Lit with Charles

It was such a pleasure today to interview a novelist I have known for many years, though not at the time as a novelist at all. Philippa Malicka and I first met about fifteen years ago in Delhi, when we were both living in India, long before writing became part of her public life. She has since published her debut novel, In Her Defense, a gripping and psychologically astute story that interrogates loyalty, truth, and the complicated narratives we construct around guilt and innocence. The novel was recently selected as a monthly pick by Reese’s Book Club, an endorsement that has had a remarkable impact on the book’s visibility and sales. It is also fair to say that I was fascinated by our discussion, which explored the uneasy space between responsibility and devotion, as well as the four books that have helped shape her literary path from our days in Delhi to writing this bestselling novel. It was wonderful to have this conversation with Philippa , and I hope you enjoy listening to our chat.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Leïla Slimani, author of "The Country of Others" & "Watch Us Dance"

Leila Slimani is a highly acclaimed French-Moroccan author who has written some absolutely fantastic novels over the last few years. She burst into the mainstream consciousness when she won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in France in 2016 for her second novel Chanson Douce, which was translated into English in 2018 as The Perfect Nanny in the US, or Lullaby in the UK.

She followed this up with non-fiction work as well as a fantastic trilogy which is two-thirds finished, called  “Le Pays des Autres” (The Country of Others) in which the second novel “Regardez-nous danser” (Watch Us Dance) has just been translated into English.

In today’s episode, Leïla and I discuss, as always, the four books which have most influenced her writing – spanning all the way from early childhood literary beginnings, all the way to some very contemporary picks.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

In this relaxed Q&A episode, Charles answers listeners’ questions about his reading life, from how he structures his days around books to the different rhythms that shape how he approaches “easy” versus “demanding” reads. He shares his flexible methods, whether that means devouring a page turner in one long sitting or slowly metabolising a dense classic in small, manageable bursts. The conversation moves through travel habits, why he still prefers physical books over a Kindle, and the slightly chaotic reality of keeping notes while reading.

Charles also reflects on his favourite Russian author, the challenge and reward of tackling big novels, and the myth of daily page targets, including his own extreme “big reading days.” He touches on becoming a parent and the environment he hopes to create around books, before revealing the story behind a hidden novel he once wrote purely for the joy of the process. A candid, thoughtful glimpse behind the scenes for fellow readers and the reading-curious alike.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Invention and re-invention are themes that are set deep in the American psyche and the American novel. My guest today is the American novelist JR Thornton, author of the upcoming novel “Lucien” to be published next month. It’s a tale of intrigue, set at Harvard, in the modern day, where a freshman artist is dazzled by his Euro-glamorous room-mate, and led down a tempting path of forgery and deceit. Imagine “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, meets “The Goldfinch”, also by Donna Tartt, and you’re halfway there. In the book, JR Thornton, himself a Harvard alumnus, evokes the immense privilege that remains in certain pockets of these high-powered universities and the desperation of many outsiders to fit in. 

In our interview, JR Thorton talks about the four books that helped shape his literary path, and specifically this book, so if you’re in the market for recommendations of great books about re-invention, re-emergence and revenge, you’re in the right place!

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

JR Thornton's four books:

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (1844)

The Great Gatsby (1925)

Brideshead Revisited (1945)

The Bell Jar (1963)

In this episode, I’m joined by Lucy Caldwell, ahead of the publication of her new short story collection Devotions, due out in April 2026. We may be early to the party, but this conversation offers a rich introduction to a book that explores love, loss, longing, and the everyday objects and rituals we turn into acts of devotion. From a Belfast theatre troupe taking an experimental Hamlet to New York, to stories that edge into the metafictional and the uncanny, Devotions is a collection of intimate, luminous portraits of desire and regret.

