PodcastsArtsA Good Read

A Good Read

BBC Radio 4
A Good Read
Latest episode

384 episodes

  • A Good Read

    Victoria Pile and Julian Baggini

    2026/03/16 | 27 mins.
    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 Gilbert
    Comedy 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: agoodreadbbc
    Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley
  • A Good Read

    Lolita Chakrabarti and Dr Guy Leschziner

    2026/03/09 | 27 mins.
    This week's books are:
    How to Measure a Cow by Margaret Forster (chosen by Lolita Chakrabarti)
    The House of God by Samuel Shem (chosen by Guy Leschziner)
    A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir (chosen by Harriett Gilbert)
    The producer is Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
    Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
  • A Good Read

    Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Jung Chang

    2026/03/02 | 27 mins.
    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 Chang
    Produced in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
  • A Good Read

    Martin Edwards and Tom Shakespeare

    2026/02/23 | 27 mins.
    This week's books are:
    Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, chosen by crime writer Martin Edwards
    At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, chosen by sociologist, bioethicist and comedian Tom Shakespeare
    Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Pineiro, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
    Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
    Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven
    Photo credit: Belinda Mason
  • A Good Read

    Maria Balshaw and Léa Ypi

    2026/02/17 | 27 mins.
    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 @agoodreadbbc
    Photo credit: Erdem Moralioglu

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About A Good Read

Find reading inspiration with favourite books chosen by our guests.
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