A Good Read

A new series begins at the Edinburgh International Book Festival with guests Irvine Welsh and Andrew O'Hagan. Irvine Welsh is best known as the author of Trainspotting. Andrew O'Hagan's Mayflies was recently made into a BBC TV series. The programme was recorded in front of an audience at the Dynamic Earth Centre. Irvine Welsh chooses a lesser known book - Brian by Jeremy Cooper. It's the story of a lonely man's redemption through his love of film. A membership of the BFI (British Film Institute) opens up his world and offers an escape from his humdrum existence working for the housing department of a North London council. By contrast Andrew chooses Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece of dual identity - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Again although it's set in London Andrew recognises the streets of Edinburgh's New Town in the book. Harriett brings the Australian writer Helen Garner's novel The Children's Bach for discussion. It's the story of family breakdown and the ensuing emotional fallout.

Produced by Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio Bristol

Photo credit: Desiree Adams / Penguin Random House

DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver, chosen by Rachel Parris DID YE HEAR MAMMY DIED? by Séamas O'Reilly, chosen by Harriett Gilbert BOTH NOT HALF by Jassa Ahluwalia, chosen by Sonali Shah

Comedian and musician Rachel Parris and broadcaster and presenter Sonali Shah join Harriett Gilbert to read each other's favourite books.

Rachel Parris (Late Night Mash, Austentatious) chooses Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead, which is based on David Copperfield and boldly takes on America's opioid crisis.

Sonali Shah (Escape to the Country, Pilgrimage, Magic FM) picks Both Not Half: A Radical New Approach to Mixed Heritage Identity by the actor Jassa Ahluwalia, who had always described himself as 'half Indian, half English'. So he decided to come up with a new way of thinking about all kinds of individuality.

Harriett brings a wonderfully funny and loving memoir by the Irish writer Séamas O'Reilly: Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

Producer: Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram

RADIO ROMANCE by Garrison Keillor, chosen by Sarah Phelps PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi, chosen by Irenosen Okojie ABSOLUTELY AND FOREVER by Rose Tremain, chosen by Harriett Gilbert

Two authors pick books they love with Harriett Gilbert.

Screenwriter, playwright and television producer Sarah Phelps (The Sixth Commandment, A Very British Scandal, EastEnders) brings us the trials and tribulations of a small-town radio station in the Midwest. Told with humour and irony, but also packs a punch.

Novelist and short story writer Irenosen Okojie (Hag, Butterfly Fish, Speak Gigantular) chooses Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, an autobiographical graphic novel charting the writer's childhood in Iran, set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, before her move to Austria.

Harriett Gilbert brings Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain, a story about the all-consuming power of first love, set 1960s London.

Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio Bristol Join the conversation on Instagram @bbcagoodread

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 Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher detailing her tumultuous life as the child of two Hollywood stars who often couldn't separate fantasy from reality. Ilaria Bernardini is an Italian novelist and screenwriter. She is currently working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s final script which Ilaria co-wrote with hi -The Echo Chamber. Her choice is the seminal feminist Italian novel Forbidden Notebook by the Italian-Cuban writer Alba de Cespedes about the inner life of an Italian housewife and Mama of the family. Harriett's choice is Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang - a cautionary tale for our times of plagiarism, cultural appropriation, social media storms and more.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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 The Railway Children and all three enjoy a bit of nostalgia for the times when children could run free having adventures around the railway. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.

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 by Natalia Ginzburg. The drama, suffering and fascism are in the past, but traumas surface in the day-to-day, with first loves and lost chances.

Sebastian Faulks (Birdsong, Human Traces, The Seventh Son) chooses The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis, after watching the hit film by Jonathan Glazer and wanting to read the book it was inspired by. The haunting novel follows a Nazi officer who has become enamoured with the Auschwitz camp commandant's wife, and goes inside the minds of the commandant, who lives with his family right next to the concentration camp.

Harriett Gilbert brings Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, a gripping novella set on the Trans-Siberian Railway, with a chance encounter between a desperate Russian conscript and a French woman.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol Join the conversation on Instagram @bbcagoodread

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 Bain by Douglas Stuart as her good read. It's a touching but heartbreaking tale of a young Glaswegian boy's desperate efforts to save his mother Agnes from the alcoholism that ruins and degrades her. It won the Booker Prize in 2020. As we're in Wales Harriett's fitting choice is Bruce Chatwin's On The Black Hill an account of rural Welsh life in the mid 20th century. It's the story of two brothers' lives over 80 years and their connection to land and community. Bruce Robinson actor, director and writer of the hit film Withnail and I which has been adapted for stage chooses a book that features in the final scene of the film. The I character places two books in a suitcase at the end of the film, one of which is A Rebours - Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans. Bruce confesses that he's not the book's biggest fan but the ensuing discussion provides an entertaining insight into books we might read when we're younger and how differently we feel about them in later life. It's the story of an eccentric recluse Jean des Esseintes in 19th century France who loathes people and creates a fantasy world for himself but ultimately suffers from his self-inflicted pretentious ennui. "I wish I hadn't chosen this book" proclaims Bruce Robinson as he introduces it. "I wish you hadn't chosen it" agrees Doon Mackichan. They then elicit a lot of audience laughter from their deconstruction of this seminal French novel that all three find pretentious.

A longer version of the programme is available as a podcast

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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, Fethering and Mrs Pargeter detective series) chooses Agatha Christie under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, with Absent In The Spring. It’s a story without any detective and one that, perhaps, reveals a more personal side to Christie's writing.

Denise Mina (most recently: Three Fires, The Second Murderer) picks In the Garden of the Fugitives by South African-Australian author Ceridwen Dovey, an epistolary novel which begins with a letter that breaks seventeen years of silence between a rich, elderly man with a broken heart and his former protegee, a young South African filmmaker.

And for the occasion of having two crime authors, Harriett Gilbert picks a golden age crime book, Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham, where private detective Albert Campion finds himself hunting down a serial killer.

Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram

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. She is also the author of a memoir, The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping. Her choice of a good read is a slim novel by Barbara Pym set in 1970s London about the lives of four single people in their sixties who work in an office together. Quartet in Autumn is sharply perceptive about the ways in which we hide from one other and from ourselves.

Darran Anderson is an Irish writer who lives in London. He is the author of Imaginary Cities: A Tour of Dream Cities, Nightmare Cities, and Everywhere in Between; a memoir, Inventory, about growing up during the Troubles; and the forthcoming In the Land of My Enemy. His choice, Pharmacopoeia, brings together fragments of the artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman's writing on nature, gardening and Prospect Cottage, his Victorian fisherman's hut on the shingle at Dungeness.

Harriett's choice is a fantastically strange novel by Rachel Ingalls, published in 1982. In Mrs Caliban, a grieving housewife in a loveless marriage embarks on a heady affair with a green-skinned frogman.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

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 novel Warlight, set in a murky and mysterious post-war London.

Presenter: Harriett Gilbert

Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven

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 blurs the boundaries between personal memoir, psychoanalysis and true crime.

Comedian Will Hislop chooses Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, which transports us to 55 different fictional reincarnations of Venice through a series of beautifully detailed and occasionally absurd vignettes. Calvino's prose poems are ordered by theme and, as a reader, you can choose how you want to navigate his matrix of the chapters.

Harriett's choice takes us to London with a novel by Diana Evans called Ordinary People, in which two couples find themselves at a moment of reckoning, an intimate study of identity, parenthood and the fragility of love.

Presenter: Harriett Gilbert Producer: Becky Ripley

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, her account of coming to New York as a young woman and of her relationship with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. It's a coming-of-age story set against the heady backdrop of 1970s counterculture; it's a story of becoming an artist; and it's a love story that turns into an elegy.

The actor Christopher Eccleston chooses Man's Search for Meaning, the psychotherapist Viktor Frankl's account of his time in Nazi concentration camps and how those experiences informed his belief that man's deepest need is to search for meaning and purpose. It's a powerful book about retaining one's humanity in the face of unimaginable suffering and degradation.

And Harriett Gilbert chooses Towards the End of the Morning, Michael Frayn's 1967 satire about journalists working on a newspaper during the heyday of Fleet Street.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

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.

Author Amy Blakemore chooses Maud Martha by the American poet Gwendolyn Brookes, a story of a life told with such a brevity and beauty of prose that it is almost poetry.

Harriett's choice is a collection of short stories called The Pier Falls by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon, who is not afraid to disturb.

Photo credit: Lily Bertrand Webb Presenter: Harriett Gilbert Producer: Becky Ripley

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 practical tools and advice which helped her to write her debut novel, The Ormering Tide. She also loves what we learn about King's life - from his flatulent childhood nanny to the devastating 1999 accident which almost ended his life.

Harriett's choice this week is The Bitch by Colombian author Pilar Quintana, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. In a village on the Pacific coast of Colombia, between wild jungle and wild seas, a childless woman develops a complicated relationship with an orphaned puppy.

And the poet and novelist Andrew McMillan chooses On the Beach by Nevil Shute. In Australia, a group of people try to come to terms with the end of the world. A nuclear war has wiped out all life in the northern hemisphere and the radiation is drifting steadily south. What would you do if you knew that you, and everyone you know, had only months to live?

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

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 bravery in writing it in patois.

Richard Coles loves the work of Scottish writer Robin Jenkins. The Changeling is the bleak and heartbreaking story of a well meaning but flawed middle class school teacher's attempt to 'save' a young boy from the slums of Glasgow. The Saviour Complex is something Richard says he's experienced many times and understands how it can lead to disaster.

A Crack In The Wall by Claudia Pineiro is Harriett's choice. It's a crime novel set in Buenos Aires centring around middle-aged architect Pedro, who's experiencing cracks in his own personal life, as well as in the city's architecture.

Producer: Maggie Ayre, BBC Audio Bristol

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 author of 'She's In CTRL' Anne-Marie Imafidon picks Kelechi Okafor's science-fiction debut, which looks at the relationship between technology and society in the near-future.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert opts for Georges Simenon's tale of a couple in rural France where it's not exactly clear who's using whom.

Producer: Toby Field, for BBC Audio Bristol

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz (Faber), chosen by Nancy Medina ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks (William Morrow), chosen by Joe Talbot THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams (Pan), chosen by Harriett Gilbert

Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic Nancy Medina chooses a book that reminds her of growing up in the Dominican Republic. It's a funny, intense and often brutal tale of life under a dictatorship.

Joe Talbot from the band Idles selects bell hooks' essays on love which explores the act of loving and how it can be applied to relationships, parenting and what society chooses to prioritise.

Harriett's choice is Douglas Adams' story about Arthur Dent's journey through space with an alien called Ford Prefect after earth is demolished to make way for a bypass.

Presenter: Harriett Gilbert Producer: Toby Field, for BBC Audio Bristol

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 relationship with her mother.

Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis picks Kate Humble's book Thinking on My Feet. It's a book about travel, the outside world, and the act of putting one foot in front of another. Rachel came to it in lockdown and loved the opportunity to virtually go on so many walks with Kate.

Harriett's choice is Jenni Diski's account of a trip she took to the frozen south, but as ever with Diski it is a journey that is accompanied by reflections on the defining moments of her childhood and adult life, in Skating to Antarctica.

Presenter: Harriett Gilbert Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol

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 impressive when you realise that Pressburger was a Hungarian Jew who'd had to flee Nazi Germany.

Mull Historical Society singer-songwriter, Colin MacIntyre, recommends Widow Basquiat by Jennifer Clement - the biography of the New York street artist Jean Michel Basquiat's long suffering girlfriend and muse Suzanne, documenting their life together in the New York art scene of the early 1980s, a time when hip-hop, New Wave and street art converged to make New York the edgy centre of a burgeoning arts scene.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert chooses The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi, a novel told from an Afghan woman's perspective, as she sits in one room praying over the comatose body of her wounded fighter husband. Battles rage outside, as she sits and prays for his recovery. But as time passes, her voice becomes louder and more powerful as her rage grows.

Producer: Maggie Ayre, BBC Audio Bristol

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 known. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a graphic memoir by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, called The Secret to Superhuman Strength.

Chantal Joffe is an artist known for her often larger-than-life-sized paintings, of women and children in particular, which have been shown in solo exhibitions around the world. Séamas O'Reilly is a columnist for the Observer whose memoir is Did Ye Hear Mammy Die.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

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 true story of a Dutch Jewish girl during the Second World War. Cambridge's youngest black professor Jason Arday champions Rise, the memoir of South African rugby player Siya Kolisi who went from a tough start in a township to the very top of his game. Harriett's choice, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, tells the story of a tightrope walk between the twin towers and the lives unfolding on the ground below.

Producer Sally Heaven, BBC Audio Bristol

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 Audio Sally Heaven

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 explore the inner lives of their characters.

Actor Clare Perkins goes for Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - a story she finds hopeful for humanity, despite being about a hostage situation where a group of party guests find themselves at the mercy of terrorists in an unnamed South American country.

