Blabbing with Booksellers - a Waterstones Brighton Podcast.

A wonderful episode in which Phil was able to invite Brighton-based illustrator Steven Lenton into his home.

Phil is very familiar with Steven's work, reading many of the books he has illustrated to his young toddler and so it was a treat to dig into Steven's creative process, sources of inspiration and future projects.

A fun one as always.

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Books mentioned:

Roald Dahl - The Witches

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-witches-the-roald-dahl-clothbound-collection/roald-dahl/9780241827697

Rachel Morrisroe and Steven Lenton - How To Grow...

https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-grow-a-unicorn/rachel-morrisroe/steven-lenton/9780241392201

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam - Tracey Corderoy/Steven Lendon

https://www.waterstones.com/book/shifty-mcgifty-and-slippery-sam/tracey-corderoy/steven-lenton/9780857631466

Genie and Teeny - Steven Lenton

https://www.waterstones.com/book/genie-and-teeny-make-a-wish/steven-lenton/9780008408206

Brume - Jérôme Pélissier/ Carine Hinder

https://www.waterstones.com/book/brume-volume-1/j-r-me-p-lissier/carine-hinder/9781662641244

This week Phil was delighted to be joined by the author of one of his all-time favourite books. That book is The Lamb. The author is, of course, Lucy Rose.

A wonderful chat in which Lucy digs into her writing process, the ongoing success of The Lamb, her approach to creativity post-neurodivergence diagnosis, upcoming work and even a mutual love for Dungeons and Dragons.

We're back with a super interesting episode this week. Phil's guests are Adam and Andy from "Action Your Potential", an actionable neuroscience company whose aim is to educade people in neuroscience and psychology to create positive change through understanding.

It's a fascinating and very different episode with some incredible insight and reading recommendations for those looking to create some change in their lives through better habits.

Books discussed:

Action Your Potential

https://www.actionyourpotential.org/

Atomic Habits

https://www.waterstones.com/book/atomic-habits/james-clear/9781847941831

Courage To Be Disliked - Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-courage-to-be-disliked/ichiro-kishimi/fumitake-koga/9781760630737

The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-artists-way/julia-cameron/9781788164290

The Dose Effect

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dose-effect/tj-power/9780008667290

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir

https://www.waterstones.com/book/project-hail-mary/andy-weir/9781529157468

The Hotel Avocado - Bob Mortimer

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hotel-avocado/bob-mortimer/9781398529656

Being You - Anil Seth

https://www.waterstones.com/book/being-you/professor-anil-seth/9780571337729

Incognito - David Eagleman

https://www.waterstones.com/book/incognito/david-eagleman/9781782112464

Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker

https://www.waterstones.com/book/why-we-sleep/matthew-walker/9780141983769

Phil is beyond excited to share this episode with you all.

He sat down with legendary director Tim Pope to chat all about his new book "I Shoot Rockstars" and his life and career working with, alongside and around some of the biggest names in music.

As a lifelong music nerd, this was a fun one to record and the book sounds fantastic. Be sure to check it out when it releases on 13th August 2025 - limited signed editions are available on Waterstones.com

Books discussed:

I Shoot Rock Stars - Tim Pope

https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-shoot-rock-stars/tim-pope/9781035448210

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

https://www.waterstones.com/books/search/term/the+wasp+factory

Flicker - Theodore Roszak

Candide - Voltaire

https://www.waterstones.com/book/candide-and-other-stories/voltaire/9781857151305

Cognitive Dissident: Conversations With The The's Matt Johnson - Matt Johnson and Jason Wood

https://www.waterstones.com/book/cognitive-dissident/matt-johnson/jason-wood/9781915841650

Easy Riders Raging Bulls - Peter Biskind

https://www.waterstones.com/book/easy-riders-raging-bulls/peter-biskind/9780747544210

High Concept - Charles Fleming

https://www.waterstones.com/book/high-concept/charles-fleming/9780747542629

Curepedia: The Story of The Cure - Simon Price

https://www.waterstones.com/book/curepedia/simon-price/9781474619356

Every Man For Himself And Go Against All - Werner Herzog

https://www.waterstones.com/book/every-man-for-himself-and-god-against-all/werner-herzog/michael-hofmann/9781529923865

Dream Brother - David Browne

https://www.waterstones.com/book/dream-brother/david-browne/9781857029895

This week Phil sat down with David, another Senior Bookseller from the store who is found mostly amongst our Non-Fiction work.

