A Good Read

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...

Writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has chosen EF Benson's entertaining tale of competitive snobbery in the 1920s, Mapp and Lucia. In a contrasting choice, neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow advocates for Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, a story of a Ghanaian family transplanted to Alabama which takes in neuroscience and opiate addiction. Harriett has gone for a real crowd-pleaser in E. Nesbit's...

VOICES IN THE EVENING by Natalia Ginzburg (trans. DM Low), chosen by Tessa Hadley THE ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis (trans. Jessica Moore), chosen by Sebastian Faulks EASTBOUND by Maylis de Kerangal, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Two authors pick books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Tessa Hadley (Late In The Day, Free Love, After The Funeral) takes us to post-war Italy with Voices In The Evening...

Recorded at the Hay Festival SHUGGIE BAIN by Douglas Stuart ON THE BLACK HILL by Bruce Chatwin AGAINST NATURE by Joris-Karl Huysmans Harriett Gilbert takes to the stage in the BBC Marquee at the Hay Festival for a special edition of the programme recorded in front of an audience. Actor and writer Doon Mackichan known for her outrageous character Cathy in the sitcom Two Doors Down chooses Shuggie B...

ABSENT IN THE SPRING by Agatha Christie (writing as Mary Westmacott) (HarperCollins), chosen by Simon Brett IN THE GARDEN OF THE FUGITIVES by Ceridwen Dovey (Penguin), chosen by Denise Mina HIDE MY EYES by Margery Allingham (Penguin), chosen by Harriett Gilbert Crime writers Denise Mina and Simon Brett join Harriett Gilbert to read each other's favourite books. Simon Brett (Charles Paris, Fetherin...

QUARTET IN AUTUMN by Barbara Pym, chosen by Samantha Harvey MRS CALIBAN by Rachel Ingalls, chosen by Harriett Gilbert PHARMACOPOEIA: A DUNGENESS NOTEBOOK by Derek Jarman, chosen by Darran Anderson Two award-winning writers share books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Samantha Harvey is the author of five novels, The Wilderness, All Is Song, Dear Thief ,The Western Wind and, most recently, Orbital....

Historian and author Kathryn Hughes and No Such Thing As a Fish presenter Dan Schreiber recommend favourite books to Harriett Gilbert. Kathryn chooses Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes, an exploration of the French writer's life in the form of a novel. Dan's choice is very different - John Higgs taking on the conceptual artists and chart toppers The KLF. Harriett has gone for Michael Ondaatje's n...

THE RED PARTS by Maggie Nelson (Vintage), chosen by Carol Morley INVISIBLE CITIES by Italo Calvino (Vintage), chosen by Will Hislop ORDINARY PEOPLE by Diana Evans (Vintage), chosen by Harriett Gilbert Film director Carol Morley chooses a memoir called The Red Parts, in which author Maggie Nelson tries to make sense of the horror, grief and scepticism of her own aunt's murder trial. A book that blu...

JUST KIDS by Patti Smith, chosen by Lindsey Hilsum MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING by Viktor E. Frankl (trans. Ilse Lasch), chosen by Christopher Eccleston TOWARDS THE END OF THE MORNING by Michael Frayn, chosen by Harriett Gilbert The television journalist and actor share favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor of Channel 4 News, loves Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids,...

CHESS by Stefan Zweig (Faber), chosen by Katy Hessel MAUD MARTHA by Gwendolyn Brooks (Penguin), chosen by Amy Blakemore THE PIER FALLS by Mark Haddon (Vintage), chosen by Harriett Gilbert Art historian Katy Hessel chooses a book that she read in one sitting because she couldn't put it down: Chess by Stefan Zweig. A novella about the limitless possibilities of the game, and of the human mind. Autho...

ON WRITING by Stephen King, chosen by Kathryn Williams THE BITCH by Pilar Quintana (translated by Lisa Dillman), chosen by Harriett Gilbert ON THE BEACH by Nevil Shute, chosen by Andrew McMillan The singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams loves books about the craft of writing and her choice of a good read is 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft', by the master of horror, Stephen King. The book gave her...

THE LONELY LONDERS by Sam Selvon THE CHANGELING by Robin Jenkins A CRACK IN THE WALL by Claudia Peneiro The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon traces the new lives of a group of hopeful immigrants from the West Indies in the late 1950s. Told with humour and pathos it's a favourite of actor Paterson Joseph. He regards it as the seminal book about Caribbean migration to Britain and applauds Selvon's bra...

