Simon Mayo's Books of the Year

Sophie is an internationally best selling crime author. In our Q&A she tells Simon and Matt about her favourite authors which include Agatha Christie, Samantha Downing and Howard Jacobson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Sophie Hannah's latest thriller Beth sees some old friends...but "twelve years have passed and the children don't look any older...why haven't they grown?" Sophie is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction, published in forty-nine languages and fifty-one territories. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christie’s f...

One of America's finest investigative writers answers our book Q&A Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Lewis is the global bestselling author of The Big Short and Moneyball - both of which were turned in to hugely successful movies.    His latest book is The Fifth Risk, an exploration of Trump and the mechanics of The White House. It examines the transition and political appointments of the Donald Trump presidency. It’s been optioned by the Obamas for their new Netflix production company. I...

Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist, author and podcast maker. His first five books were on The New York Times Best Seller list. Here her chats to Simon and Matt about his favourite authors and books - which include John Le Carre, Henry Treece and Clifford Irving Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist, author and podcast maker. His first five books were on The New York Times Best Seller list. His sixth book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know, was released in September 2019. The book examines interactions with strangers, and covers examples that include the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide o...

Multi million selling author Lee Child gives a rather candid glimpse in to his reading and writing habits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lee Child is a publishing phenomenon. His Jack Reacher novels have sold over 100 million copies. In his latest, Blue Moon, Reacher steps out of a bus to help a potential victim and then finds himself in the thick of a turf war between two rival gangs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bestselling author Adele Parks talks about her favourite books and writers. Including Enid Blyton, Vera Brittain, Clare Mackintosh and Muriel Spark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adele Park's latest novel Lies Lies Lies is a Sunday Times bestseller. She has written 19 novels, selling over 3.5million copies in the UK alone. In our latest pod, Adele talks us through her writing process, the planning, the research and the champagne. In Lies Lies Lies Adele explores the darkest corners of a relationship in freefall in a mesmerising tale of marriage and secrets. After years tog...

Broadcaster, journalist and author George Alagiah talks us through his favourite books and authors... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2007, George has been the presenter of the BBC News at Six and has also been the main presenter of GMT on BBC World News since its launch in 2010. A specialist on Africa and the developing world, Alagiah has interviewed, among others, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan and President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. George's debut nove...

The best selling author talks about her favourite books and writers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jung Chang is best known for her family autobiography Wild Swans. Published in 1991, it has sold over 15 million copies, has been translated in to 40 languages - and is one of Oprah's "Books That Defined A Generation". It is banned in China - where Jung grew up.   Her new book is Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China    They were the most famous...

Egyptologist Chris Naunton talks us through his favourite writers, explorers and books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where are the tombs of Alexander the Great or Cleopatra? Both rulers were buried in Egypt, but their tombs have never been found despite years of intensive research and excavation. Yet we have tantalizing clues. Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt describes the quest for these and other great missing tombs those we know existed, but which have not yet been identified. Dr Chris Naunton is an Egyp...

Find out about Matt Haig's favourite books and writers. Matt is one of Britain's best loved and most prolific writers. Reasons To Stay Alive and Notes From A Nervous Planet were both Sunday Times bestsellers. His children’s novels have won the Smarties Gold Medal, the Blue Peter Book of the Year, been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and nominated for the Carnegie Medal three...

Matt Haig pops in to chat about his new books: Evie and the Animals and The Truth Pixie. His children’s book A Boy Called Christmas was a runaway hit and is translated in over 25 languages. It is being made into a film by Studio Canal and The Guardian called it an ‘instant classic’. His children’s novels have won the Smarties Gold Medal, the Blue Peter Book of the Year, been shortlisted for the Wa...

Journalist and author Emma John talks us through her favourite books and writers - which include Stephen Fry, Amy Poehler and Mark Twain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you feel nostalgic for a life you've never known? Suffused with her much-loved warmth and wit, Emma John's memoir follows her moving and memorable journey to master one of the hardest musical styles on earth - and to find her place in an alien world. Emma had fallen out of love with her violin when a chance trip to the American South introduced her to bluegrass music. Classically trained, high...

Jeanette Winterson is one of the UK's most loved and respected authors. In our Q&A she discusses her favourite writers and books - and her reading and writing habits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What will happen when homo sapiens is no longer the smartest being on the planet? Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realise. Frankissstein may well terrify you. But will make you laugh. Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester and read English at Oxford, during which time she wrote her first novel, the Whitbread award winning Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit....

Sue Nelson is an award-winning science journalist, producer and broadcaster. A former BBC TV science correspondent and Radio 4 presenter, Sue makes short films on space missions for the European Space Agency and co-presents the Space Boffins podcast, whose guests have included astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Eileen Collins, Tim Peake and Helen Sharman. Sue's extensive broadcasting career has taken her fro...

Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the Woman in Space programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, with one of her scores beating all the male Mercury 7 astronauts', including John Glenn's, the first American in orbit. But just one week before the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combina...

Chloe's book The Arsonist is Simon and Matt's favourite of the year so far. Here she talks us through her favourite authors and books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.