Kate Davies talks to Chris Power about her new novel, Nuclear Family.

An actor and singer and a computer scientist and author pick their favourite books.

Sheila Heti on her new experimental book, Alphabetical Diaries.

The frontman of Idles and the artistic director of Bristol Old Vic share book choices.

Madeleine Gray on her witty, heartbreaking novel, Green Dot, about a young woman's affair

a former professional footballer and a film critic pick their favourite books.

The crime writer and the singer aka Mull Historical Society choose favourite books

Michael Cunningham speaks to Johny Pitts about his new novel, Day.

Gerald Murnane talks to Chris Power about his writing life.

Pulitzer Prize winning author, Hisham Matar, discusses his new novel My Friends.

Chris Power is joined by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Aminatta Forna & Lucy Caldwell

Chris Power shares some of the highlights of the year on Open Book.

Johny Pitts speaks to Janice Hallett about her new book, The Christmas Appeal.

Ron Rash on his new book, The Caretaker.

The artist Chantal Joffe picks I Capture The Castle, the English classic by Dodie Smith. Set in 1930s rural England, it relates the adventures of an eccentric family over the course of about a year. It's a book Chantal has come back to again and again, ever since she was a teenager. Séamas O'Reilly champions the Irish novel, A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy, which he argues deserves to be more widely known. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a graphic memoir by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, called The Secret to Superhuman Strength.Chantal Joffe is an artist known for her often larger-than-life-sized paintings, of women and children in particular, which have been shown in solo exhibitions around the world. Séamas O'Reilly is a columnist for the Observer whose memoir is Did Ye Hear Mammy Die.Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

Award winning novelist Alexis Wright talks to Chris Power.

The presenter and the sociologist share favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Crime writer Femi Kayode on his new novel, Gaslight.

The journalist and the writer talk to Harriett about favourite books.

Chris Power talks to Teju Cole about his wide-ranging and powerful new novel, Tremor.

Good books chosen by well known guests as reading recommendations

Books worth reading chosen by Harriett Gilbert and guests

Elizabeth Day and Johny Pitts discuss AI and the novel.

The TV presenter and the writer share favourite books with Harriett.

Chris Power speaks to Karl Ove Knausgård about his new book, The Wolves of Eternity

Artist Cornelia Parker is with the chef Jeremy Lee and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to pick their all-time favourite books. Cornelia chooses South by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the story of his extraordinary journey to Antarctica. Jeremy is a fan of the food writer Elizabeth David, and recommends her book of essays, Omlette and a Glass of Wine. Finally Harriett Gilbert suggests the novel Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie, centred on two American academics' escapades in London. Cornelia has recently had solo shows at the Tate Britain and the Metropolitan Museum of New York; Jeremy is chef-proprietor of Quo Vadis restaurant in Soho and author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

The US author and psychiatrist on his new novel, North Woods

The children's TV presenter and stand up comedian advocate for favourite books.

Lydia Davis on the writing of Our Strangers.

Two guests choose their favourite books

Ben Lerner and Anne Enright on poetry and fiction

Elizabeth Day talks to the novelist Zadie Smith about her new novel, The Fraud.

Cases to baffle and intrigue. What to expect from BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra’s treasure trove of murder mysteries. Available only on BBC Sounds.

George Orwell Now

Ayelet Gundar-Goshen speaks to Johny Pitts about her new book, The Wolf Hunt

Octavia Bright talks to Ann Patchett about her captivating new novel. Tom Lake is the story of a young actor Lara under the spell of a future Hollywood star, but it is also about how she retells that story in later life to her adult daughters, and the power of storytelling itself. Two masters of historical fiction, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S. J. Parris (aka Stephanie Merritt) discuss the allure of magic and mysticism in their latest books set either side of the Enlightenment. Plus Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah recalls the enchanting tale behind the book he'd never lend. Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Johny Pitts explores Birmingham's literary heritage and contemporary writing scene.

Author and cultural critic Olivia Laing, whose books include The Lonely City, Funny Weather and Everybody, is joined by fashion writer and curator Charlie Porter, of What Artists Wear and Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion, and presenter Harriett Gilbert, to talk about the books they love. Olivia recommends Bad Blood by literary critic Lorna Sage - a memoir of her eccentric childhood and adolescence in 1940s rural Wales. Charlie loves Honey From A Weed by Patience Gray, a cookbook which exalts local knowledge and seasonal cooking, taking readers to a time and place far removed from modern life. And Harriett brings The English Understand Wool, a 2022 novella by American author Helen DeWitt, which takes unexpected twists and turns and which Harriett argues, merits reading more than once. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio

Elizabeth Day celebrates the centenary year of the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard

More book recommendations from actor Niamh Cusack and author Elly Griffiths

Susanna Hoffs and Nina Wadia choose their good reads

Johny Pitts speaks to Megan Nolan about her new novel, Ordinary Human Failings. The book explores the demonization of an Irish family and tabloid journalism in nineties London following a shocking tragedy. Plus what is the best crime fiction out there this summer? Vaseem Khan, incoming chair of the Crime Writers Association, and critic Laura Wilson give their tips, from hot new psychological thrillers to reissued classics. And Val McDermid chooses a very modern-feeling 1940s whodunit for her Book I'd Never Lend. Book List – Sunday 16 July and Thursday 20 July Ordinary Human Failing by Megan Nolan Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan Grave Expectations by Alice Bell The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh The Wheel of Doll by Jonathan Ames Alchemy by SJ Parris The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey

Richard Ford talks to Alex Clark about his latest novel, Be Mine.

The actor-comedian and the poet advocate for their favourite books

Biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake (of 'Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures') is joined by the science journalist Jo Marchant (of 'Human Cosmos' and 'Cure') and presenter Harriett Gilbert. Merlin picks 'The Age of Wonder' by Richard Holmes, a biographical portrait of scientific innovators in the late 18th century. In this historical book. Holmes explores the scientific ferment that swept across Britain, and how it became an age of great discovery. Jo's choice, 'You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto', is by computer scientist and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier. In this prescient book from 2010, Jaron delves into the digital world, examining what went wrong in its development, and how we might fix these problems. And Harriett recommends the classic, magical children's novel, 'The Sword In The Stone' by T. H. White, which she argues merits re-reading as an adult. Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol. Comment on Instagram @agoodreadbbc

Jenny Erpenbeck talks to Octavia Bright about her novel Kairos

The comedian and the writer talk to Harriett about favourite books, including one of Orwell's less well known novels, Coming Up for Air, chosen by Hal after he played the central character in a one man show. Daisy has gone for Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin, and Harriett loves Jenny Diski's Stranger on a Train, a travel memoir by someone who is not too keen on travel. Producer Sally Heaven

Tragicomic Writing with Paul Murray plus guests Josie Long, Katherine Heiny & Jen Beagin

Journalist, broadcaster and author Zing Tsjeng and poet Yomi Ṣode join presenter Harriett Gilbert to talk about the books they love. Zing chooses a book set in the heart of New York City's queer community. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is centred on the lives of Reece, a trans woman, her ex Ames, and her ex's new lover, Katrina. Yomi recommends Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut book, Open Water, a lyrical romance story set in South East London. And Harriett's choice is Intimacies, a novel by Katie Kitamura, where the main character is an interpreter at the International Court in The Hague, where unease bubbles below the surface of the novel's cool narration. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas

Leila Slimani, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Kalaf Epalanga

The two writers talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Johny Pitts talks to Guy Gunaratne about their new novel Mister, Mister

Linda Grant, Xiaolu Guo and Alice Vincent

Deborah Levy, Miranda France and Kate Morton

Johny Pitts talks to the debut novelist about The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa

Booker winning writer Marlon James talks to Elizabeth Day

Octavia Bright discusses Granta's once in a decade list of new writing talent

Contemporary Indian Writing in the spotlight

The author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series, Donna Leon, is joined by writer-entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan and the presenter Harriett Gilbert. Donna has chosen a book by an author she greatly admires, Ross MacDonald, who she read before she became a writer herself. His 1971 noir novel, The Underground Man, follows a detective as he tries to track down a missing child, whilst a mysterious fire rages through the hills of Southern California. Margaret loves Butcher's Crossing, the lesser-known book by John Williams, the author of Stoner. Set in 1871, this is about a young Harvard drop-out who heads out into the American West to discover a new way of living and which Margaret describes as an 'anti-Western' novel. Meanwhile Harriett's choice is A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam, which follows a mother's struggle to protect her children as Bangladesh fights for independence. Produced by Eliza Lomas. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Chris Power discusses the last novel from the late Spanish writer Javier Marías.

Author Katherine May and poet Liz Berry talk about their favourite books with Harriett.

Eleanor Catton talks to Chris Power about her new eco-thriller, Birnam Wood

The newsreader and the writer chat about books with Harriett.

Johny Pitts explores the work of two writers who have combined comedy with tragedy

The broadcaster and comedian discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Psychotherapist writer Philippa Perry and Professor of Neuroscience Anil Seth join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love. Anil Seth, who explores consciousness and the self in his book Being You, recommends Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, where our near-future world is seen through the eyes of an Artificial Friend. Philippa Perry's choice is A Stranger City by Linda Grant, a novel with a mystery at its heart and is about how lives interweave in the city. And Harriett Gilbert loves the non-fiction book Being Mortal by American surgeon Atul Gawande, which asks what medicine is for in the face of death. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol

Tom Bullough on writing about the climate crisis, and Richard Wright's lost novel