BESSIE SMITH by Jackie Kay (Faber) chosen by Anjana Vasan EDGE OF HERE by Kelechi Okafor (Trapeze) chosen by Anne-Marie Imafidon THE WIDOW COUDERC by Georges Simenon (Penguin) chosen by Harriett Gilbert Star of 'Black Mirror', 'We Are Lady Parts' and 'Wicked Little Letters' Anjana Vasan chooses Jackie Kay's affectionate and personal biography of Blues legend, Bessie Smith. Founder of Stemettes and...

Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, Nancy Medina and IIdle band member Joe Talbot join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite choose books by Junot Diaz, Bell Hooks and Douglas Adams The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Publisher: Faber All About Love by Bell Hooks Publisher: William Morrow The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams Publisher: Pan First broadcast on...

CRYING IN H MART by Michelle Zauner, chosen by Anna Bogutskaya SKATING TO ANTARTICA by Jenni Diski, chosen by Harriett Gilbert THINKING ON MY FEET by Kate Humble, chosen by Rachel Brown-Finnis Critic, author and podcaster Anna Bogutskaya chooses musician Michelle Zauner's account of growing up as one of the few Asian-American children in Eugene, Oregon, Crying in H Mart, which details her complex...

THE GLASS PEARLS by Emeric Pressburger chosen by Ian Rankin WIDOW BASQUIAT by Jennifer Clement chosen by Colin MacIntyre THE PATIENCE STONE by Atiq Rahimi chosen by Harriett Gilbert Rebus creator, Ian Rankin, expresses his admiration for filmmaker and novelist Emeric Pressburger's skilfully empathetic characterisation of a fleeing Nazi war criminal in his novel, The Glass Pearls. All the more impr...

The artist Chantal Joffe picks I Capture The Castle, the English classic by Dodie Smith. Set in 1930s rural England, it relates the adventures of an eccentric family over the course of about a year. It's a book Chantal has come back to again and again, ever since she was a teenager. Séamas O'Reilly champions the Irish novel, A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy, which he argues deserves to be more widely...

Janet Ellis and Jason Arday join presenter Harriet Gilbert to discuss The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es; Rise, the memoir of South African rugby player Siya Kolisi and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Three readers choose favourite books and discuss themes of war, rugby and tightrope walking. Writer and former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis chooses The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es, the tru...

Journalist India Knight and writer Emma Dabiri talk to Harriett Gilbert about favourite books. India chooses The Tap Dancer by Andrew Barrow, while Harriett has gone for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the novel Anne Tyler considers her best work. Emma champions Claire Keegan's short but powerful story, So Late in the Day. Themes of food and family emerge from all three books. Producer for BBC...

The violinist Nigel Kennedy is in the UK playing several concerts and takes time out to join Harriett Gilbert and actor Clare Perkins to talk about one of his favourite books. It's Confessions of A Mask by Yukio Mishima - the coming of age and sexual awakening story of a young boy in post war Japan. Nigel says he began exploring Japanese fiction and is interested in how many Japanese authors explo...

Cressida Cowell MBE is the best-selling author illustrator of the How To Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once children's book series. Cressida's book choice is The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - the story of a fractious mother-daughter relationship between a first generation Chinese immigrant to the USA and her Americanised daughter. Romy Gill MBE is a renowned Indian chef and travel writer. She...

TV presenter Anneka Rice and writer Maureen Freely share favourite books. Maureen has chosen Marilynne Robinson's award winning Gilead, Anneka enjoyed Tan Twan Eng's The Garden of Evening Mists, and Harriett is charmed by The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos. Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven

Artist Cornelia Parker is with the chef Jeremy Lee and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to pick their all-time favourite books. Cornelia chooses South by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the story of his extraordinary journey to Antarctica. Jeremy is a fan of the food writer Elizabeth David, and recommends her book of essays, Omelette and a Glass of Wine. Finally Harriett Gilbert suggests the novel Foreign Affai...

The children's TV presenter and stand up comedian advocate for favourite books. Rhys Stevenson says the ending of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens made him pace up and down his kitchen, and Esther Manito fell in love with one particular character in Stepping Up by Sarah Turner. Harriett's choice is The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell, which also prompts passionate discussion ab...

What does 'home' mean? The three book choices today reflect on what home means to different people. The crime writer Vaseem Khan chooses Deborah Moggach's much loved novel The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that sees a group of elderly English people going to live in a retirement home in India. As well as many hilarious misadventures the book also depicts the stark reality of getting old. Reverend Luc...