It's a wonderful chat in which David opens up with vulnerability about his journey with Personal Development and Self-Help and how that informs not only his worldview, but also his interactions with customers in our store.

Recommendations aplenty in this one so here's a list of which titles came up:

Rupert The Bear Annual

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-rupert-annual-2026/rupert-bear/farshore/9780008682262

Simple Electronics - Ladybird Books

Richard Dawkins - Selfish Gene

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-selfish-gene/richard-dawkins/9780198985389

Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-god-delusion/richard-dawkins/9781804997123

Anil Seth - Being You

https://www.waterstones.com/book/being-you/professor-anil-seth/9780571337729

Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-alchemist/paulo-coelho/9780722532935

Richard N Bolles - What Color Is Your Parachute?

https://www.waterstones.com/book/what-color-is-your-parachute-2023/richard-n-bolles/9781984861207

Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird

https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird/harper-lee/9781784752637

John Williams - Stoner

waterstones.com/books/search/term/stoner+williams

Ursula K Le Guin - The Word For The World

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-word-for-world/ursula-k-le-guin/sarah-shin/9781068591815

Jeff VanderMeer - Annihilation

https://www.waterstones.com/book/annihilation/jeff-vandermeer/9780008139100

I hope it goes without saying that I was utterly thrilled to be able to chat to Norman Cook for this episode. He's a worldwide musical megastar and is now dipping his toes into new waters with the release of his wonderful book, a photographic restrospective look at his career entitled "It Ain't Over ... 'Til The Fatboy Sings".

We chat about everything from cultural influence, the composition of the book itself, music videos, the experience of playing iconic music venues and the sense of togetherness, community and connection that is central to his work.

A really fun and interesting chat and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you.

I was over the moon to be joined by Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters and the fantastic new title; The Girl With A Thousand Faces.

Join us as we chat about Sunyi's journey as an author, take a closer look at both of her full length novels with some wonderful insight into her creative process, cultural influences and narrative structure.

Sunyi's Book Recommendations:

Harbour Of Hungry Ghosts - Eliza Chan

https://www.waterstones.com/book/harbour-of-hungry-ghosts/eliza-chan/9780356526607

When Sleeping Women Wake - Emma Pei Yin

https://www.waterstones.com/book/when-sleeping-women-wake/emma-pei-yin/9781529440706

There Is No Antimemetics Division - QNTM

https://www.waterstones.com/book/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/qntm/9781529953176

In this episode we meet Steve, a senior bookseller who works primarily on the Children's floor of our store. He's a space-obsessed, Sci-Fi enthusiast who loves to learn and inspire young readers through humour, imagination and fun.

A really lovely episode. There's something here for everyone.

Books discussed:

Don't Trust Fish - Neil Sharpton

The Lost Robot - Joe Todd-Stanton

Butterfly Garden - Harry Woodgate

Monkeypig - Huw Aaron

Sleep Tight Disgusting Blob - Huw Aaron

Huge Numbers - Richard Elwes

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Robert Rankin - Trout Mask Replica

Robert Rankin - The Anti-Pope

The Ascent Of Rumdoodle - W. E. Bowman

Wildlands - Brogan Murphy

Murder by Narwhal - Alex T. Smith

Grimstink - Daniel Peake

Mallory Vale and the Curse of Maggoty Skull - Martin Howard

People Need People - Benjamin Zephaniah

Fungus The Bogeyman - Raymond Briggs

Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder

I was absolutely delighted to be joined by Irish Times Best Selling Author Kim Curran this week.

I adored both The Morrigan and Brigid, both of which are steeped in Irish folklore and mythology, using Kim's unique voice to tell the stories of two of the most incredible women of Western mythology and history.

Join us as we chat all about Kim's journey into writing, her exploration of different genres, deep dives into both The Morrigan and Brigid as well as brief look at what the future holds.

See you on the shop floor.

In this episode I'm joined by Rich, one of our managers at the Brighton store. Anyone that follows our social media channels will be familiar with Rich's top tier Horror recommendations. An avid reader, passionate bookseller and all-round great guy, this was a real treat of a chat.

Books mentioned:

J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit

Stephen King - Carrie/Pet Semetary

Caroline Bicks - Monsters In The Archives

Stephen Graham Jones - Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Kylie Lee Baker - Bat Eater

Keith Rosson - Crone

Dead Ink Publishing

Alice Evelyn Yang - A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing

Lucy Rose - The Lamb

Will Maclean - Solace House