Books and Authors Podcast
This podcast features Open Book and A Good Read. Open Book talks to authors about their work. In A Good Read Harriett Gilbert discusses favourite books.
Episodes to download
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A Good Read Doon Mackichan & Jack Monroe
Tue 18 Nov 2014
Harriett Gilbert is joined by food blogger Jack Monroe and comic actor Doon MacKichan...
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Open Book: Marilynne Robinson on Lila
Sun 16 Nov 2014
Pulitzer prize winning author Marilynne Robinson on her new book Lila, the third novel...
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A Good Read Roy Foster & Andrew Roberts
Tue 11 Nov 2014
Harriett Gilbert discusses great books with historians Roy Foster and Andrew Roberts,...
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Open Book: Jane Smiley; Africa 39
Sun 9 Nov 2014
The Pulitzer prize winning novelist Jane Smiley talks to Mariella Frostrup about her a...
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A Good Read: Eliza Manningham-Buller and Elif Shafak
Tue 4 Nov 2014
Former M15 head Eliza Manningham-Buller and Turkish author and commentator Elif Shafak...
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A Good Read Janet Street Porter & Martina Cole
Tue 28 Oct 2014
Janet Street Porter and crime writer Martina Cole discuss their good reads with...
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Open Book: Sports Writing
Sun 26 Oct 2014
In a special edition of Open Book Mariella Frostrup stands on the touchline to the...
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A Good Read: Adam Hills & Steven Pinker
Tue 21 Oct 2014
Adam Hills and Steven Pinker talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.
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Open Book: Amanda Coe and Catalan Literature
Sun 19 Oct 2014
Amanda Coe talks to Mariella Frostrup about her double writing life as both a novelist...
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A Good Read: Sheila Hancock & Cosmo Landesman
Tue 14 Oct 2014
Actor Sheila Hancock and columnist Cosmo Landesman talk about the books they love with...
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Open Book: Colm Toibin
Sun 12 Oct 2014
Mariella Frostrup is joined by award-winning Irish writer, Colm Toibin, to discuss his...
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A Good Read: Jeremy Paxman & Mary Beard
Tue 7 Oct 2014
Jeremy Paxman and Mary Beard argue heatedly and entertainingly about the books they as...
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Open Book: The Brethren and Steven Pinker
Sun 28 Sep 2014
Mariella Frostrup discusses Robert Merle's iconic French series The Brethren, now in...
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Open Book: Esther Freud on Mr Mac and Me
Sun 21 Sep 2014
Novelist Esther Freud talks about her latest, Mr Mac and Me, inspired by the time in...
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Open Book: Ali Smith on How to Be Both
Sun 14 Sep 2014
Ali Smith has been shortlisted for the Man Booker prize for the third time this year...
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Open Book: Ian McEwan and Amy Bloom
Sun 31 Aug 2014
As we head for a September publishing bonanza, Mariella Frostrup is joined by writers...
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Open Book: London Literary Scene
Sun 24 Aug 2014
Writers Damian Barr, Evie Wyld and Joe Dunthorne discuss the rise of live literary events.
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Open Book: Ross Raisin on the Yorkshire Moors
Sun 17 Aug 2014
A literary ramble through the Yorkshire moors and the work they have inspired, from to...
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Open Book: John Banville on the Dublin of the 1950s
Sun 10 Aug 2014
John Banville takes Mariella on a tour of the foggy streets, smoke-filled bars and tea...
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A Good Read: Ade Adepitan & Dominic Holland
Tue 29 Jul 2014
Ade Adepitan and Dominic Holland talk Adrian Mole, Roddy Doyle's the Snapper and true...
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Open Book: Jessie Burton on The Miniaturist
Mon 28 Jul 2014
Jessie Burton takes Mariella Frostrup back to Golden Age Amsterdam with her acclaimed...
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Open Book: Tom Campbell and Nikesh Shukla
Thu 24 Jul 2014
Tom Campbell and Nikesh Shukla on writing about this generation's alienated young men.
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A Good Read: Monica Ali and Shami Chakrabarti
Tue 22 Jul 2014
Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, and Monica Ali, of...
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15 07 14: A Good Read: Julian Rhind-Tutt & Steve Oram
Tue 15 Jul 2014
Actors Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing, The Hour) and Steve Oram (Sightseers) talk books...
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Open Book: Richard Flanagan on his new novel
Sun 13 Jul 2014
Richard Flanagan on why he had to write about the Thai-Burmese Death Railway.
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A Good Read:Al Murray & Tarek Osman
Tue 8 Jul 2014
Comedian Al Murray, aka The Pub Landlord, and Egyptian political economist Tarek Osman...
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Open Book: Children's Literature and Oxford
Thu 3 Jul 2014
A special edition from Oxford, explores why the city is often called the home of with...
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A Good Read: Edwina Currie and Nicholas Le Prevost
Tue 1 Jul 2014
Author and former MP Edwina Currie and actor Nicholas Le Prevost talk about books they...
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A Good Read: India Knight and Alvin Hall
Tue 24 Jun 2014
Journalist and author India Knight and financial adviser Alvin Hall talk about books...
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Open Book: Sandra Newman on her new novel
Sun 22 Jun 2014
Sandra Newman discusses her new novel In the Country of Ice Cream Star with Mariella...
Books
Celebrating reading and the 100 novels that have shaped our world.
How many of these 100 Novels have you read?
After a passionate debate, our panel has come up with this surprising literary selection.
Opening Lines
John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.
Finding Your Story
Ten remarkable novels about identity: Which one will help you discover yourself?
