Do you buy based on designer labels or sustainability or both? We are in the midst of the Festive shopping season and as we buy gifts for our loved ones, it seemed fitting to look at how we make these choices with former New York Times journalist, blogger at luxury travel blog Holidays in Heels, and part time editor at Google, Sara Hamdan. Sara is reviewing two books about the fashion industry, Iconic by Megan Hess and To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? by Lucy Siegle.

Have you left your gift shopping a little bit late? There’s no judgement from the Talking of Books team – we have got you covered! Book vlogger, writer and journalist Maán Jalal has some ideas for the bookworms in your lives, and so does the wonderful Sara Hamdan, former New York Times journalist, blogger at luxury travel blog Holidays in Heels, and part time editor at Google. We also had some great ideas from our listeners!

What is the right kind of loud? Communications expert and author of The Right Kind of Loud: Finding Your Communication Voice, Kim A. Page, joined us in the studio to answer all the questions you have about the voice and preparation techniques that can help you become a better communicator, both in your personal, and professional life.

Why are we always dreaming and going on about a White Christmas? You might be able to blame literature for that. This week it’s a festive song in honour of festive times.

If the tagline Mission Impossible in the sixteenth century doesn’t intrigue you, we don’t know what will! Author Rehan Khan joined us in the studio to talk about his upcoming novel The Tudor Turk and he will be spilling all the beans.

Festival Author Daniela Tully is the author of Hotel on Shadow Lake, an epic romance and a Gothic family saga. The story follows the story of a girl named Maya whose grandmother was everything to her but when Maya turned sixteen, she disappeared without a trace. Daniela tells us about the inspiration behind this incredible story and the books that inspired her growing up and into adulthood. From The Flying Classroom, Pippi Longstockings, The Help and beyond.

Young reviewer and blogger Mishka Khan joins us and reviews the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, a thrilling fantasy quartet of a world divided, split between silver and red blood.

Sandhya Menon joined us over the phone to talk all about her books When Dimple Met Rishi, From Twinkle, to Love and her upcoming novel There’s Something About Sweetie. She also tells us if the books have connections to her own life and the idea of Happy Ever Afters

You’ve heard of When Harry Met Sally, but have you heard of When Dimple Met Rishi? The book, written by Sandhya Menon, follows the story of a coding-whizz Dimple who attends a summer program for aspiring web developers but doesn’t realize that she’s about to meet her future husband that her parents have arranged.

National Novel Writing Month is over but there are many outlets that you can channel your creative skills into with the Emirates Literature Foundation. Costa Debate is still open for entries by answering Fact vs Fiction and the Montegrappa Writing Prize if you want to write something longer. Montegrappa winner and co-host Rachel Hamilton gives us her top tips for winning entries.

We’re also chatting to Ranya AbdulRahman about the new The Love of Words majlis happening with Emirates Literature Foundation. The first event is Talking Translation, a light-hearted look at literary translation and the highs and lows as well as the key steps into the profession.

If you want to unleash your inner Ibsen, you can take a nine-week course on playwriting with world renowned playwright Alex Broun. He talks about what you can expect once you enroll and how you can have a chance to read your play to an audience at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

Some obscure vocabulary to delight your friends and acquaintances plus some topical book recommendations in honour of Pantone revealing their 2019 colour of the year: Living Coral. A picture book with a coral cover that you might like is Don’t Eat Our Classmates which is about a baby dinosaur called Penelope, plus a non-fiction book also with a coral cover you might enjoy called My Morning Routine - How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired.