A Good Read

By BBC Radio 4

Find reading inspiration with favourite books chosen by our guests.

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4.3

355355 ratings

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FAQs about A Good Read:

How many episodes does A Good Read have?

The podcast currently has 977 episodes available.

A Good Read episodes:

July 06, 2026 Daisy Dunn and Andrew Hunter Murray
The classicist and the author talk about books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. One of the books is eerily prescient about the state of the world today.
The books are:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, chosen by classicist Daisy Dunn
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household, chosen by podcaster and author Andrew Hunter Murray
A Life's Music by Andreï Makine, translated by Geoffrey Strachan, chosen by presenter Harriett Gilbert
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Beth O'Dea
Join us over on instagram @agoodreadbbc
Photo credit: Timothy Foster
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28min
June 29, 2026 Philippa Perry and Stuart Maconie
A special episode of A Good Read, recorded live at the Hay Festival. The books are:
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, chosen by psychotherapist and artist Philippa Perry
All Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills, chosen by presenter and writer Stuart Maconie
Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie, chosen by presenter Harriett Gilbert
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
Photo credit: Pal Hansen
...more
28min
June 22, 2026 Louise Welsh and Chris Brookmyre
Two Scottish crime writers choose books by:
Iain Banks (Espedair Street)
Muriel Spark (Memento Mori)
And Harriett's choice is Summer by Edith Wharton
Producer: Maggie Ayre BBC Audio Bristol
Photo credit: Julie Broadfoot
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28min
June 15, 2026 Harriet Tyce and Matt Edmondson
The books are:
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, chosen by Harriet Tyce
Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre, chosen by Matt Edmondson
Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven
Photo credit: Suki Dhanda
...more
28min
April 01, 2026 Patrick Grant and Mary-Ann Ochota
This time the community clothing entrepreneur and host of The Great British Sewing Bee Patrick Grant chooses his favourite book along with fellow guest anthropologist and broadcaster Mary-Ann Ochota.
The books are:
Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett
The Flow by Amy Jane Beer
Heatwave by Penelope Lively
Produced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
...more
28min
March 23, 2026 Maryam Moshiri and Doug Naylor
Newsreader Maryam Moshiri and Red Dwarf creator Doug Naylor discuss their chosen books, including Bridget Jones's Diary, with Harriett Gilbert.
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, chosen by Maryam Moshiri
Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell, chosen by Doug Naylor
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven
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28min
March 16, 2026 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 Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley
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28min
March 09, 2026 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
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28min
March 02, 2026 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
...more
28min
February 23, 2026 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
...more
28min

FAQs about A Good Read:

How many episodes does A Good Read have?

The podcast currently has 977 episodes available.