Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

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Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year Podcast

Simon Mayo and Matt Williams invite the world's finest authors in for a chat.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    David Hepworth Q&A

    Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome music journalist and author David Hepworth to the studio, to find out about his favourite authors and books and get a sense of his reading habits. You'll probably be as surprised as us to discover that he only reads standing up! There's also a surprise question from broadcasting legend, Bob Harris, and we find out who David would invite to his fantasy dinner party! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    20 min

  2. SEP 18

    David Hepworth

    Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome music journalist David Hepworth to the studio. His new book - Hope I Get Old Before I Die - looks at how enduring rock icons like Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen and many more have remained in the ever changing music game. They discuss Mick Jagger, Elton John, Paul McCartney and many other rock icons, and just how and why they are still so relevant today. The book is full of great anecdotes, which are endlessly quotable, and is a must read for any music fan. We hope you enjoy the chat ! (here's a little more on the book) When Paul McCartney closed Live Aid in July 1985 we thought he was rock's Grand Old Man. He was forty-three years old. As the forty years since have shown he - and many others of his generation - were just getting started. This was the time when live performance took over from records. The big names of the 60s and 70s exploited the age of spectacle that Live Aid had ushered in to enjoy the longest lap of honour in the history of humanity, continuing to go strong long after everyone else had retired. Hence this is a story without precedent, a story in which Elton John plays a royal funeral, Mick Jagger gets a knighthood, Bob Dylan picks up the Nobel Prize, the Beatles become, if anything, bigger than the Beatles and it's beginning to look as though all of the above will, thanks to the march of technology, be playing Las Vegas for ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min

  3. SEP 10

    Ragnar Jonasson Q&A

    Ragnar Jonasson is a veracious reader and prolific writer. In this Q&A episode, he talks about his writing processes, his favourite authors and how he orders his bookshelves. We also hear from fellow author Vaseem Khan, who poses a question to Ragnar, and discover who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    20 min

  4. SEP 3

    Ragnar Jonasson

    Ragnar Jonasson joins Simon and Matt to discuss his latest novel, 'Death At The Sanitorium' They talk about the influence of Agatha Christie, the Icelandic way of life and how he keeps so many stories in his head at one time. Remember you can get in touch with us any time - to let us know what you're reading, books you have loved (or not) recently - and if any of our recommendations have gone down well. Our email is: booksoftheyear@yahoo.com And we're on instagram and threads too! Here's a little more about Death At The Sanitorium AN OLD SANATORIUM. ONE TERRIFYING MURDER. FIVE SUSPECTS. AND A CASE THAT NEVER CLOSED. WELCOME TO THE SANATORIUM High up in the mountains stands a sanatorium. Once a hospital dedicated to treating tuberculosis, it now sits haunted by the ghosts of its past. One wing of the hospital remains open and houses six employees: the caretaker, two doctors, two nurses and a young research assistant. Despite the wards closing decades ago, they remain at the hospital to conduct research. But the cold corridors, draughty windows and echoey halls are constant reminders of the building’s dark history. When one of the nurses, Yrsa, is found brutally murdered, they discover that death has never left this place – and neither did its secrets. None can escape this terrifying legacy. Despite just five suspects the case is never solved and remains open for two decades. Until a young criminologist named Helgi Reykdal attempts to finally lay the ghosts of the hospital's past to rest . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min

  5. AUG 27

    Chris Bookmyre Q&A

    Former journalist turned author, Chris Brookmyre, joins Simon and Matt for a spot of Q&A. They ask him about the last book he really really enjoyed, whether there's a book or plot her wished he'd written, and who he'd invite to his fantasy dinner party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min

  6. AUG 21

    Chris Brookmyre

    Chris Brookmyre joins Simon and Matt to chat about his latest novel. You may have heard Mark Billingham on one of our previous Q&A episodes rave about The Cracked Mirror? Well, he did such a good job - we read it, and loved it too! So we had to have Chris on! The idea for the book came from a discussion with his Editor, who was looking for a meta crime novel. Chris has never been one to shy away from a challenge, and loves to mix up genres, so he came up with an elevator pitch "What would happen if Miss Marple had to work with Harry Bosch?" What we have is The Cracked Mirror - where cosy crime meets the grittier end of the scale. (more on the book below) As well as his new novel, Chris discusses his gig at Glastonbury, his writing processes and how and why the crime writing community is so supportive. THE CRACKED MIRROR You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed. You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes. Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min

  7. AUG 14

    Chris Whitaker Q&A

    Chris Whitaker joins Simon Mayo and Matt Williams for the Q&A episode. He discusses the last book he really REALLy enjoyed reading, his writing routine and who he'd invite to his fantasy dinner party. Also, in an exclusive, he reveals us what his next book is about and what we can expect! Author of The List Of Suspicious Things, Jennie Godfrey, surprises Chris with a question - and - we find out what profession he might have chosen, if he hadn't become an author. *if you missed our chat with Chris about his new novel, All The Colours Of The Dark, you can find it wherever you're listening to this one! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min

  8. AUG 7

    Chris Whitaker

    Novelist Chris Whitaker joins Simon and Matt for a chat about his new book, All The Colours Of The Dark. Chris worked in the City for many years as a trader, before quitting to write. He talks openly about a traumatic incident which turned him on to writing, as well as how long it takes him to write each novel. (if you're thinking about writing, don't let this put you off!) We also learn about how he creates his characters, and the importance of dialogue to his writing and plotting. More about the book below: Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who will risk everything to find her best friend. But when she does: it will break her heart. Patch lies alone in a pitch-black room - until he feels a hand in his. Her name is Grace and, though they cannot see each other, she lights their world with her words. But when he escapes: there is no sign she ever even existed. Left with only her voice and her name, he paints her from broken memories - and charts an epic search to find her. As years turn to decades, and hope becomes obsession, Saint will shadow his journey - on a darker path to hunt down the man who took them - and set free the only boy she ever loved. Even if finding the truth means losing each other forever... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min
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Simon Mayo and Matt Williams invite the world's finest authors in for a chat.

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