Writer Jonathan Safran Foer and comedian Daliso Chaponda pick their favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert. What does Jonathan make of his first ever fantasy novel, Daliso's choice of Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card? Jonathan (author of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) nominates The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg as his good read, whereas Harriett goes for Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan, but will either of the guests enjoy this particular brand of absurdity?

Radio broadcaster Mark Radcliffe and playwright Patricia Cumper nominate their favourite books. Patricia chooses Toni Morrison's acclaimed novel Beloved, while Mark advocates for a very different writing style in Elizabeth Strout's Olive, Again. Harriett's pick is Helene Hanff's book of letters, 84 Charing Cross Road, which charmingly contrasts American chutzpah and British reserve in a long lost era.

Writer Johny Pitts and barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman talk to Harriett about the books that have inspired and entertained them. Johny chooses Romance in Marseilles, written in the 1930s by Harlem Renaissance writer Claude McKay but only published this year because it was considered so transgressive at the time. Charlotte describes how Butterfly Politics by the feminist and legal scholar Catharine A MacKinnon persuaded her not to leave the law, and some of the same themes of consent and sexual harassment are addressed in the form of a novel, This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill, which is Harriett's choice.

Writer, actor and Gavin and Stacey creator Ruth Jones, and theatre and film director Dominic Cooke share their favourite reads with Harriett Gilbert. Ruth chooses Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Dominic loves What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, and Harriett advocates for Prick Up Your Ears, John Lahr's biography of Joe Orton. Ruth and Dominic are old friends, but did they enjoy one another's books? And what happened to Ruth's pottery robot in her third set art class?

Producer Sally Heaven.

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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.

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.

Actors Fiona Shaw and Nicola Coughlan join Harriett Gilbert to talk books. Nicola's choice is The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson, Harriett recommends In a Lonely Place by Dorothy M Hughes and Fiona chooses Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Producer Sally Heaven

Actor Nina Sosanya and writer David Nicholls share their favourite books with Harriett. Nina chooses The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark is David's favourite. Harriett picks Beneath the Streets by Adam Macqueen, a thriller which asks: what if Jeremy Thorpe's hired thugs had been successful? Producer Sally Heaven

American avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and radio DJ and writer Stuart Maconie talk about favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Laurie chooses Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Stuart picks Sleep No More: Railway, Canal and Other Stories of the Supernatural by L.T.C. Rolt, one of the men who saved Britain's inland waterways, and Harriett introduces them to Me Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever: the first book on A Good Read to have been "written" by a chimpanzee.

Crime writer Val McDermid and businesswoman Martha Lane Fox talk to Harriett Gilbert about books they really love. Val's choice is This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright by Emma Smith, Martha's is How to be Both by Ali Smith and Harriett's is The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton.