Metro Book Chat: Recent Episodes
Alex Holmes
Welcome to the Metro Book Chat podcast, brought to you by the Metro Newspaper. Here, we bring to life the books pages from the paper, chat book news with bloggers and authors and interview other interesting guests from the world of books. Make sure you follow us on: Facebook.com/metrobookchat Twitter: @metrobookchat and Youtube!
In our very last episode of Metro Book Chat, Graeme Simsion discusses his latest book The Rosie Result. The final instalment in his Rosie series, it follows Don Tillman as he grapples with new family challenges.
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Graeme Simsion
Books mentioned
The Rosie Project
The Rosie Effect
The Rosie Result
(All Graeme Simsion)
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
In the penultimate episode of Metro Book Chat's podcast, we talk to Harriet Tyce about her thrilling debut; Blood Orange.
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Harriet Tyce
Graeme Simsion
Books mentioned
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough
Convenience Store Woman by by Sayaka Murata
A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing by Emer McBride
The Plague by Albert Camus
Set in Iceland, 1686, The Glass Woman follows Rosa as she leaves home to marry an enigmatic man - whose secrets begin to creep out of the stark, frozen landscape.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Caroline Lea
Harriet Tyce
Books mentioned:
The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Confessions of a Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
In At The Deep End by Kate Davies
We're talking witchcraft, patriarchy and historical fiction in this week's episode!
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Stacey Halls
Books mentioned:
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
How To Fail by Elizabeth Day
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
Blood and Sugar Laura Shepherd-Robinson
What Red Was by Rosie Price
This week, we're talking with author-illustrator Alex T Smith, about his work on judging THe Blue Peter Book Awards. Here are the list of nominees:
FICTION
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf
The Clockwork Crow by Catherine Fisher
The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
NON-FICTION
Professor Astro Cat’s Human Body Odyssey by Dr. Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman
The Colours of History by Clive Gifford and Marc-Etienne Peintre
The Element in the Room: Investigating the Atomic Ingredients that Make Up Your Home by Mike Barfield and Lauren Humphrey
Tune in to Blue Peter on 7 March 2019 to find out the winner...
This week we're talking to Rachel about her debut YA novel, The Twisted Tree. It's a Gothic ghost story, with influences of Norse mythology.
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Rachel Burge
Stacey Halls
Books mentioned
The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
White Out by Gabriel Dylan
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
We talk to Jane about her latest novel, Tell Me A Secret, a tense novel about female friendship and the difficulties of navigating promotions.
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Jane Fallon
Rachel Burge
Books mentioned
Tell Me A Secret by Jane Fallon
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton
White Out by Gabriel Dylan
In this week's Book Chat, we talk to Sarah Moss about Ghost Wall, her latest novel that mixes folksy horror with tales of modern day abuse. Listen in to hear an extract of the novel. Plus, we have our usual 10 second review section - this week, with Jane Fallon!
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Sarah Moss
Jane Fallon
Books mentioned:
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Lost Property by Laura Beatty
Apple of My Eye by Claire Allan
Welcome to Book Chat 2019! To kick things off, we chat to Søren about his gripping new thriller The Chestnut Man. Plus, we have a 10 second review from Sarah Moss.
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Søren Sveistrup
Sarah Moss
Books mentioned:
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson
Silver and Salt by Eleanor Dymott
This week, we catch up with author and debut-novelist Helen Cullen to talk about her book The Lost Letters of William Woolf. It's a beautiful, compact story, that looks at the complexities of love, relationships, time and communication. It's our last podcast for 2018, but we'll be back next year with more authors and book news!
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Helen Cullen
Books mentioned
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
This week, we talk to Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght about their latest book, The Importance Of Being Aisling. The writing duo’s first novel, Oh My God What A Complete Aisling, was a best-seller –and for good reason too! In Aisling, they’ve created a warm, relatable character, who’s an instant hit with readers. We caught up with the authors to learn a little bit more about their Irish heroine…
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Sarah Breen
Emer McLysaght
Helen Russell
Books mentioned:
Oh My God What A Complete Aisling by Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght
The Importance Of Being Aisling by Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght
Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella
The Queen And I by Sue Townsend
The Magic Faraway Tree (series) by Enid Blyton
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What is happiness? And does it mean different things in different countries? In this week’s podcast, we talk to Helen Russell about her latest book The Atlas Of Happiness, and look at how different countries quantify and seek out contentment.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Helen Russell
Books mentioned:
The Atlas of Happiness by Helen Russell
The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
Happy by Derren Brown
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
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This week on we’re talking with best-selling Australian author Bram Presser. His debut novel, The Book of Dirt, is a tale of love and survival in the time of the holocaust. A deeply personal project, it interweaves fiction and non-fic, myth and lore as the author goes in search of his ancestor’s stories.
