A Good Read

This week's books are:
Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy, chosen by comedian Robin Ince
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Esther Waters by George Moore, chosen by writer Philip Hensher
Producer Sally Heaven, BBC Audio Bristol

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 2025
Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
Photo credit: Edward Brown

Michelle Ogundehin is a broadcaster, magazine editor and author also known as a presenter on TV's Interior Design Masters. She and author Lisa St Aubin de Terán give their book recommendations. Michelle's is 4000 Weeks: Time Management For Mortals by Oliver Burkeman which she says has helped her simplify her life. Lisa chooses Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix the powerful retelling of the 2021 incident in which 27 people drowned in the English Channel attempting to make the crossing from France. It's a fictionalised account of a real event told from the perspective of the French Coastguard blamed for not taking adequate action.
Harriett's choice is The Party by Tessa Hadley set in post war Bristol.
Have your say on any of these books on Instagram @agoodreadbbc
Producer: Maggie Ayre

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 Agrawal
Structural 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
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Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne

THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux chosen by Richard Benson
THE CORNER THAT HELD THEM by Sylvia Townsend Warner chosen by Amy Sackville
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES by Ferdinand von Schirach chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Writer and former editor of the Face Richard Benson talks to fellow writer Amy Sackville and presenter Harriett Gilbert about favourite books.
Richard chooses The Years by Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux, saying it brings back memories of his French penpal's bohemian mother. Amy's choice of The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner, about convent life in the 1300s, isn't as dry as that might sound, and Harriett's pick is Coffee and Cigarettes by German criminal defence lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven
Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc