Find reading inspiration with favourite books chosen by our guests.
This time the community clothing entrepreneur and host of The Great British Sewing Bee Patrick Grant chooses his favourite book along with fellow guest anthropologist and broadcaster Mary-Ann Ochota. The books are: Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett The Flow by Amy Jane Beer Heatwave by Penelope Lively Produced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
Newsreader Maryam Moshiri and Red Dwarf creator Doug Naylor discuss their chosen books, including Bridget Jones's Diary, with Harriett Gilbert. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, chosen by Maryam Moshiri Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell, chosen by Doug Naylor Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven...
THE LIVES AND LOVES OF A SHE DEVIL by Fay Weldon, chosen by Victoria Pile THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway, chosen by Julian Baggini CLEAR by Carys Davies, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Comedy writer and director Victoria Pile joins philosopher and author Julian Baggini to talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. On the menu is a feminist revenge novel that is as dark as it is funny, a classic Hemingway novella that casts us out to sea, and an evocative short story set on ...
This week's books are: How to Measure a Cow by Margaret Forster (chosen by Lolita Chakrabarti) The House of God by Samuel Shem (chosen by Guy Leschziner) A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir (chosen by Harriett Gilbert) The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
The children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and the author of Wild Swans and Big Sister Little Sister Red Sister Jung Chang choose their good reads. Where Should We Run To by Alan Garner chosen by Frank Cottrell-Boyce Death of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney chosen by Harriett Gilbert Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales chosen by Jung Chang Produced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
This week's books are: Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, chosen by crime writer Martin Edwards At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, chosen by sociologist, bioethicist and comedian Tom Shakespeare Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Pineiro, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven Photo credit: Belinda Mason
This week's books are: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler chosen by Maria Balshaw. The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (translated by Isabel Hapgood) chosen by Léa Ypi. Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans chosen by Harriett Gilbert. The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol. Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Photo credit: Erdem Moralioglu
This week's books are: Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy, chosen by comedian Robin Ince Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Esther Waters by George Moore, chosen by writer Philip Hensher Producer Sally Heaven, BBC Audio Bristol
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
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. ...
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 Ge...
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...
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 progr...
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 th...
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 dif...
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: ...
BEAR by Marian Engel, chosen by novelist Sarah Waters THE TRUE BELIEVER by Eric Hoffer, chosen by film editor Walter Murch THE VISITOR by Maeve Brennan, chosen by presenter Harriett Gilber Sarah Waters, acclaimed author of Fingersmith and The Night Watch, and Walter Murch, legendary film editor of Apocalypse Now and The English Patient choose the books they love. Sarah's choice is a cinematic novel set in Northern Canada. Bear by Marian Engel is the unusual tale of a woman's friendship and subse...
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Augusten Burroughs, chosen by Rob Rinder THE ODD WOMAN AND THE CITY by Vivian Gornick, chosen by Harriett Gilbert EARTHLINGS by Sayaka Murata, chosen by Juno Dawson The barrister, television presenter and writer Rob Rinder and author Juno Dawson talk books with Harriett Gilbert. Juno Dawson selects Sayaka Murata's Earthlings, the follow-up to her cult hit Convenience Store Woman. Rob Rinder advocates for Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs' memoir of a deeply bizar...
OBLIVION by Héctor Abad, chosen by Colm Tóibín FLESH by David Szalay, chosen by Zadie Smith CALL ME BY YOUR NAME by André Aciman, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Authors and good friends Zadie Smith and Colm Tóibín join Harriett Gilbert to share books they love. For a longer edition of this episode, check out the A Good Read podcast. Colm Tóibín chooses Oblivion, a memoir by Colombian writer Héctor Abad. It’s a deeply moving tribute to Abad’s father – a warm, generous, and witty man who was a doctor,...
THE TRUCE by Primo Levi, chosen by Horatio Clare THE SUN DOES SHINE by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin, chosen by Joanna Hardy-Susskind SULA by Toni Morrison, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Writer Horatio Clare joins criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Horatio's choice is a book he returns to every winter, The Truce, in which writer Primo Levi recounts his survivor's journey home to from Auschwitz across a war-torn Europe. Joann...
