A Good Read

The books are:Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, chosen by Harriet Tyce Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre, chosen by Matt Edmondson Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbcProduced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally HeavenPhoto credit: Suki Dhanda

This time the community clothing entrepreneur and host of The Great British Sewing Bee Patrick Grant chooses his favourite book along with fellow guest anthropologist and broadcaster Mary-Ann Ochota.The books are:Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett The Flow by Amy Jane Beer Heatwave by Penelope LivelyProduced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre

THE LIVES AND LOVES OF A SHE DEVIL by Fay Weldon, chosen by Victoria Pile THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway, chosen by Julian Baggini CLEAR by Carys Davies, chosen by Harriett GilbertComedy writer and director Victoria Pile joins philosopher and author Julian Baggini to talk about their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. On the menu is a feminist revenge novel that is as dark as it is funny, a classic Hemingway novella that casts us out to sea, and an evocative short story set on a remote island off Scotland. Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbcProduced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

The children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and the author of Wild Swans and Big Sister Little Sister Red Sister Jung Chang choose their good reads.Where Should We Run To by Alan Garner chosen by Frank Cottrell-Boyce Death of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney chosen by Harriett Gilbert Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales chosen by Jung ChangProduced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre

This week's books are: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler chosen by Maria Balshaw. The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol (translated by Isabel Hapgood) chosen by Léa Ypi. Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans chosen by Harriett Gilbert.The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol. Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbcPhoto credit: Erdem Moralioglu

This week's books are: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by the Welsh poet and writer Gwyneth Lewis The LIving Mountain by Nan Shepherd picked by author Annabel Abbs Emma by Jane Austen chosen by Harriett Gilbert ahead of the writer's 250th birthday in December 2025Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbcProduced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie AyrePhoto credit: Edward Brown

WEDLOCK: HOW GEORGIAN BRITAIN'S WORST HUSBAND MET HIS MATCH by Wendy Moore, chosen by Kate Lister GRAYSON PERRY: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG GIRL by Wendy Jones, chosen by Harriett Gilbert PLASTIC EMOTIONS by Shiromi Pinto, chosen by Roma AgrawalStructural engineer Roma Agrawal, known for her work on buildings such as the Shard in London, and historian Kate Lister, who specialises in the history of sex, join Harriett Gilbert to share their favourite books. Kate's choice is Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore, a gripping biography that tells the true story of Mary Eleanor Bowes's distrastrous marriage to Andrew Robinson Stoney, one of the wealthiest women in 18th-century Britain. Roma’s pick is Plastic Emotions by Shiromi Pinto, a novel inspired by the life of Minnette de Silva, Sri Lanka’s pioneering modernist architect, exploring love, politics and creativity in a time of upheaval. And Harriett brings Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl by Wendy Jones, a candid and colourful account of the artist’s early life and identity. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Eliza Lomas Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbcPhoto credit: Steve Ullathorne

FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis, chosen by Julia Shaw YOUR LIFE IS MANUFACTURED by Tim Minshall, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem ROSARITA by Anita Desai, chosen by Harriett GilbertCriminal psychologist Julia Shaw joins engineer Hayaatun Sillem to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Julia's choice, Fundamentally, is a bold debut novel by Nussaibah Younis which sparks a bit of debate. Younis writes a comedy story about an academic who takes a UN job in Iraq to lead a deradicalisation program for ISIS women. Hayaatun puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Tim Minshall, Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge. His book Your Life is Manufactured reveals the seismic impact that manufacturing has both on our lives and on the natural world. Finally, Harriett's choice is a haunting novella called Rosarita by Anita Desai, an unsettling riddle that follows a young Indian woman's quest through Mexico to find out more about her mother.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