Columnist at The Times James Marriott and arts journalist for The Guardian Jude Rogers discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. James picks The Past by Tessa Hadley, a contemporary novel about family, place and the modern world encroaching upon the old; Jude recommends Border Country by Raymond Williams, a semi-autobiographical story of a man returning home to his small village on the Welsh borders, and how it's changed over a century; and Harriett loves A Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt, about a woman re-examining her life in after her husband's rejection. Do you agree with their assessments? Join us on Instagram @agoodreadbbc Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Chris Power talks to Aleksandar Hemon about his new novel The World and All That It Holds

Art historian Kate Bryan and comedian Mark Steel talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books. Kate loves Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing, an inspiring collection of essays which make a case for why art matters. Mark is a big fan of Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle, a comedic memoir about growing up in a Jewish atheist communist family in Liverpool. And Harriett puts forward Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, in which a present-day story converges with ancient rituals to provoke a discussion about how far we have come from the “primitive minds” of our ancestors. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc Produced by Becky Ripley

Bret Easton Ellis

Favourite books chosen by well known guests and presenter Harriett Gilbert

Guest choose favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert

Chris Power discusses one of the most talked about trends in publishing

Monica Heisey talks to Johny Pitts about her debut novel about divorce in your twenties

Jane Smiley, and writing gay lives from the past with Tom Crewe and Nell Stevens

Chris Power explores the writing of Katherine Mansfield on the centenary of her death.

Johny Pitts explores the Queen of Crime's connection to the festive season

Chris Power talks to the author of The Golden Mole and Other Living Treasures.

Chris Power discusses a year in books with Ellah Wakatama and Kate Mosse.

Books about tidying, music and addiction, and a desire to write are this week's choices.

Mariana Enríquez

A disgraced university tutor, a dysfunctional family, and a love-letter to literature.

Cormac McCarthy, The Writers, Derek Owusu

Two very-different memoirs and a tale of two women on an adventure feature this week.

Barbara Kingsolver, plus the "Social Novel" with John Lanchester and Ayisha Malik

Comedians Heidi Regan and Neil Delamere discuss their favourite all-time books with Harriett Gilbert. Heidi chooses a non-fiction book on the cult of positive thinking by the late Barbara Ehrenreich, called Smile or Die. Neil suggests a novel by Ronan Hession about two unambitious friends in their thirties; Leonard and Hungry Paul, and Harriett picks the novella Foster by Irish writer Claire Keegan, who has recently been nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize. Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol Join the conversation on Instagram @agoodreadbbc

The comedian Ria Lina - who's appeared on the BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week - joins Otegha Uwagba - author of Little Black Book, Whites and We Need to Talk About Money - to talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love. Ria chooses Moll Flanders, the 18th-century classic by Daniel Defoe. Otegha picks the popular romance story Like Water for Chocolate by Mexican author Laura Esquivel and Harriett Gilbert brings a book about motherhood; Making Babies by Anne Enright. Produced by Eliza Lomas Comment on Instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Chris Power talks to Colm Tóibín about his essays on illness, religion and literature

The poet and the writer choose their favourite books.

Writing Nature

The writers choose the books they love to read.

William Boyd discusses his new novel, The Romantics.

The broadcaster and the comedian choose books they love

Celeste Ng and Grief and modern masculinity with Bobby Palmer and Michael Pedersen

Two writers who cover crime, football and music share their favourite books with Harriett

Orhan Pamuk, Patterson Joseph and Torrey Peters.

Maggie O'Farrell, Graphic Novels with Lizzy Stewart and Posy Simmonds, plus Anuradha Roy

Chris Power talks to Ian McEwan about his new book, Lessons.

Alex Clark on novels - past, present and future - about summer and change

Mary Renault's Greek Myths

Octavia Bright talks to Ross Raisin about his new book, A Hunger.

The Ethics of Writing Crime

Writer Salena Godden chooses Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, a book she's re-read many times and returns to now – older, wiser and with even greater empathy for its protagonist. Author-illustrator Rob Biddulph recommends When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle, named Children’s Fiction Book of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards, which brought him to tears and conjures London in the Blitz so vividly. Presenter Harriett Gilbert picks Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore, the story of a heart transplanted from one life to another. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

Tess Gunty on The Rabbit Hutch; Jackie Kay on the writing of Jamaica Kincaid

Columnist Melanie Reid adores This is Not About Me by Janice Galloway, a tragicomic account of her turbulent childhood in mid-century Scotland. Presenter Harriett Gilbert thinks John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a true masterpiece, and sports broadcaster (and famous dog owner) Andrew Cotter recommends The Wild Places by fellow mountain-lover Robert Macfarlane. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

Summer Reading and Benjamin Wood

Sophie Hannah and Viv Groskop join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books they love. Sophie, an Agatha Christie expert and superfan, recommends The Rose and the Yew Tree, a book – misleadingly billed as a romance, she says – that Christie wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. She claims it can rival any detective novel for suspense and intrigue. Will Harriett and Viv agree? Harriett champions Dame Eileen Atkin’s recent memoir Will She Do? which charts the first 30 years of the actor's life, including her time as a child soubrette, performing in working men’s clubs as ‘Baby Eileen’. Writer, podcaster and stand-up Viv Groskop recalls her time living in Russia in the 1990s and explains why she thinks The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, a 1920s satire about science gone very wrong, will become increasingly relevant in the months and years ahead. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sarah Goodman.