Contributors:
Alex Holmes
Bram Presser
Ruth Gaukrodger
Books mentioned:
The Book of Dirt by Bram Presser
The Governesses by Anna Serre
Census by Jesse Ball
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We caught up with Heather to talk about her novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It follows the true story of Lale Sokolov, who became the chief tattooist in the Nazi camp. Here, he endured great hardships, but also fell in love with one of the young women he tattooed.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Heather Morris
Alex Holmes
Books mentioned:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
On Writing by Stephen King
Lady Sings The Blues by Billie Holiday
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We caught up with award winning author Sarah Perry to talk about her chilling tale, Melmoth. Join us as we discuss legends, myth, horror stories and favourite spooky anecdotes.
Not one to miss!
Contributors:
Alex Holmes
Ruth Gaukrodger
Sarah Perry
Heather Morris
Books mentioned:
Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca
Shirley Jackson
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
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We caught up with best-selling author Liane Moriarty as we discuss her latest novel, Nine Perfect Strangers.
The story is about nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.
Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other...until chaos ensues...
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Alex Holmes
Liane Moriarty
Sarah Perry
Books mentioned:
The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
Patrick Gale - Take Nothing With You
Kate Atkinson - Transcription
Flood - Hilary Mantel
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We caught up with John to talk about his prize-winning novel The Heart’s Invisible Furies, an epic book which follows the life of a gay man living in Ireland. The book takes us from the 1940s up until the (near) present, and tracks the way that the writer’s home country has changed in those years.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
John Boyne
Alex Holmes
Liane Moriarty
Books mentioned:
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
A History Of Loneliness by John Boyne
A Ladder To The Sky by John Boyne
From A Low And Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan
Feminists Don't Wear Pink (And Other Lies) by Scarlett Curtis
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
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This week we caught up with Gail Jones to talk about her latest novel, The Death of Noah Glass. We discuss family, grief, and the themes of masculinity that run throughout her book. Plus, we have our usual book news section, where we discuss the Booker shortlist, and we round it all off with a 10 second review from John Boyne.
Contributors:
Gail Jones
Alex Holmes
Ruth Gaukrodger
John Boyne
Books mentioned:
The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones
The Cockatoos by Patrick White
In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
Milkman by Anna Burns
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
We caught up with famous children's author and all-round good egg Cressida Cowell. We talk about the first book in her new series, Twice Magic, and the magical creatures that inhabit the world.
Contributors:
Alexander Holmes
Cressida Cowell
Ruth Gaukrodger
Gail Jones
Books mentioned:
Twice Magic by Cressida Cowell
How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Wonky Donkey by
Shh! by Salley Grindley
Ponti by Sharlene Teo
The Girls' Guide To Hunting And Fishing by Melissa Banks
How To Love A Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs
The New Testament by Jericho Brown
This week, we caught up with best-selling author James Oswald to talk about No Time To Cry, the first in a new series of books focusing on Constance Fairchild, a detective constable in the Met.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Alexander Holmes
James Oswald
Cressida Cowell
Books mentioned:
No Time To Cry by James Oswald
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee
Embers Of War by Gareth L Powell
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
This week we have author Alicia Drake who joins Metro Book Chat to speak about her novel ' I Love You Too Much'.
In our Books and Views section, we speak about:
- The Financial Times Weekend article about how new reading trends were directly affected by the financial crash,
-The #ShareYourRejections movement;
-The Guardian's article on social media influencing book cover designs; * And Literary Hub's piece on why every author should include a school on their book tours.
Contributors:
Alex Holmes
Ruth Gaukrodger
Alicia Drake
Not one to miss.
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We caught up with Sophie to talk about her debut novel The Water Cure, a brilliant book about three sisters growing up on an island in the near future. Isolated from the world, with only their parents for company, they distrust everything that comes from ‘the mainland’. When a group of men arrive on their shores, the balance of the girls’ lives is changed irreversibly.
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Sophie Mackintosh
Alicia Drake
Grace Harrison
Books mentioned:
Vox by Christina Dalcher
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
I'll Go On By Hwang Jungeun
America Is Not The Heart by Elaine Castillo
Year Of The Drought by Roland Buti
The Secret Life by Andrew O'Hagan
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We caught up with Daisy to talk about Everything Under, her Booker-longlisted novel about family, fate, language and belonging.
