks to Johny Pitts about her new novel, The Echoes.

    Evie Wyld, Jessie Cave and Camille Bordas

    28 min

  3. AUG 11

    Lauren Elkin

    Lauren Elkin, Michèle Roberts and Maria Balshaw

    28 min

  4. JUL 29

    A Good Read: Rachel Parris and Sonali Shah

    DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver, chosen by Rachel Parris DID YE HEAR MAMMY DIED? by Séamas O'Reilly, chosen by Harriett Gilbert BOTH NOT HALF by Jassa Ahluwalia, chosen by Sonali Shah Comedian and musician Rachel Parris and broadcaster and presenter Sonali Shah join Harriett Gilbert to read each other's favourite books. Rachel Parris (Late Night Mash, Austentatious) chooses Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead, which is based on David Copperfield and boldly takes on America's opioid crisis. Sonali Shah (Escape to the Country, Pilgrimage, Magic FM) picks Both Not Half: A Radical New Approach to Mixed Heritage Identity by the actor Jassa Ahluwalia, who had always described himself as 'half Indian, half English'. So he decided to come up with a new way of thinking about all kinds of individuality. Harriett brings a wonderfully funny and loving memoir by the Irish writer Séamas O'Reilly: Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? Producer: Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram

    27 min

  5. JUL 28

    Benjamin Myers

    Benjamin Myers, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Claire Kohda

    28 min

  6. JUL 22

    A Good Read: Sarah Phelps and Irenosen Okojie

    RADIO ROMANCE by Garrison Keillor, chosen by Sarah Phelps PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi, chosen by Irenosen Okojie ABSOLUTELY AND FOREVER by Rose Tremain, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Two authors pick books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Screenwriter, playwright and television producer Sarah Phelps (The Sixth Commandment, A Very British Scandal, EastEnders) brings us the trials and tribulations of a small-town radio station in the Midwest. Told with humour and irony, but also packs a punch. Novelist and short story writer Irenosen Okojie (Hag, Butterfly Fish, Speak Gigantular) chooses Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, an autobiographical graphic novel charting the writer's childhood in Iran, set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, before her move to Austria. Harriett Gilbert brings Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain, a story about the all-consuming power of first love, set 1960s London. Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio Bristol Join the conversation on Instagram @bbcagoodread

    28 min

  7. JUL 21

    Irenosen Okojie

    Irenosen Okojie talks to Johny Pitts about her new book, Curandera.

    28 min

  8. JUL 15

    A Good Read: Helen Lederer and Ilaria Bernardini

    BOOKS: WISHFUL DRINKING by CARRIE FISHER FORBIDDEN NOTEBOOK by ALBA DE CESPEDES YELLOWFACE by REBECCA F KUANG Harriett's guests today are comedian and writer Helen Lederer known for so many roles including as Catrionia in Absolutely Fabulous. Recently she has published her memoir Not That I'm Bitter and set up the Comedy Writing In Print Prize. She has opted for the hugely witty and knowing memoir Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher detailing her tumultuous life as the child of two Hollywood stars who often couldn't separate fantasy from reality. Ilaria Bernardini is an Italian novelist and screenwriter. She is currently working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s final script which Ilaria co-wrote with hi -The Echo Chamber. Her choice is the seminal feminist Italian novel Forbidden Notebook by the Italian-Cuban writer Alba de Cespedes about the inner life of an Italian housewife and Mama of the family. Harriett's choice is Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang - a cautionary tale for our times of plagiarism, cultural appropriation, social media storms and more. Producer: Maggie Ayre

    28 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
346 Ratings

About

This 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.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2009 - 2024
  • Episodes
    922
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2024
  • Show Website
    Books and Authors

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