Bookylicious

In this special episode Paul speaks to Peter Francis, Warden and Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden. In the interview we discover how Gladstone's Library was originally created and how it has evolved. We also find out what has been going on behind the scenes while the Library has been closed and look forward to the re-opening today 1 September 2021 and the forthcoming Gladfest which takes place online 11-12 September. For more information about this unique and wonderful place visit their website at www.gladstoneslibrary.org 

Books in the fantasy genre can represent a diverse range of subjects and ideas. In this episode we explore what fantasy literature might or might not be. Gwyn interviews Tiffani Angus author of 'Threading the Labyrinth' you can find out more about her here http://www.tiffani-angus.com/

Here are some of the books we mention in this episode:

Robert Macfarlane - 'Underland' and 'The Old Ways' You may also like to check out Robert's recent appearance on Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000y641

Matthew Syed - 'Rebel Ideas'

Franz Kafka - 'The Trial'

Samantha Shannon - 'The Priory of the Orange Tree'

Madeline Miller - 'Circe' and 'The Song of Achilles'

Lewis Carroll - 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass'

Neil Gaiman - 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains' and 'Coraline' and 'The Sandman Vol. 1'

Alice Roberts - 'Ancestors a Pre-history of Britain in Seven Burials'

Robert Holdstock - 'Mythago Wood'

H P Lovecraft - 'The Call of Cthulhu'

Eoin Colfer - 'Artemis Fowl'

JRR Tolkein - 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings'

This episode is all about history, specifically historical fiction. In this episode:

Barbara Erskine talks about her new novel The Dream Weavers.

Dave McCall (AKA David Ebsworth) and Holly Thorpe talk about the importance of historical fiction to them. You can find information about Dave's books here  http://www.davidebsworth.com/ and the link to the Young Walter Scott Prize is here https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/young-walter-scott-prize/ 

Rebecca Hill talks about how The Last Kingdom series of boom/3nc9tmmr oks changed her life.  Rebecca  shares her favourite historical fiction reads on Good Reads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3639817-rebecca?shelf=historical-fiction 

Our book recommendations include:

Paul Morley - A sound mind, how I fell in love with classical music...

Clare Whitfield - People of abandoned character

Kiana Davenport - Shark dialogues

Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet

Charles Dickens - A tale of two cities

Markus Zusak - The book thief

For more information about the podcast go to https://www.bookylicious.com/ 

This month the Bookylicious team explore the joys of short stories and essays, each of us choosing three stories of essays to recommend. Chekhov, Sherlock Holmes, Ursula le Guin, bodysnatchers, the Moon and crows. The short form is truly beautiful and diverse. Plus we chat about books we are reading. Something for everyone to be inspired! Here are some of the short stories we discuss:

Ray Bradbury - All Summer in a Day

Ursula le Guin - The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Robert Louis Stevenson -  The Body Snatcher

Ted Chiang - The The Story of Your Life 

Arthur Conan Doyle - A Scandal in Bohemia

The Idler

Anton Chekhov - The Black Monk

Sheena Mackay - Curry at the Laburnums

Amanda Thomson - Craw Sunday

Helen Phillips - The Knowers

Italo Calvino - Daughters of the Moon

Lisa Cupolo - Fort Pierce, Florida

In this episode you will meet the team Paul, Gwyn, Lara and Holly. We chat about what we are reading just now including Neil Gaiman, Barabara Erskine, Phillip Pullman and Kathleen Jamie. Paul interviews Dylan Hughes, Dave McCall and Sue Miller founders of Wrexham Carnival of Words and previews this year's festival www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com.