Harriett opts for Franz Kafka's novella Metamorphosis - a story first published in 1915 about a young salesmen who wakes up one morning to find he has changed into a monstrous insect.

Photo of Nigel Kennedy: Carly Hyde

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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 is the author of two cook books. Her favourite book is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel that follows a similar theme of conflicting Eastern and Western cultures.

Harriett chooses the autobiography of actor Minnie Driver. Managing Expectations documents an unconventional and often difficult childhood in England and a successful Hollywood acting career, told with humour and self-deprecation.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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 Affairs by Alison Lurie, centred on two American academics' escapades in London.

Cornelia has recently had solo shows at the Tate Britain and the Metropolitan Museum of New York; Jeremy is chef-proprietor of Quo Vadis restaurant in Soho and author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

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 about characters.

Producer for BBC Audio Bristol is Sally Heaven

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 Lucy Winkett of St James Church Picadilly in London chooses The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak the love story beween a Greek Cypriot man and a Turkish Cypriot woman in a country fractured by division in 1974. The story takes place mainly in contemporary London and examines the personal impact of displacement from one's homeland. And that's a theme that carried on in Harriett's choice which is We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo about a young girl who leaves her troubled homeland of Zimbabwe for a new life in America and finds herself better off materially but lacking the spiritual comfort of her home country.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Author and cultural critic Olivia Laing, whose books include The Lonely City, Funny Weather and Everybody, is joined by fashion writer and curator Charlie Porter, of What Artists Wear and Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion, and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to talk about the books they love.

Olivia recommends Bad Blood by literary critic Lorna Sage - a memoir of her eccentric childhood and adolescence in 1940s rural Wales. Charlie loves Honey From A Weed by Patience Gray, a cookbook which exalts local knowledge and seasonal cooking, taking readers to a time and place far removed from modern life. And Harriett brings The English Understand Wool, a 2022 novella by American author Helen DeWitt, which takes unexpected twists and turns and which Harriett argues, merits reading more than once.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

Niamh Cusack chooses Lila by Marilynne Robinson part of a group of novels set around the fictional Iowa town of Gilead and centres on the gentle relationship between a poor young woman who has grown up drifting around the midwest and an elderly man of God, the Reverend John Ames. For Niamh the novel speaks to the loneliness of life but she also finds its humanity uplifting and inspiring. Crime writer Elly Griffiths' choice is Something In Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Ostensibly a semi comic family drama, Elly finds something more sinister in the book which she terms 'domestic noir'. Harriett has chosen Naples '44 - travel writer Norman Lewis' account of wartime Naples and the allied liberation of Southern Italy. There are differing opinions as to whether the book is a touching tribute to the warmth and resilience of the Neapolitan people at a desperate time or a rather patronising outdated view of Italy. What do you think? You can join in the discussion on our Instagram page @agoodreadbbc

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Nina Wadia is a well known face on British TV and film. She was part of the smash hit comedy Goodness Gracious Me and was a regular in EastEnders. Most recently she has been in The Outlaws. She's chosen a dark thriller set in Pakistan set in the world of courtesans and pimps. The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad. It's a disturbing read she says but a brilliant insight into a hidden world. Susanna Hoffs wrote songs and was lead singer with The Bangles. She is still recording and playing music but has recently published her first novel This Bird Has Flown. Her choice of book on A Good Read is an English novel set in the 1950s - Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers - a strange tale of a mysterious apparent immaculate conception being investigated by a female journalist. Harriett's choice is Blue Horses - a collection of poems by the late Mary Oliver. The verdict from all three - wonderful and life affirming.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Photo by Sam Irons

The actor-comedian and the poet advocate for their favourite books. Andi chooses The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, Nikita loves Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden and Harriett goes for The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

Producer Sally Heaven

Biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake (of 'Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures') is joined by the science journalist Jo Marchant (of 'Human Cosmos' and 'Cure') and presenter Harriett Gilbert.

Merlin picks 'The Age of Wonder' by Richard Holmes, a biographical portrait of scientific innovators in the late 18th century. In this historical book. Holmes explores the scientific ferment that swept across Britain, and how it became an age of great discovery.

Jo's choice, 'You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto', is by computer scientist and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier. In this prescient book from 2010, Jaron delves into the digital world, examining what went wrong in its development, and how we might fix these problems.

And Harriett recommends the classic, magical children's novel, 'The Sword In The Stone' by T. H. White, which she argues merits re-reading as an adult.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol. Comment on Instagram @agoodreadbbc

The comedian and the writer talk to Harriett about favourite books, including one of Orwell's less well known novels, Coming Up for Air, chosen by Hal after he played the central character in a one man show. Daisy has gone for Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin, and Harriett loves Jenny Diski's Stranger on a Train, a travel memoir by someone who is not too keen on travel.

Producer Sally Heaven

Journalist, broadcaster and author Zing Tsjeng and poet Yomi Ṣode join presenter Harriett Gilbert to talk about the books they love.

Zing chooses a book set in the heart of New York City's queer community. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is centred on the lives of Reece, a trans woman, her ex Ames, and her ex's new lover, Katrina. Yomi recommends Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut book, Open Water, a lyrical romance story set in South East London. And Harriett's choice is Intimacies, a novel by Katie Kitamura, where the main character is an interpreter at the International Court in The Hague, where unease bubbles below the surface of the novel's cool narration.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas

The two writers talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Gill Hornby has chosen Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, which traces the lives of six step-siblings over a span of fifty years. Paul Burston loves Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, which helped him come out to his parents as a young man. Harriett's choice is Tin Man by Sarah Winman which describes the friendship of two men and a woman. While Tales of the City takes place before the advent of AIDS, in Tin Man the disease looms large.

Producer Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: @agoodreadbbc

The author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series, Donna Leon, is joined by writer-entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan and the presenter Harriett Gilbert.

Donna has chosen a book by an author she greatly admires, Ross MacDonald, who she read before she became a writer herself. His 1971 noir novel, The Underground Man, follows a detective as he tries to track down a missing child, whilst a mysterious fire rages through the hills of Southern California. Margaret loves Butcher's Crossing, the lesser-known book by John Williams, the author of Stoner. Set in 1871, this is about a young Harvard drop-out who heads out into the American West to discover a new way of living and which Margaret describes as an 'anti-Western' novel. Meanwhile Harriett's choice is A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam, which follows a mother's struggle to protect her children as Bangladesh fights for independence.

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Author Katherine May and poet Liz Berry talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. Liz loves A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, a powerful blend of memoir and literary investigation where the past bleeds into the present. Katherine is inspired by These Wilds Beyond Our Fences by Bayo Akomolafe, framed as letters from the author to his young daughter as he tries to make sense of the world that she has been born into. And Harriett chooses Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, a triumphant feminist fable and sweet revenge comedy which celebrates the life and times of protagonist Elizabeth Zott.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Becky Ripley

The newsreader and the writer chat about books with Harriett. Sophie and Harriett's choices take on early colonialism on two different continents, in West by Cary Davies and Remembering Babylon by David Malouf respectively, and Patrick's choice of Howard's End by EM Forster brings us back to Blighty.

Producer Sally Heaven

The broadcaster and comedian discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Janet's choice is The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks, set in 1960s London, which was also Janet's stomping ground. Felicity loves Carlo Rovelli's Seven Lessons on Physics, which provokes much disagreement between the three women, none of whom studied much science at school. Harriett's choice is Hubert Mingarelli's A Meal in Winter, a moving and morally complex tale of three Nazi soldiers in wartime Poland.

Producer Sally Heaven

Psychotherapist writer Philippa Perry and Professor of Neuroscience Anil Seth join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love.

Anil Seth, who explores consciousness and the self in his book Being You, recommends Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, where our near-future world is seen through the eyes of an Artificial Friend. Philippa Perry's choice is A Stranger City by Linda Grant, a novel with a mystery at its heart and is about how lives interweave in the city. And Harriett Gilbert loves the non-fiction book Being Mortal by American surgeon Atul Gawande, which asks what medicine is for in the face of death.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol

Columnist at The Times James Marriott and arts journalist for The Guardian Jude Rogers discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

James picks The Past by Tessa Hadley, a contemporary novel about family, place and the modern world encroaching upon the old; Jude recommends Border Country by Raymond Williams, a semi-autobiographical story of a man returning home to his small village on the Welsh borders, and how it's changed over a century; and Harriett loves A Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt, about a woman re-examining her life in after her husband's rejection.

Do you agree with their assessments? Join us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Art historian Kate Bryan and comedian Mark Steel talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. Kate loves Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing, an inspiring collection of essays which make a case for why art matters. Mark is a big fan of Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle, a comedic memoir about growing up in a Jewish atheist communist family in Liverpool. And Harriett puts forward Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, in which a present-day story converges with ancient rituals to provoke a discussion about how far we have come from the “primitive minds” of our ancestors.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Becky Ripley

This week broadcaster and writer Adrian Chiles and musician and sound artist Marty Ware join Harriett Gilbert with their reading suggestions. Martyn nominates A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess which he says has influenced his career as a musician. He even named his band Heaven 17 from a reference in the book. If you can get past the brutality and violence it's a novel that throws up many moral questions about the nature of good and evil. Both he and Adrian Chiles are fascinated by the use of Russian language throughout the book. Adrian Chiles chooses Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s it's a slow burn love story of a couple who meet at a writers' conference and begin exchanging letters that lead to a deepening friendship and feelings before they make their way to the glamour of New York City. Nina Simone's Gum by musician Warren Ellis receives a resounding Hooray and thumbs up from both Adrian and Martyn as Harriett's choice. It's an eclectic book about the importance and emotion of objects centred around Ellis' custodianship of a piece of chewing gum discarded by the singer Nina Simone at one of her final British concerts. Ellis spotted her take out the gum and put it on a towel on the piano before beginning her concert at the Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre which was being curated by Ellis' friend and bandmate Nick Cave. After the singer left the stage Warren Ellis jumped onto the stage and took the towel and kept it safe for twenty years in an almost shrine like setting before releasing it into the world and realising the emotional power such an object holds.

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Agnes Poirier the French writer and broadcaster and British-Nigerian novelist Nikki May introduce us to their favourite books. Nikki chooses a haunting novel about life after the breakdown of society following a flu pandemic. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel was written well before Covid and was published in 2014. Although it depicts the collapse of civilisation it is not a grimly depressing post apocalyptic read. Centred around a group of travelling actors and musicians the story flips back and forth to their lives before and after the virus making each character much rounder than had they merely been shown as a straggling bunch fighting off feral gangs and surviving against the odds. As a result the book is not only a thrilling adventure it's also moving and ultimately optimistic about the survival of beauty and the human spirit. Agnes Poirier's choice is a collection of short stories by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. Agnes wants to make the case for the unsung heroes of the literary world - translators. She has loved Zweig's work since she was a teenager and was surprised to find he was little known in the UK but quickly discovered that the limited translations of his work were old fashioned and not very good. But thanks to more recent English translations she is happy to see him being more widely recognised in the Anglophone world. Letter From An Unknown Woman is the title story and its account of a lifelong one-sided love affair sees the unknown woman devote her life to a handsome and rather caddish writer who barely notices her. For Agnes it's a universal story of unfulfilled longing that many young girls experience. The Trees is Harriett's choice of a a good read and it's a novel that hits right between the eyes. Percival Everett sets it in Money Mississippi the town infamous for the brutal torture and murder of the young African American Emmett Till in 1955. The story centres around the modern day lynching and murder of some of the white KKK descendants of Emmett Till's killers. Enter two African American detectives sent to Money to investigate the spate of ghastly killings. What is so unexpected about The Trees is the laugh out loud humour that cuts through despite its horrific subject matter. Ed and Jim the two cops are hilariously funny as is Everett's depiction of Southern redneck small town life.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Co-host of the 'Scummy Mummies' podcast Ellie Gibson and musician Frank Turner pick their favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert. Ellie's choice is a manifesto about the benefits of order, 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' by Marie Kondo. Frank's choice looks at mental health and addiction in the music industry, 'Bodies: Life and Death in Music' by Ian Winwood. Harriett chooses 'Indelicacy' by Amina Cain, a story about a woman searching for her place in the world which has been described by some as a "ghost story without a ghost".

Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio, Bristol

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Comedian and author Shaparak Khorsandi and Anne Hegerty AKA "The Governess" on the ITV quiz show 'The Chase' discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Shaparak's choice is about a university lecturer in South Africa who leaves his job after an affair with a student, 'Disgrace' by J.M. Coetzee. Anne selects a story about a musical, bohemian family that in part reminds her of her own family, 'The Fountain Overflows' by Rebecca West. Harriett picks 'Dear Reader' by Cathy Rentzenbrink, a memoir which serves as a love letter to literature.

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Presenter Philppa Forrester and explorer Dwayne Fields discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Philippa's pick is a fun memoir about Nina Stibbe's experiences working as a Nanny in London, 'Love, Nina'. Dwayne chooses a novel about two ill-matched ladies on an adventure in the South Pacific, 'Miss Benson’s Beetle' by Rachel Joyce, and Harriett selects the late Jenny Diski's memoir 'In Gratitude' which was written whilst she received treatment for inoperable cancer.

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Comedians Heidi Regan and Neil Delamere discuss their favourite all-time books with Harriett Gilbert. Heidi chooses a non-fiction book on the cult of positive thinking by the late Barbara Ehrenreich, called Smile or Die. Neil suggests a novel by Ronan Hession about two unambitious friends in their thirties; Leonard and Hungry Paul, and Harriett picks the novella Foster by Irish writer Claire Keegan, who has recently been nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize. Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol Join the conversation on Instagram @agoodreadbbc

The comedian Ria Lina - who's appeared on the BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week - joins Otegha Uwagba - author of Little Black Book, Whites and We Need to Talk About Money - to talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Ria chooses Moll Flanders, the 18th-century classic by Daniel Defoe. Otegha picks the popular romance story Like Water for Chocolate by Mexican author Laura Esquivel and Harriett Gilbert brings a book about motherhood; Making Babies by Anne Enright.

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Poet Patience Agbabi and the writer and podcaster Andy Miller advocate for their favourite books. Andy wrote a memoir about reading fifty great books, so it can't have been an easy choice. He plumps for My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley. Patience loves The Animals in that Country, Laura Jean Mackay's novel which starts with a pandemic but soon moves in to less familiar territory. Harriett talks about A Month in Siena, Hisham Matar's memoir of art, architecture and life.

Producer Sally Heaven

Writers Damian Barr and Ben Fergusson recommend books to Harriett Gilbert. Damian chooses the second volume of Janice Galloway's memoir, All Made Up. Ben talks about The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen, and Harriett has gone for Hilary Spurling's biography of Sonia Orwell, The Girl from the Fiction Department.

Producer Sally Heaven

Broadcaster John Wilson and comedian Chloe Petts choose books to recommend to Harriett Gilbert. John has chosen Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, which features a character based on the other Elizabeth Taylor. Chloe has gone for The Topeka School by Ben Lerner and Harriett goes for Hilary Mantel's first novel, Every Day is Mother's Day.

Producer Sally Heaven

Writers Duncan Campbell and Mark Hodkinson discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Duncan chooses the Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm, a book on the ethics of journalism with a very provocative opening sentence. Mark has gone for Contempt, Italian novelist Alberto Moravia's portrait of a disintegrating marriage. Harriett stays in Italy and introduces The Beautiful Summer by César Pavese, a coming-of-age novel set in the 1930s.

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Writer Salena Godden chooses Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, a book she's re-read many times and returns to now – older, wiser and with even greater empathy for its protagonist.

Author-illustrator Rob Biddulph recommends When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle, named Children’s Fiction Book of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards, which brought him to tears and conjures London in the Blitz so vividly.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert picks Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore, the story of a heart transplanted from one life to another.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

Columnist Melanie Reid adores This is Not About Me by Janice Galloway, a tragicomic account of her turbulent childhood in mid-century Scotland. Presenter Harriett Gilbert thinks John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a true masterpiece, and sports broadcaster (and famous dog owner) Andrew Cotter recommends The Wild Places by fellow mountain-lover Robert Macfarlane.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

Sophie Hannah and Viv Groskop join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love.

Sophie, an Agatha Christie expert and superfan, recommends The Rose and the Yew Tree, a book – misleadingly billed as a romance, she says – that Christie wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. She claims it can rival any detective novel for suspense and intrigue. Will Harriett and Viv agree?

Harriett champions Dame Eileen Atkin’s recent memoir Will She Do? which charts the first 30 years of the actor's life, including her time as a child soubrette, performing in working men’s clubs as ‘Baby Eileen’.

Writer, podcaster and stand-up Viv Groskop recalls her time living in Russia in the 1990s and explains why she thinks The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, a 1920s satire about science gone very wrong, will become increasingly relevant in the months and years ahead.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

The broadcaster Petroc Trelawny, host of the Radio 3 Breakfast show, and the crime writer Stuart MacBride, author of the bestselling Logan McRae and Ash Henderson crime thrillers, talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love.

Petroc's choice is dystopian JG Ballard novel The Drought, Stuart's is the Hollywood memoir by David Niven, The Moon's A Balloon, and Harriett's is Borges and Me by Jay Parini.

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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a guide to spiritual enlightenment and preaches the importance of being in the moment. Alex George has found it an invaluable guide when he has suffered periods of anxiety and poor mental health. Ella Al-Shamahi chooses a first hand account of being imprisoned in Yemen by Abdulkader Al-Guneid, a medical doctor taken from his home and locked up for over a year for posting his political views about the conflict in Yemen on social media. She says Prison Time in Sana'a is a testament to inner strength as well as a guide to understanding a very complex if forgotten war. Harriett's choice is the Mermaid of Black Conch - a novel about the capture of a sea woman by white fishermen on a fictional Caribbean island. Little Mermaid it is not. Monique Roffey's mermaid has bad teeth and is full of sea lice.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Comedian Rob Newman and writer Sarfraz Manzoor talk about favourite books. Rob loves John Berger's novel To the Wedding, but not everyone finds it hugely romantic. Sarfraz has chosen Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume 1. Thus far, there has been no Volume 2. Harriett enjoys Eric Ambler's The Mask of Dimitrious, a thriller which criss-crosses pre-war Europe.

Producer Sally Heaven

Novelist Dreda Say Mitchell and the writer and podcaster Emma Gannon talk about their favourite books with Harriett. Dreda chooses An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, a romance set during the American Civil War. Emma has gone for the mouth watering memoir Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent, and Harriett transports us to a very wet Scottish holiday in Sarah Moss' Summerwater. Producer Sally Heaven

A novel about compassion set against the backdrop of the Aberfan disaster is comedian and actor Omid Djalili's choice of a good read. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe is a novel about a young man who becomes an embalmer and who goes straight from his graduation ceremony to help at the site of the tragedy in Aberfan to take care of the deceased's bodies. That experience is to shape the rest of his life and his relationships with his mother and wife as well as an early schoolfriend are all affected. Nikita Lalwani chooses a quirky book of short stories by Charles Yu called Third Class Superhero - the message of which seems to be it's OK to be mediocre. Harriett Gilbert's choice is Elena Ferrante's The Lost Daughter recently made into a film starring Olivia Coleman. It lays bare the complexities of motherhood and the mixed feelings it evokes.

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio Bristol

Julie Hesmondhalgh is a well known face on television and stage. Recently she has been in The Pact on BBC1 and played Hayley in Coronation Street. Her choice of book is Notes To Self by Emilie Pine - a raw and powerful memoir of life for a young Irish woman. It's not a 'mis-mem' or misery memoir as Julie is keen to point out, rather a life affirming and honest account of womanhood, a book she has given copies of to many women friends. Elaine C Smith chooses the memoir of Scots poet Jackie Kay - Red Dust Road - a love letter as Elaine describes it - to Jackie's adoptive parents as well as her birth parents. It deals with the painful quest to find her Nigerian father and Scots mother whilst feeling that she was betraying her loving adoptive parents. It also recounts the prejudices experienced by a young dual heritage girl. Birdsong In A Time of Silence is as you would expect an appreciation of the sounds of nature that suddenly became amplified during the Covid Spring of 2020. Steven Lovatt records his walks and observations of wildlife during the first lockdown. All three agree that it has opened their eyes and ears to avian behaviour in a new way.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

BAFTA winning actor Joanna Scanlan champions The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe's tale of Ken Kesey, the Merry Pranksters and US counter culture. Writer Sabine Durrant's favourite is Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, a simple but powerful story of a man's moral predicament in a small Irish community. Harriett enjoys Georgette Heyer's romance set in 1816, The Grand Sophy. Producer Sally Heaven

Comedian Jessica chooses The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science, by Will Storr, provoking a discussion about whether you can empathise with someone, no matter what they believe. Harriett loves The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, leading to speculation about which of them would be sent to an asylum had feminism not moved things on somewhat. Writer Molly's choice of You're Not Listening by Kate Murphy causes everyone to listen attentively to what the others are saying. Producer Sally Heaven

Actor Alistair Petrie, from TV series Sex Education, found Joan Didion's meditation on grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, unexpectedly uplifting. Writer Alex Wheatle, subject of one of Steve McQueen's Small Axe films, found Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island a means of escape from the horrors of his childhood, and presenter Harriett Gilbert enjoyed Men Don't Cry, by Faiza Guene. Producer Sally Heaven

Radio 1 and CBBC presenter Katie Thistleton and historian and author Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books. Suzannah's choice is Nicci Gerrard's 'What Dementia Teaches Us about Love". Harriett opts for 'The Good Doctor' by Damon Galgut, and Katie's pick is 'And Now for the Good News' by Ruby Wax.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field

CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry and comedian and writer Rob Deering are Harriett Gilbert's guests this week. Rob picks a staple of the literary canon, 'Mansfield Park' by Jane Austen, a frothier read than perhaps anyone remembers featuring the "Indiana Jones of 19th century social graces”. Lauren chooses the Japanese dystopian novel 'The Memory Police' by Yōko Ogawa, which she says draws parallels with the political realities of today. 'Kiss Myself Goodbye' by Ferdinand Mount is Harriett's choice in which Mount searches for the truth behind his mysterious Aunt Munca, uncovering a history of deceptions, false identities and abandonment.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field

Gillian Burke and Dee Caffari discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Gillian picks 'Braiding Sweetgrass' by Robin Wall Kimmerer which explores the author's relationship with the natural world. Dee's choice is 'Turn the Ship Around' by L. David Marquet, which is a submarine Captain's account of how he changed the leadership style aboard the USS Santa Fe. Harriett's pick is 'O Caledonia' by Elspeth Barker, a darkly comic story of a perpetually misunderstood sixteen year old in Scotland.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby Field

Katherine Rundell and Nathan Filer bring their favourite reads to Harriett Gilbert. Katherine has chosen the poetry of John Donne, Nathan loves The Shapeless Unease by Samantha Harvey, and Harriett is keen to hear everyone's views on Sylvia Plath's only novel, the Bell Jar. Producer Sally Heaven

'How can you feel fed up?' when you read PG Wodehouse is Alan Titchmarsh's answer when asked why he chose Summer Lightning. Harriett remarks that Wodehouse has been chosen on the programme twice in the last year and wonders if many of us are seeking the simplicity of Wodehouse's writing about the pre-internet days of rural Shropshire as 'comfort reading' during worrying times. Amanda Owen is best known as the Yorkshire shepherdess who runs a remote hillfarm and whose family life is featured on television's Our Yorkshire Farm. She is also a writer and has appeared on BBC 4's Winter Walks. Perhaps unsurprisingly her choice of a good read is the account of her role model Hannah Hauxwell whose life story is told in Seasons of My Life. Hannah lived a solitary existence without water and electricity on a farm high in the Yorkshire Dales. When television director Barry Cockroft made a programme about her in the 1970s she received fame and recognition as an extraordinary woman from a bygone age. Most of us probably haven't given a lot of thought to the act of the handshake. Perhaps we only really considered its importance after we were told not do do it at the start of the pandemic. Harriett's choice of book is the fascinating and witty exploration of The Handshake by Ella Al-Shamahi.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Three strange, fantastical novels, all very different, are the book choices for this week.

Liam Williams is perhaps best-known for the BBC series 'Ladhood'. He picks 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' by Herman Melville, a dark tale about the monotony of office work and people who quietly buck the system. The musician Kate Stables AKA This is the Kit is a self-confessed huge fan of Ursula K. Le Guin, and she chooses 'The Word for World is Forest' to share with Liam and Harriett. It's a book which draws heavily on the Vietnam War to comment on the nature of humanity. Harriett's pick is Requiem by Antonio Tabucchi, a tale of unexpected encounters on the streets of Lisbon, as the narrator goes in search of a lost love.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field

Kaffe Fassett is perhaps best known for his colourful knitwear designs but he is also a quilt maker, painter and ceramicist. His choice of book is Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds by former foreign correspondent James Fergusson. It's the story of Mir an interpreter Fergusson meets and hires while on assignment in Afghanistan in the late 1990s as the country fell to the Taliban for the first time. Fergusson assists Mir in escaping to Britain and claiming asylum where he becomes the eponymous 'Kandahar Cockney' trying to navigate a new life in the East End of London. Kaffe chose it because of recent events and wanted to reread it. Andy Summers is a guitarist best known for being part of The Police. He is also the author of a collection of short stories Fretted & Moaning featuring a variety of characters whose lives centre in some way around the guitar. His good read is A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki which he says is 'hip, modern and amazing'. Alongside these two books is Toast by Nigel Slater, the food writer's memoir of growing up hungry in the 1960s and 70s.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Maggie Ayre

Friends, sisters and serial killers all feature in the book choices for this week. Writer and stand-up comedian Athena Kugblenu picks 'My Sister the Serial Killer' by Oyinkan Braithwaite, a darkly comic tale which is as much about sibling rivalry as it is about murder. Nell Dunn's memoir about love and friendship, 'The Muse', is Harriett Gilbert's pick. And Pope Lonergan selects 'African Psycho' by Alain Mabanckou for its challenging portrayal of a frustrated and violent protagonist.

