The Radio 2 Book Club

Author Simon Wroe joins Sara for a chat about his new novel, 'Ghost Month'.

They discuss ghosts and spirits and the inspirations behind this story.

The novel is set in London and told from four different character perspectives. Simon tells us about each character and how he formed them, as well as some real-life experiences which influenced him too.

He also recommends us a book he's enjoyed reading recently - and - we hear a clip of the audiobook too!

Here's a little more about 'Ghost Month': Every September, the spirits of the dead return before vanishing four weeks later in a puff of green ash.

The haunting has become a holiday - part Christmas, part Halloween, full of annual reckonings with the past. The ghosts aren't real in any way that can hurt you, so it's hard to tell the silent spectres from ashen commuters: they linger on train platforms, they crowd buses, they take up space on your sofa. The proper term these days is 'people without pulses'.

This year, four strangers prepare for a visit from their dearly departed. The season forces them to confront all the things that haunt them, not just their dead. As suppressed truths emerge from the shadows, each of them will end Ghost Month changed in ways they never imagined.

Happy Haunting.

This week, Sara is joined by one of our Superstar Librarians - Evie Loy O'Neill. They chat about her job at Richmond Libraries, the Radio 2 Book Club Panel - and - the books that have been flying off the shelves this summer.

She also tells us her Top Five Reads of the Year (so far!):

1. 'Where Are The Kings' - Donal Ryan 2. 'The History of Sound' - Ben Shattuck 3. 'The Rom-Commers' - Katherine Center 4. 'Main Characters' - Bobby Palmer 5. 'Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport' - Lily Canter & Emma Wilkinson

Debut author, Max Doty, joins Sara for a natter about his horror novel 'The House That Eats The Dead'.

They discuss his love of the genre, the inspiration for this story (spoiler alert, his wife sparked the idea!) and how it started life as a short story on the internet.

Max also talks about power shifts, the lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their lives, and classic horror authors he loves.

As well as this, Max recommends us a book he recently read - and - we hear a clip from the audiobook too.

Here's more info on 'The House That Eats The Dead':

The new house is a fresh start for Claire and her family. It’s a move towards the quiet suburban life she has craved since her turbulent childhood; a step up the corporate ladder for her husband, Tom; and a safe haven for their two children.

Yet, as they unpack their boxes, she senses something is wrong . . .

Fresh flowers dry up, store-bought eggs are inexplicably hollow and her daughter’s favourite toy disappears. Claire soon confronts a series of impossible truths: the house is hungry. It’s devouring anything that was once alive. And only Claire and Tom, the owners of the house, will remember that this ‘food’ ever existed.

When Claire exploits the house’s power in a moment of weakness, she and the house forge a fragile bond. But as its hunger intensifies and Claire starts to lose control, she fears who else might be drawn to her home – and what sinister appetites they’ll bring.

Author Frances Quinn joins Sara in the studio to discuss her new novel, 'The Scandalous Ladies Football Club'.

They chat about the real-life inspiration behind the story, how she nearly gave up writing the whole thing because of a sticky plot point - and why she hides ABBA references in all her books. (yes, she's a mega fan)

Sara also asks her about her Tonkinese cats and her 'other job', writing food packaging for a well-known supermarket. (apparently she loves using the word 'buttery')

We also get a great book recommendation from her - and - hear a clip from the audiobook too!

Here's a little more info on Frances' novel: London, 1897. Minnie Newton – twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher and women’s rights advocate – has a passion for football. But in Victorian society, football is a men's game. That is, until Minnie decides to take matters into her own hands and place an ad in the newspaper, asking for volunteers to join the first ever women’s football team.

From a motley collection of replies, Minnie puts together a squad. Most of the women have never kicked a ball before – but a little thing like that isn’t about to stop them. And when they take the game public, it isn’t long before they are drawing huge crowds, stirring controversy across the capital and beyond.

But Minnie is hiding an explosive secret. Soon, all the attention the club is getting begins to threaten the life she has built for herself.

Can she walk the line between independence and safety, or will the truth about who she really is finally come out? And is the beautiful game enough to save her freedom?

In this bumper episode of the Radio 2 Book Club, Jeremy Vine visits the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

It's the world's largest crime writing festival, which welcomed over 20,000 crime fiction fans over four days, at the Old Swan Hotel (the hotel where Agatha Christie was found after she went 'missing' for 11 days, in 1926).

