Mostly Books Meets...

This week, Jack is joined by debut novelist Khashayar J. Khabushani.

Khashayar's hotly anticipated first novel, I Will Greet the Sun Again, is a beautiful novel about family, queer adolescence, and the multifaceted nature of identity and while it is a story unafraid to face difficult subject matter, just like the poem from which it takes its title, it is ultimately a novel filled with love. 

Purchase I Will Greet the Sun Again

(0:27) Introduction
(6:10) Being your own protagonist
(9:37) Khashayar's early reads
(23:42) Recent Reads
(31:30) Khashayar's most impactful book
(39:27) I Will Greet the Sun Again

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

I Will Greet the Sun Again is published in the UK by Viking

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh - ISBN: 9781784701468
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing - ISBN: 9780007498772
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - ISBN: 9780099272779
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff - ISBN: 9780099592532
Middlemarch by George Elliot - ISBN: 9780141439549

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by novelist Rowan Hisayo Buchanan. Rowan's first novel was 2017's Harmless Like You, which won a Betty Trask and Authors Club First Novel Award. Since then, she has penned Starling Days, and now this year she has released her third novel, The Sleep Watcher, an exquisite exploration of adolescence, family, and the complexity of love.

Purchase The Sleep Watcher

(0:27) Introduction
(3:37) Roman's childhood reads
(17:30) Ghosts and breaking boundaries
(20:39) Where to start writing
(35:11) Rowan's favourite book
(43:43) The Sleep Watcher

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

The Sleep Watcher is published in the UK by Sceptre

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - ISBN: 9780141191447
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi  - ISBN: 9781568363912
Reverse Engineering by Scratch Books - ISBN: 9781739830106

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by the legendary international literary agent, Barbara J. Zitwer. Barbara has been at the forefront of bringing some of the most exciting voices from Korea over to the Anglosphere, from Han Kang, the author of The Vegetarian, to the Man Asian Booker Prize winner, Shin Kyung-sook, to name a few.

Now she has released her own book, The Korean Book of Happiness, sharing with us the knowledge she has gained from her years working closely with Korean writers.

Purchase The Korean Book of Happiness

(0:27) Introduction
(8:01) Translated texts
(21:41) The Korean Book of Happiness
(26:59) Why Korea?
(31:14) Recipes in the book

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

The Korean Book of Happiness is published in the UK by Short Books Ltd

Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness by Kyung-sook Shin - ISBN: 9781681772370
Walking Practice by Dolki Min - ISBN: 9780063258617
The Vegetarian by Han Kang - ISBN: 9781846276033

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by novelist Kate Mascarenas. To date, Kate has published three novels, including The Psychology of Time Travel and The Thief on the Winged Horse. Her third and most recent is the gorgeously gothic Hokey Pokey.

Set in 1929 at the Regent Hotel, Birmingham, Nora checks in under a false name. She is there to spy on the famed operatic singer Berenice Oxbow. But just like the Regent Hotel, there is more to Nora's story than meets the eye.

Purchase Hokey Pokey

(0:27) Introduction
(5:40) Childhood reading
(20:37) University and literature
(30:56) Fiction and Therapists
(38:14) Recent Reads
(51:09) Hokey Pokey

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

Hokey Pokey is published in the UK by Bloomsbury

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce - ISBN: 9780192734501
Monsters by Claire Dederer - ISBN: 9781399715034
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet - ISBN: 9781913393441
My Friend Natalia by Laura Lindstedt - ISBN: 9781631498176
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - ISBN: 9780099588115
We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - ISBN:  9780141191454
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi - ISBN: 9780330534697

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by author and musician Mat Osman. Mat is the founding member of the British rock band Suede.

In 2020 his first novel The Ruins was released and this year it was followed by his hotly anticipated second book The Ghost Theatre which was chosen as a book of the year 2023 by The Observer, The Times and The Evening Standard.

Purchase The Ghost Theatre

(0:27) Introduction
(1:02) A love letter to theatre
(17:19) Writing historical fiction
(21:55) London allure
(24:28) Childhood reading
(36:30) Writing habits
(43:21) The Ghost Theatre

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

The Ghost Theatre is published in the UK by Bloomsbury

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - ISBN: 9781408871775
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - ISBN: 9781782114413
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - ISBN: 9780349017464

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by novelist Sophie Mackintosh. Sophie's first book, The Water Cure, was published in 2018 and was long-listed for that year's Booker Prize. In 2020 came her second novel, Blue Ticket, and this year she published the haunting and dreamlike Cursed Bread, which was long-listed for the Women's Prize. Sophie was also included in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists list.