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The broadcaster and writer Muriel Gray champions The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton because she believes books that deal with the supernatural are often unfairly dismissed as unworthy of literary praise. But she says you can't argue with a Pulitzer Prize winning author such as Wharton who decided to write a collection of ghost stories as a way of overcoming her own fears. As well as being disturbing and downright spooky the stories contain a lot of social commentary about the values and prejudices of early 20th century society. Leah Davis is the voice of late night RnB and hip hop on Capital Xtra. She also runs a book club on her show. Her choice is Luster by Raven Leilani, a rather nihilistic tale of a young New Yorker who is struggling to make it in life, unable to hold down a job and living in a vermin infested apartment. She gets involved with an older married man with surprising results. Harriett's choice is More Than A Woman by Caitlin Moran a poignant and sometimes hilarious account of middle age and motherhood. A discussion about Botox ensues.

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The NHS palliative care doctor and author Rachel Clarke (Breathtaking, Dear Life) and the barrister and author Mohsin Zaidi (A Dutiful Boy) share the books that inspire them with presenter Harriett Gilbert.

Rachel chooses The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, a memoir about locked-in syndrome by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Mohsin picks a collection of essays, speeches, and poems by African-American author and poet Audre Lorde, Your Silence Will Not Protect You. And Harriett shares with them a crime novel, Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol, Eliza Lomas. Follow our instagram book group @agoodreadbbc

Writers Musa Okwonga (One of Them, Striking Out) and Sophie Heawood (The Hungover Games) share their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Musa chooses The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross, a crime novel set in the Caribbean. Sophie picks Lunch Poems, a collection by Frank O'Hara written on the streets of New York and Harriett introduces them to An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel, written before her Booker-winning Wolf Hall trilogy.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol, Eliza Lomas. comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Mona Arshi is a poet and novelist. Her choice of book is Summer Book by Tove Jansson which of which she says: "I'm glad it exists in the world". She loves its simplicity and quietness in its exploration of the relationship between a grandmother and a young girl and the unspoken grief that exists between them as they spend the summer on an island off the coast of Finland. Malaika Kegode chooses a book with a very different take on family: White Oleander by Janet Fitch about a young girl Astrid and her beautiful dangerous, selfish mother who makes her daughter feel she is a burden. It's a book Malaika read as a teenager and which she says bridged her passage into reading adult fiction. Jonathan Coe's novel Mr Wilder and Me is Harriett's choice. It's what Malaika calls 'a wish fulfillment novel' as it tells the story of a young woman who gets to work with the legendary Hollywood director Billy Wilder and how her life changes for good.

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio, Bristol

As part of Radio 4's Day of the Scientist Harriett Gilbert asks two scientists and broadcasters to choose a book on a science theme. Adam Rutherford chooses Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian love story Never Let Me Go. Dr Farrah Jarral says when she first read the novella she has chosen - Octavia Butler's Bloodchild - it blew her mind dealing as it does with interspecies procreation and with underlying themes of control and power imbalance. Harriett Gilbert's choice is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke in which the character 'Piranesi' lives in The House populated by endless corridors and statues and The Other.

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio, Bristol

Neil Brand the silent film accompanist and presenter of BBC4's Sound of Cinema chooses a book he loved as a teenager: England Their England by A.G. Macdonell. He calls it 'social history by the backdoor'. Published in 1933 its fictional Scots character Donald Cameron is commissioned by a Welsh publisher to write a book about the English from a foreigner's viewpoint. It is a satirical take on an England of the past but still throws up ideas of national identity that are relevant today. Tiff Stevenson is an actor and stand up comedian whose TV roles include The Office and People Just Do Nothing. Her satirical Twitter account ‘ Bridget Trump’s Diary’ went viral , was featured on TV in the US and landed her regular satirical writing gigs for ‘Mashable’. Tiff's choice is I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings the first of Maya Angelou's books of memoirs about her childhood in the southern USA under segregation. It's a book Tiff loved as a schoolgirl and still loves today. The final book in the mix this week is Harriett Gilbert's choice which unsurprisingly is a crime novel: Exit by Belinda Bauer. As the title suggests it starts with assisted dying carried out by pensioner Felix Pink who has to then go on the run from the police when things take a dramatic turn.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

The host of the Brown Girls Do It Too podcast Poppy Jay and the writer of Mamma Mia Catherine Johnson join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books. They talk about moggies, a wrestling princess and grief...

Catherine chooses George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo, Harriett goes for Doris Lessing's On Cats and Poppy tells us why Judy Corbalis' children's book The Wrestling Princess still stands as her favourite of all time.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs

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Vanessa Redgrave is 'in love with' Rachel Holmes' biography of Sylvia Pankhurst, Eileen Atkins has chosen a very different biography, Oliver Soden's imagining of the life of Jeoffrey, the cat who lived with the poet Christopher Smart 250 years ago. Harriett goes even further back in time with her selection, The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín.

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Lloyd Cole is a singer/songwriter whose hits with his band The Commotions include Perfect Skin. His choice of A Good Read is The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. For him it's all about the smart dialogue and lavish use of similes. Francis Macdonald's pick is the autobiography of the Scottish comedian Limmy: Surprisingly Down to Earth and Very Funny. While he admits Limmy's work and persona is 'marmite' to people - they either love him or hate him - he says the book covers a lot of important topics that young men don't often discuss - mental health being the main one. Harriett recommends a noir novel in the same vein as Chandler - The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes who did not receive the same acclaim even though she was writing at the same time and also had books optioned and made into Hollywood movies.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Maggie Ayre

The Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis chooses Margaret Atwood's treatise on debt - Payback: Debt & The Shadow Side of Wealth as his go to book for students of economics. It examines money lending throughout the ages and how it has been portrayed in classic literature. Patrick McGrath's choice is a novel by Nigel Balchin set during the London Blitz: Darkness Falls From The Air which he loves for its humour and for its stoic main character Bill Sarratt, a civil servant whose attempts to get anything done are thwarted by bureaucracy. Yanis describes Bill as a 'Sir Humphrey' from Yes Minister character and was unexpectedly delighted to discover the novel. Harriett's choice is by Kiley Reid: a smart look at race politics in the USA through the story of a young black nanny and her white employer, white boyfriend and black friends. Such A Fun Age was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Janey Godley's choice is a thriller Remember Me This Way by Sabine Durrant. It's a page turner with a neat twist and tackles coercive behaviour in an interesting way. And it features a dog called Howard. Janey says it has made her think differently about her own mother's relationship with a controlling man.

Mayflies by Andrew O Hagan is Harriett's choice. It's an 80s tale of male friendship through music set in Ayrshire and Manchester and following two of the young men into adulthood.

Mel Hudson chooses The Map & The Territory by Michel Houllebecq. To say it divides opinion is to put it mildly.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Maggie Ayre

Jason Watkins chooses Vladimir Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark as his good read, and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown champions a book with some similar themes, The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Harriett's selection is The People on Privilege Hill, Jane Gardam's book of short stories.

Join in the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

Producer Sally Heaven

Comedian and writer Isy Suttie and the Radio 1 presenter and author Vick Hope are A Good Read's guests.

Vick loves Zadie Smith's Swing Time, Isy chooses Patrick Suskind's The Pigeon and we hear why Harriett's choice of the Young Adult book A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness has her guests in tears.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Caitlin Hobbs

Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Telegraph writer and podcaster Bryony Gordon is with poet and author Hollie McNish on this week's A Good Read.

Bryony loves Rachel’s Holiday by her writing hero Marian Keyes; Hollie hoped the The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis would improve her chess; and Harriett Gilbert finds both absurdity and pain in Reasons to be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe.

Producer: Sarah Goodman

This is the last in our current series of A Good Read, but you can keep in touch with us and find many more book ideas on Instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Actor Adjoa Andoh, Bridgerton's Lady Danbury, and the CBeebies presenter Andy Day share the books that inspire them.

Adjoa is full of admiration for the remarkable women in Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna and Andy is fascinated by the transformation that occurs in Dibs in Search of Self: Personality Development in Play Therapy by Virginia M. Axline. Meanwhile, presenter Harriett Gilbert heartily recommends Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by poet Kate Clanchy.

Producer: Sarah Goodman

Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Harriett is joined by a husband-and-wife team: Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show and Radio 4's Rewinder, and Bella Mackie, author and Vogue columnist.

Bella loves Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Harriett chooses The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré and Greg picks Right Ho, Jeeves! He says it’s the funniest PG Wodehouse novel. But why did it make Bella think he was the right man for her?

Producer: Sarah Goodman

Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Jane Hill chooses The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale, and Harriett's choice, Murder in Notting Hill by Mark Olden, takes place a hundred years later, in a very different part of British society. Derek Owusu isn't sure whether Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzerald really is a good read after all. Producer Sally Heaven Get involved on Instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Comedian Twayna Mayne proposes Claudia Rankine's Citizen: An American Lyric. Books blogger Simon Savidge (and his mum) both love An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and Harriett choose Actress by Anne Enright. Producer Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Peter Bazalgette's choice is On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming and Harriett goes for Lullaby by Leila Slimani. Amrou Al-Kadhi chooses Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, and a central character divides opinion. Is she intensely irritating or a gay icon to be celebrated? Producer Sally Heaven Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Actor Tobias Menzies and crime writer Gytha Lodge talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Tobias chooses Transit by Rachel Cusk, Harriett picks The Spare Room by Helen Garner and Gytha goes for the highly acclaimed children's book The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Actress Tuppence Middleton and environmentalist Matthew Shribman talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Matthew chooses The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, Tuppence picks The Loser by Thomas Bernhard and Harriett goes for Hot Milk by Deborah Levy.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Poet Helen Mort and comedian Mo Omar talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Helen chooses Climbers by M. John Harrison, the acclaimed book about rock-climbing, Mo picks the science fiction novel Binti by Nnedi Okorafor and Harriett goes for A History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Journalist Clive Myrie and critic Boyd Tonkin nominate favourite books. Clive, fresh from covering the US election, has chosen Steinbeck's tale of the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath. Boyd recommends Hadji Murat, the last work of Leo Tolstoy, and Harriett goes for the political thriller Red April by Peruvian writer Santiago Roncagliolo. Join the conversation on Instagram at agoodreadbbc Producer Sally Heaven

Writer Alexander McCall Smith and Lucie Green, Professor of Physics at UCL's Dept of Space & Climate Physics, join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books.

Alexander McCall Smith chooses one of his all-time favourites, the classic 1925 novel The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham, which just so happens to be set during a cholera epidemic in China. Lucie Green, a self-confessed rare reader, brings to the table John Higgs' non-fiction book Watling Street, which takes readers on a socio-historical romp around Britain. Harriett Gilbert shares a childhood delight - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Will reading it as an adult bring a new insight, and will it be loved in the same way?

Produced by Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio Bristol Comment on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Poet Vanessa Kisuule and environmental writer Jonathon Porritt talk books with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Jonathon chooses Hiroshima by John Hersey, Vanessa picks the graphic novel Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, and Harriett goes for a poetry collection: Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore. Producer: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Travel and food writer Yasmin Khan and novelist David Mitchell talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. David chooses Circe by Madeline Miller, Yasmin picks Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuściński and Harriett loves Anne Tyler's Redhead by the Side of the Road. Producer: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Comedian Arabella Weir and novelist Deborah Levy choose favourite reads. Arabella nominates The Sellout by Paul Beatty, which won the Booker prize the same year Deborah was nominated. Deborah's favourite is The Lover by Marguerite Duras, and presenter Harriett Gilbert has gone for Mrs Bridge by Evan S Connell. Producer Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

Writer Jonathan Safran Foer and comedian Daliso Chaponda pick their favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert. What does Jonathan make of his first ever fantasy novel, Daliso's choice of Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card? Jonathan (author of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) nominates The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg as his good read, whereas Harriett goes for Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan, but will either of the guests enjoy this particular brand of absurdity? Producer Sally Heaven join the conversation on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Radio broadcaster Mark Radcliffe and playwright Patricia Cumper nominate their favourite books. Patricia chooses Toni Morrison's acclaimed novel Beloved, while Mark advocates for a very different writing style in Elizabeth Strout's Olive, Again. Harriett's pick is Helene Hanff's book of letters, 84 Charing Cross Road, which charmingly contrasts American chutzpah and British reserve in a long lost era. Producer Sally Heaven comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Writer Johny Pitts and barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman talk to Harriett about the books that have inspired and entertained them. Johny chooses Romance in Marseilles, written in the 1930s by Harlem Renaissance writer Claude McKay but only published this year because it was considered so transgressive at the time. Charlotte describes how Butterfly Politics by the feminist and legal scholar Catharine A MacKinnon persuaded her not to leave the law, and some of the same themes of consent and sexual harassment are addressed in the form of a novel, This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill, which is Harriett's choice. Join the conversation on instagram @agoodreadbbc Producer Sarah Goodman

Writer, actor and Gavin and Stacey creator Ruth Jones, and theatre and film director Dominic Cooke share their favourite reads with Harriett Gilbert. Ruth chooses Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Dominic loves What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, and Harriett advocates for Prick Up Your Ears, John Lahr's biography of Joe Orton. Ruth and Dominic are old friends, but did they enjoy one another's books? And what happened to Ruth's pottery robot in her third set art class?