Johny Pitts returns to his home city to explore Sheffield's literary landscapes

The broadcaster Petroc Trelawny, host of the Radio 3 Breakfast show, and the crime writer Stuart MacBride, author of the bestselling Logan McRae and Ash Henderson crime thrillers, talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love. Petroc's choice is dystopian J. B. Ballard novel The Drought, Stuart's is the Hollywood memoir by David Niven, The Moon's A Balloon, and Harriett's is Borges and Me by Jay Parini. Produced by Eliza Lomas. Comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Dr Alex George and Ella Al Shamahi choose books they love

Revisiting the 1990s

The comedian and the writer discuss favourite books

Johny Pitts discusses time with three writers who have explored it in very different ways

The novelist and the podcaster propose favourite books for discussion

Johny Pitts talks to author of Either/Or, sequel to the 2017 bestseller The Idiot

Omid Djalili and Nikita Lalwani choose books they love

Johny Pitts talks to Benjamin Myers about his new book, The Perfect Golden Circle.

Chris Power talks to Atticus Lish about his new novel, The War for Gloria.

Neurodiversity

Elizabeth Day talks to David Whitehouse about his new creative nonfiction

Julian Barnes; How Words Get Good; Bangkok Postcard

Forbidden love with Douglas Stuart; Oxford’s influence on interwar writers

Belfast in the Blitz

Two actors choose their favourite books

The two actors choose books they love

Here Again Now, Readers Guide to Gogol, Lessons in Chemistry

The actor and the thriller writer chat about books with Harriett Gilbert.

Karen Joy Fowler on the infamous Booth family, Michel the Giant and Lisa Taddeo

The comedian and the writer talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

A life in books with Marlon James

The actor and the writer debate books with Harriett Gilbert

Katie Thistleton and Suzannah Lipscomb bring their favourite books to the table.

Elizabeth Day talks to Audrey Magee about her latest novel The Colony

CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry and comedian Rob Deering share their favourite books.

Johny Pitts talks to Trinidadian author Ayanna Lloyd Banwo about her debut novel When We Were Birds. It is a carefully crafted story set in the backstreets of Trinidad, where a young man called Darwin has newly arrived in the city of Port Angeles looking for a fresh start and his lost father. He’s forced to shed his Rastafarian faith in order to pick up the only work going, as a gravedigger in a sprawling cemetery full of secrets. In a parallel story, Yejide lives with her dying mother in an old house on a hill and is about to inherit a super-natural ancestral power passed on down through the women of the family. The novel blends myth, magic, and indigenous wisdom with everyday struggle and is, ultimately, a passionate love story between two lost souls. Alex Preston's latest novel Winchelsea is set in the 18th century as a young woman enters into the cut throat world of smugglers in a quest to avenge her father’s death. And today he takes us through the stormy relationship some of our literary smugglers have had with the truth and the real smugglers that inspired them… We’ll be exploring the exquisite racial riddle at the heart of Toni Morrison’s first and only short story, Recitatif, with the author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow, Tayari Jones as it's published in hardback for the first time.

The natural world, leadership styles aboard a submarine and sibling rivalry in Scotland.

The ‘new boom’ of feminist Spanish-language literature.

Writers Katherine Rundell and Nathan Filer bring their favourite books to the table.

The gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh and the Yorkshire shepherdess choose books

Gary Shteyngart's tragic comedy set in lockdown, Richard Beard on Time, East Side Voices

Tessa Hadley, Richard Beard on Time and two pioneering female book sellers.

Open Book explores the enduring legacy of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Hanya Yanagihara speaks to Chris Power about her new book, To Paradise.

Elizabeth Day and Johny Pitts look back at highlights of their first year at Open Book.

Laura Barnett, Moscow Postcard, Non- Fiction 2021

Claire Keegan talks to Chris Power about her new book, Small Things Like These.

Comedian and writer Liam Williams and musician Kate Stables pick their favourite books.

Elizabeth Strout discusses her new novel, Oh William!