Jeremy chats to some of the biggest names writing crime fiction today: David Baldacci, Denise Mina, Vaseem Khan, Anthony Horowitz, Ann Cleeves, MW Craven, Anthony Horowitz and Tim Sullivan.

They discuss their new books, the joy of the festival, the popularity of crime fiction in the UK and how they keep coming up with murders!

David Baldacci (who has sold over 200M books!) won the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award this year - and talks about the threat of AI on writers.

Vaseem Khan discusses his new series of books, which he's writing for the Ian Fleming estate, featuring the Bond character, Q.

Ann Cleeves is a stalwart of this festival, and was their first writer in residence, so as well as telling us about her new novel - and working with Brenda Blethyn on 'Vera' - she also sums up what this celebration of crime fiction is all about.

Tim Sullivan self-published his first books, because agents didn't want them, but is now a million copy bestselling author - and he talks to Jeremy about that journey.

Denise Mina's new book asks lots of moral questions of the reader - which she gets into - as well as revealing the treats she got from Betty's.

Anthony Horowitz talks about meta fiction, writing himself into his books and writing a book within a book - whilst keeping it simple!

And MW Craven reveals how he started taking writing seriously after nearly dying from a tumor - and why writing his character, Washington Poe, was so cathartic!

There's something for everyone in this bumper edition!

Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos (aka Ellery Lloyd) join Sara for a natter about their new novel, 'Time To Burn'.

Paul and Collette not only write together, but are married too - and Sara has A LOT of questions!

Their new novel is about time travel gone wrong, so we delve into their inspirations for the book, how important the history was, and just how they plot and plan (and write) between the two of them.

Plus, we hear an extract from the audiobook - and - get two cracking book recommendations too!

Here's a little more about Ellery Lloyd's latest novel, 'Time To Burn':

If the past catches up with you, time travel can be murder . . .

London, the present day: commercial time travel is a reality. Tempus Tours – owned by controversial tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank – offers the wealthy a chance to witness pivotal moments in history.

To immortalise his achievement, Frank enlists award-winning filmmaker Phoebe Hunt to create a fly-on-the-wall documentary. On her first day shadowing Inigo, she is set to witness the return of a billionaire property developer and his family from their trip to the past. But instead of their awe-filled return, she captures the group arriving bloodied and traumatized, with one of their number missing.

Not only that, but Phoebe recognizes the missing woman. She knows not only that she's not who she claims to be, but that the woman has every reason to harbor a grudge against her. And as events begin to unravel in the present day, it seems increasingly clear that the woman had sinister motives for returning to the past – and that people close to Phoebe are in danger.

Can Phoebe stop the ripple effect before she loses everything – and everyone – she holds dear?

Debut novelist, Anna Goldreich, joins Sara in the Book Club to discuss 'The Leveret'.

They chat about her inspirations behind the story, farming, baby hares, grief, queer love and much much more.

Anna is also a keen twitcher - and runs a queer bird watching group in Norfolk - which Sara gets very interested in!

We also hear a clip of the audiobook - and - get a cracking book recommendation too!

Here's a little more about 'The Leveret':

Moving to the countryside is supposed to fix Clare and Phoebe’s relationship. A fresh start, a change of scenery, a chance to heal after the miscarriage of their baby girl.

Instead, Phoebe feels suffocated. Back in the rural community she ran from at seventeen and unable to face the partner she cannot help, she throws herself into work on the family farm. Clare is a stranger in the village, uninitiated and out of place. She spends her days drifting around the cottage, its walls groaning and shifting as she withdraws into a world inside her head.

One day, wandering through the forest nearby, Clare finds a leveret – her own little Isla. A surrogate to lick and love. A way to feel whole again.

But as Isla grows into an adult hare she becomes wild and unruly – a kicking, biting, scratching creature. With Clare’s grasp on reality growing ever more tenuous, Phoebe begins to question whether Isla is the cure for grief Clare is searching for as she desperately clings on to the woman she loves . . .

With this bruisingly tender love story, debut author Anna Goldreich has conjured a hazy dream of a novel about the fantasies we create as a refuge from grief. The Leveret is a heartbreakingly gorgeous and lyrically haunting hymn to queer love and the power to rebuild from the wreckage of a relationship.

Sara heads to Sheffield, for the Crossed Wires Festival, to speak with international bestselling author Lisa Jewell, in front of a live audience.

Lisa chats about her new thriller, 'It Could Have Been Her', as well as her writing inspirations, the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival and how she turned from writing commercial 'women's fiction' to dark psychological thrillers.