Books mentioned:
Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
The Long Take by Robin Robertson
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Daisy Johnson
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We caught up with Ottessa to talk about My Year Of Rest And Relaxation, her latest novel about a young woman on a quest to hibernate.
Books Mentioned:
My Year Of Rest And Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Fresh Water by Akwaeke Emezi
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Ottessa Moshfegh
Daisy Johnson
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We caught up with Belinda to talk about Snap, her latest novel which has been longlisted for the Man Booker 2018 prize. We discuss feminism in thrillers, doing deep dive research, and how screenwriting can shape our approach to narrative.
Books Mentioned:
Snap by Belinda Bauer
Darkside by Belinda Bauer
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Alex Holmes
Belinda Bauer
Becky Short
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We caught up with Tomi to talk about her chart-topping debut, Children of Blood and Bone! This is a long-form, in-depth interview with the author, which offers a deep dive into Tomi’s writing methods, and shows how she drew from real-life instances of racism to create an allegory for the modern-day black experience.
(Ten second reviews will be back next week.)
Books Mentioned:
Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
An Ember In The Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir
Six Of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo
Shadowshaper series by Daniel José Older
Four Dark Queens by Astrid Scholte
The Poppy War by R F Kuang
Contributors:
Alex Holmes
Ruth Gaukrodger
Tomi Adeyemi
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For August, we’re reading The Plus One! A great literary romp that has been penned by Sophia Money Coutts. Listen in for details of our giveaway, then get involved with the chat through our Twitter and Facebook.
Books Mentioned:
The Plus One by Sophia Money Coutts
Gone With The Windsors by Laurie Graham
The Bonfire Of The Vanities by Tom Wolfe
The Reading Cure by Laura Freeman
A Very Large Expanse Of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
Contributors:
Alex Holmes
Ruth Gaukrodger
Sophia Money-Coutts
Tomi Adeyemi
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Welcome to Metro Book Chat!
This week we’re talking to Nikesh Shukla about his book The One Who Wrote Destiny— it’s a deeply moving and funny novel that delves into the lives of a British-Asian family.
Books Mentioned:
The One Who Wrote Destiny by Nikesh Shukla
This Really Isn’t About You by Hannah Edelstein
Heads Of The Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Nikesh Shukla
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Welcome to Metro Book Chat!
This week we interview Kate Murray-Browne, author of The Upstairs Room — a haunting, cross-genre novel that was partly inspired by real-life events. Don't forget to listen in at the end of the episode, for details of this week's giveaway.
Along with a lengthy chat about Kate's research and writing process, we have our usual ten second review section, where we give our verdict on a recent release.
Books Mentioned:
The Upstairs Room by Kate Murray-Brown
The Woman In Black by Susan Hill
The Stranger On The Bridge by Jonny Benjamin
Free Woman by Lara Feigel
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Kate Murray-Browne
Alex Holmes
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Welcome to Metro Book Chat!
This week we interview two literary figures: Bridget Lawless, founder of The Staunch Book Prize, and Sabine Durrant, a brilliant thriller writer.
Along with a lengthy chat about the role of female victim narratives in modern day thrillers, we have our usual ten second review section, where we give our verdicts on some great new releases.
Books Mentioned:
Take Me In by Sabine Durrant
Based on a True Story Paperback by Delphine de Vigan
Liar’s Candle by August Thomas
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
There There by Tommy Orange
Our Friends In Berlin by Anthony Quinn
After The Party by Cressida Cowell
Contributors:
Ruth Gaukrodger
Alex Holmes
Bridget Lawless
Sabine Durrant
Kate Murray-Browne
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Welcome to Metro Book Chat!
This week, we caught up with Abigail Tarttelin to talk about her latest feminist crime thriller, Dead
Girls.
Along with a chat about global issues that women face, and the toxic narratives around missing girls, we have our ten second book review section, for time-poor book lovers who want snappy opinions on recent releases.
Welcome to the all-new Metro Book Chat podcast!
This week, we caught up with Ruth Ware to talk about her latest psychological thriller, The Death Of Mrs. Westaway.
Along with book chat about feminism and thrillers, we introduce our ten second review section, for any time-poor book lovers who want snappy opinions on recent releases.
Books mentioned:
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
The Queen Of Bloody Everything by Joanna Nadin
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
Ponti by Sharlene Teo (reviewed by Nikesh Shukla)
Contributors
Ruth Gaukrodger
Ruth Ware
Nikesh Shukla
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