
A Good Read
BBC Radio 4
Categories: Arts
Listen to the last episode:
THE IRON AGE by Arja Kajermo A SHORT STAY IN HELL by Steven L Peck STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood
James Rebanks is a farmer from the Lake District as well as author of The Shepherd's Life. His new book The Place of Tides is about his time in Norway learning from an elderly woman who cared for eider ducks on a remote island. His book choice is The Iron Age by Arja Kajermo, a Finnish novel about rural life in the 1950s, told from the perspective of a young girl. James finds it speaks to his northern sensibility as it documents the hard life of an impoverished farming family in post war Finland.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean is a multi-award winning Welsh comedian, satirist and writer. Her choice is A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L Peck about a Mormon condemned to exist in Hell for millennia. Kiri says it's a book bursting with ideas about life and its meaning.
Harriett picks Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood set in a religious retreat outside of Sydney where a woman has come to reassess her life.
There's plenty of lively and good natured disagreement about the books. Listen here and add your thoughts to our Instagram Book Club @agoodreadbbc
Producer: Maggie Ayre
Previous episodes
-
364 - James Rebanks and Kiri Pritchard-McLean at the Hay Festival Mon, 07 Jul 2025
-
363 - Budgie and Juhea Kim Mon, 30 Jun 2025
-
362 - Xantoné Blacq and Harry Trevaldwyn Mon, 23 Jun 2025
-
361 - Josh Cohen and Nussaibah Younis Mon, 16 Jun 2025
-
360 - Jack Thorne and Peter Kosminsky Mon, 09 Jun 2025
-
359 - Douglas Stuart and Sian Eleri Mon, 31 Mar 2025
-
358 - Lucy Speed and Sarah Mills Mon, 24 Mar 2025
-
357 - Nina Sosanya and Joelle Taylor Mon, 17 Mar 2025
-
356 - Oliver Burkeman and Sara Collins Mon, 10 Mar 2025
-
355 - Inua Ellams and Ted Hodgkinson Mon, 03 Mar 2025
-
354 - Julia Bradbury and Ramita Navai Mon, 24 Feb 2025
-
353 - Joe Dunthorne and Iszi Lawrence Mon, 17 Feb 2025
-
352 - Nicci Gerrard and Sean French Mon, 10 Feb 2025
-
351 - Professor Ben Garrod and Lucy Jones Mon, 02 Dec 2024
-
350 - Sir Ian Blatchford and Charles Fernyhough Mon, 25 Nov 2024
-
349 - Naomi Alderman and Abi Dare Mon, 18 Nov 2024
-
348 - Jenny Kleeman and Sam Knight Mon, 11 Nov 2024
-
347 - Nihal Arthanayake and Elif Shafak Mon, 04 Nov 2024
-
346 - Tim Spector and Tatty Macleod Mon, 28 Oct 2024
-
345 - Fee Mak and Ali Woods Mon, 21 Oct 2024
-
344 - Amy Liptrot and Karl Ove Knausgaard Mon, 14 Oct 2024
-
343 - Irvine Welsh and Andrew O'Hagan Mon, 07 Oct 2024
-
342 - Rachel Parris and Sonali Shah Mon, 29 Jul 2024
-
341 - Sarah Phelps and Irenosen Okojie Mon, 22 Jul 2024
-
340 - Helen Lederer and Ilaria Bernardini Mon, 15 Jul 2024
-
339 - Gyles Brandreth and Hannah Critchlow Mon, 08 Jul 2024
-
338 - Sebastian Faulks and Tessa Hadley Mon, 01 Jul 2024
-
337 - Doon Mackichan and Bruce Robinson Tue, 25 Jun 2024
-
336 - Denise Mina and Simon Brett Mon, 17 Jun 2024
-
335 - Samantha Harvey and Darran Anderson Mon, 10 Jun 2024
-
334 - Kathryn Hughes and Dan Schreiber Fri, 07 Jun 2024
-
333 - Carol Morley and Will Hislop Tue, 26 Mar 2024
-
332 - Christopher Eccleston and Lindsey Hilsum Tue, 19 Mar 2024
-
331 - Katy Hessel and Amy Blakemore Tue, 12 Mar 2024
-
330 - Andrew McMillan and Kathryn Williams Tue, 05 Mar 2024
-
329 - Paterson Joseph and Richard Coles Wed, 28 Feb 2024
-
328 - Anjana Vasan and Anne-Marie Imafidon Tue, 20 Feb 2024
-
327 - Joe Talbot and Nancy Medina Tue, 13 Feb 2024
-
326 - Rachel Brown-Finnis and Anna Bogutskaya Tue, 06 Feb 2024
-
325 - Ian Rankin and Colin MacIntyre Tue, 30 Jan 2024
-
324 - Chantal Joffe and Séamas O'Reilly Tue, 28 Nov 2023
-
323 - Janet Ellis and Jason Arday Tue, 21 Nov 2023
-
322 - India Knight and Emma Dabiri Tue, 14 Nov 2023
-
321 - Nigel Kennedy and Clare Perkins Tue, 07 Nov 2023
-
320 - Cressida Cowell and Romy Gill MBE Tue, 31 Oct 2023
-
319 - Anneka Rice and Maureen Freely Tue, 24 Oct 2023
-
318 - Cornelia Parker and Jeremy Lee Tue, 17 Oct 2023
-
317 - Rhys Stephenson and Esther Manito Tue, 10 Oct 2023
-
316 - Vaseem Khan and Lucy Winkett Tue, 03 Oct 2023
-
315 - Olivia Laing and Charlie Porter Tue, 25 Jul 2023