Robin Ince and Philip Hensher

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1. 

   16 Mar 2026 · 28 min

   Victoria Pile and Julian Baggini

   THE LIVES AND LOVES OF A SHE DEVIL by Fay Weldon, chosen by Victoria Pile THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway, chosen by Julian Baggini CLEAR by Carys Davies, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Comedy writer and director Victoria Pile joins philosopher and author Julian Baggini to talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. On the menu is a feminist revenge novel that is as dark as it is funny, a classic Hemingway novella that casts us out to sea, and an evocative short story set on a remote island off Scotland. Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC…

2. 

   9 Mar 2026 · 28 min

   Lolita Chakrabarti and Dr Guy Leschziner

   This week's books are: How to Measure a Cow by Margaret Forster (chosen by Lolita Chakrabarti) The House of God by Samuel Shem (chosen by Guy Leschziner) A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir (chosen by Harriett Gilbert) The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc

3. 

   2 Mar 2026 · 28 min

   Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Jung Chang

   The children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and the author of Wild Swans and Big Sister Little Sister Red Sister Jung Chang choose their good reads. Where Should We Run To by Alan Garner chosen by Frank Cottrell-Boyce Death of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney chosen by Harriett Gilbert Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales chosen by Jung Chang Produced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre

4. 

   23 Feb 2026 · 28 min

   Martin Edwards and Tom Shakespeare

   This week's books are: Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, chosen by crime writer Martin Edwards At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, chosen by sociologist, bioethicist and comedian Tom Shakespeare Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Pineiro, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven Photo credit: Belinda Mason

5. 

   17 Feb 2026 · 28 min

   Maria Balshaw and Léa Ypi

   This week's books are: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler chosen by Maria Balshaw. The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (translated by Isabel Hapgood) chosen by Léa Ypi. Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans chosen by Harriett Gilbert. The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol. Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Photo credit: Erdem Moralioglu

6. 

   8 Dec 2025 · 28 min

   Gwyneth Lewis and Annabel Abbs

   This week's books are: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by the Welsh poet and writer Gwyneth Lewis The LIving Mountain by Nan Shepherd picked by author Annabel Abbs Emma by Jane Austen chosen by Harriett Gilbert ahead of the writer's 250th birthday in December 2025 Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre Photo credit: Edward Brown

7. 

   1 Dec 2025 · 28 min

   Michelle Ogundehin and Lisa St Aubin de Terán

   Michelle Ogundehin is a broadcaster, magazine editor and author also known as a presenter on TV's Interior Design Masters. She and author Lisa St Aubin de Terán give their book recommendations. Michelle's is 4000 Weeks: Time Management For Mortals by Oliver Burkeman which she says has helped her simplify her life. Lisa chooses Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix the powerful retelling of the 2021 incident in which 27 people drowned in the English Channel attempting to make the crossing from France. It's a fictionalised account of a real event told from the perspective of the French Coastguard…

8. 

   24 Nov 2025 · 28 min

   Roma Agrawal and Kate Lister

   WEDLOCK: HOW GEORGIAN BRITAIN'S WORST HUSBAND MET HIS MATCH by Wendy Moore, chosen by Kate Lister GRAYSON PERRY: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG GIRL by Wendy Jones, chosen by Harriett Gilbert PLASTIC EMOTIONS by Shiromi Pinto, chosen by Roma Agrawal Structural engineer Roma Agrawal, known for her work on buildings such as the Shard in London, and historian Kate Lister, who specialises in the history of sex, join Harriett Gilbert to share their favourite books. Kate's choice is Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore, a gripping biography that tells the…

9. 

   17 Nov 2025 · 28 min

   Richard Benson and Amy Sackville

   THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux chosen by Richard Benson THE CORNER THAT HELD THEM by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by Amy Sackville COFFEE AND CIGARETTES by Ferdinand von Schirach chosen by Harriett Gilbert Writer and former editor of the Face Richard Benson talks to fellow writer Amy Sackville and presenter Harriett Gilbert about favourite books. Richard chooses The Years by Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux, saying it brings back memories of his French penpal's bohemian mother. Amy's choice of The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner, about convent life in the 1300s, isn't as dry as that…

10. 

    10 Nov 2025 · 28 min

    Julia Shaw and Hayaatun Sillem

    FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis, chosen by Julia Shaw YOUR LIFE IS MANUFACTURED by Tim Minshall, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem ROSARITA by Anita Desai, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw joins engineer Hayaatun Sillem to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Julia's choice, Fundamentally, is a bold debut novel by Nussaibah Younis which sparks a bit of debate. Younis writes a comedy story about an academic who takes a UN job in Iraq to lead a deradicalisation program for ISIS women. Hayaatun puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Tim Minshall,…