Producer Sally Heaven.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Journalist and author Nicholas Lezard and former Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams introduce their favourite reads to Harriett Gilbert. Nicholas chooses Watt by Samuel Beckett, a comic novel unlike any other. Gwyneth's favourite is The Leopard, Lampedusa's classic tale of Sicilian aristocracy, and Harriett champions The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, a story of grief, writing and dogs. Producer Sally Heaven. Join our instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Comedian Sarah Keyworth and author Lissa Evans talk about books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Sarah chooses Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, Lissa picks Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks and Harriett shines a light on Lady into Fox by David Garnett. Producer: Becky Ripley Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Actors Fiona Shaw and Nicola Coughlan join Harriett Gilbert to talk books. Nicola's choice is The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson, Harriett recommends In a Lonely Place by Dorothy M Hughes and Fiona chooses Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Producer Sally Heaven Follow us on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Actor Nina Sosanya and writer David Nicholls share their favourite books with Harriett. Nina chooses The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark is David's favourite. Harriett picks Beneath the Streets by Adam Macqueen, a thriller which asks: what if Jeremy Thorpe's hired thugs had been successful? Producer Sally Heaven Follow us on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc

American avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and radio DJ and writer Stuart Maconie talk about favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Laurie chooses Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Stuart picks Sleep No More: Railway, Canal and Other Stories of the Supernatural by L.T.C. Rolt, one of the men who saved Britain's inland waterways, and Harriett introduces them to Me Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever: the first book on A Good Read to have been "written" by a chimpanzee. Producer Beth O'Dea comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Crime writer Val McDermid and businesswoman Martha Lane Fox talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they really love. Val's choice is This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright by Emma Smith, Martha's is How to be Both by Ali Smith and Harriett's is The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton. Producer Beth O'Dea comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Actresses and friends Pippa Haywood (Greenwing, The Bodyguard) and Felicity Montagu (Alan Partridge) talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. They are: The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton, and Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs. They may be old friends, but do they have the same taste in books? Follow us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc to share your thoughts on books and more. Producer: Becky Ripley.

The two founders of Black Girls Book Club, Natalie Carter and Melissa Cummings-Quarry, talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. They are: The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Three strong female protagonists spanning three different eras...

Follow us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc to share your thoughts. Producer: Becky Ripley.

Nazir Afzal prosecuted dozens of men responsible for grooming young girls during his time as head of the CPS in the North West of England. His role was dramatised in BBC1's harrowing Three Girls series which told the story of three teenage girls who were abused by a gang of Asian men. He is a strong advocate for women and his choice of book reflects this. It's the late journalist Sue Lloyd Roberts' The War on Women. Novelist Maggie Gee has written many books including My Driver, My Cleaner and The Flood. She has chosen The First Breath by Olivia Gordon which she describes as a rather neglected book on the lives of pre-term babies, their parents and the doctors and nurses in a premature babies unit. She calls it "riveting, touching and informative." Harriett's choice is Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coetzee, the story of a magistrate in an unnamed colonial town on the edge of the British Empire where the indigenous people are referred to as 'barbarians'. These books provoke some very interesting discussion. Tell us what you think on @agoodreadbbc

THE WAR ON WOMEN By Sue Lloyd Roberts THE FIRST BREATH by Olivia Gordon WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS by JM Coetzee

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Comedians Helen Lederer and Angela Barnes and presenter Harriett Gilbert discuss books by David Nicholls, Alan Taylor and Anna Funder.

The Understudy by David Nicholls Publisher: Hodder

Appointment in Arezzo by Alan Taylor Publisher: Polygon

Stasiland by Anna Funder Publisher: Granta

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.

The lead singer of Glasgow band Texas Sharleen Spiteri selects a contemporary thriller The Secretary by Renee Knight as her good read. Hugh Dennis goes back to a book he remembers from when his vicar father had a parish in east London. Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd is a murder story featuring the eponymous 1980s detective investigating macabre deaths in seven London churches built in the 1800s. Caitlin Moran's How To Be A Woman is Harriett's choice. Have you read any of them? Join the conversation on instagram @agoodreadbbc

THE SECRETARY by Renee Knight HAWKSMOOR by Peter Ackroyd HOW TO BE A WOMAN by Caitlin Moran

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach is a book beloved of Bobby Seagull and his family (there's a clue there). Bobby is the school maths teacher and maths genius who leapt out of the screen after appearing on University Challenge into a TV career of his own. Poet Henry Normal chooses Diary of a Somebody by Twitter-poet Brian Bilston. Henry co-wrote The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle family, and produced TV comedy including Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge. He knows funny, and Brian Bilston's book fits the bill. Presenter Harriett Gilbert reminds them both of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, studied by them all at school but which reads very differently in adulthood. Producer Beth O'Dea talk books with us on instagram on @goodreadbbc

Two Scottish Neils choose the books they love. Neil Oliver the TV archeologist from Coast, A History of Scotland & Rise of the Clans chooses a nature book The Glorious Life of the Oak by John Lewis-Stempel. As the title suggests, it's a loving tribute to the tree that is inextricably bound up with the history of the British isles. Neil Oliver says he likes to read nature writing these days as a way to escape the uncertainty and unrest of the world. Neil Forsyth wrote BBC2's recent comedy drama Guilt as well as Bob Servant and Eric, Ernie & Me. His choice of book is Stuart A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters, the biography of a homeless drug addict from Cambridge. It's a book that stays with you, he says, and it's written with unflinching honesty. Harriett chooses Indemnity Only, a female PI led crime fiction story set in Chicago. Its author Sara Paretsky has been described as the Raymond Chandler of the female private eye novel. Have you read any of them? Let us know what you think of the books on instagram @agoodreadbbc

THE GLORIOUS LIFE OF THE OAK by JOHN LEWIS STEMPEL STUART A LIFE BACKWARDS by ALEXANDER MASTERS INDEMNITY ONLY by SARA PARETSKY

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Richard Harrington (Hinterland, The Crown, Death In Paradise) and Kenyan born comedian Njambi McGrath choose the books they've loved reading. Richard's choice is Unreliable Memoirs by the late Clive James, stories of his childhood in rural Australia. Fond memories of laughter at home as a child hearing his father reading extracts of it aloud to his mother brought Richard to the book as an adult. Njambi McGrath says Chigozie Obioma's chilling tale of two young Nigerian brothers in his debut novel The Fishermen made the hairs on her body stand up, and she could "feel the words on my skin", it was so engrossing. The Fishermen was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015. Harriett's choice is The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre. Translated from the French by Stephanie Smee, it won the European Crime Fiction Prize and is the story of Patience Portefeux. She's a 53 year old translator for the French police, earning a pittance for translating drugs squad intercepts of North African gangs. She has bills to pay and an elderly mother in a very expensive care home. So when she gets the chance to switch sides and deal drugs herself, the temptation is too great. Richard likens it a little to the TV series Breaking Bad and Njambi says never before has she rooted so much for someone about to commit serious crime.

Tell us what you think of the books on instagram @agoodreadbbc

CLIVE JAMES- UNRELIABLE MEMOIRS CHIGOZIE OBIOMA - THE FISHERMEN HANNELORE CAYRE - THE GODMOTHER

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Authors Gail Honeyman, and Mavis Cheek talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love. Honeyman, author of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, has chosen another award winning novel, What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn. Harriett nominates The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald, and Mavis Cheek is astounded that Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte has never been chosen on the programme before. Please follow us on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc . Producer Sally Heaven.

Screenwriter Sarah Phelps and comedian Dane Baptiste talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love. Sarah chooses Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote, Harriett's pick is A View of the Harbour by (the other) Elizabeth Taylor and Dane defends Weapons of Mass Instruction, a critique of contemporary schooling by John Taylor Gatto. Please follow us on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc Producer Sally Heaven.

Syima Aslam, co-founder of the Bradford Literature Festival, and journalist Stig Abell, editor of the TLS, are part of the expert panel that chose the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World. They join presenter Harriett Gilbert to pluck their own favourites from the list. Syima's is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling, Stig's is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and presenter Harriett Gilbert gives Orlando by Virginia Woolf an airing. And for some reason this turns out to be the first time that these three stone cold classics have been chosen on A Good Read. Producer Beth O'Dea join us on instagram @agoodreadbbc

Author of High Fidelity, Nick Hornby, and Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, writer of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, tell Harriett Gilbert about the books they love the most - and why. During the conversation a strange and interesting polarisation emerges between the two: between the romantic and the anti-romantic. The books we love turn out to reveal so much about the way we see ourselves and the world. Nick chooses To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine, which he says is the best book he's read in years. It's the story of her parents' disastrous marriage and bitter divorce and the effect on her and her sister, who were dragged into the warfare. Viv Albertine is the former guitarist of the punk group The Slits and this is her second memoir, after her phenomenal debut Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys. It prompts a startling early revelation from Carlo that casts an interesting light over the rest of the discussion.. Carlo the quantum physicist chooses a book he loves with all of his heart: White Nights, a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that's unlike anything else he's written. Its view of the world is one he shares, one that's in almost complete opposition to the previous book. Old School by Tobias Wolff is the book suggested by presenter Harriett Gilbert. And by this time it's clear who's going to like it and who isn't.. Producer Beth O'Dea follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc and tell us if you've read any of the books and if you are a romantic or an anti-romantic

Comedian Russell Kane and Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent, talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. They are: Under the Net by Iris Murdoch, The Train Was On Time by Heinrich Boll, translated by Leila Vennewitz, and Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, her slightly fictionalised memoir. It turns out that Russell and Sarah are Iris Murdoch worshippers, but Harriett is not as sure... Follow us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc to share your thoughts on Iris, and more. Producer Sarah Goodman

Nemone Metaxas, DJ and former athlete, joins deaf poet and educator Raymond Antrobus to talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Nemone loves Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton, Raymond loves Surge, a powerful poetry collection by Jay Bernard, and Harriett's choice this week is Patrick Modiano's Honeymoon. Follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Produced by Becky Ripely

The Romany writer and broadcaster Damian Le Bas and author Amy Liptrot choose their favourite books. Amy's is Sightlines by the poet Kathleen Jamie, a different way of observing the natural world. Damian picks a collection of weird and wonderful short stories by Jessie Greengrass entitled An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It. Harriett meanwhile has opted for Mirror Shoulder Signal by the Danish writer Dorthe Nors a rather melancholy but often humorous novel about a woman in Copenhagen who feels isolated and alone. follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

Photo of Damian Le Bas by Charles Moriarty

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

Lisa Jewell, author of bestsellers including Ralph's Party, and Guardian economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty, read and talk about books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Aditya's is Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri, Lisa's Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent and Harriett shares Rosie: Scenes from a Vanished Life by Rose Tremain. Follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc Producer Beth O'Dea photo credit: Andrew Whitton

Actor John Gordon Sinclair and West End star Kerry Ellis choose their favourite books. John's is 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kerry opts for I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella. Presenter Harriett Gilbert picks a Dutch novel, The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom. follow us on instagram at @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

Writer Poorna Bell and comedian Tony Law join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books, Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and Voltaire's Candide. Harriett brings Old Baggage by Lissa Evans to the table. Producer Sally Heaven. Photo credit: Amber Rose photography

Edith Bowman, DJ and radio presenter joins poet Harry Baker to talk about the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. They are: The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy, Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Follow us on instagram and share your thoughts on books: @agoodreadbbc Producer: Becky Ripley

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

Photo credit: Alex Lake

The fashion designer Pam Hogg and crime writer Mark Billingham make their choices of a good read. Pam's is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, Mark has chosen Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon while Harriett goes for Bookworm by Lucy Mangan. Join our Instagram book club @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

Dolly Alderton, author and presenter of The High Low podcast and crime writer Clare Mackintosh, former police officer and author of I Let You Go, talk about the books they love to presenter Harriett Gilbert. They are: The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis, Grace Williams Says It Loud by Emma Henderson and After the Party by Cressida Connolly. Guess who chooses Martin Amis? Follow us on instagram and share your thoughts on books @agoodreadbbc Producer Beth O'Dea

Comedian Dom Joly chooses Conversations with My Agent by Rob Long, the memoirs of an American TV scriptwriter, to discuss with the novelist Kate Hamer and Harriett Gilbert. Kate's new book Crushed is a dark tale of troubled teenage female friendship and her choice of book - The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns - is described as suburban gothic meets magical realism. Harriett chooses March Violets by Philip Kerr. Join us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

Horrible Histories actor Mathew Baynton and presenter Aasmah Mir bring their favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert. Matthew's choice is Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders, while Aasmah Mir has chosen The Crow Road by the late Scottish writer Iain Banks. Harriett's book is Lilian on Life by Alison Jean Lester. We're on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Producer: Maggie Ayre

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 sleeping in ditches. Harriett's selection is Calypso by David Sedaris, in which the American humorist introduces us to his family, a group of people almost as eccentric as he is. Join us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Photo: Phil Fisk Producer Sally Heaven.

Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman and bestselling crime writer Jeffery Deaver discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Jeffery chooses The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, Cathy chooses Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym and Harriett’s choice is White Houses by Amy Bloom. Join our new book club on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Producer Becky Ripley

Comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean and singer/composer Hannah Peel share books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Hannah's is Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Kiri is blown away by Nervous Conditions by Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Harriett picks You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife. Follow us on instagram @agoodreadbbc Producer Beth O'Dea

Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris and comedian and songwriter Pippa Evans tell presenter Harriett Gilbert about books they love, by Tim Winton and David Keenan. Keenan's This is Memorial Device is a satire about the post-punk scene that reminds Stephen of people he's known. Pippa loves The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton, as well as all of his other books, and Harriett shares with them both The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor. join us on instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced by Beth O'Dea Photo by Warren Jackson

Actor Nicola Walker and Peppa Pig voice artist Sarah Ann Kennedy discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Nicola chooses Animals Strike Curious Poses by Elena Passarello, Sarah Ann chooses Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, and Harriett’s favourite is Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon. How does playing detectives affect how Nicola reads crime fiction? Can spiders weave webs in space, and what did Carly Simon wear when she confronted her husband's mistress?

Producer: Sally Heaven

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 broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2019.

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 Radio 4 in March 2019.

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

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2019.

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.

Writer and activist Scarlett Curtis and comedian Catherine Bohart join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Maggie Nelson, Anna Burns and Sayaka Murata.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson Publisher: Melville House

Milkman by Anna Burns Publisher: Faber

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Publisher: Portobello Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2019.

Gráinne Maguire, John Higgs and Harriett Gilbert discuss favourite books by Jeremy Lent, Elaine Dundy and Beryl Bainbridge.

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy Publisher: Virago

The Patterning Instinct by Jeremy Lent Publisher: Prometheus Books

The Dressmaker by Beryl Bainbridge Publisher: Abacus

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

Former SAS serviceman turned thriller writer Andy McNab, George the Poet and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Akala, Attica Locke and Joe Simpson.

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson Publisher: Vintage

Natives by Akala Publisher: Two Roads

Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke Publisher: Serpent's Tail

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

Authors Kamila Shamsie and Jeffrey Archer join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Fred Uhlman, Shehan Karunatilaka and Penelope Fitzgerald.

‘Reunion’ by Fred Uhlman Publisher: Vintage

‘Chinaman’ by Shehan Karunatilaka Publisher: Vintage

‘The Bookshop’ by Penelope Fitzgerald Publisher: 4th Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

Proms presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, Katie Derham and writer, Matt Haig join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Linda Grant, SE Hinton and Anne Tyler.

The Dark Circle by Linda Grant Publisher: Virago

The Outsiders by SE Hinton Publisher: Penguin

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

Comedians Sindhu Vee, Phil Wang join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Celeste Ng, Rose George and Vivek Shanbhag.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Publisher: Abacus

Deep Sea and Foreign Going by Rose George Publisher: Portobello

Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag Publisher: Faber [Translator: Srinath Perur]

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.

Actor Liz Carr and historian and writer, Kate William join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Penny Pepper, Murasaki Shikibu and Jenny Erpenbeck.

First In The World Somewhere by Penny Pepper Publisher: Unbound

Diary of Lady Murasaki by Murasaki Shikibu Publisher: Penguin [Translator: Richard Bowring]

Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck [Translator: Susan Bernofsky) Publisher: Portobello Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.

Comedian, writer and actor Ben Miller and writer Danny Wallace join Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by AA Milne, William Trevor and George and Weedon Grossmith.

Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne Publisher: Ishi Press International

Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.

Journalist Grace Dent and comedy writer Sian Harries join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Max Porter, Lissa Evans and Barbara Pym.

Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter Publisher: Faber

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans Publisher: Black Swan

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.

Writers Nikesh Shukla and Leone Ross join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Thomas Page McBee, Jean Toomer and Arundhati Roy.

Amateur by Thomas Page McBee Publisher: Canongate

Cane by Jean Toomer Publisher: Liveright

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Publisher: Harper Perennial

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.

Actor Anne-Marie Duff and writer Louise O’Neill join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Maggie O’Farrell, Sally Rooney and Angela Carter.

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell. Publisher: Tinder Press

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. Publisher: Faber

Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter. Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.

Journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed and comedian Elis James join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Arnold Bennett, Dylan Thomas and Daniyal Mueenuddin.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin Publisher: Bloomsbury

The Card by Arnold Bennett Publisher: Penguin

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog by Dylan Thomas Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.

Writer and actress, Isy Suttie and comedian, Lolly Adefope join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Ottessa Moshfegh, Meg Wolitzer and Carol Ann Duffy.

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh Publisher: Vintage

The Wife by Meg Wolitzer Publisher: Vintage

Meantime by Carol Ann Duffy Publisher: Picador

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.

Food lover Loyd Grossman and singer Skin from rock band Skunk Anansie join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by W Somerset Maugham, Colston Whitehead and Kapka Kassabova.

Cakes and Ale by W Somerset Maugham Publisher: Vintage

The Underground Railroad by Colston Whitehead Publisher: ‎Fleet

Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story by Kapka Kassabova. Publisher: Portobello Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.

Writers Juno Dawson and Pandora Sykes join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Francoise Sagan, William Gibson and Laura Barnett.

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan Publisher: Penguin

Neuromancer by William Gibson Publisher: Gollancz

The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018.

Journalist and broadcaster Tony Parsons and podcast presenter Olly Mann join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Liane Moriarty, Edward St Aubyn and Norton Juster.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty Publisher: Penguin

Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn Publisher: Picador

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Publisher: Harper Collins

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018.

Two former doctors, Adam Kay and Farrah Jarral, join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by David Sedaris, Per Petterson and Mohsin Hamid.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris Publisher: Abacus

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson Publisher: Vintage

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018.

Comic actor and writer Robert Webb and award-winning journalist Hugo Rifkind join Harriett Gilbert to discuss some favourite books by Graham Swift, Douglas Adams and Sam Miller.

Waterland by Graham Swift. Publisher: Picador

Life, The Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams Publisher: Pan Books

Fathers to the table by Sam Miller Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018.

Comedians Phill Jupitus and Robin Ince join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Hans Richter, Arkady & Strugatsky and Bill Beverly.

Dada: Art and Anti-Art by Hans Richter Publisher: Thames and Hudson

Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky Publisher: Gollancz

Dodgers by Bill Beverly Publisher: No Exit Press

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.

Writer Bernardine Evaristo and comedian Jolyon Rubinstein join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Leone Ross, William Boyd and Cyril Hare.

Come Let Us Sing Anyway by Leone Ross Publisher: People Tree

Any Human Heart by William Boyd Publisher : Penguin

An English Murder by Cyril Hare Publisher : Faber

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.

Writers Nina Stibbe and Kit de Waal join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Kazuo Ishiguro, Lorrie Moore and Carson McCullers.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Publisher: Faber

Self Help by Lorrie Moore Publisher: Faber

Golden Eye by Carson McCullers Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.

Writers Joanna Trollope and Sabrina Mahfouz join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Penelope Fitzgerald, Omar Robert Hamilton and Ysenda Maxtone Graham.

The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald Publisher Harper Perennial

The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton Publisher Faber

Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools 1939-1979 by Ysenda Maxtone Graham Publisher Abacus

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.

Food writer, Diana Henry and Materials engineer/presenter Mark Miodownik join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Gabrielle Hamilton, Flann O'Brien and Elizabeth Taylor.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton Publisher: Vintage

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien Publisher: Harper Perennial

The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018.

Columnists and authors Hadley Freeman and Sathnam Sanghera join Harriett Gilbert to their discuss favourite books by Melissa Bank, David Szalay and Junichiro Tanizaki.

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank Publisher: Penguin

Spring by David Szalay Publisher: Vintage

A Cat, a Man, and Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki. Publisher: Daunt Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018.

Broadcaster Steph McGovern and comedian Jayde Adams join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Jon Ronson, Ann Cleeves and Carrie Fisher.

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson Publisher: Picador

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves Publisher: Pan

Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher Publisher: Scribner

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018.

Comedian Jake Yapp and The Great British Bake Off contestant Ruby Tandoh join Harriett Gilbert to chat about books they love by René Goscinny, Nora Ephron and Ian McEwan.

Nicholas Again by René Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempé (Translated by Anthea Bell) Publisher: Phaidon

I Remember Nothing: and other reflections by Nora Ephron Publisher: Black Swan

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.

Actors Stephen Fry and Alan Davies reunite and join Harriett Gilbert to debate favourite books by Aldous Huxley, JM Coetzee and Muriel Spark.

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Publisher: Vintage

Boyhood by J.M. Coetzee Publisher: Vintage

A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.

Comedians Katy Brand and Nish Kumar join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Philip Roth, Reni Eddo-Lodge and Christopher Reid.

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth Publisher: Vintage

Why I'm No Longer Speaking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge Publisher: Bloomsbury

A Scattering by Christopher Reid Publisher: Arete Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

Meg Rosoff, Alexei Sayle and Harriett Gilbert discuss favourite books by Richard Hughes, Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, and Donna Leon.

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes Publisher: Vintage

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) by Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson Publisher: Pinter & Martin

Donna Leon's Friends in High Places Publisher: Arrow

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

Writers Cathy Rentzenbrink and Jon McGregor join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Amy Leach, Penelope Lively and Alan Johnson.

Things That Are by Amy Leach Publisher: Canongate

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Publisher: Penguin

This Boy by Alan Johnson Publisher: Corgi

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

Presenters Rick Edwards and George Lamb join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by Dave Eggers, Jane Gardam and Yvon Chouinard.

Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers Publisher: Penguin

Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam Publisher: Abacus

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

Author Jenny Colgan and writer/performer Steven Camden (Polarbear) join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Jon Krakauer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Jim Carroll.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Publisher: Pan

The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll Publisher: Penguin

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery Publisher: Egmont First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.

Comedy writer Andrew Hunter Murray and writer, actress and filmmaker Alice Lowe join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Winifred Watson, Miranda July and Margaret Drabble.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson Publisher: Persephone

The First Bad Man by Miranda July Publisher: Canongate

The Millstone by Margaret Drabble Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.

Journalist Georgia Lewis Anderson and writer Owen Jones join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Alan Hollinghurst, Sybille Bedford and Naomi Alderman.

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst Publisher: Picador

The Trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover by Sybille Bedford Publisher: Daunt Books

The Power by Naomi Alderman Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.

Actress Sally Lindsay and playwright Jonathan Harvey join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Sue Townsend, Christopher Douglas and Angela Carter.

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend Publisher: Puffin

I, An Actor, by Nicholas Craig (in fact Christopher Douglas and Nigel Planer). Publisher: Methuen

Wise Children by Angela Carter Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017

Writers Toby Young and Sarah Vine join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Lionel Davidson, John Preston and Jan Morris.

Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson Publisher: Faber

A Very English Scandal by John Preston Publisher: Virago

Conundrum by Jan Morris Publisher: Faber

Producer: Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.

Beauty journalist Sali Hughes and author John Niven join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Steve Tesich, Nora Ephron and Fred Vargas.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron Publisher: Virago

Karoo by Steve Tesich Publisher: Vintage

Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand by Fred Vargas Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.

TV presenters Stacey Dooley and author Gaia Vince join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Laline Paull, Jon McGregor and Elizabeth Strout.

The Bees by Laline Paull Publisher: 4th Estate

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor Publisher: 4th Estate

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.

Theatre director/writer/actor Kathy Burke and comedian Tom Allen join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Patrick Hamilton, John Walters and Barbara Pym.

Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton Publisher: Penguin

Role Models by John Walters Publisher: Macmillan

Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym Publisher: Macmillan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.

Actor Bill Paterson and tech philosopher Tom Chatfield join Harriett Gilbert' to discuss their favourite books by Christopher Hitchens, Terry Pratchett and Dava Sobel.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett Publisher: Corgi

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel Publisher: Harper Perennial

Mortality by Christopher Hitchens Publisher: Atlantic Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2017.

