Books and Authors

TOKYO EXPRESS by Seichō Matsumoto, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, chosen by Sir Ian Blatchford THE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND HELOISE, translated by Betty Radice, chosen by Charles Fernyhough SOLDIERS OF SALAMIS by Javier Cercas, translated by Anne McLean, chosen by Harriett GilbertDirector of the Science Museum group and president of the Royal Literary Fund, Sir Ian Blatchford, chooses a cult classic from 1958 for his good read. A double love suicide wrapped up in suspicious government corruption and a whodunnit hinging on train timetables, Sir Ian makes the case for one of his favourite books.Travelling to the middle ages for Charles Fernyhough's pick, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise were once much more widely known than they are today. Charles, an amateur medievalist alongside being an author, musician and Professor of Psychology at Durham University, recommends this book as one of the greatest love stories of all time. The letters of Heloise he especially believes should be celebrated, as they showcase a great early feminist philosopher and writer.Presenter Harriett Gilbert's good read takes readers into the Spanish Civil War: Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas, from 2001. This is a book exploring the role of memory when unpicking the past, and asks questions about whether we can ever remember what really happened. What will the others make of it?Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol Join the book club on Instagram, @agoodreadbbc

The Power author Naomi Alderman, and Nigerian writer Abi Dare discuss favourite books. Naomi chooses Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher, a series of hilarious letters written by a beleaguered academic. Abi champions A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini's tale of two women in Taliban governed Afghanistan and Harriett recommends James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, two immensely powerful essays.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven Follow us on Instagram: agoodreadbbcPhoto credit: Annabel Moeller

EDUCATED by Tara Westover, chosen by Jenny Kleeman THE WREN, THE WREN by Anne Enright, chosen by Harriett Gilbert GIVING UP THE GHOST by Hilary Mantel, chosen by Sam KnightJournalist and broadcaster Jenny Kleeman (of Radio 4's The Gift and author of The Price of Life) chooses Tara Westover's memoir Educated, which caused a sensation when it was first published. It's about her childhood growing up in an isolated Mormon family in rural Idaho, who were preparing for the end of the world, and didn't believe in school, doctors or medicine. It's about how she studied her way out of a difficult upbringing, eventually earning a PhD at Cambridge University.Sam Knight (staff writer at the New Yorker and author of The Premonitions Bureau) also picks a memoir, but of a very different kind. He goes for Hilary Mantel's beguiling Giving Up The Ghost. In it, she explores the real, and imaginary, ghosts of her life - the illnesses that have haunted her body, the family she would never have, and the art of writing.Harriett Gilbert brings a work of fiction by a writer she loves, the Irish writer Anne Enright. They discuss her latest novel The Wren, The Wren, a story which speaks about the inheritance of trauma and the price of love.Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram

Nihal has chosen Amma, the debut novel by Sri Lankan writer Saraid de Silva, which he compares to meeting someone on a train and having a long, intense conversation. Elif Shafak's choice, however, You're Embarrassing Yourself by Desiree Akhavan, he describes as more like a hilarious night in a pub. Harriett has gone for The Second Murderer by Denise Mina, a Philip Marlowe novel. But is there a need to add to Raymond Chandler's canon?Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc