A Good Read Folgen

Lloyd Cole is a singer/songwriter whose hits with his band The Commotions include Perfect Skin. His choice of A Good Read is The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. For him it's all about the smart dialogue and lavish use of similes. Francis Macdonald's pick is the autobiography of the Scottish comedian Limmy: Surprisingly Down to Earth and Very Funny. While he admits Limmy's work and persona is 'marmite' to people - they either love him or hate him - he says the book covers a lot of important topics that young men don't often discuss - mental health being the main one. Harriett recommends a noir novel in the same vein as Chandler - The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes who did not receive the same acclaim even though she was writing at the same time and also had books optioned and made into Hollywood movies.Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Maggie Ayre

The Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis chooses Margaret Atwood's treatise on debt - Payback: Debt & The Shadow Side of Wealth as his go to book for students of economics. It examines money lending throughout the ages and how it has been portrayed in classic literature. Patrick McGrath's choice is a novel by Nigel Balchin set during the London Blitz: Darkness Falls From The Air which he loves for its humour and for its stoic main character Bill Sarratt, a civil servant whose attempts to get anything done are thwarted by bureaucracy. Yanis describes Bill as a 'Sir Humphrey' from Yes Minister character and was unexpectedly delighted to discover the novel. Harriett's choice is by Kiley Reid: a smart look at race politics in the USA through the story of a young black nanny and her white employer, white boyfriend and black friends. Such A Fun Age was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020.Producer: Maggie Ayre

Janey Godley's choice is a thriller Remember Me This Way by Sabine Durrant. It's a page turner with a neat twist and tackles coercive behaviour in an interesting way. And it features a dog called Howard. Janey says it has made her think differently about her own mother's relationship with a controlling man.Mayflies by Andrew O Hagan is Harriett's choice. It's an 80s tale of male friendship through music set in Ayrshire and Manchester and following two of the young men into adulthood.Mel Hudson chooses The Map & The Territory by Michel Houllebecq. To say it divides opinion is to put it mildly.Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Maggie Ayre