December 07, 2023

December Book of the Month: Any Human Heart by William Boyd

37 minutes

Sara Cox, host of BBC Two's TV book club, Between the Covers, joins Jo and James to discuss our December Book of the Month: Any Human Heart by William Boyd. Told through the journals of Logan Mountstuart, it's an engrossing – and often funny – novel that takes in many of the defining events of the 20th century and the people who shaped them. The Booker Prize 2002-longlisted book was recently discussed on Between the Covers, so tune in to our podcast as Sara, James and Jo talk about William Boyd's beloved novel, as well as Sara's own reading habits and inspirations.

In this episode Jo, James and Sara talk about:

The idea behind television book club Between the Covers

The variety of books guests have been bringing to this series of Between the Covers

The novels that got Sara into reading at a young age

Sara's favourite Booker Prize books

How Sara balances reading and her own writing – and whether what she's reading influences her work

What the book clubbers on Between the Covers thought of Any Human Heart

A brief summary of Any Human Heart and a discussion about its plot

Who they'd recommend the book to

Reading List:

Any Human Heart by William Boyd: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/any-human-heart

Life of Pi by Yann Martel: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/life-of-pi

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Pessimism is for Lightweights by Salena Godden

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

Catherine Cookson novels

Jilly Cooper novels

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/paddy-clarke-ha-ha-ha

John Boyne novels

Margaret O'Farrell novels

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/redhead-by-the-side-of-the-road

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-spool-of-blue-thread

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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