The artist Kaffe Fassett and musician Andy Summers ex The Police choose books they love

JJ Bola, David Damrosch and Rob Doyle plus Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Taskeen Ahmed

Friends, sisters and serial killers all feature in the book choices for this week. Writer and stand-up comedian Athena Kugblenu picks 'My Sister the Serial Killer' by Oyinkan Braithwaite, a darkly comic tale which is as much about sibling rivalry as it is about murder. Nell Dunn's memoir about love and friendship, 'The Muse', is Harriett Gilbert's pick. And Pope Lonergan selects 'African Psycho' by Alain Mabanckou for its challenging portrayal of a frustrated and violent protagonist. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field Follow our instagram book group @agoodreadbbc

The ghost stories of Edith Wharton and Lustre by Raven Leilani are the guests' choices

Patricia Highsmith, Robin McLean, Courttia Newland

The NHS palliative care doctor and author Rachel Clarke (Breathtaking, Dear Life) and the barrister and author Mohsin Zaidi (A Dutiful Boy) share the books that inspire them with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Rachel chooses The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, a memoir about locked-in syndrome by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Mohsin picks a collection of essays, speeches, and poems by African-American author and poet Audre Lorde, Your Silence Will Not Protect You. And Harriett shares with them a crime novel, Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol, Eliza Lomas. Follow our instagram book group @agoodreadbbc

Friendship in Fiction: a special programme from London Literature Festival

Friendship in Fiction: a special programme from London Literature Festival

Writers Musa Okwonga (One of Them, Striking Out) and Sophie Heawood (The Hungover Games) share their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Musa chooses The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross, a crime novel set in the Caribbean. Sophie picks Lunch Poems, a collection by Frank O'Hara written on the streets of New York and Harriett introduces them to An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel, written before her Booker-winning Wolf Hall trilogy. Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol, Eliza Lomas. comment on instagram at @agoodreadbbc

Elizabeth Day talks to Sarah Hall about her latest novel, Burntcoat

Two poets and writers choose books that they love.

Johny Pitts talks to Lauren Groff about her novel Matrix.

Two guests discuss books they love this week on a science theme

Jonathan Franzen, Amitav Ghosh, Nina Mingya Powles

Pianist and broadcaster Neil Brand actor/comedian Tiff Stevenson choose books they love

Rabih Alameddine, English PEN at 100 with Philippe Sands and Elif Shafak, Editors' Pick

Malorie Blackman talks to Johny Pitts about Endgame

Elizabeth Day talks to Colson Whitehead in a special feature length interview.

Johny Pitts explores the 20s with Alison MacLeod, Bill Goldstein, James Clammer & Jo Hamya

David Grossman, Richard Beard, The Sea Library

Chris Power talks to author of The Country of Others. Plus nonfiction books on motherhood

Chris Power talks to author behind TV hit The Undoing about her latest book, The Plot

Cats, a wrestling princess and grief.

Elizabeth Day talks to Anuk Arudpragasam about his new novel, A Passage North

Two acting greats advocate for their favourite books.

Chris Power speaks to Miranda Cowley Heller about her debut The Paper Palace

Japanese fiction; Vendela Vida

The two musicians choose favourite books

The Greek politician chooses a good read along with novelist Patrick McGrath

Elizabeth Day speaks to Damon Galgut about his new novel, The Promise.

Harriett Gilbert talks to Janey Godley and Mel Hudson about books they love.

Elizabeth Day talks to Zakiya Dalila Harris about her debut novel, The Other Black Girl

The actor and the journalist share favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Chris Power speaks to Jonathan Lee about his new novel, The Great Mistake

Tears, hope and identity. The comedian, the Radio 1 presenter, and their favourite books.

Tech startups in fiction; Editor's tip; Sensitivity reading

New Irish Writing, Book Dedications, Mary Gaitskill on Madame Bovary

Hollie McNish, Modern American Short Stories, Twins

Elizabeth Day talks to the writer Jhumpa Lahiri, whose latest novel, Whereabouts, was originally written in Italian, a language she learned in her 40s. Whereabouts tells the story of an unnamed middle-aged woman who meanders through a Northern Italian city, sharing her observations on everything from having a manicure to walking a friend’s dog. Lahiri builds up a mosaic of such moments, interspersing them with deeper glimpses into the woman’s relationship with her parents and the sudden death of her father when she was 15. Jhumpa Lahiri has long been interested in themes of dislocation and belonging, the daughter of Bengali immigrants who moved to New York, her first book, The Interpreter of Maladies, was a short story collection which won a Pulitzer Prize. The programme also explores the life and writing of the English mid century writer Barbara Pym. Best known for her novels, Excellent Women, Jane and Prudence, and A Glass of Blessings, Pym created sharp observational comedies in which little happens, but a great deal is conveyed. Paula Byrne has written an illuminating new biography, The Adventures of Miss Pym, and talks to Elizabeth about the connections between her tumultuous life and her writing, and they are joined by the writer and lifelong Pym fan, Philip Hensher.