She also reads us a short extract of the novel, recommends us some books and takes audience questions too.

Here's a little more info on Lisa's new novel:

Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn't know to his house in the darkest corner of Hampstead Heath. She's offered a drink, goes in, and then - a scream and the sound of something falling upstairs - Jane senses she's in a bad place. She runs.

Twenty five years later, Jane finds herself outside the same house, this time to return a small white dog who's been found near her home in the country; a dog whose owner has just been reported missing.

A fleeting glimpse of a haunted looking woman through the window sends Jane on a mission to uncover the house's secrets - secrets more terrifying than she could have ever imagined, especially when she realises it could have been her. .

Fantasy author Sunyi Dean joins Sara for the Book Club, to chat about her new novel and the inspirations behind it.

They chat about Hong Kong, myths, legends, ghosts and dim sum!

We also hear a clip from the audiobook (*which has references to drowning) and get some great book recommendations from Sunyi too.

Here's a little more info on 'The Girl With A Thousand Faces':

Mercy Chan is a triad exorcist with a mysterious past. After washing up on the shores of Hong Kong with no memory during World War II, she found a home in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatised civilians. Since the war ended, Mercy has rebuilt her life and found work as a ghost-talker for the local triad, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place.

But the past she can’t remember won’t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost lurks in Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercy – and her forgotten childhood.

As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realise that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.

Emily Howes returns to the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, Mrs Dickens; a fictional story about the life of Kate Hogarth - who was married to the author Charles Dickens for 22 years.

Sara chats to Emily about writing women back into history, who were written out in their own lifetime, and the challenges that come with writing real-life figures in fiction.

We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and get some great book recommendations too.

Emily was last on the Book Club back in 2024 for her debut novel, 'The Painter's Daughters' - and you can hear that chat on BBC Sounds too!

Here's a little more info on 'Mrs Dickens': London, 1835. Nineteen-year-old Kate Hogarth falls in love with the young journalist Charles Dickens. In the early days of their marriage, Charles is infatuated with his bride and Kate delights in her new life, the balm to her husband's irrepressible spirit. But as he finds fame as a novelist and the family rise through the ranks of Victorian society, Kate becomes increasingly aware of his frustration that real people cannot be manipulated as easily as his characters.

Meanwhile, in the East End slums, a young orphan named Anne Brown has lost everything, but is determined to make her way in the world. A chance encounter with the Dickens family transports her to the heart of the household, opening up a world of privilege, travel and remarkable company. But her newfound freedom has come at a cost she cannot always ignore.

As the years go by and the family expands, the cracks in the Dickens's marriage deepen. Kate seeks comfort and companionship in her trusted servant, but whilst Anne has come to care deeply for Mrs Dickens, her loyalties are tested to breaking point as Charles takes control of their future . . .

Vibrant, witty and deeply moving, Mrs Dickens traces a long marriage in all its tenderness, grief, romance and fury. It illuminates the life of a complex, forgotten woman whose voice often went unheard, but whose story deserves to be told.

Sara welcomes international bestselling author, Douglas Stuart, to the Book Club.

They discuss his beautiful new novel - John Of John - and his inspirations behind the story. Douglas tells Sara about his epic trip to the Scottish Islands, the people he met there - and what he learned about sheep farming and textile making (all of which made it into this new book).

He also chats about exploring the theme of masculinity and how not growing up with a father figure helped shape and create the central relationship in his novel.

Douglas also gives a great book recommendation - and - plays us a short extract from the audiobook too.

Here's a little more info on 'John Of John': Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry home to the island of Harris to find that not much has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal resumes his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades.

While Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, John is dismayed by his son’s long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As the seasons pass, everything is poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly entangled.

Superstar librarian, Stella Hine, joins Sara for a chat about this year's Carnegie Awards (the UK's longest-running children's book awards)

She also shares her top five reads of the year (so far) which is a mixture of non-fiction, fiction - and children's books (as you might expect)

Her choices are:

Everyday Nature by Andy Beer The Examiner by Janice Hallett The Crossing by Manjeet Mann Ming The Panda: A True Story of Courage and Hope by Jake Hope – illustrated by Yu Rong Theo Of Golden by Allen Levi

Debut novelist Jo Murray joins Sara for a natter about her crime thriller 'Dissection Of A Murder'

Jo was a criminal barrister for many years before leaving the profession to spend more time with family and to write. Sara talks to Jo about bringing her real-life experiences from the courtroom to the page, making her readers work hard and how she came up with a very important element of the story (and characters).

We also get a great book recommendation from Jo - and - get an exclusive extract of the audiobook too.

Here's a little more info on 'Dissection Of A Murder':A dead judge.

A silent defendant. And a courtroom full of liars.

When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, she’s shocked at how high-profile it is: the murder of a well-respected, well-known judge. This shouldn’t be the kind of case she’s leading; it’s way beyond her expertise. But the defendant, Jack Millman, is clear. He wants her, and only her.

To make things worse, he’s refusing to talk. How is she supposed to prove herself on what appears to be an unwinnable case?

Losing is not an option. She must find the most persuasive argument. Trials aren’t won by convincing judges or fellow barristers – they’re all about convincing a jury.

Suddenly, Leila finds herself fighting not only to keep Jack out of prison, but also to keep her own secrets buried.

It’s true what they say – there are two sides to every story.

Guilty or not guilty?

You decide . . .

Jeremy Vine goes backstage at The British Book Awards ('The Nibbies') to speak with the great and the good of the book industry, including: Sir Tony Robinson, Michael Rosen, MC Grammar, Steph McGovern, Matt Cain, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Abir Mukherjee...

He brings us all the glitz and glam from the 36th Nibbies, which took place in London's Mayfair in May 2026, as well as an interview with the first ever winner of The Radio 2 Book Club Award - Roisin O'Donnell.

Roisin won for her debut novel, 'Nesting', which we featured on the Book Club back in January 2025. (you can hear that interview on BBC Sounds anytime you like!)

Here's a little more info on her book:

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to rebuild her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Author and illustrator, Lizzy Stewart, joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about her new illustrated novel, 'The Wreck'.

They talk about her writing (and drawing) routine, Eric Ravilious as an inspiration, 90s hairdos - and how drastically friendships can change over decades.

Lizzy also recommends us a couple of books she has enjoyed reading recently.

Here's a little more info on 'The Wreck':

Two couples pursue their dream of communal living in the English countryside – and then it all comes tumbling down

Charlotte and Francesca were best friends at university in the mid-1970s. But tensions coursed beneath their natural affection, deepening when Fran got together with Charlotte’s friend Adrian, and the two women drifted apart.

When Fran contacts Charlotte out of the blue with an unusual proposal – an invitation to live with her and Adrian in the rambling house they’ve bought in the countryside – Charlotte impulsively persuades her partner, Bill, to accept this tantalising promise of a new kind of community.

At first their new life feels utopian; life and space are shared joyfully. But it doesn’t take long for old tensions to rise to the surface, shattering their illusions and showing each of them in a new light.

Sara presents a special edition of the Radio 2 Book, celebrating all things comics, with a trip to Phoenix Fest in Oxford.

This two-day festival showcases some of the biggest names in the world of comic books - and encourages children and adults to draw and read for pleasure.

As well as hearing from some of the children who are attended the festival, we also chat to Jamie Smart (creator of Bunny VS Monkey), Neill Cameron (creator of Donut Squad), Jess Bradley (Super Dweeb) and Patrice Aggs and Joe Brady, on collaborating together.

Dr Sharon Blackie joins Sara to chat about the origins of Fairytales and why she believes they are still so important and relevant today.

Sharon is a former neuroscientist and psychologist, turned bestselling author and speaker who has a background in mythology and folklore.

As part of the BBC's 'Once Upon A Time' season - Sara an Sharon explore the origins of Fairytales, how she used them in her practices - and why we're still so fascinated with them.

Here's a little more info on Sharon's book, 'Ripening':

In this world in which all our old certainties seem to be crumbling, many women feel lost. In Ripening, Sharon Blackie insists that fairy tales are precisely the stories we need for such times.

Long before they became bywords for people-pleasing princesses, these old stories – passed down to us through generations by our peasant ancestors – told us everything that women need to learn about the world. They might be set in difficult and dangerous times, but they insist that their heroines face the unfaceable and dig deep for previously unimagined inner resources. They teach us to be savvy, inspire us to grow in confidence, show us how to be bold and claim the future we dream of.

More than anything, fairy tales are soul-food. They show us how to take hold of our own personal narratives and transform them into stories that might begin with trauma, but end with empowerment. They offer us images of startling resonance and beauty, while showing us how to recognise and make use of the possibilities that rise to the surface when broken systems are cracked open.