Purchase Cursed Bread

(0:23) Introduction
(1:11) Building rapport with readers
(4:46) Childhood reading
(14:59) Writing from reality
(22:49) Recent reading
(29:30) Cursed Bread 

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

Cursed Bread is published in the UK by Penguin Books

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Junk by Melvin Burgess - ISBN: 9781783440627
The Magic Toy Shop by Angela Carter - ISBN: 9780860681908
Close to Home by Michael McGee - ISBN: 9780241582978
Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein - ISBN: 9781783789931
Sea State by Tabitha Lasley - ISBN: 9780008390976
The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - ISBN: 9781529005219

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by writer and academic Blessin Adams. Blessin's book, Great and Horrible News was published on the 30th of March this year. It is a wonderful exploration of murder and violent death in the early modern period, told through the lives of the ordinary people that experienced it. It is a hugely engrossing and often touching read, which marks a brilliant new voice in non-fiction.

Purchase Great and Horrible News

(0:27) Introduction
(2:05) Childhood reading habits
(19:08) Blessin's catalyst for writing
(25:54) Inspiration behind Great and Horrible News
(32:44) Old crimes and modern problems
(36:55) Recent reading
(41:56) Great and Horrible News

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

Great and Horrible News is published in the UK by Harper Collins

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - ISBN: 9780241620236
Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews - ISBN: 9781736080269
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer - ISBN: 9780099585541
Redwall by Brian Jaques - ISBN: 9780099595182

To find more titles, visit our website

This week, Jack is joined by debut author Stephen Buoro. Stephen's novel, the Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa was published on the 13th of April. It's already received impressive praise. Author Max Porter described it as eccentric, profound and timely and says he fell in love immediately.

In this episode, Stephen delves into the themes of his debut novel, including duality, faith, and science, as well as the psychological elements of his writing. The conversation also covers Stephen's experience balancing his PhD studies with writing, and the power of reading and writing to empower oneself.

Purchase The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa 

(0:27) Introduction
(4:00) Early reading
(13:07) Getting into creative writing
(18:29) Current reading habits
(22:40) Recent reads
(32:36) The writing process
(39:08) The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa is published in the UK by Bloomsbury

Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson - ISBN: 9780062692597
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss - ISBN: 9780141325309
My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay - ISBN: 9781786892362
Normal People by Sally Rooney - ISBN: 9780571334650
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - ISBN: 9780099922803
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - ISBN: 9780141182605

To find more titles, visit our website

This week Jack is joined by Alice Winn. Alice Winn's gorgeous In Memoriam follows Elwood and Gaunt, two boarding school boys desperately in love with one another. Together they navigate the highs and lows of school life until World War I comes crashing into their lives, irrevocably changing them and the world they know forever.

Purchase In Memoriam

(0:27) Introduction
(1:23) Being a debut author
(11:10) Growing up
(28:47) Reading as an adult
(39:37) A favourite read
(45:14) In Memoriam

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

In Memoriam is published in the UK by Penguin Books

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - ISBN: 9780141040387
Vanity Fair by William Thackerey - ISBN: 9780141439839
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbitt - ISBN: 9781847498427
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel - ISBN: 9780007250554
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin - ISBN: 9780141186351

To find more titles, visit our website

This week Sarah is joined by Reverend Richard Coles. Richard is co-presenter of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live and is regularly seen as a guest panelist on shows such as Would I Lie to You, Have I Got News for You, and QI.

He first came to the public's attention in the mid-1980s as part of the pop duo The Communards. After deciding to study theology in the early 90s, the Reverend embarked on a new life as a priest. He retired from the priesthood in 2022. Richard's latest book, Murder Before Evensong, came out in paperback on the 2nd of March.
 

Purchase Murder Before Evensong

(0:26) Introduction to Richard Coles
(4:47) Richard and writing
(9:25) Children's book recommendation
(14:33) Reading habits
(22:25) Richard's recent read
(28:19) The book that changed his life
(30:35) Murder Before Evensong

Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a weekly podcast by the independent award-winning bookshop, Mostly Books. Nestled in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Mostly Books has been spreading the joy of reading for fifteen years. Whether it’s a book, gift, or card you need the Mostly Books team is always on hand to help. Visit our website.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram

Murder Before Evensong is published in the UK by Wiedenfeld & Nicolson

Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Madness of Grief by Richard Coles - ISBN: 9781474619622
The Viking Sage by Henry Treese - ISBN: 9780141368658
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - ISBN: 9780099529934
Show Me the Bodies by Peter Apps - ISBN: 9780861546152

To find more titles, visit our website