A Good Read Folgen

Books featured:True Grit by Charles Portis Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Moominland Midwinter by Tove JanssonNicci Gerrard and Sean French write collectively as Nicci French. They not only write together, they're also a married couple and they love to read. Sean chooses True Grit by Charles Portis, better known for the film versions with John Wayne and Jeff Bridges. But Sean passionately believes that to really experience the brilliance of the story you have to read the book, in which the 14 year old female protagonist hires a gunslinger to track down her father's killer. Harriett's choice is a story of mental illness and family fallout. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason documents the life of Martha, who seems to be in permanent self-destruct mode and is unaware of the effects her behaviour have on those around her. Nicci picks Tove Jansson's Moominland Midwinter, a book she read and loved as a child and continues to love today. Unlike Jansson's other books, which are set in summer, this story set in deep dark winter is a coming of age story about taking responsibility and conquering fears.Producer: Maggie AyrePhoto copyright Johnny Ring

A PRIMATE'S MEMOIR (Love, Death and Baboons) by Robert Sapolsky, chosen by Professor Ben Garrod SOLDIER SAILOR by Claire Kilroy, chosen by Harriett Gilbert THE ABUNDANCE by Annie Dillard, chosen by Lucy JonesEvolutionary biologist Ben Garrod (Professor at the University of East Anglia) chooses a book which he's read and gifted countless times, a book which inspired him to go out in the field and study chimpanzees himself: A Primate's Memoir by Robert Sapolsky. Robert is one of the leading primatologists and scientists today and this is his gripping, at times heartbreaking account of leaving the United States age twenty-one to study wild baboons in the Kenyan savannah. Lucy Jones (author of Matrescence and Losing Eden) picks an author she has consistently loved for her child-like gift of wonder and close, detailed attention to the natural world. Lucy brings Annie Dillard's collection of essays, The Abundance, for the others to read. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a fictional tale of early motherhood. A vivid, immersive monologue of a woman on the brink that keeps readers on the edge of their seats to the very end. Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram

TOKYO EXPRESS by Seichō Matsumoto, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, chosen by Sir Ian Blatchford THE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND HELOISE, translated by Betty Radice, chosen by Charles Fernyhough SOLDIERS OF SALAMIS by Javier Cercas, translated by Anne McLean, chosen by Harriett GilbertDirector of the Science Museum group and president of the Royal Literary Fund, Sir Ian Blatchford, chooses a cult classic from 1958 for his good read. A double love suicide wrapped up in suspicious government corruption and a whodunnit hinging on train timetables, Sir Ian makes the case for one of his favourite books. Travelling to the middle ages for Charles Fernyhough's pick, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise were once much more widely known than they are today. Charles, an amateur medievalist alongside being an author, musician and Professor of Psychology at Durham University, recommends this book as one of the greatest love stories of all time. The letters of Heloise he especially believes should be celebrated, as they showcase a great early feminist philosopher and writer. Presenter Harriett Gilbert's good read takes readers into the Spanish Civil War: Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas, from 2001. This is a book exploring the role of memory when unpicking the past, and asks questions about whether we can ever remember what really happened. What will the others make of it? Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol Join the book club on Instagram, @agoodreadbbc