The Only Way is Reading

Join us as we talk about all things family, what we offer our families in our libraries and what exciting events we have planned .

Last month we celebrated women’s history month and international women’s day and spoke to two inspiring women, eve from Essex County Council and Syd our author in residence

We speak to some of the team in the library service about reading for well-being. We are also joined by author Syd Moore who is Essex Library Service’s author in residence.

First came the action of running, and accompanying it was the entity known as me. I run; therefore I am. In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and his writing. Equal parts...

Freya chats with ECC BAME Network members Zenith, Neera and Michael in this special Black History Month takeover episode of The Only Way Is Reading. They are discussing Louise Hare's fantastic debut This Lovely City, published by HarperCollins Publishers. The novel, set in 1948 and 1950, follows Laurie, a Jamaican musician who moved to London on the HMT Empire Windrush. He is courting a British mi...

On this special episode of The Only Way Is Reading we jump straight into a soundscape of Chapter 12 in The War of the Worlds. We are joined by local musician and sound artist Chris Adam who lead the Invasion Soundscaping Workshop on 28 October 2021. We discuss H. G. Wells' epic novel, why electronic music is so good for the telling of futuristic tales and how anyone can make music.

I’m Beth and today myself and my co-host Freya are getting criminal with crime fiction, interviewing author Abigail Dean and we’ll be hearing an update about the upcoming Essex Authors Day. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Only Way Is Reading. Series 1 is still available on Spotify, Google podcasts, Apple Podcasts and a few other platforms. We also have three one-off episodes...

Hosted by Beth and Freya. I’m Beth and today myself and my co-host Freya are getting real with non-fiction and Freya interviews international man of mystery, David Omand. We will also be discussing the themes and characters in the genre and we’ll be hearing more about our Reading Well scheme.

Hosted by Beth and Freya. I’m Beth and in this episode we’ll be doing the time warp and reviewing historical fiction and Freya interviews best-selling author Liz Trenow who speaks about her family history of silk-weaving and how that inspired her to become a writer.  We’ll also hear more about the Reading Agency’s Reading Well scheme.

Episode 1: Romance and Chick lit Hosted by Beth and Freya. I’m Beth and today myself and my co-host Freya are falling in love with romance and chick-lit fiction, discussing the themes and characters in the genre and we’ll be hearing an update about the upcoming Essex Book Festival. 1:02 – Update about the Essex Book Festival Sarah from Essex Library Services gives us an update on the upcoming Esse...

LGBT+ History Month Special Hosted by Ian and Freya. Guest appearance from Stephen Bourne author of Fighting Proud We are really excited to introduce you to our guest on today's episode. Writer, film and social historian Stephen Bourne. Not only has Stephen trailblazed a route to cast light on many hidden figures throughout history in his books playing gay, brief encounters, fighting proud and mos...

Young adult podcast for #LibrariesWeek Hosted by Freya chatting with Isabel, James and Mia In this episode in celebration of Libraries Week (5-10 October) we’re talking with three young adults about all things books and reading. Freya will be discussing with Isabel, James and Mia: · What books they are reading now · Their favourite titles · How they choose what to read next · What motivates them t...

National Poetry Day Hosted by Beth and Freya. Special guest appearance from Anthony Roberts from Colchester Arts Centre. In this episode we’re talking all things poetry to celebrate National Poetry Day. Beth spoke to Anthony Roberts from Colchester Arts Centre who’s been using poetry to keep the culture alive by performing a daily poem among other things. And then we’ll be chatting about our relat...

Hosted by Beth and Freya. Guest appearances from local poet, Joy, and Callum from Libraries Unlimited in Devon and Torbay. In this episode we’re discussing books with a connection to Essex for our book bingo challenge, Freya spoke to Joy, a local Essex poet, about her poetry and work on a local project called Essexism, and Beth spoke to our friend Callum from Libraries Unlimited down in Devon and...

Hosted by Beth and Freya. Guest appearance from Alex Clare, author of the DI Robyn Bailley series. I’m Beth and in this episode Freya and I are discussing books with a blue cover for our book bingo challenge, we spoke to author of the DI Robyn Bailley series, Alex Clare, about her journey as an author and the principles of crime writing, and then we’ll be setting our next book bingo challenge. 0:4...

Hosted by Beth and Freya. Guest appearance from Helen Lederer - comedian, writer and founder of the Comedy Women in Print book prize. In this episode Freya and I are discussing the award-winning books for our book bingo challenge, I’ll be talking to witty woman and founder of the Comedy Women in Print book prize, Helen Lederer about this year’s award and comedic women in literature, and then we’ll...

Reading for Wellness Hosted by Beth and Freya. Guest appearance from Catherine from Essex Library Services. In this episode we are discussing the books we read for our book bingo challenge (a book with less than 200 pages), talking about how reading can improve our mental health and wellbeing and then setting our next book bingo challenge. Book bingo discussion – A book with less than 200 pages Ca...