THE STONE DIARIES by Carol Shields, chosen by Tom Cox HOW TO WRITE A THESIS by Umberto Eco, chosen by Sophie Scott PARADISE by Abdulrazak Gurnah, chosen by Harriett GilbertWriter Tom Cox joins neuroscientist Sophie Scott to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Tom's choice is the 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner, The Stone Diaries. Following the story of one woman’s life from birth to death, the novel also charts the unsettled decades of the twentieth century. Sophie puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Italian writer and academic, How to Write a Thesis. It first appeared on Italian bookshelves back in 1977, but still rings true for many. And finally, Harriett's choice is a historical novel called Paradise by the Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah, which is both a coming-of-age story, and a tale of the corruption against the backdrop of European colonialism in East Africa. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky RipleyJoin the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc

BEAR by Marian Engel, chosen by novelist Sarah Waters THE TRUE BELIEVER by Eric Hoffer, chosen by film editor Walter Murch THE VISITOR by Maeve Brennan, chosen by presenter Harriett GilberSarah Waters, acclaimed author of Fingersmith and The Night Watch, and Walter Murch, legendary film editor of Apocalypse Now and The English Patient choose the books they love.Sarah's choice is a cinematic novel set in Northern Canada. Bear by Marian Engel is the unusual tale of a woman's friendship and subsequent sexual relationship with a bear when she travels to a remote island for the summer.The True Believer is a remarkably prescient examination of mass movements from 1951. Author Eric Hoffer examines political fanaticism throughout the ages. Walter Murch chose it because he says so much of it rings true in today's fractured world.Harriett's choice is the story of different generations of women in an unhappy home in Ireland. Maeve Brennan's novella The Visitor is a haunting tale of a chilly tight-lipped Dublin home.Producer: Maggie Ayre, BBC Audio BristolPhoto: Charlie Hopkinson

OBLIVION by Héctor Abad, chosen by Colm Tóibín FLESH by David Szalay, chosen by Zadie Smith CALL ME BY YOUR NAME by André Aciman, chosen by Harriett GilbertAuthors and good friends Zadie Smith and Colm Tóibín join Harriett Gilbert to share books they love. For a longer edition of this episode, check out the A Good Read podcast. Colm Tóibín chooses Oblivion, a memoir by Colombian writer Héctor Abad. It’s a deeply moving tribute to Abad’s father – a warm, generous, and witty man who was a doctor, university professor, and tireless human rights campaigner. His life was tragically cut short when he was murdered by paramilitaries in Medellín in 1987. What do the others make of this powerful portrait of love and loss?Next, Zadie Smith recommends Flesh, a taut and compelling novel by Hungarian-British author David Szalay. The story follows István, a Hungarian man whose life takes a picaresque turn – from the army to prison, and eventually to London, where he works as a security guard for a wealthy family. As he becomes entangled in their world in unexpected ways, do the others find the novel as gripping as she does?Finally, Harriett Gilbert brings Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, the novel that inspired the acclaimed film starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Set during a languid summer on the Italian Riviera, it captures the intense infatuation between Elio and Oliver. But how does the novel compare to the much-loved film?Colm Tóibín is the author of eleven novels, including The Master, The Magician, Brooklyn, and Long Island, the latter now out in paperback. And Zadie Smith has written six novels, among them White Teeth, Swing Time, and her most recent, The Fraud.Producer: Eliza Lomas

ALL FOURS by Miranda July, chosen by Desiree Akhavan UNTRUE by Wednesday Martin, chosen by Rosie Wilby DRAGON TALK by Fleur Adcock, chosen by Harriett GilbertFilmmaker and writer Desiree Akhavan joins comedian, writer and podcaster Rosie Wilby as they discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Desiree's choice is All Fours by Miranda July, a novel about a perimenopausal woman's sexual awakening on an unusual road trip. By coincidence, Rosie Wilby chooses a non-fiction book which looks at research into women's sexuality, Untrue by Wednesday Martin. Harriett's choice is a volume of poetry by Fleur Adcock, dealing with matters of family and childhood.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc Photo credit Cecila Frugiuele