A Good Read

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - former Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King and comic actor and writer, Arabella Weir - discuss their favourite books by Machiavelli, Jon Canter and Eric Newby. The Prince by Machiavelli Publisher: Penguin A Short Gentleman by Jon Canter Publisher: Vintage Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby Publisher: HarperCollins First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 i...

TV presenter and novelist Fern Britton and Olympic gold medallist rower Katherine Grainger join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Harper Lee, Susan Hill and Alan Bennett. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Publisher: Arrow The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill Publisher: Vintage The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett Publisher: Profile Books and Faber & Faber First broadcast on BB...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - playwright, Mark Ravenhill and DJ, Nihal Arthanayake - discuss favourite books by James Ellroy, Nadine Gordimer and Wolfgang von Goethe. Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Publisher: Oxford World Classics American Tabloid by James Ellroy Publisher: Windmill Books July's People by Nadine Gordimer Publisher: Bloomsbury First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 i...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - author, Michael Dobbs and broadcaster, Katie Puckrik - discuss favourite books by Kevin Myers, Jennifer Egan and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Watching the Door - Cheating Death in 1970s Belfast by Kevin Myers Publisher: Atlantic A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Publisher: Corsair Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Publisher: Penguin First br...

Harriett Gilbert. and her guests - BBC Radio 2 presenter, Johnnie Walker and BBC newsreader, Kate Silverton talk about their favourite books by Robert M Pirsig, Georgina Howell and Barbara Pym. Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig Publisher: Vintage Daughter of the Desert - the Remarkable Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell Publisher: Pan MacMillan Excellent Women by...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - broadcaster, John Inverdale and journalist, Rachel Cooke - discuss favourite books by Jan Morris, George Orwell and Meg Wolitzer. Coronation Everest by Jan Morris Publisher: Faber and Faber The Wife by Meg Wolitzer Publisher: Vintage Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell Publisher: Penguin Classics First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - journalists Eve Pollard and Julie Bindel - talk about their favourite books by Richard Ford, Chinua Achebe and David Sedaris. Canada by Richard Ford Publisher: Bloomsbury Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Publisher: Abacus First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - former editor of Spiked, Brendan O'Neill, and writer Gabriel Gbadamosi - discuss their favourite books by Graham Greene, Tarjei Vesaas and Michael Dibdin. Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene Publisher: Vintage The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas Publisher: Peter Owen The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin Publisher: Faber First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Oct...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - choreographer, Arlene Phillips and comedian and actress, Jocelyn Jee Esien - discuss their favourite books by Deborah Moggach, Robyn Travis and William Maxwell. Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach Publisher: Chatto & Windus Prisoner to the Streets by Robyn Travis Publisher: XPress Books So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell Publisher: Vintage First broa...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - TV's Hotel Inspector, Alex Polizzi, and DCI Banks crime novels author, Peter Robinson - discuss their favourite books by Jonathan Lethem, JL Carr and Dodie Smith. Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem Published by Faber and Faber A Month in The Country by JL Carr Published by Penguin I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith Published by Vintage First broadcast on BBC...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - writers Lynne Truss and Diran Adebayo discuss their favourite books by Paul Theroux, Nick Barlay and Michael Ondaatje Sir Vidia's Shadow: A Friendship Across Five Continents by Paul Theroux Publisher: Penguin Hooky Gear by Nick Barlay Publisher: Sceptre Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje Publisher: Bloomsbury First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actor and writer, Meera Syal and psychoanalyst and author, Stephen Grosz - discuss favourite books by Anton Chekov, Katherine Boo and Agatha Christie. The Lady With the Little Dog and Other Stories (1896-1904) by Anton Chekhov Publisher: Penguin Classics Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum by Katherine Boo Published: Portobello Boo...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross and Countryfile reporter Tom Heap - discuss favourite books by Philip Kerr, Ron Ferguson and Elizabeth Taylor. March Violets by Philip Kerr (this edition is part of the Omnibus called Berlin Noir) Publisher: Penguin Mole Under the Fence: Conversations with Roland Wallis by Ron Ferguson with Mark Chater Publisher: Saint Andrew Press...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - children's author, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and TV presenter Richard Osman - discuss their favourite books by Michael Frayn, Shena MacKay and Per Petterson. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson Publisher: Vintage Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn Publisher: Faber and Faber The Orchard on Fire by Shena MacKay Publisher: Vintage First broadcast on BBC Ra...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - writer Owen Jones and novelist Sarah Hall - discuss their favourite books by Robert Swindells, James Salter and Geoffrey Household. Burning the Days by James Salter Publisher: Picador Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells Publisher: Puffin Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household Publisher: Orion First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - sports presenter, Colin Murray and comedian, Bob Mills - discuss their favourite books by Richard Brautigan, Georgette Heyer and Kazuo Ishiguro. In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan Publisher: Vintage These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer Publisher: Arrow Books An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro Publisher: Faber First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in J...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - film critic, Antonia Quirke and actor, Kerry Shale - discuss their favourite books by Craig Thompson, Gavin Maxwell and Simon Armitage. Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems Edited by Simon Armitage Publisher: Faber and Faber Blankets by Craig Thompson Publisher: Top Shelf Productions A Reed Shaken By The Wind: Travels Among The Marsh Arabs of Iraq by Gavin Maxwel...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests – BBC Radio 2’s Vanessa Feltz and performance poet, Elvis McGonagall - discuss books by Javier Marias. AA Milne and Jeff Torrington. A Heart So white by Javier Marias, translated by Margaret Jull Costa Publisher: Vintage Two People by AA Milne Publisher: Capuchin Classics Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington Publisher: Vintage First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Jun...