Caro Claire Burke joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her debut novel, 'Yesteryear'.

They discuss the #tradwife movement, influencers, influences, and why satire is needed right now.

We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - try to get Caro to spill the beans on the film adaptation, which is already in the works (with Anne Hathaway attached)

Here's the blurb for 'Yesteryear':

My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive…'

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

Sara welcomes bestselling novelist Patrick Gale back to the Radio 2 Book Club.

They chat about his new novel, 'Love Lane', a sequel (sort of) to one of his earlier books 'A Place Called Winter'. Patrick explains what made him want to return to this story and the characters and talks about the incredible treasure trove of family trinkets and secrets that he inherited, which allowed him to write a story based on his own family history.

Patrick narrates the audiobook himself, so we hear a little clip of that - and - get some cracking reading recommendations from him as well!

Here's the blurb for 'Love Lane': A reunion. A journey. A longing for a place called home...

When veteran Canadian wheat farmer, Harry Cane is obliged to sell up and sail home to an England transformed by two world wars, his arrival triggers unwelcome self-examination for the family he abandoned, and for whom he has never been more than a distant myth.

His daughter feels duty bound to take him in but is riven with doubt and ambushed by a long buried anger she has never before expressed. Harry's effect on the next generation is less predictable, and enables his granddaughter to deal with an unspeakable trauma, while her gentle husband feels seen for who he truly is.

Can Harry stay and make a new life before it's too late, or will he find himself cast out again, punished for having witnessed and understood too much?

Debut novelist Tara Menon joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, 'Under Water'.

They talk about what inspired the novel, her research and why it took so long (8 years) to write.

Tara also gives us a couple of great book recommendations too.

Here's a little more about 'Under Water':

When six-year-old Marissa loses her mother, she is taken by her father to live on a small Thai island in the Andaman Sea. There, she forms a deep friendship with Arielle and together they explore the fragile wonders of its forests, reefs, and beaches. Holding their breath for minutes at a time, they learn to dive into the deep, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name. Then, on Boxing Day 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami makes landfall, they are swept up by the first wave and separated.

Eight years later, Marissa is living in New York. She spends her days wandering through the city and her nights seeking solace in the beds of strangers. As the city prepares for a devastating storm, Marissa reflects on her past and learns how to sustain herself in a precarious world.

Sara welcomes one of our superstar librarians to the podcast.

Maggie Ross works for the Royal Borough Of Windsor & Maidenhead libraries - and has been part of our Radio 2 Book Club panel for many years. She chats with Sara about her job, the brilliance of libraries - and some of the books she's looking forward to coming out later this year

Her Top Five Reads of this year are:

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker The Killer Question by Janice Hallett Show Me Where it Hurts by Claire Gleeson The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson

A thriller, a romance, a hugely successful podcast; those are the ingredients for Tiffany Crum's debut novel, 'This Story Might Save Your Life'.

Sara chats to Tiffany about her former career in Hollywood, writing romantically about Los Angeles, following your dreams, how to choose the best character names - and what she loves so much about podcasts.

We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - get a cracking book recommendation too!

Here's a little more info about Tiffany's novel:

Benny and Joy like to say that they've been saving each other's lives since the moment they met.

Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is accused of her murder.

Best friends Benny and Joy host a beloved 'comedy survival' podcast, gleefully finding life-affirming humour in near-death experiences.

When Benny arrives at Joy and her husband's home one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house.

With Joy missing and the hours ticking by, not even their most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets they have hidden from the world - and from each other.

If Benny wants to find Joy in time, and clear his own name, he'll have to solve the highest stakes survival story yet.

Former lawyer turned novelist, Ela Lee, joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club for a chat about her new novel, 'Minbak'.

They chat about the inspirations behind the story (including a dinner table convo where Ela's mum just casually mentioned that she had been a journalist during the 1985 uprising) and why it took an agent being very honest to get the best out of this book.

We also get a cheeky little listen to the audiobook (which Ela narrates herself) and a couple of cracking book recommendations too.

Here's a little more about 'Minbak':

Incheon, South Korea, 1985. The country is revolting against a dictatorship, but in the local boarding-house, the chaos inside is only just beginning. When Hana is pulled from school to work in her family’s minbak, all she wants is to escape her small town. When she finally does, she leaves as an exile, a ruin, or a martyr, depending on who you ask. Her mother Youngia is left behind with the torment of both of their decisions.