Harriett Gilbert talks favourite books with music presenter Verity Sharp and table tennis champion turned author Matthew Syed. Their books are The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, Anglo-Saxon Attitudes by Angus Wilson and Chéri by Colette. These spark deeply-felt argument over whether planting trees can save the earth and also insights into the ideal of getting back to the land, the process of ageing for women who've lived by their looks and the peculiar nature of British reserve as observed by the son of an immigrant. Books as the jumping-off point for ideas.. Producer Beth O'Dea.

Comedian, Nathan Caton and science presenter and geneticist, Adam Rutherford join Harriett Gilbert.

The trio discuss favourite books by Paul Auster, Juan Pablo Villalobos and Paul Canoville.

Leviathan by Paul Auster Publisher: Faber

Black and Blue: How Racism, Drugs and Cancer Almost Destroyed Me by Paul Canoville Publisher: Headline

I'll Sell You A Dog by Juan Pablo Villalobos Publisher: And Other Stories

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2017.

Comedians Ed Byrne and Hardeep Singh Kohli talk to Harriett Gilbert about favourite books. It's a bit of a Scotfest: Ed's is Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre, Hardeep's The Prime of Miss Brodie by Muriel Spark and then Harriett introduces them to The Seven Good Years by little-known Israeli writer Etgar Keret - with mixed results.. Producer Beth O'Dea.

Writers Will Self and Rachel Johnson join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Raymond Carver, JR Ackerley and Doris Lessing.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: A collection of short stories by Raymond Carver. Publisher: Vintage

My Father and Myself, by JR Ackerley. Publisher: The New York Review of Books

The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing Publisher: Fourth Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.

Doctor twins and broadcasters Chris and Xand van Tulleken join presenter Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Samuel Shem, James Fenton and Evelyn Waugh.

The House of God by Samuel Shem Publisher Black Swan

Yellow Tulips Poems 1968 - 2011 by James Fenton Publisher Faber

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh Publisher Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.

Former Labour MP Harriet Harman and music journalist Pete Paphides join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Lionel Shriver, Julian Cope and Angela Carter.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver Publisher Serpents Tail

Head On by Julian Cope Publisher Element

Nothing Sacred: Selected Writings by Angela Carter Publisher Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.

Actor Sir Tony Robinson and Chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Nickolas Butler, James Baldwin and Elizabeth Taylor.

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler Publisher: Picador

Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin Publisher: Penguin

Angel by Elizabeth Taylor Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.

Satirist Craig Brown and comedian Pippa Evans join Harriett Gilbert to talk about favourite books by George Orwell, Simon Gray and DBC Pierre.

Enter A Fox by Simon Gray Publisher: Faber

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell Publisher: Penguin

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. Publisher: Faber

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.

Poet Murray Lachlan Young and Guilty Feminist' podcaster Deborah Frances-White join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Robert Graves, Ajay Close and Toni Morrison.

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves Publisher: Penguin

A Petrol Scented Spring by Ajay Close Publisher: Sandstone Press

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Publisher: Vintage

The books spark some fiery discussion about gender and race.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.

Author Lionel Shriver and comedian Mae Martin join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love by John Knowles, HG Wells and Anne Enright.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The Door in The Wall by HG Wells Publisher: Read Books/HG Wells Library

The Gathering by Anne Enright Publisher: Vintage

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.

Lord Victor Adebowale and musician Rachel Unthank join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by David Almond, Robert Seehaler and John Higgs.

Half a Creature from the Sea by David Almond Publisher: Walker Books

Stranger Than We Can Imagine by John Higgs Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

A Whole Life by Robert Seehaler Publisher: Picador

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.

Comedian Alan Carr and presenter Melanie Sykes join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love by John Fowles, Andrea Ashworth and Malcolm Bradbury.

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles, Publisher: Vintage

Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth Publisher: Picador

The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury Publisher: Picador

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2017.

Businessman John Timpson and Big Issue founder John Bird join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite their books by Thomas Hardy, Elif Batuman and Graham Greene.

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman Publisher: Granta

The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2016.

Journalist and Margaret Thatcher's biographer Charles Moore, and writer Nadifa Mohamed, join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Jane Austen, Kester Aspden and Patrick de Witt.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick de Witt Publisher: Granta

The Hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2016.

TV executive Michael Grade and science presenter Gia Milinovich join Harriett Gilbert to discuss beloved books by Peter Oborne, Richard Feynman and Shirley Jackson.

Basil D'Oliveira by Peter Oborne Pubisher: Sphere

Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman by Richard Feynman Publisher: Vintage

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

‘Clare in the Community’ actress Sally Phillips and ‘Gruffalo’ author Julia Donaldson join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by John Irving, Paul Wilson and Rachel Cusk.

‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’ by John Irving Publisher: Black Swan

‘The Visiting Angel’ by Paul Wilson Publisher: Serpent’s Tail

‘Outline’ by Rachel Cusk Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2016.

TV presenter Terry Christian and space doctor Kevin Fong join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Ray Bradbury, Matt Haig and Susan Hill.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury Publisher: Harper Voyager

The Humans by Matt Haig. Publisher: Canongate

Howards End is On The Landing by Susan Hill Publisher: Profile Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2016.

Actor, comedian and writer Cariad Lloyd and Cold Feet screenwriter Mike Bullen join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Iris Murdoch, Joshua Ferris and Margery Allingham.

To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris Publisher: Penguin

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch Publisher: Vintage

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.

Birdsong author Sebastian Faulks and journalist Sarfraz Manzoor join Harriet Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Joseph Conrad, Philip Roth and Diana Athill.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Publisher: Penguin

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth Publisher: Vintage

Stet by Diana Athill Publisher: Granta

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.

Writer and broadcaster Bidisha and radio reviewer Gillian Reynolds join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Jean Rhys, Frances Woods and John Le Carre.

Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys Publisher: Penguin

Hand Grenade Practice in Peking by Frances Woods Publisher: Slightly Foxed

Call For the Dead by John Le Carre Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.

Former politicians- and Strictly Come Dancing dancers - Ann Widdecombe and Vince Cable talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books by Jonathan Dimbleby, Robert Harris and Ernest Hemingway.

Destiny in the Desert by Jonathan Dimbleby Publisher: Profile

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris Publisher: Arrow

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway Publisher: Vintage

Producer: Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Actor Christopher Biggins and comedian Jenny Eclair join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Richard Yates, Dominick Dunne and Muriel Spark.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates Publisher: Vintage

The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark Publisher: Penguin

People Like Us by Dominick Dunne Publisher: Valentine Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2016.

Horrid Henry creator Francesca Simon and Welsh comedian Lloyd Langford join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Madeleine L'Engle, Richard Brautigan and Georges Simenon

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle Publisher: Puffin

So The Wind Won't Blow it All Away by Richard Brautigan Publisher: Canongate

The Train by Georges Simenon. Publisher: Melville House

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2016.

Writer Damian Barr and Egyptologist Joann Fletcher join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by Alice Walker, RE Witt and Leonora Carrington..

The Color Purple by Alice Walker Publisher: Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Isis in the Ancient World by RE Witt Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2016.

BBC One Show presenter Alex Jones, and writer Victoria Hislop, join Harriet Gilbert to talk about books they love by Lisa Jewell, Michael Cunningham and Elena Ferrante.

The Girls by Lisa Jewell Publisher: Arrow

The Hours by Michael Cunningham Publisher: Harper Perennial

Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante Publisher: Europa Editions [Translator: Ann Goldstein]

Producer: Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2016.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com and singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by CJ Sansom, Mick Herron and Anita Loos.

Slow Horses by Mick Herron Publisher: John Murray

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos Publisher: Liveright

Shardlake by CJ Sansom Publisher: Pan Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.

Professor David Nutt and psychotherapist Philippa Perry join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Aldous Huxley, Bernardine Evaristo and Mary Midgley.

Island by Aldous Huxley Publisher: Vintage

Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo Publisher: Hamish Hamilton

Animals and Why They Matter by Mary Midgley Publisher: University of Georgia Press

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.

Barrister Robert Rinder (TV's Judge Rinder), novelist Stella Duffy and Harriett Gilbert discuss favourite books by Jessica Mitford, Irvin D Yalom and Andrey Kirkov.

Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford Publisher: Phoenix

Staring at The Sun: Overcoming the Dread of Death by Irvin D Yalom Publisher: Piatkus

A Matter of Death and Life by Andrey Kurkov Translated by George Bird Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.

Former TV newscasters, Sir Trevor McDonald and Jon Snow join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Robert A Caro, Graham Swift and Bill Bryson.

Master of The Senate by Robert A Caro Publisher: Pimlico

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift Publisher: Scribner

Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson Publisher: Black Swan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.

Aardman animations co-founder Peter Lord and comedian Russell Kane join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Susan Pinker, Russell Hoban and Nathaneal West.

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, Publisher: Bloomsbury

The Village Effect by Susan Pinker, Publisher: Atlantic Books

Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaneal West. Publisher: Daunt Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.

Bestselling Irish author Marian Keyes, broadcaster Nikki Bedi and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Barbara Kingsolver, Imtiaz Dharker and Nick Hornby.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Publisher: Harper Perennial

Over the Moon by Imtiaz Dharker Publisher: Bloodaxe

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.

Internationally renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, journalist Professor Sarah Churchwell and Harriett Gilbert their discuss favourite books by Napoleon Hill, Henry James and Rebecca Front.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The Ambassadors by Henry James Publisher: Penguin Classics

Curious' by Rebecca Front Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.

Authors John O'Farrell, and Joe Dunthorne, join Harriet Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Denis Johnson, Cathy Rentzenbrink and Marilynne Robinson.

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson Publisher: Methuen

The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink Publisher: Picador

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Publisher: Faber

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.

Deborah Bull, former ballet dancer and Sam Leith, The Spectator’s literary editor join presenter, Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Mervyn Peake, John Berryman and Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

'Mr Pye' by Mervyn Peake Publisher: Vintage

'77 Dream Songs' by John Berryman Publisher: Faber

'News of a Kidnapping' by Gabriel García Márquez. Translated by Edith Grossman. Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.

Comedian Natalie Haynes, Playwright David Greig and Harriett Gilbert discuss favourite books by Patricia Highsmith, David Foster Wallace and Zachary Mason.

'The Lost Books of the Odyssey' by Zachary Mason Publisher: Vintage

'A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again' by David Foster Wallace Publisher: Abacus

'Strangers on a Train', by Patricia Highsmith Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.

Actress Samantha Bond and editor of The New Statesman, Jason Cowley join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite novels by Donna Tartt, Joseph Conrad and Hamid Ismailov.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt Publisher Penguin

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad Publisher Penguin

The Dead Lake' by Hamid Ismailov translated by Andrew Bromfield Publisher Peirene

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.

Rebecca Root, the first trans actor to play a trans role in a mainstream BBC series, Boy Meets Girl, and The Long Firm author, Jake Arnott join Harriet Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Chris Ware, Damien Barr and Kurt Vonnegut.

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware. Publisher: Jonathan Cape

Maggie and Me by Damien Barr Publisher: Bloomsbury

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.

Broadcaster Vanessa Feltz and music journalist, David Hepworth join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Hilary Mantel, Edith Wharton and Dodie Smith.

A Tale of Two Families by Dodie Smith Publisher: Hesperus Press

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton Publisher: Bantam

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel Publisher: Fourth Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.

Science writer and botanist,James Wong, TV's Dr Christian Jessen and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Michael Crichton, Louis Begley and Amos Oz.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton Publisher: Arrow Books Wartime Lies by Louis Begley Publisher: Penghuin The Same Sea by Amos Oz Translated Nicholas de Lange Publisher: Vintage

Producer Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2015.

Politician Shirley Williams and novelist Margaret Drabble join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Winifred Holtby, Mary McCarthy and James Joyce.

The Group by Mary McCarthy Publisher: Virago

South Riding by Winifred Holtby Publisher: Virago

Dubliners by James Joyce Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.

Writer Tracy Chevalier, historian Niall Ferguson and Harriet Gilbert discuss favourite novels by Murial Spark, Robert Louis Stevenson and Irène Némirovsky.

Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark Publisher: Penguin

South Sea Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson Publisher: Oxford University Press

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky Publisher: Vintage

Producer: Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.

Harriett Gilbert is joined by comic novelist Jonathan Coe and Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney to recommend favourite books.

Jonathan's choice is the first part in a tragi-comic epic, 'The Complete Pratt',a semi-autobiographical novel by the late David Nobbs, creator of 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'. It's called 'Second From Last in the Sack Race'.

Gemma chooses a novel by Laura Dockrill, a vividly imagined story of mermaids and pirates, 'Lorali'.

Harriett dusts off a novel from the 1940s by Nevil Shute, 'Pied Piper'. Its subject matter is sharply topical: an elderly man leads a growing group of refugee children across Europe, attempting to avoid the Nazi invaders.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, crime writer Ann Cleeves and Harriet Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Alain-Fournier, George Orwell and Joanna Rakoff.