Johny Pitts talks to Jon McGregor about his latest novel Lean Fall Stand, inspired by a trip to Antarctica. Opening with sparse, barely describable landscape in the midst of a storm, it follows Robert "Doc" Wright's recovery in the aftermath and sensitively examines heroism, modern masculinity and the failure of words. Chester Himes is an often overlooked favour of his Black American contemporaries Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright and James Baldwin, despite also attempting to carve out a literary career in Paris. With his better-known Harlem detective series being reissued, his biographer Lawrence P. Jackson and crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell discuss his prescient legacy. And looking ahead to next month, Francesca Main of Phoenix Books chooses a multi-generational story of love, family and Indian history as her Editor's Tip. BOOK LIST: Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes Cotton Comes to Harlem by Chester Himes Lonely Crusade by Chester Himes Cast the First Stone by Chester Himes If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Himes Chester B Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P Jackson Shelter by Lawrence P Jackson China Room by Sunjeev Sahota

Elizabeth Day talks to Chris Power, writer of the short story collection Mothers, about his debut novel A Lonely Man. Robert Prowe is a struggling writer living in Berlin with his wife and two young daughters. One night he meets Patrick, a stranger with a story to tell, who is a ghostwriter for a Russian oligarch who is now being followed. Robert finds himself seduced by Patrick's dramatic story, wondering if it might provide the inspiration he needs for his own novel, and becomes caught up in a paranoid world of threats that may or, may not, be real. Swipe Right is Radio 4's series of short stories written by young writers under 30; Caleb Nelson, Bryan Washington, Naoise Dolan, Rebecca Watson, and Beth O'Leary. The series explores relationships and sex in the modern world, characters searching for love in a myriad of ways. Novelists Beth O'Leary, Flatshare, The Switch, and Okechukwu Nzelu, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, share their thoughts of the joys and challenges of writing love stories in an online world. And Trisha Sakhlecha whose novel Can You See Me Now is a pacey, psychological thriller exploring female friendship against a backdrop of Indian politics, sends a literary postcard from Delhi. Book List A Lonely Man by Chris Power The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary The Switch by Beth O’Leary The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu The Fourth Hand by John Irving Less by Andrew Sean Greer The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang Can you see me now by Trisha Sackhlecha We That Are Young by Preti Taneja Society by Mahesh Rao The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

Johny Pitts visits his local bookshop, Review in Peckham, as it prepares to reopen and talks to manager Ben Pope about missing bookseller recommendations Naomi Ishiguro discusses her debut novel Common Ground, about a friendship across a cultural divide and the importance of open space for everyone. And we reflect on making room in our homes for Spring. Do books count as clutter? Eleanor Ray and Jess Kidd, two authors who have written about hoarding, discuss.

Chess, drugs and dentistry- the two writers chat to Harriett about their favourite books

Johny Pitts discusses working-class rural life with Claire Fuller and Karla Neblett

Actor Adjoa Andoh, Bridgerton's Lady Danbury, and CBeebies presenter Andy Day share books

Elizabeth Day talks to Fiona Mozley about her second novel, Hot Stew.

Husband & wife team - the Radio 1 Breakfast host and the writer talk up their top reads.

Elizabeth Day talks to Pulitzer Prize winning writer Viet Thanh Nguyen about The Committed

The news presenter and the author both talk about the books they've chosen

The comedian and the books blogger talk to Harriett about their favourite books

Elizabeth Day talks to Mary Lawson

The writer/drag performer and the television executive talk books with Harriett

Johny Pitts talks to Caleb Azumah Nelson about Open Water, his hotly anticipated debut

Does a Tiger Come to Tea? Harriett Gilbert finds out

Elizabeth Day talks to actor Ethan Hawke about his new novel.

The actress and the environmentalist talk about much loved books with Harriett Gilbert.

The poet and the comedian talk climbing, science fiction, and love with Harriett Gilbert.

Richard Flanagan; How To Read Well; Editor's Tip

Kate Mosse, Books on TV, Writing in prisons

Elizabeth Day talks to debut writer Raven Leilani.

Bryan Washington, Natalie Haynes, Trauma in fiction with Rebecca Watson & Peter Ho Davies

Reading in 2020

Johny Pitts and guests explore the dazzling brilliance of Charles Dickens

Jonathan Lethem; Sylvia Townsend Warner; Edna O'Brien

The journalist and the critic nominate favourite books

Jenny Erpenbeck, Margaret Atwood on a classic dystopia, Paintings in fiction

Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, & Professor Lucie Green, presenter on The Sky At Night, discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Johny Pits asks writers Carys Bray and Diana McCaulay how stories offer hope and motivate action to address environmental crisis

Poet Vanessa Kisuule and environmental writer Jonathon Porritt talk books with Harriett.

Chris Power talks to Jonathan Coe about bringing Billy Wilder to life in his new novel.

Travel and food writer Yasmin Khan and novelist David Mitchell talk books.

Rumaan Alam, Words and Photography, Bookshop.org

The comedian and novelist choose favourites including The Sellout by Paul Beatty.

