A Good Read

Latest Episodes:

Jack Monroe and Doon MacKichan Nov 18, 2014

Show notes

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.

Roy Foster and Andrew Roberts Nov 11, 2014

Show notes

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.

Eliza Manningham-Buller and Elif Shafak Nov 04, 2014

Show notes

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.

Martina Cole and Janet Street Porter Oct 28, 2014

Show notes

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.

Adam Hills and Steven Pinker Oct 21, 2014

Show notes

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.

Sheila Hancock and Cosmo Landesman Oct 14, 2014

Show notes

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.

Jeremy Paxman and Mary Beard Oct 07, 2014

Show notes

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.

Ade Adepitan and Dominic Holland Jul 29, 2014

Show notes

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 and Monica Ali Jul 21, 2014

Show notes

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.

Julian Rhind-Tutt and Steve Oram Jul 15, 2014

Show notes

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.