A Good Read

Comedian Russell Kane and novelist Sarah Perry join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Iris Murdoch, Heinrich Boll and Shirley Jackson. The Train Was On Time by Heinrich Boll, translated by Leila Vennewitz Publisher Penguin Under the Net by Iris Murdoch Publisher Vintage Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, her slightly fictionalised memoir. Publisher Penguin First broadcas...

DJ and former athlete, Nemone Metaxas and deaf poet and educator Raymond Antrobus join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Patrick Modiano, Jay Bernard and Dolly Alderton. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton, Publisher: Penguin Surge by Jay Bernard Publisher: Chatto & Windus Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano Publisher: David R. Godine First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 20...

Authors Damian Le Bas and Amy Liptrot join Harriet Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Jessie Greengrass, Kathleen Jamie and Dorthe Nors. ‘An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It’ by Jessie Greengrass. Publisher: John Murray ‘Sightlines’ by Kathleen Jamie. Publisher: Sort of Books ‘Mirror Shoulder Signal’ by Dorthe Nors. Publisher: Pushkin Press First broadc...

Comedian Stewart Lee and DJ and author Dave Haslam join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite reads by Steve Aylett, Olivia Laings and Chris Paling. Lint by Steve Aylett Publisher: Snowbooks The Lonely City by Olivia Laings Publisher: Picador Reading Allowed by Chris Paling Publisher: Constable First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2019 Photo by Steve Ullathorne

Author Lisa Jewell and economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by Amit Chaudhuri, Liz Nugent and Rose Tremain. Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri Publisher: Oneworld Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent Publisher: Penguin Rosie: Scenes from a Vanished Life by Rose Tremain Publisher: Vintage First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2019. Photo...

Actor John Gordon Sinclair and West End star Kerry Ellis join Harriett Gilbert to choose their favourite books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Sophie Kinsella and Cees Nooteboom. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Translator: Gregory Rabassa Publisher: Penguin I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella Publisher: Black Swan The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom Translator: Ina Rilke Publisher: Vinta...

Writer Poorna Bell and comedian Tony Law join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by Banana Yoshimoto, Lissa Evans and Voltaire. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (translator – Megan Backus) Publisher: Faber Old Baggage by Lissa Evans Publisher: Black Swan Candide by Voltaire (translator – Roger Pearson) Publisher: Oxford University Press First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2019.

Broadcaster Edith Bowman and poet Harry Baker join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Fredrik Backman and Deborah Levy. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid Publisher: Hutchinson A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman [Translated by Henning Koch] Publisher: Sceptre The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 i...

Radiohead's bassist Colin Greenwood and Irish comedian Joanne McNally recommend great books to presenter Harriett Gilbert. Joanne's is This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay. Colin goes for Homing by Jon Day and Harriett's is Bad Blood: A Walk Along the Irish Border by Colm Tóibín. First of a new series, follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc Producer Beth O'Dea Phot...

Crime writer Mark Billingham and fashion designer Pam Hogg join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Katherine Dunn, Dashiell Hammett and Lucy Mangan. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Publisher: Abacus The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Publisher: Orion Bookworm by Lucy Mangan Publisher: Vintage First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2019.

Author and podcaster Dolly Alderton and and crime writer Clare Mackintosh join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Martin Amis, Emma Henderson and Cressida Connolly. The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis Publisher: Vintage Grace Williams Says It Loud by Emma Henderson Publisher: Sceptre After the Party by Cressida Connolly Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2019.

Comedian Dom Joly, novelist Kate Hamer and Harriett Gilbert choose books by Rob Long, Barbara Comyns and Philip Kerr. Conversations with My Agent by Rob Long Publisher: Bloomsbury The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns Publisher: Virago March Violets by Philip Kerr Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.

Horrible Histories actor Mathew Baynton and presenter Aasmah Mir join Harriett Gilbert. to discuss their favourite books by George Saunders, Iain Banks and Alison Jean Lester. Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders Publisher: Bloomsbury The Crow Road by Iain Banks Publisher: Abacus Lilian on Life by Alison Jean Lester Publisher: John Murray First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2019.

Novelist Nicci Gerrard and journalist Gary Younge join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books. Gary chooses Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall, the story of Barbadian immigrants living in Brooklyn in the 1930s and 40s. Nicci's favourite is Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, a novel which takes a surprising turn halfway through and provokes a debate about the merits of s...

Channel 4 News host Cathy Newman and bestselling crime writer Jeffery Deaver join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Annie Proulx, Min Kym and Amy Bloom. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx Publisher: Fourth Estate Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym Publisher: Penguin White Houses by Amy Bloom Publisher: Granta First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2019.

Comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean and singer/composer Hannah Peel join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Italo Calvino, Curtis Sittenfeld. Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino Publisher: Vintage (translator: William Weaver) Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga Publisher: Ayebia You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld Publisher: Black Swan First broadcast on BB...

Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris and comedian and songwriter Pippa Evans join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Tim Winton, David Keenan and William Trevor. The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton Publisher: Picador This is Memorial Device by David Keenan Publisher: Faber The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on Radio 4 in June 2019. **...

Actor Nicola Walker and Peppa Pig voice artist Sarah Ann Kennedy join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Gillian Flynn, Elena Passarello and Carly Simon. Animals Strike Curious Poses by Elena Passarello Publisher: Penguin Dark Places by Gillian Flynn Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon Publisher: Hachette First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2019.

Comedian and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika and cartoonist-author Martin Rowson join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Elena Ferrante, Rohan O'Grady and Michael Ondaatje. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Translator - Ann Goldstein Publisher: Europa Editions Let's Kill Uncle by Rohan O'Grady Publisher: Bloomsbury The Skin of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje Publisher: Picador First b...

Actors Sarah Hadland and Russell Tovey join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Annie Proulx, Quentin Crisp and Muriel Barbery. Close Range: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx Publisher: Harper Perennial The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery Translator: Alison Anderson Publisher: Gallic The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp Publisher: Flamingo First broadcast on BBC Ra...

Poet Lemn Sissay and writer Mick Herron join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by JM Coetzee, Caroline Blackwood and John Steinbeck. The Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee Publisher: Vintage Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood Publisher: New York Review of Books Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2019.

BBC presenter Kate Bottley and comedian Ken Cheng join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Amy Chua, Cole Morton and Carlo Rovelli. The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away by Cole Morton Publisher: Harper Collins Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua Publisher: Bloomsbury Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli Translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell Publisher: Penguin F...

Singer and author Tracey Thorn and writer Maggie O'Farrell join Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Susie Boyt, Barbara Trapido and Kate Atkinson. My Judy Garland Life by Susie Boyt Publisher: Virago The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido Publisher: Bloomsbury Case Histories by Kate Atkinson Publisher: Black Swan First broadcast on Radio 4 in February 2019.

Writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce and comic Lucy Porter join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Mervyn Peake, Terry Pratchett and Dashiell Hammett. Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake Publisher: Methuen Truckers by Terry Pratchett Publisher: Corgi Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett Publisher: Orion First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2019.

Author and journalist Kamal Ahmed and naturalist and presenter Brett Westwood join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by by Michael Faber, James Baldwin and Ruth Rendell. Under the Skin by Michel Faber Publisher: Canongate Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin Publisher: Penguin The Keys to the Street by Ruth Rendell. Publisher: Hutchinson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.