Ep 154; Readalongs, Political Books & London Books

This episode Simon and Thomas answer three questions from lovely listener Pam all about readalongs, books with a political bent and books set in London.

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Readers Read-a-Long’s () The first question that Pam asks Simon and Thomas if they might ever bring back a readalong on the podcast like when they read The Night Guest, as well as when they have done readalongs with Ann and Michael or The Readers Book Club. So Thomas and Simon discuss the idea and have come up with a plan… They are going to start doing Summer and Winter ones and they would like your suggestions for the Summer one, get set, go!!!

Political Books () Pam’s second question is about books with a political twist as it is presidential season/madness in the US, and also EU political madness in the UK. Simon and Thomas have a chat about this and recommend some books that you might want to give a whirl. They would also like some recommendations especially ones that Simon will love as much as he does The Good Wife & House of Cards.

London Books () Pam is off to London this month and she would like to know which books we would recommend with a London book setting. Thomas loves books set in London, Simon is not such a fan of them – which might be an understatement. They still talk about it though because that is how dedicated they are.

Books Mentioned in the Show () The Life of Elves by Muriel Barberry, The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, Crooked Adam by D.E Stevenson, The Night Guest by Fiona MacFarlane, Pleasantville by Attica Locke, Echo House by Ward Just, Babbit by Sinclair Lewis, The Paliser Series by Anthony Trollope, Run by Ann Patchett, Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama, All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota, most of Anita Brookner’s books, Under The Net By Iris Murdoch, Offshore and Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, most of Sherlock Holmes, Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Capital by John Lancaster, Ben Aaronovich’s books, Howard’s End by E.M. Forster, Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, Sharon Bolton and Jake Arnott’s books, A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar, 84 Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff, All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West, The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, The Bricks That Built the Houses by Kate Tempest, NW by Zadie Smith, the Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, While England Slept by David Levithan, Persephone novels, Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding, Down and Out In Paris and London by George Orwell, Letters from London by Julian Barnes, The Night Watch and The Paying Guest by Sarah Waters, London by Peter Ackroyd, London Fields by Martin Amis, A Girl of Slender Means ­By Muriel Spark, Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, Mother London by Michael Moorcock, Not Working by Lisa Owens, Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain.

Next time on the Readers () The Readers will be back in two weeks when they will be back with more book based banter. If you missed the latest episode of You Wrote The Book do go and listen, Simon’s was joined by Charlotte Wood to discuss her incredible new novel The Natural Way of Things which is INCREDIBLE, the book – though the interview is a hoot too. Last week’s episode has been delayed but a special live show will be up next week with Maggie O’Farrell.

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