A Good Read

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - former barrister, Constance Briscoe and science journalist, Angela Saini - discuss favourite books by Jill Paton Walsh, Isaac Asimov and Muriel Spark.

Constance's choice: 'Knowledge Of Angels' by Jill Paton Walsh

Angela's choice: 'Foundation' by Isaac Asimov

Harriett's choice: 'Curriculum Vitae' by Muriel Spark

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.

Jane Green and Adele Parks discuss why Chick Lit arouses such passion and how the genre, which is more often ignored than celebrated or reviewed in the press, has helped to expand the literary market. Belinda Jack joins us to explore the rich and chequered history of women’s reading, and the controversies it has inspired. And Jamie Andrews, the lead curator of the British Library’s Writing Britain exhibition, discusses Rural Dreams and the countryside.

Harriett Gilbert' and her guests - actor, Larry Lamb (Gavin & Stacey) and writer, Ian Marchant.- discuss favourite books by Tim Winton, Alain Mabanckou and JL Carr.

Larry Lamb's choice: ‘Dirt Music’ by Tim Winton

Ian Marchant's choice: ‘How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup’ by JL Carr

Harriett Gilbert's choice: ‘African Psycho’ by Alain Mabanckou.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.

Recorded in A Room for London, the creative / living space in the shape of a boat on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank of the Thames, Open Book explores the impact the city has had on literature - from Chaucer and Dickens to Martin Amis and Peter Ackroyd; the themes it evokes and why it creates such a diverse backdrop to novels. Mariella Frostrup is joined by novelists who've all been charmed by London - Will Self, Amanda Craig, Dreda Say Mitchell and Ben Aaronovitch.

Columnist and author, Michele Hanson and Director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group, Roger Highfield join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Tobias Smollett, Siddhartha Mukherjee and John Le Carré.

Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

A Murder of Quality by John le Carré

First broadcast on Radio 4 in June 2012.

Lionel Shriver discusses her controversial novel The New Republic which looks at the relationship between terrorism, the media and achieving political goals. We speak to the author of the classic novel Mrs Bridge - a tale of a woman trapped in her comfortable 1930s mid America world - and to Joshua Ferris about its enduring appeal. And Francine Prose, who has lectured in literature for over twenty years, argues there is much to learn for writers and readers alike in the mining of the classic.

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - space scientist, Maggie Aderin-Pocock and music producer, William Orbit - discuss favourite books by John Wyndham, Janice Galloway and Tom Stoppard.

'Chocky' by John Wyndham

'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' by Tom Stoppard

'Trick Is To Keep Breathing' by Janice Galloway

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.

Deadly 60 presenter Steve Backshall and Editor of Gransnet Geraldine Bedell discuss their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Geraldine picks 'The Idea of Perfection' by Kate Grenville, a touching romance between two people in the eccentric little backwater of Karakarook, Australia.

Steve opts for a chilling ghost-story set around a scientific expedition to the Arctic Circle in 1937 - 'Dark Matter' by Michelle Paver.

Harriett's choice is 'In the Country of Men' by Hisham Matar, a tender coming-of-age story about nine-year-old Suleiman who becomes the man of the house when his father goes away on business.

Producer: Toby Field

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.

David Hewson explains how he's transported the cult Danish TV series The Killing into novel form and why readers should expect a twist in the tale. The programme looks at the experiences of writers and the state of publishing across Commonwealth countries with Jeremy Poynting, managing editor of Peepal Tree Press, and Lucy Hannah who runs the culture programme at the Commonwealth Foundation. And short story writer Helen Simpson discusses her new collection of her much loved tales dating back over 25 years.

Historian Orlando Figes discusses his book Just Send Me Word, the story of a young Muscovite exiled to a Soviet Arctic gulag and his relationship, through over one thousand five hundred letters, with his wife to be. Authors Anthony Quinn and Shehan Karunatilaka discuss how the game of cricket has inspired their latest books and Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands is a new exhibition at the British Library, where they have one hundred and fifty original items exploring how writers view Britain.