15/09/18: Former New York Times journalist and now mother and part time editor at Google, Sara Hamdan talks about what books make great discussion starters. She hosts a quarterly book club based on good vacation reads and her suggestions will make you want to buy All. The. Books.

15/09/18: We jet off to Italy (we wish) to review The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore, the story of grandmother Gracie Burton who finds an advertisement for a week-long cookery course in the heart of Tuscany and blows her savings on a spur of the moment trip. Little do her family know, she’s been to Italy before, and the life she led when she was there is a secret she’s kept for over forty years.

15/09/18: Roald Dahl’s books have some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. In honour of Roald Dahl’s birthday this week, our special reporter Meredith Chipperton went to Kings School Nad Al Sheba to ask students from years three to six about their favourite book characters of all time – from Roald Dahl’s stories and beyond!

15/09/18: 

We get creative with artist Debjani Bhardwaj and Deputy Director of Tashkeel Lisa Ball-Lechgar. They discuss Tashkeel’s upcoming exhibition ‘Telling Tales’ which features Bhardwaj’s immaculate drawings, papercuts and installations that are all inspired by Emirati and Omani legends.

15/09/18: Joseph Thomas Lidstone won first place in the 12-14 category of the 2018 OUP Story Writing contest at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature with his entry I Remember. Have a listen to an excerpt of this beautiful story inspired by the theme of ‘Memory’.

15/09/18: We delve in to the medical world with today’s Big Question – what’s the life of a junior doctor really like? Dr. James Kelly specializes in corporate wellness and has written about leaders who thrive in adversity and he enjoys a book or two. Have a listen to his thoughts on This is Going to Hurt by former junior doctor turned comedy writer Adam Kay.

15/09/18: We speak to bestselling author Santa Montefiore about her latest novel The Temptation of Gracie.

15/09/18: A chance to see the legendary David Attenborough, Mary Beard and Kate Atkinson plus a cute viral speech about the importance of reading, a topical book recommendation and a Roald Dahl literary moment.

08/09/18: A book recommendation and some random literary facts in honour of international literacy day, a library in the Scottish islands with a sense of humour, and a few headlines from the book world.

08/09/18: August was Women in Translation month – what prompted it and what were the results? We speak to Marcia Lynx Qualey in Morocco, who is the founding editor of ArabLit, an eight-year-old online magazine and resource that won the 2017 “Literary Translation Initiative” award at the London Book Fair.