Our conversation unfolds as something of a masterclass in writing. Lucy reflects on her life and work, from growing up in Belfast during the Troubles in an ecumenical family, to building an acclaimed literary career marked by depth, empathy, and formal curiosity. We talk about how and why she writes, her path to international recognition, and the four books that shaped her literary imagination. Thoughtful, generous, and quietly inspiring, this is an episode especially rich for readers and writers alike.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Lucy Caldwell’s four books:

• Lorrie Moore, Self-Help (1989)

• Lucia Berlin, A Manual for Cleaning Women (2015)

• James Joyce, Dubliners (1914)

• Richard Adams, Watership Down (1972)

Content warning: this episode discusses sexual assault and feminicide in detail and may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening and step away if needed.

In this episode, I’m joined by Swiss novelist Michelle Steinbeck to discuss her haunting second novel Favorita, newly translated into English, and the urgent subject of feminicide, the murder of women, often by men. Through literature, we explore how gendered violence, authoritarian power and historical memory intertwine.

Favorita follows Fila, a young woman who uncovers the possibility that her mother, once the ringleader of a collective of sex workers, was murdered by a shadowy network of fascists. Moving between post-war Italy and the present, the novel blends surreal, ghostly imagery with political realism to examine how violence against women reverberates across generations.

Our conversation explores writing with ghosts, literature as resistance, and the importance of giving narrative shape to erased lives. Steinbeck reflects on fascist afterlives, memory, and the ways the past continues to shape women’s bodies and choices today.

Michelle's four books were:

Paolo Falconi: La Bella Elvira (1947)

Leanne Shapton: Guest Book (2019) 

Maggie Nelson: Jane A Murder (2005)

Goliarda Sapienza: The Art Of Joy (1994)

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

In today’s episode, I look at the 5 best books that I’ve read in 2025. I’m pleased to say that this is an eclectic list of books which covers a lot of different genres so there’s something for everybody! What are some of the best books that you’ve read this year? 

Thank you so much for listening this year and see you in 2026!

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

In this episode of Lit with Charles, Charles welcomes British writer Manish Chauhan to celebrate the lead-up to his debut novel Belgrave Road (out with Faber in January). Set in Leicester, the book traces the intersecting lives of Mira, newly arrived from India in an arranged marriage that offers little refuge, and Talia, a Somali refugee navigating the UK asylum system. Manish speaks candidly about the long road to publication - writing since his teens, balancing a demanding career as a finance lawyer, and building momentum through short fiction - and about the real-life encounters and observations that sparked his story. At the heart of the conversation is what he hopes fiction can do right now: complicate the rhetoric around immigration by showing that every person contains “a whole number of stories,” not just the ones that dominate headlines.

As always, the episode is also a masterclass in reading as a writer. Manish shares four books that shaped his craft and sensibility: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, Runaway by Alice Munro, Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

I’m joined today by Cosima Carnegie, better known on social media as Cosi’s Odyssey: a classicist, writer, and creative producer whose work brings Greek myth and ritual into the present through essays, videos, and immersive events. We’re talking not only about her journey into Classics, but about the four books that have most influenced her on her path to scholarship. It’s a great blend that opens up conversations about childhood reading, ancient ritual, the visual imagination of Greek art, and what it means to inherit stories across generations.

Talking to Cosi was a huge amount of fun, and I know you’re going to enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Cosi Carnegie’s four books were:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rick Riordan (2005–09)

• Medea, Euripides (431 BC)

• The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet, François Lissarrague (1990)

• An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, Daniel Mendelsohn (2017)
  

I’m joined this week by writer and journalist Ilya Gridneff, whose career has taken him from Sydney to South Sudan and now to the Financial Times bureau in Canada. We talk about his first work of fiction, Your Name Here, co-authored with the brilliant Helen DeWitt — a wild, experimental novel with a long, unusual history. We also dive into the ideas and books that shaped him. If you enjoy the episode, please leave a review and follow @litwithcharles.

Ilya Gridneff’s four books were:

• 2666, by Roberto Bolaño (2004)
• A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
• Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre (1938)
• Post Office, by Charles Bukowski (1971)