London, 2008. Ada knows little about her mother, Hana. When tragedy hits, Hana has no choice but to move her daughter and ailing mother into a single room and turn the rest of their home into a minbak. As the past collides with the present, Ada is determined to unearth her mother’s secrets. But her obsession will lead to a discovery that unravels not just her family’s dark past, but that of an entire country’s.

From Korea’s industrial estates to London’s suburbs, the three women cross continents and generations to find truth, forgiveness and compassion.

Comic book artist Jamie Smart joins Sara in the Book Club for a World Book Day special!

The Bunny Vs Monkey creator chats to Sara about his award-winning series, his inspirations, encouraging kids to draw - and - recommends us a couple of great books.

We also sent some copies of 'Total Chaos' to a school in Manchester, to see what our Junior Book Club thought of his new book!

Happy World Book Day everyone!

Come with Sara Cox on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Library in Windsor Castle. Housing over 45,000 items, this library is a treasure trove for book lovers, with texts dating back hundreds of years.

Our guide is one of the curators, Elizabeth Clark Ashby, who tells us the history of the library, what her job entails day-to-day, and picks out four amazing artifacts to show us. These are:

A handwritten manuscript by Mozart (aged 11)

The complete works of Shakespeare, which was owned by Charles I

A tiny jeweled miniature book, made for Queen Mary's dolls house

A copy of Jane Eyre, inscribed by Queen Victoria to Albert

Windsor Castle played host to the Gran Final of 500 Words - the UK's most celebrated children's writing competition. Exceptional young writers from all across the UK were invited to a reception, hosted by Her Majesty The Queen, honouring their imagination, creativity and remarkable stories.

The Grand Final was hosted by Alex Jones and Roman Kemp and the six winning entries – to be revealed in a special edition of The One Show on Friday 6th March - were read at the event by Sara Cox, Jodie Whittaker, Joanna Page, Bradley and Barney Walsh, Big Zuu and Paterson Joseph.

*you can hear more from Sara's trip to Windsor on her teatime show on Radio 2, on Thursday 5th March.

Author Charleen Hurtubise joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her new novel, 'Saoirse'

They talk about her inspirations for the story, the fine line between dishonesty and reinvention, beekeeping and giving her son's cat a cameo in the book.

We also hear a snippet of the audiobook - and - get a great book recommendation too!

Here's a little bit more about the novel:

In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life. Her tender husband Daithí and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work, and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is too painful for her to disclose.

When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose a decade's worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and friends don't know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn't her first - and now her past life is poised to reclaim her.

The novel weaves between flashbacks to a complicated childhood in Michigan, and Saoirse's journey to and in Ireland to forge safety for herself.

Barrister turned author, and recent 'Traitors' star - Harriet Tyce - joins Sara for a chat about her new novel.

She talks about stepping out of her comfort zone and writing a male protagonist, her inspirations for the book and if her time in the Traitors castle has inspired a new story.

Harriet also gives a great book recommendation too.

Bestselling author, Sadeqa Johnson, joins Sara for a natter about her new novel.

'The Keeper Of Lost Children' is a powerful and beautifully told novel about hidden secrets and the hunger to belong. Sadeqa talks about her inspirations for the book, the real-life characters that inspired the story - and why it's so important to write people of colour back into the history books.

We also hear a clip from her audiobook - and - get a cracking book recommendation as well.

Here's the blurb for The Keeper Of Lost Children:

Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI's, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.

Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.

In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.

Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman's vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms--familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self--can be transcendent.

Cressida Cowell (bestselling children's author of the 'How To Train Your Dragon' series) joins Sara for a natter about the joy of reading.

As an ambassador for The National Year Of Reading, Cressida is passionate about getting people reading for pleasure - especially children - and chats to Sara about the various plans in place this year to encourage more people to pick up a book, comic, graphic novel - or even listen to an audiobook.

She also takes us behind the scenes of the filming of 'How To Train Your Dragon 2' which has just started filming!

Libby Page joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about her new novel, "This Book Made Me Think Of You"

They discuss their love of bookshops, the genre they write in and why sometimes we just need a bit to make us smile (and cry a bit maybe?)

Libby talks about her trips to New York and Paris for some of the scenes in this new novel, and her obsession with books about bookshops. She also gives us a brilliant reading recommendation - and - we hear an exclusive extract from her audiobook.

Here's more about Libby's new novel: When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her husband waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly, because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly, because Joe died five months ago…

The gift is simple – twelve carefully chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.

