The Book Alchemist

Author BC Harris talks about being re-born in your late 40s, her love of Africa, writing two novels and the books which she's loved of late.

The books and authors we discuss include:

• The Bad Seed by William March
• The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• Conspiracy of Cats by BC Harris
• Making Sacrifices by BC Harris
• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

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The Fair Botanist

Madeline Black is a psychotherapist and is also known as the Courage Cultivator. An activist, author and TEDx speaker, Madeleine has an unusual personal story and has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.

In her memoir, Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity.

We discuss her love of books and audiobooks, including:

• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Super Survivors by Feldman and Kravetz
• Bonnie Garmus's novel Lessons in Chemistry
• Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein
• The Seven Sisters by Lucina Riley

Bestselling author of The Fair Botanists and The Secrets of Blythswood Square, Sara Sheridan talks about the books which have shaped her life, libraries she loves and more.

Truth or Dare, her first novel received a Scottish Library Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire. In 2022, her novel The Fair Botanists was chosen as Waterstones’ Scottish Book of the Year.

Sara is also an activist, interested particularly in female history. She's written more than 20 books and we discuss a wide range of books including:

• Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile
• Her latest novel, The Secrets of Blythswood Square
• Water Music by TC Boyle
• The Collected by Lorna Moon
• Damon Runyon's short stories
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
• Valerie Perrin's Fresh Water for Flowers

One Love One Life is Billy Sloan's memoir. We discuss Scottish bands, his passion for music memorabilia, anecdotes about The Beatles, Phil Spector, David Bowie, Wet Wet Wet, Prince and his love of Muhammed Ali.

The books and authors we discuss include:

• Taschen books
• The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello
• Ken McNab's The Beatles in Scotland
• Shake it up Baby by Ken McNab
• David Bowie, A Life by Dylan Jones
• Tearing Down the Walls of Sound by Mick Brown
• The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing by Thomas Hauser
• McIlvanney on Boxing Hugh McIlvanney

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Psychotherapist and author Angela Trainer is the guest on this episode of The Book Alchemist.

Angela has self-published two books, Love Never Dies and The Beauty of Broken. Both raise money for charities.

She talks about the therapeutic power of writing and reading, soul friends, grief and living with illness.

Angela Trainer is one inspiring woman.

Anna Campbell Jones is an interior designer who found fame in her 50's as one of the hosts of BBC Scotland's Home of the Year.

We discuss the joy of a charity shop rumble, the work of Norman Wilkinson, organising bookshelves and her new brand.

Plus Anna shares the authors and books which have shaped her life. This includes:

• Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day
• Max Porter's Lanny
• The Comfort of Things by Daniel Miller

Colin McCredie is an acclaimed actor, big music lover and recent wearer of spectacles.

We discuss growing up in Perth, landing dream film roles, his work on the iconic TV show Taggart and the books he loves. This includes:

• Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagen
• Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
• The Crow Road by Iain Banks
• Forensics by Val McDermid
• Billy Sloan's One Love One Life
• Memoirs by Thomas Dolby, Brett Anderson, Johnny Marr
• O'Brother by John Niven
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Gregor Hollerin is the cofounder of Story Shop an award winning PR and marketing agency.

Dad to two young children, he does a lot of bedtime stories. We discuss Alan Partridge, supporting Doddie Aid, his love of memoirs and more.

The books and authors we discuss include:

• Nick Hornby's High Fidelity
• Stillness and Speed by Dennis Bergkamp
• Norm Macdonald's Based on a True Story
• Dave Chang's Eat a Peach
• F*ck it I'll Start Tomorrow, A True Story by Action Bronson
• Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny by Limmy
• The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
• David C Baker and Seth Godin
• Win Without Pitching by Blair Enns
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Alan Parks is an award-winning author from Glasgow.

We discuss his favourite library, great coffee shops, life before becoming an author, his connection to John Niven and his forthcoming novel and more.

Parks has been compared to the great Scottish author McIlvanney given the many similarities in their novels. Bloody January was his debut novel, a crime thriller set in Glasgow in the 1970s.

We speak to him whilst he's in the midst of writing his seventh novel (working title) The July Graves, the other book he mentions is Promise Me You’ll Shoot Yourself by Florian Huber.

Elissa Soave is both an avid reader and an author. Her brilliant debut novel Ginger and Me is a coming-of-age mystery that is also a love-letter to her hometown of Uddingston.

The novel was shortlisted for the Saltire Society's Scottish First Book of the Year Award 2023, and film rights of the book have been sold to Mother Pictures.

We discuss her journey to landing her first agent and publishing deal, books which she loves and the ones which have shaped her life.

The authors and books we mention include:

• The Change by Kirsten Miller
• The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
• Octavia Bright's memoir This Ragged Grace
• Briony Gordon's Glorious Rock Bottom
• Susannah Constantine's Ready for Absolutely Nothing
• Colin Walsh's Kala
• Complicit by Winnie Lee
• Yellowface by R.F. Kuang