ALL FOURS by Miranda July, chosen by Desiree Akhavan UNTRUE by Wednesday Martin, chosen by Rosie Wilby DRAGON TALK by Fleur Adcock, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Filmmaker and writer Desiree Akhavan joins comedian, writer and podcaster Rosie Wilby as they discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Desiree's choice is All Fours by Miranda July, a novel about a perimenopausal woman's sexual awakening on an unusual road trip. By coincidence, Rosie Wilby chooses a non-fiction book which looks at re...
THE IRON AGE by Arja Kajermo A SHORT STAY IN HELL by Steven L Peck STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood James Rebanks is a farmer from the Lake District as well as author of The Shepherd's Life. His new book The Place of Tides is about his time in Norway learning from an elderly woman who cared for eider ducks on a remote island. His book choice is The Iron Age by Arja Kajermo, a Finnish novel about rural life in the 1950s, told from the perspective of a young girl. James finds it speaks to h...
NAUSEA by Jean-Paul Sartre GO WENT GONE by Jenny Erpenbeck LAURUS by Evgeny Vodolazkin Budgie is best known as the drummer with Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Creatures, as well as The Slits. His memoir The Absence: Memoirs of A Banshee is published in July 2025. Together with the Korean novelist Juhea Kim he chooses his favourite book to discuss with Harriett Gilbert. His choice is Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre because he it resonated with him as a young man finding his place in the world. Ju...
WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT by Sarah Winman, chosen by Harry Trevaldwyn THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho, chosen by Xantoné Blacq JAMES by Percival Everett, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Music producer and composer Xantoné Blacq joins actor and writer Harry Trevaldwyn to share the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. First up, Harry brings to the table a book by The Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Winman. A book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumph and tragedy ...
BIG SWISS by Jen Beagin, chosen by Nussaibah Younis A HEART SO WHITE by Javier Marías, chosen by Josh Cohen THE END OF EDDY by Edouard Louis, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Big Swiss is a 29-year-old gynecologist who has never had an orgasm. Greta Work is an audio transcriber for a sex therapist who is infatuated by one of his clients. After an encounter at the dog park, they strike up an affair. Nussaibah calls this one of the funniest books she's ever read. What do the others think? A Heart So Whi...
AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST by Iain Pears, chosen by Peter Kosminsky HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING by Will Arbery, chosen by Jack Thorne PERFECTION by Vincenzo Latronico, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Thorne and Kosminsky are great friends, but don't fully agree on the books discussed. Topics raised by their choices include toxic masculinity, empathy, and whether or not Succession is a great TV series. Peter has chosen An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears, a restoration murder mystery told ...
Douglas Stuart author of Booker Prize winning novel Shuggie Bain chooses his favourite book - Train Dreams by Denis Johnson - a short novel encapsulating the history of America in the early 20th century through the life of a lonely man in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. He's joined by Radio 1 and The Voice Wales presenter Sian Eleri whose choice is I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - a dystopian tale of a group of captive women. Harriett's choice is More Than I Love My Life ...
EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN by Chris Cleave, chosen by Lucy Speed THE HUMAN FACTOR by Graham Greene, chosen by Harriett Gilbert 253 by Geoff Ryman, chosen by Sarah Mills Former Eastenders and present-day Archers actor Lucy Speed and comedian Sarah Mills talk about books set in wartime London, a 1990s underground train, and Graham Greene's MI6. Lucy's choice is Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave, Which tells the tale of Mary, a woman who becomes a teacher at the beginning of the war, only ...
Actor Nina Sosanya and prize winning poet and writer Joelle Taylor talk favourite books with Harriett. Nina chooses Sally Jones and the False Rose by Jakob Wegelius, a children's novel with a mute gorilla engineer as its protagonist. The book appeals to Nina's love of engineering, and the city of Glasgow! Joelle nominates Booker Prize winning The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka, about a man killed in the Sri Lankan civil war, seeking answers in the afterlife...
MOON TIGER by Penelope Lively, chosen by Sara Collins NUMBER GO UP: INSIDE CRYPTO'S WILD RISE AND STAGGERING FALL by Zeke Faux, chosen by Oliver Burkeman LORD JIM AT HOME by Dinah Brooke, chosen by Harriett Gilbert "I'm writing a history of the world" - so begins the choice of novelist and broadcaster Sara Collins: Penelope Lively's Booker Prize-winning novel Moon Tiger. Claudia Hampton, a famous writer and historian, lies dying in a hospital bed, her mind flitting across the years of her remark...