And so begins a reading-inspired journey that takes Tilly around the world; from bustling sidewalks in New York and the tree-lined avenues of Paris to the tranquil Tuscan countryside and the white sands of Bali. With the help of the bookshop owner, Alfie, Tilly starts to discover who she is now, after Joe.

But can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?

Phoenix Cooper - of Kent Libraries fame - shares their Top Five Reads Of The Year so far (but mainly, of 2025)

They chat to Sara about their love of libraries, their role, being part of the Radio 2 Book Club panel - and give a shout out to their mum's book group too.

Phoenix's Top Five Reads:

Raven scholar by Antonia Hodgson Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison King Sorrow by Joe Hill Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Our first Book Club pick of 2026 is 'The Poet Empress' by debut novelist, Shen Tao.

The book is an epic tale of female empowerment, love and the power of words. It might also win the award for best cover of the year!

Shen talks to Sara about world building, her inspirations for the protagonist and why she loves the Fantasy genre so much. She also mentions the eight unpublished novels which went before this one, confirming that you should never give up!

We also get a book recommendation from Shen - and - play a clip from the Audiobook of 'The Poet Empress' (*please note this clip features the burying of a young child, which some listeners may find upsetting or triggering)

Here's the book blurb:

As the emperor lays dying, the once-great Azalea Dynasty plunges towards civil war. While its princes plot for power, a more hidden war - to become the next empress - occupies the imperial court.

Wei Yin - peasant girl turned concubine to the cruel Prince Terren - has already endured unimaginable suffering. Ripped from her family, she has no title, no allies, and no escape. But she does have a secret . . .

In the shadows of the palace, surrounded by enemies, she is learning a skill forbidden to women. Because when words are weapons and poetry holds an ancient magic, the fate of a girl - and a nation - can both be rewritten. All she has to do is compose the perfect poem - a tale so powerful, it can kill any man, even the next emperor.

Louisa Steel - one of our superstar librarians - joins Sara for a natter about books.

They chat about the Radio 2 Book Club panel, reading ruts and why book clubs are good for getting you out of your comfort zone.

Louisa also shares her Top Five Reads Of The Year (well, of 2025). They are:

The Offing by Benjamin Myers

James by Percival Everett

Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jessie Q. Sutanto

Our last book choice of 2025 is The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell.

Alex joins Sara for a chat about the novel, the inspiration behind it, the obstacles that come with writing a time travel narrative and working out a writing routine for busy working mums.

We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - Alex gives us a great book recommendation too. (one that keeps cropping up!)

Here's a little more info on The White Octopus Hotel:

London, 2015

When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her. His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935

Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time. Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

Sara welcomes Rachel Parris and Jessica Bull to the Radio 2 Book Club for a celebration of Jane Austen.

Jess writes the 'Miss Austen Investigates' series, whilst Rachel performs in the improvisational group Austentatious - and has just published her first novel, inspired by an Austen character.

They chat with Sara about when their love of Austen began, their favourite books and adaptations - and - how she has inspired them to write.

Our two guests also recommend us a book they have been reading and enjoying recently - and - we get to hear a snippet of a new audio abridgment of Pride & Prejudice - read by the legendary Julie Andrews.

Here's some more info on Jessica's book - 'The Austen Christmas Murders':

The festive season is fast approaching. Jane Austen fears that without her lively siblings at home, there won’t be much Christmas cheer in the Austen household this year. But when she uncovers a skeleton in the cellar of Deane Parsonage, Jane soon forgets her woes. For who needs merriment, when there’s a mystery to solve? Jane quickly learns of a missing young bride, who after fleeing her wedding breakfast, was never seen again. Locals have long believed she haunts the woods nearby.

Could Jane have found her at last? Or does the truth of this mystery lie closer to home?

Over the twelve days of Christmas, Jane will embark upon festive delights, making merry, and solving murders…

And here's a little more info on Rachel's book - 'Introducing Mrs Collins':

Charlotte Lucas has never been a romantic. Practical to a fault, she accepted Mr Collins's proposal with clear eyes and a steady heart, trading passion for security. Life at Hunsford Parsonage may be quiet and predictable, but it is hers to manage - and she's determined to make the best of it, whatever Elizabeth Bennet may think.

That is, until an unexpected guest at Rosings Park turns Charlotte's careful world on its head. He sees her, challenges her - and a spark is lit. But true contentment is not only about who you choose to love, but who you choose to be. For the first time, she wonders: has playing by the rules kept her on the sidelines of her own life?