The Lost Estate (Le Grande Meaulnes) by Alain-Fournier Publisher: Penguin

The Road To Wigan Pier by George Orwell Publisher: Penguin

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff Publisher: Bloomsbury

Producer: Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.

Editor of The Spectator Fraser Nelson, Adam Mars-Jones and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Vilhelm Moberg, Hugo Williams and Elmore Leonard.

I Knew The Bride by Hugo Williams Publisher: Faber

The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg Publisher: Borealis Books

Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard Publisher: Phoenix

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.

Author Philip Pullman, journalist Caroline Criado-Perez and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Graham Greene, Tove Jansson and Alice Munro.

Sculptor's Daughter: A Childhood Memoir by Tove Jansson Publisher: Sort of Books

The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose by Alice Munro Publisher: Vintage

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.

Actor David Morrissey and writer Julia Blackburn join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by John O'Hara, JD Salinger and Alexandra Fuller. Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara, Publisher: Vintage

For Esme with Love and Squalor by JD Salinger Publisher: Penguin

Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller Publisher: Picador

Producer Mary Ward-Lowery.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.

Green MP Caroline Lucas and columnist Rod Liddle join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Barbara Kingsolver, David Peace and Alison Bechdel.

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver Publisher: Faber

Red or Dead by David Peace Publisher: Faber

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel Publisher: Jonathan Cape

First broadcast in October 2015.

Actress Miriam Margolyes, writer Mark Haddon and Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books by Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf and Truman Capote.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Publisher: Penguin

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Publisher: Penguin

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - journalist, Miranda Sawyer and singer, Tom Robinson - discuss their favourite books by Joan Didion, Alan Hollinghurst and Ben Aaronovitch.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Publisher: Fourth Estate

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Publisher: Gallants

The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actress Helen Baxendale and writer Helen Cros - discuss favourite books by George Monbiot, Kirsten Thorup and Julia Blackburn. From 2015.

The God of Chance by Kirsten Thorup Pub: Norvick Press

The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn Pub: Vintage

Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot Pub: Penguin

Producer Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - crime writer, Ian Rankin and record producer, Joe Boyd - discuss their favourite books by Lesley Branch, Mohsin Hamid and Pascal Garnier.

The Wilder Shores of Love by Lesley Blanch Publisher: Simon & Schuster

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid Publisher: Penguin

The Islanders by Pascal Garnier Publisher: Gallic Books

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - award-winning screenwriter, Abi Morgan and cultural historian, Christopher Frayling - discuss favourite books by Dave Eggers, Angela Carter and Kyril Bonfiglioli.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Publisher: Vintage

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers Publisher: Picador

Don't Point that Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actress, Claire Skinner and author, Louise Welsh - discuss their favourite books by Karl Ove Knausgaard, RL Stevenson and Dorothy L Sayers.

A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard Publisher: Vintage

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Publisher: Penguin Classics

Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers Publisher: Hodder

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actress, Rebecca Front and poet and writer, Laura Dockrill - discuss their favourite books by Maria Semple, Jan Struther and Alice Munro.

Mrs Miniver by Jan Struther Publisher: Virago

Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple Publisher: Phoenix

Runaway by Alice Munro Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - presenter, Anita Rani and journalist, Katharine Whitehorn - discuss their favourite books by F Scott Fitzgerald, Terry Pratchett and Yiyun Li.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Publisher: Random House

The Vagrants by Yiyun Li Publisher: 4th Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - comedians, Josie Long and Romesh Ranganathan - discuss favourite books by Yann Martel, Clive James and Dan Hancox.

The Village Against the World by Dan Hancox Publisher: Verso

Life of Pi by Yann Martel Publisher: Cannongate

Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James Publisher: Picador

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.

The journalists John Sergeant and Helen Lewis, join Harriett Gilbert to discuss three favourite books.

Jeeves and The Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks Publisher Arrow Books

The Turkish Embassy Letters by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Publisher Virago

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford Publisher Vintage

Producer Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.

Countdown dictionary buff Susie Dent and WI Chair Janice Langley share some good reads with Harriett Gilbert.

Red Love - The Story of an East German Family by Maxim Leo, translated by Shaun Whiteside Publisher Pushkin Press

A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison Publisher Quercus

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P D James Publisher Faber

Producer Sally Heaven

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - comedian, Frankie Boyle and actress, Maureen Lipman - discuss their favourite books by Michael Blakemore, Barbara Trapido and Joseph Heller.

Stage Blood by Michael Blakemore Publisher: Faber

Something Happened by Joseph Heller Publisher: Vintage

Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido Publisher: Bloomsbury

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.

Harriet Gilbert and her guests - comedians, Sean Lock and Roisin Conaty - discuss their favourite books by Margaret Atwood, Jim Thompson and Beryl Bainbridge.

The Getaway by Jim Thompson

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.

Dawn O'Porter and Graham Fellows, AKA John Shuttleworth, talk with Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books.

Green Girl by Kate Zambreno

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

The Blessing by Nancy Mitford

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - food blogger, Jack Monroe and comic actor, Doon MacKichan - discuss favourite books by Bryce Courtenay, Jenny Offill and Juan Gabriel Vásquez.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay Publisher: Penguin

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill Publisher. Granta

The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez Publisher: Bloomsbury

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - historians Roy Foster and Andrew Roberts - discuss favourite books by John Harris, Hanif Kureishi and William Maxwell.

Covenant with Death by John Harris Publisher: Sphere

The Chateau by William Maxwell Publisher: Vintage

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi Publisher: Faber

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - former head of MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller and Turkish author Elif Shafak - discuss their books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alison Lurie and Michael Chabon.

‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Publisher: Fourth Estate

‘The War Between the Tates’ by Alison Lurie Publisher: Vintage

‘Gentlemen of the Road’ by Michael Chabon Publisher: Sceptre

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - journalist, Janet Street Porter, and crime writer, Martina Cole - discuss their favourite books by Curtis Sittenfeld, Maurice Druon and Muriel Spark. 'American Wife' by Curtis Sittenfeld Publisher: Penguin

'The Iron King' by Maurice Druon Publisher: Doubleday

'The Ballad of Peckham Rye' by Muriel Spark Publisher: Harper Collins

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - comedian, Adam Hills and psychologist, Steven Pinker - discuss their favourite books by Albert Camus, Richard Bach and Jonathan Livingston.

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper NonFiction)

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White Publisher: Longman now Pearson

The Outsider by Albert Camus Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actress and author, Dame Sheila Hancock and journalist, Cosmo Landesman - discuss their favourite books by Toby Young, John Williams and Sylvia Townsend Warner.

Stoner by John Williams Publisher: Vintage

How To Lose Friends and Alienate People by Toby Young Publisher: Abacus

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - broadcaster, Jeremy Paxman and classicist, Dame Mary Beard - discuss their favourite books by Natalie Zemon Davis, Ben Fountain and Graham Greene.

Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain Publisher: Canongate

Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene Publisher: Vintage

The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis Publisher: Harvard University Press

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.

Paralympian Ade Adepitan and comedian Dominic Holland talk books with Harriett Gilbert. Books under discussion are: Sue Townsend's delicious tale of teenage angst, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote's 'non-fiction novel' about the murders of four family members in a Kansas farmhouse in 1959 and Roddy Doyle's The Snapper, a comic portrayal of an unplanned pregnancy. Harriett and her two guests talk about the both the comedy and the poignancy to be found in novels about a working class Dublin family and a pompous teenager in 1980s Ashby de-la-Zouch. They debate the mind and motives of a psychopath and Truman Capote's views on the death penalty. Producer Sally Heaven.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, and Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane, talk about their favourite reads with Harriett Gilbert. Books under discussion are Evelyn Waugh's satire on the Anglo-American relationship staged in and around an LA funeral business, The Loved One, Rachel Holmes' biography of Eleanor Marx, and the children's classic, Charlotte's Web. Conversation ranges from our attitudes to death, to strong women who make bad relationship choices, to what makes great children's literature. Producer Sally Heaven.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - actors, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Steve Oram - discuss favourite books by Annie Proulx, John Steinbeck and Martin Amis.

Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and Other Stories by Annie Proulx Publisher: Harper Perennials

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Publisher: Penguin

Experience by Martin Amis Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - comedian Al Murray, aka The Pub Landlord, and Egyptian political economist, Tarek Osman - discuss their favourite books by Naguib Mahfouz, Philip Roth and Joseph Heller.

Children of The Alley by Naguib Mahfouz Publisher: Doubleday US

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Publisher: Vintage

Everyman by Philip Roth Publisher: Vintage First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guest - former MP, Edwina Currie and actor, Nicholas Le Provost - discuss their favourite books by Beryl Bainbridge, Dorothy Whipple and Azar Nafisi.

'An Awfully Big Adventure’ by Beryl Bainbridge. Publisher: Abacus

‘The Priory’ by Dorothy Whipple. Publisher: Persephone Books

‘Lolita in Tehran’ by Azar Nafisi. Publisher: Harper Perennial

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - journalist and author India Knight and financial adviser Alvin Hall - discuss favourite books by Barbara Pym, Rebecca Skloot and Boris Akunin.

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym Publisher: Virago

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Publisher: Pan Macmillan

The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin Publisher: Orion

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - author, Fay Weldon and Serpentine Galleries curator, Hans Ulrich Obrist - discuss favourite books by Etel Adnan, Gabriel Gbadamosi, RL Stevenson.

Sitt Marie Rose by Etel Adnan Publisher: Post Apollo Press Vauxhall by Gabriel Gbadamosi Publisher: Telegram Books Treasure Island by RL Stevenson Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - Notting Hill film director, Roger Michell and writer, Aminatta Forna - discuss favourite books by Laura Alcoba, Mark Twain and Robert Graves.

The Rabbit House by Laura Alcoba Publisher: Portobello Books

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Publisher: Collins Classics

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves Publisher: Penguin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - broadcaster, Aasmah Mir and beer writer, Pete Brown - discuss great food books by Mohsin Hamid, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and John Lanchester.

Recorded with an audience at the Bristol Food Connections Festival.

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid Publisher: Penguin

The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Publisher: Everyman

The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester Publisher: Picador

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - DJ Annie Mac and author Kathy Lette - discuss their favourite books by John Green, WM Thackeray and Penelope Fitzgerald.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green Publisher: Penguin

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald Publisher: Fourth Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - writer, Julie Burchill and broadcaster, Fred MacAulay - discuss their favourite books by Harriet Lane, JD Salinger and Elmore Leonard.

Alys, Always by Harriet Lane Publisher: Phoenix

Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger Publisher: Penguin

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard Publisher: Phoenix

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - TV presenter, Lorraine Kelly and writer, Romesh Gunesekera - discuss their favourite books by Jack Kerouac, George Mackay Brown and Molly Keane.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac Publisher: Penguin

Greenvoe by George Mackay Brown Publisher: Polygon

Good Behaviour by Molly Keane Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - novelist, Dame Penelope Lively and comedy writer, Will Smith - discuss their favourite books by John Kennedy Toole, Barry Lopez and Kingsley Amis.

‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ by John Kennedy Toole Publisher: Penguin

‘Arctic Dreams’ by Barry Lopez Publisher: Penguin

‘Lucky Jim’ by Kingsley Amis Publisher: Harvill

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - Irish stand-up comedian, Andrew Maxwell and Pakistani writer, Kamila Shamsie - discuss their favourite books by Doris Lessing, Anita Desai and John Steinbeck.

Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai Publisher: Vintage

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck Publisher: Penguin

In Pursuit of the English by Doris Lessing Publisher: Fourth Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - comedian Richard Herring and actor Tracy-Ann Oberman - discuss their favourite books by Jack Womack, Rupert Everett and Kurt Vonnegut.

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Publisher: Vintage

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack Publisher: Gollancz

Vanished Years by Rupert Everett Publisher: Abacus

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - journalist, Daniel Finkelstein, Baron Finkelstein of Pinner, and writer, Jill Paton Walsh - discuss their favourite books by Robert Cialdini, Michael J Sandel and Roddy Doyle.

Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B Cialdini Publisher: Collins Business

What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J Sandel Publisher: Penguin

The Van by Roddy Doyle Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.

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 in February 2014.

TV presenter Fern Britton and Olympic gold medalist rower Katherine Grainger talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Katherine Grainger's choice: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Published by Arrow

Fern Britton's choice: The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill Published by Vintage

Harriett Gilbert's choice: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett Published by Profile Books and Faber & Faber

Producer Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

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 in November 2013.

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 broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2013.

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 Barbara Pym Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2013.

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 October 2013.

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 broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.

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 Radio 4 in October 2013.

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 Books

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie Publisher: HarperCollins

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.

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

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.

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 Radio 4 in July 2013.

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 June 2013.

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 Maxwell Publisher: Eland

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2013.