A Good Read

Actor Richard Harrington and comedian Njambi McGrath join Harriett Gilbert to discuss books by Clive James, Chigozie Obioma and Hannelore Cayre. Unreliable Memoirs by the late Clive James Publisher: PicadorThe Fisherman by Chigozie Obioma Publisher: OneThe Godmother by Hannelore Cayre Publisher: Old Street PublishingFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.

Authors Gail Honeyman and Mavis Cheek join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Charlotte Bronte, Catherine O'Flynn and Penelope Fitzgerald. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Publisher: Penguin ClassicsWhat Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn Publisher: Profile BooksThe Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald: Publisher: Fourth EstateFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.

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.

Co-founder of the Bradford Literature Festival, Syima Aslam and journalist Stig Abell join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Jane Austen, JK Rowling and Virginia Woolf. Both are part of the expert panel that chose the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling Publisher: BloomsburyPride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Publisher: PenguinOrlando by Virginia Woolf Publisher: VintageFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.

Author Nick Hornby and Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Viv Albertine, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Tobias Wolf. ‘Throw Away, Unopened’ by Viv Albertine. Publisher: Faber‘White Nights’ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Publisher: Penguin‘Old School’ by Tobias Wolff Publisher: BloomsburyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2020.

Comedian Russell Kane and novelist Sarah Perry join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Iris Murdoch, Heinrich Boll and Shirley Jackson.The Train Was On Time by Heinrich Boll, translated by Leila Vennewitz Publisher PenguinUnder the Net by Iris Murdoch Publisher VintageLife Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, her slightly fictionalised memoir. Publisher PenguinFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2019.

DJ and former athlete, Nemone Metaxas and deaf poet and educator Raymond Antrobus join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Patrick Modiano, Jay Bernard and Dolly Alderton. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton, Publisher: PenguinSurge by Jay Bernard Publisher: Chatto & Windus Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano Publisher: David R. Godine First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.

Authors Damian Le Bas and Amy Liptrot join Harriet Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Jessie Greengrass, Kathleen Jamie and Dorthe Nors.‘An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It’ by Jessie Greengrass. Publisher: John Murray‘Sightlines’ by Kathleen Jamie. Publisher: Sort of Books‘Mirror Shoulder Signal’ by Dorthe Nors. Publisher: Pushkin PressFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2019.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: SnowbooksThe Lonely City by Olivia Laings Publisher: PicadorReading Allowed by Chris Paling Publisher: ConstableFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2019 Photo by Steve Ullathorne

Author Lisa Jewell and economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books by Amit Chaudhuri, Liz Nugent and Rose Tremain. Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri Publisher: OneworldUnravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent Publisher: PenguinRosie: Scenes from a Vanished Life by Rose Tremain Publisher: VintageFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2019.Photo credit: Andrew Whitton