Episode 14

Joining Mariella in yet another excellent edition of the Book Show are the Lord of arts shows, Melvyn Bragg; award-winning poet and crime writer, Sophie Hannah; and the author of five bestselling novels, Josephine Hart.

To read first chapters of the books featured in The Book Show for free, visit Lovereading.co.uk for a taste of what’s coming up!

If you liked Josephine Hart’s The Truth About Love and are after more imagination capturing novels, here are a couple more to try:
Jennifer Johnston: Shadows On Our Skin
Shadows On Our Skin is a haunting rites of passage tale set in Derry in the 1970s. Teenage Joe Logan is growing up in the midst of the troubles with an embittered family and harsh schooling. When he meets Kathleen, a young teacher, she broadens his horizons beyond the bleakness of Derry. But his confused feelings for her lead him on a course of action that will end his childhood and bring pain to others.

William Trevor: A Bit On The Side
In A Bit On The Side, William Trevor switches between London and rural Ireland with 12 short stories on the subject of love in all its shapes and forms. From the adulterous to the unspoken, the clandestine to the cruel, Trevor enhances our understanding of human nature whether it’s through an office romance or a domestic betrayal.

If you liked Sophie Hannah’s The Other Half Lives and it’s given you a taste for psychological crime, then here are a couple more chillers to pass away these snowed in days and nights with:
Nicci French: Beneath The Skin
The husband and wife psychological crime writing team ratchets up the tension  when three women of different ages, backgrounds and styles all receive an anonymous note informing them that they are going to be killed. Their lives start to shatter when they turn from victims to accused as the police search for what they might have done to attract the attention of a killer.

Linwood Barclay: No Time For Goodbye
A suburban teenager awakes with a hangover, knowing she’s in trouble with her parents. But when she leaves her room, she discovers the house empty and no sign of her family – they have simply vanished. 25 years later, Cynthia Archer is still haunted by the mystery and she attempts to uncover what happened. But she soon realises that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she’s ever made.

If you liked Melvyn Bragg’s Remember Me and want to further explore love and loss, here are a couple more to try:
Graham Greene: The End Of The Affair
In The End Of The Affair, novelist Maurice Bendrix begins a love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, in London during the Blitz. But one day, without warning, Sarah breaks off the relationship. Two years later still consumed by obsessive jealousy and grief, Bendrix hires a private investigator to follow Sarah and find out why she might have left him. It's a heart-rendering exploration not just of love for another, but also love of self and love of god.

Maggie O’Farrell: After You’d Gone
In Maggie O’Farrell’s debut novel Alice Raikes, a grieving young widow on her way to Scotland, is forced by a shocking event to return abruptly to London. Hours later she is hit by a car, but is it an accident or suicide attempt? Whilst in a coma, Alice takes a mental journey through her past revealing a tragic love story and a dark family secret. The book is a moving study of love and grief which asks the question what do you do with the love you have for someone after they’ve gone?

Bedside Table
We snooped into Victoria Hislop’s bedroom to see what she reads in bed. All in the name of research, of course.

Fine Line
Britain’s favourite philosopher A C Grayling reveals his favourite line from a book in this week’s Fine Line

Book Club
This week we don our artistic hats as we visited the Tate Modern Shop for their book club recommendation, Sarah Thornton's Seven Days in the Art World

Write Place
This week we take a peek into the engine room of children’s laureate and prolific poet Michael Rosen.

Quests’ literary heroes and heroines
Every week we ask our guests to tell us about their literary heroes and heroines. This week, Josephine Hart reveals her favourite literary character is from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; Sophie Hannah’s literary favourite is from Ruth Rendell’s Harm Done; and Melvyn Bragg’s has found his literary hero or heroine from Thomas Mann’s Confessions of a Felix Krull, Confidence Man. But which characters have they chosen?