A Good Read

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Stephanie Flanders and Roisin McAuley Nov 01, 2011

Show notes

Harriett Gilbert is joined by the BBC's Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders and novelist and journalist Roisin McAuley to discuss favourite books.

Stephanie Flanders' choice is 'The Great Crash 1929', a classic account of financial disaster by one of the twentieth century's most influential economists, John Kenneth Galbraith. A witty and elegant analysis which is compelling even to those who can't tell their leverage from their margins.

Roisin McAuley chooses a novel by the award-winning Patricia Ferguson, 'Peripheral Vision'. The quality of her writing and the intelligence of her psychological insights into her characters has drawn comparisons to Muriel Spark.

Harriett's choice this week is a classic fifties detective story from Dame Ngaio Marsh: 'Singing in the Shrouds', her twelfth novel to feature the detective hero, Roderick Alleyn.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.

Christopher Frayling and Nikki Bedi Oct 25, 2011

Show notes

Christopher Frayling, Professor Emeritus at the Royal College of Art, and broadcaster Nikki Bedi talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Christopher's recommendation is a passionate political polemic: Ill Fares The Land: A Treatise On Our Present Discontents, by Tony Judt.

Nikki picks The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the story of a boy growing up in an Indian family in America.

Harriett's choice is the first in the celebrated Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin.

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Rick Stein and Michael Dobbs Oct 18, 2011

Show notes

Chef Rick Stein and Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards, recommend favourite books to presenter Harriett Gilbert. Rick Stein talks about Lifting the Latch (A Life on the Land) by Sheila Stewart, which he enjoyed because it's set in the area of Oxfordshire in which he was born and spent his childhood. The true-life story of rural labourer Mont Abbott, It's been described as a rival to Lark Rise of Candleford.

Lord Dobbs' choice is Train to Trieste by Domnica Radulescu, a powerful love story set in Ceausescu's Romania.

Then Harriett Gilbert brings something completely different to the table: Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.

Mary Beard & Bidisha at The Cheltenham Literature Festival Oct 11, 2011

Show notes

The classicist Mary Beard and writer Bidisha talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books, in an edition recorded in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Books discussed:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Publisher

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons Publisher

The Odyssey by Homer Publisher

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.

Michael Morpurgo and Sara Maitland Oct 04, 2011

Show notes

Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo joins short story writer Sara Maitland and presenter Harriett Gilbert to talk about the books they love, and share their enthusiasm for their choices.

Their favourite books cover the globe from Venezuela to Edinburgh to Steep in Hampshire, where Michael Morpurgo and the subject of his book both lived. He chooses Under Storm's Wing by Helen Thomas, a collection of her memoirs and letters about life with one of Britain's best-loved poets.

Sara Maitland's book, House-Bound by Winifred Peck, is described by all three as a real oddity, a book unlike any other - but a rather good oddity.

And Harriett Gilbert picks The Sickness by Alberto Barrera Tyszka, a slender novel about a man with a terminal illness, which turns out to be surprisingly gripping.

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Alexander Waugh and Xanthe Clay Jul 26, 2011

Show notes

Harriett Gilbert talks to Alexander Waugh and Xanthe Clay about their favourite books.

Letters Between a Father and Son by VS Naipaul Publisher: Picador

Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book by Jane Grigson Publisher: Penguin

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf Publisher: Penguin

Producer Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Raymond Tallis and Allegra Stratton Jul 19, 2011

Show notes

Harriett Gilbert talks to polymath Raymond Tallis and political journalist Allegra Stratton about their favourite books.

Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel Publisher: Fourth Estate

The Walk by Robert Walser Publisher: Serpent's Tail

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt Publisher: Sceptre

Producer Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Juliet Barker and John O'Farrell Jul 12, 2011

Show notes

Satirical writer John O'Farrell and historian Juliet Barker talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books - all of which use an unusual blend of fact and fiction.

They evoke the lives of the Brontes, the worst civilian disaster of World War II and the British mandate in Palestine.

The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan Publisher: Headline Review

The Report by Jessica Francis Kane Publihser: Portobello Books

Panther in the Basement by Amos Oz Publisher: Vintage

Producer Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Fay Weldon and Louise Welsh Jul 05, 2011

Show notes

Fay Weldon, Louise Welsh and Harriett Gilbert discuss favourite books by Lionel Shriver, HG Wells and Jean Rhys.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Publisher: Penguin

Fay Weldon's choice: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells Publisher: Penguin

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver Publisher: Serpent's Tail

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.

Hardeep Singh Kohli, Simon Evans Jun 28, 2011

Show notes

Broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli and comedian Simon Evans talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. Producer Beth O'Dea.

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