Daliso can't believe Jonathan's never read a fantasy novel before his choice, Seventh Son

Sara Collins talks to Hilary Mantel about her essay collection

Toni Morrison's Beloved and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Again are the books on the table

Armando Iannucci and John Mullan on Dickens; John Lanchester; new Black British writing

Romance in Marseilles, Butterfly Politics & This is Pleasure.Harriett Gilbert talks books

Jennifer Makumbi, New Dutch Writing, Barbara Kingsolver and Wild Swimming in literature

Ruth Jones and Dominic Cooke share their favourite reads with Harriett Gilbert.

Martin Amis

Rose Tremain; Science in Fiction

Donal Ryan, Libraries in Fiction, Campus Novels

Alex Clark talks to Richard Powers about his new novel, The Overstory.

Sara Collins speaks to Sarah Moss about history, holidays and her new novel Summerwater

Johny Pitts looks at the life and work of crime novelist P D James

Chris Power talks to Carys Davies about her new book, The Mission House

Journalist and author Nicholas Lezard and former Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams introduce their favourite reads to Harriett Gilbert. Nicholas chooses Watt by Samuel Beckett, a comic novel unlike any other. Gwyneth's favourite is The Leopard, Lampedusa's classic tale of Sicilian aristocracy, and Harriett champions The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, a story of grief, writing and dogs. Producer Sally Heaven. Join our instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc

Kate Grenville, Beryl Bainbridge, Narrative Voices

Comedian Sarah Keyworth and author Lissa Evans talk about books they love with Harriett Gilbert. Sarah chooses Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, Lissa picks Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks and Harriett shines a light on Lady into Fox by David Garnett. Producer: Becky Ripley. Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc

Elizabeth Day talks to Eley Williams about her new book, The Liar's Dictionary.

Fiona Shaw and Nicola Coughlan join Harriett Gilbert to talk books

Charlotte Wood, Travel Writing, Narrative Voice

Nina Sosanya and David Nicholls bring their favourite books to the table

American avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and radio DJ Stuart Maconie talk books.

Elizabeth Wetmore, Sebastian Barry and a re-working of Mary McCarthy's The Group

Val McDermid and Martha Lane Fox talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they really love.

Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Orlando King, Authors and Critics

Actresses Pippa Haywood and Felicity Montagu talk books with Harriett Gilbert.

Andrés Neuman, William Boyd on WW2 Novels, Singlit with Elaine Chiew

Natalie Carter & Melissa Cummings-Quarry (Black Girls Book Club) talk books with Harriett

Paul Mendez, Class & Society novels, Thomas Keneally on Dickens

Paul Mendez, Class & Society novels, Thomas Keneally on Dickens

Daniel Mason discusses new short story collection, A Registry Of My Passage On Earth.

Curtis Sittenfeld, Ian Rankin and Katherine Rundell

Award winning autor Tayari Jones discusses her novel Silver Sparrow.

Garth Greenwell talks to Mariella Frostrup about his new book Cleanness.

Ingrid Persaud, Short Fiction, Patricia Grace

Mariella Frostrup talks to Evie Wyld about new novel The Bass Rock

Books worth reading chosen by Nazir Afzal and Maggie Gee.

Maggie O'Farrell Sophie Hannah and Reading in Isolation

Helen Lederer and Angela Barnes nominate books they consider to be a good read.

Petina Gappah. Plus Henry Porter on adventure writing and the joys of fictional journeys.

Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri and actor Hugh Dennis choose favourite books.

Christos Tsiolkas, Mothers and Daughters in fiction, Nairobi books

Harriett Gilbert talks to Henry Normal and Bobby Seagull about their favourite books.

Kiley Reid, Lucy Foley and Abir Mukherjee, Peter Swanson

Books worth reading chosen by Neil Oliver and Neil Forsyth.

Books worth reading chosen by actor Richard Harrington and comedian Njambi McGrath

Colum McCann, George Orwell, new fiction set in Windrush-era London

Authors Gail Honeyman and Mavis Cheek talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Isabel Allende, Magic Realism, The Foundling

Sarah Phelps and Dane Baptiste talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they love.

100 Novels; Love and Romance with Marian Keyes, David Nicholls, Sara Collins

Harriett Gilbert talks to Syima Aslam and Stig Abell about books they love - all classics

Nick Hornby and Carlo Rovelli tell Harriett Gilbert about the books they love the most.

Jeanine Cummins on American Dirt, and forgotten classic The Street with Tayari Jones

Deepa Anappara and Rob Doyle on their new novels; Helen Fielding's book she'd never lend

100 Novels That Shaped Our World: Identity

Graham Greene special

Highlights of 2019

Benjamin Markovits, PG Wodehouse, Family rows in novels and child prodigies

2019 books, André Aciman and David Bowie

Comedian Russell Kane and novelist Sarah Perry talk favourite books with Harriett Gilbert

Lee Child and Pat Barker explore the heroic protagonist. Hanne Orstavik's novel, Love

Nemone Metaxas and Raymond Antrobus talk favourite books with presenter Harriett Gilbert.