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary and comedian Shappi Khorsandi join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by GK Chesterton, Sue Townsend and John McGahern. The Napoleon of Notting Hill by GK Chesterton Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend Publisher: Penguin Amongst Women by John McGahern Publisher: Faber and Faber First broadc...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - authors Gervase Phinn and Moni Mohsin - discuss their favourite books by Robert Roberts, Rudyard Kipling and Angela Carter. A Ragged Schooling by Robert Roberts Publisher: Manchester University Press Kim by Rudyard Kipling Publisher: Penguin Books Wise Children by Angela Carter Publisher: Vintage Books First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.

Harriett Gilbertt and her guests - ex-Blue Peter presenter, Konnie Huq and Hue and Cry's Pat Kane - discuss books by Patrick Hamilton, Richard Sennett and Herman Koch. The Dinner by Herman Koch Publisher: Atlantic Books Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton Publisher: Penguin The Craftsman by Richard Sennett Publisher: Penguin First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - writer, Bernadine Evaristo and former BBC Business Editor, Robert Peston - discuss their favourite books by Irene Sabatini, Jessica Mitford and Sian Busby. The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini Publisher: Hodder The Cruel Mother by Sian Busby Publisher: Short Books Hons & Rebels by Jessica Mitford Publisher: Phoenix Books First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - poet, Daljit Nagra and radio critic, Susan Jeffrey - discuss their favourite books by Edna O'Brien, Margery Allingham and an anonymous author. A Woman in Berlin (Anon) Publisher: Little Brown The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien Publisher: Phoenix Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham Publisher: Random House First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - TV presenter, Alistair Appleton and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the department of Psychiatry at Cambridge - discuss favourite books by Patrick Gayle, Ian McEwan and Michael Innes. Notes From an Exhibition by Patrick Gale Publisher: Harper Collins Enduring Love by Ian McEwan Publisher: Vintage Operation Pax by Michael Innes Publisher: House of Stratus First broa...

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - writers, Sarah Moss and Francis Spufford. - discuss their favourite books by Dorothy Wordsworth, TH White and Penelope Fitzgerald. The Grasmere Journals by Dorothy Wordsworth Publisher: Oxford University Press Mistress Masham's Repose by TH White Publisher: Random House Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald Publisher: Harper Collins First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in...