The Wandering Book Collector

The Wandering Book Collector

By Michelle Jana ChanSociety & CultureArtsBooksPlaces & Travel
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The Wandering Book Collector episodes

  • Jessi Jezewska Stevens on Geneva, Gettysburg, Krakow, Tuscany, Siberia, Indiana; on writing for two days and editing for a year; on honeymoons; on precise descriptions and hope; on landing in JFK; and on dwelling in the past — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Jessi Jezewska Stevens, to discuss her book, Ghost Pains. 

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin to Ginanne Brownell to Hilary Bradt. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min
  • Hilary Bradt on getting lost; on the Galapagos and Inca Trail in the 1970s; on aerograms v social media; on hitch-hiking at 82; on her guidebooks to Burma, Iraq, Iran and N Korea; on public footpaths and bluebells; and on feeling homesick — with TWBC


    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Hilary Bradt to discuss Taking the Risk: My Adventures in Travel & Publishing. 

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin to Ginanne Brownell. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  • Ginanne Brownell on hearing clarinets and trombones by a Nairobi city dump; on a fairytale morphing; on big skies; on searching for a cemetery by Lake Michigan; on her next book: a global surrogacy journey — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Ginanne Brownell, to discuss her book, GHETTO CLASSICS: How a youth orchestra changed a Nairobi slum 

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  • Nastassja Martin on her near-death encounter with a Kamchatka bear; on the boundaries between humankind and nature; on linear v spiral storytelling; on being in between worlds; on dreams, and on waking from them — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Nastassja Martin to discuss her book, IN THE EYE OF THE WILD. 


    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min
  • Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ on life in Lagos and Norwich; on how family pressure shapes you; on hope as something active; on walking to get out of one’s head; on random news items; and on writing a story, leaving out all the politics — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to discuss her new book, A Spell of Good Things. 

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min
  • Daljit Nagra on his sense of mischief; on abandoning 30 line poems; on his first language Punjabi; on listening to Miles Davis; on fully expecting to fail; on the nine-metre man and snake gods; and on straight bananas — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Daljit Nagra to discuss his latest collection of poetry, Indiom.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:

    Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice.

    Thank you for listening!

    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • Khashayar J Khabushani on hyphenated identity; on Dodgers jerseys and drinking beer; on memoir v fiction; on belonging where we are born; on hopefulness and youthfulness; on the myth of LA; and on missing hearing Farsi — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.

    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Khashayar J Khabushani to discuss his debut, I Will Greet the Sun Again.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:

    Cox & Kings — Arranging captivating travel experiences for over 260 years.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!

    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    46 min
  • Hanne Ørstavik on love, love and more love; on travelling with her books; on openness and vulnerability as two sides of the same thing; on 16 books written as one big novel; on the power of silence in Mexico; and on embarrassing notebooks — with TWBC

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.

    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Hanne Ørstavik to discuss her book, Ti Amo. It is her 16th novel.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast: Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min
  • Damian Le Bas on rambunctious families; on van life; on slag heaps and rubbish tips; on lecturing kids; on the only seasons of summer and winter; on the question “where are you from?”; and on looking like a Division 4 Swedish footballer — with TWBC
    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Damian Le Bas to discuss his debut, The Stopping Places. Please consider supporting your local bookshop.The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward. All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min
  • Sophie Ward on experimental education; on flaws and frailties and guilt; on saying “my wife”; on child acting; on the US-Vietnam War; on her superpower; on writing more about Detective Sergeant Carter; on outliers; on travelling to Mars — with TWBC
    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Sophie Ward to discuss her novels, The Schoolhouse, and her debut Love and Other Thought Experiments, long listed for the Booker. Before that, a work of non-fiction, A Marriage Proposal: The Importance of Equal Marriage and What it Means for All of Us. Please consider supporting your local bookshop.The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    40 min

About The Wandering Book Collector

From the publisher's feed

The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan airs regular conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of…