Ben Lerner, Women's auto fiction and Ian Rankin

The Romany writer and broadcaster Damian Le Bas and author Amy Liptrot choose a good read

Kathy O'Shaughnessy talks to Mariella about her novel charting the life of George Eliot.

Comedian Stewart Lee and DJ author Dave Haslam choose their good reads

Lisa Jewell and Aditya Chakrabortty talk all about books with Harriett Gilbert.

Books worth reading chosen by actor John Gordon Sinclair and singer Kerry Ellis

Andrew Michael Hurley talks to Mariella Frostrup about new folk horror novel Starve Acre

The University of East Anglia's Creative Writing MA turns 50.

Poorna Bell and Tony Law join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books.

Emma Donoghue discusses her new novel Akin, plus a discussion of the best fiction spies.

Edith Bowman and Harry Baker discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Radiohead's bassist Colin Greenwood and comedian Joanne McNally recommend great books.

Dana Czapnik discusses her debut The Falconer and two writers talk about the Black Death.

Ann Patchett, Jia Tolentino and USA book picks with Jonathan Lee and Zack Graham.

Robert Harris discusses his new novel and reflects on 30 years of writing fiction.

Deborah Levy on her bestselling new novel, The Man Who Saw Everything.

A special edition of Open Book from the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Benjamin Myers on his latest The Offing, and Proust's In Search of Lost Time discussed.

Colm Tóibín reflects on the fathers of Irish greats and US bestseller Mary Beth Keane

David Nicholls on his new novel Sweet Sorrow and a reader's guide to Elizabeth Hardwick

Pam Hogg and Mark Billingham choose their books worth reading.

Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong discusses his debut novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Dolly Alderton and Clare Mackintosh talk about books they love to Harriett Gilbert.

On the centenary of her birth Open Book celebrates the novels of Iris Murdoch

Harriett Gilbert talks to Dom Joly and Kate Hamer about their favourite books.

Mathew Baynton and Aasmah Mir choose favourite books to recommend to Harriett Gilbert.

Will Eaves discusses Murmur, his award-winning novel about Alan Turing

Nicci Gerrard and Gary Younge join Harriett Gilbert to talk about their favourite books.

Irish author Kevin Barry, winner of the Impac Award and the Goldsmiths Prize, discusses his new novel Night Boat to Tangier, a dark comedy billed as Waiting For Godot meets In Bruges. Novelist and journalist Molly Flatt, who writes about culture and technology for the Bookseller, discusses a growing trend for book versions of successful podcasts. 25 years since the death of Derek Jarman, Mariella is joined by writers Philip Hoare and Mike Parker to explore queer nature writing, a genre concerned with the push and pull of the natural world, from a queer perspective.

Cathy Newman and Jeffery Deaver discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Carolina Setterwall and the pleasures of re-reading. With Mariella Frostrup.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Hannah Peel share the books they love with Harriett Gilbert.

Pajtim Statovci on his novel Crossing and we explore the work of Gerald Murnane

Stephen Morris and Pippa Evans tell presenter Harriett Gilbert about books they love.

Mia Couto and Wayétu Moore discuss two new African novels exploring colonialism and myth

Ben Smith and Julia Blackburn on Doggerland; Ghana's literary scene; Rosie Price

Bernardine Evaristo discusses her polyphonic new novel Girl, Woman, Other.

An exploration of the rich heritage and bright future of working class writing.

Ali Smith on her new novel, Spring, Easter Eggs in fiction and books to live by

Damian Barr, Candice Carty Williams, Beckett's novels and Julián Fuks literary postcard.

Taylor Jenkins Reid talks about her novel Daisy Jones & The Six. Also we discuss the best older characters in fiction and Reading Clinic suggests books for someone on death row.

Nicola Walker and Sarah Ann Kennedy discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Siri Hustvedt discusses her new novel Memories of the Future.

Harriett Gilbert talks favourite books with the comedian and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika and the cartoonist-author Martin Rowson. Ayesha chooses a novel from Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Martin picks Let's Kill Uncle by Rohan O'Grady, and Harriett's choice is In The Skin of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Producer: Eliza Lomas

Max Porter discusses his new novel Lanny.

The actors Sarah Hadland (Miranda, That Mitchell and Webb Look) and Russell Tovey (Being Human, The History Boys) recommend favourite books to presenter Harriett Gilbert. Sarah's choice is French hit The Elegance of The Hedgehog. Russell's is Close Range: Brokeback Mountain, made into a film with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and Harriett's is The Naked Civil Servant. Producer: Eliza Lomas

What Makes a Jewish Book; Colm Tóibín on Natalia Ginzburg; Censorship in Kuwait