Debut novelist, Grace Walker, joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her claustrophobic, dystopian page-turner - 'The Merge'

The book asks a lot of questions for the reader, so Sara and Grace discuss some of those 'what would YOU do?' moments, as well as finding out some of the inspirations behind the plot and storylines. (it turns out, a conversation about not wanting to live in your partner's body can spark a whole novel)

Grace also gives us her book recommendation of the moment, and shares one of the horror stories from writing this particular book - the sort no writer wants to hear!

Here's some more info on 'The Merge'

Laurie is sixty-five and living with Alzheimer’s. Her daughter Amelia can’t bear to see her mother’s mind fade. Faced with the reality of losing her forever, Amelia signs them up to take part in the world’s first experimental merging process for Alzheimer’s patients, in which Laurie’s ailing mind will be transferred into Amelia’s healthy body and their consciousness will be blended as one.

Soon Amelia and Laurie join a group of other merge participants: teenage Lucas, who plans to merge with his terminally ill brother Noah; Ben, who will merge with his pregnant fiancée Annie; and Jay, whose merging partner is his unwilling addict daughter Lara.

As they prepare to move to The Village, a luxurious rehabilitation centre for those who have merged, they quickly begin to question whether everything is really as it seems.

Former librarian turned book influencer, Simon Savidge, joins Sara for a chat about his favourite books of the year - and - his recommendations for great Christmas gifts.

His choices include three novels (for that person who's already read everything!), three kids books (to inspire and entertain young minds) and three works of non-fiction (for the hard-to-buy-for person in your life).

SIMON'S RECOMMENDATIONS

Fiction: On The Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle A Room Above A Shop by Anthony Shapland Love Forms by Claire Adam

Younger Readers: Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood Impossible Creatures by Katherine Randell Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi

Non-Fiction: Agent Zo by Clare Mulley The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry

His go-to Christmas book: Stay Another Day by Juno Dawson

Sara welcomes former library worker turned head of all things Radio 2 Book Club, Karen McPherson, to the podcast.

They chat about how we choose our titles each year, the joy of libraries, 'the fight room' - plus - Karen also shares her Top Five Reads Of The Year.

The Names by Florence Knapp

Show Me Where it Hurts by Claire Gleeson

This Bright Life by Karen Campbell

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford

The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks

Broadcaster and author Sally Magnusson returns to The Radio 2 Book Club once more, to discuss her new novel 'The Shapeshifter's Daughter'.

The book is a re-telling of the Norse myth of Hel - set across the mythological realm of Asgard and present day Orkney Islands.

Sally chats to Sara about her fascination with Scandanavia, the challenges of re-writing a myth and why Orkney is such a special place. We also hear a snippet from the audiobook, get a great book recommendation - and learn about what happened to the original Mastermind chair! (Sally's Dad was the great journalist and TV Presenter Magnus Magnusson)

Here's a little more info on 'The Shapeshifter's Daughter':

Before she was a hideous monster, the queen of the underworld was simply Hel. But cast as a girl out of lofty Asgard, realm of the gods, by Odin the Allfather, Hel's fate as the terrible goddess of death is sealed. Half beauty, half crone, she has reigned for aeons in the starless darkness of Niflheim, grimly welcoming the most pitiful of death's travellers to her ice-locked prison. Until one day a memory shifts, and she is forced to seek out the sun in Midgard, where humans have made their home.

Faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis, Helen Firth makes the impulsive decision to return to Orkney after forty years to make peace with her past. Under the wintering solstice sun, she reconnects with the ungainly but affable Thorfinn Coffin, who helps her address the real reason she has returned to the islands: to die. As Helen draws closer to death and ever closer to Thorfinn, Hel in turn is intrigued by Helen. She, too, has a past to confront and a lesson to learn: that perhaps who she believes herself to be isn't who she really is.

Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, Joe Hill, joins Sara to chat about his epic new novel 'King Sorrow'.

This book has been 10 years in the making and, as Joe explains, is the first novel he published after getting married to his wife - so wanted to impress her.

Sara and Joe chat about his inspirations behind the book, how his family (all of whom are writers) share their work with each other, and why he has now chosen to write a book a year. (no more 900 pages for a while!)

We also get to hear a clip from the audiobook, and a book recommendation too.

Here's a little more info on Joe's novel: Bookish dreamer Arthur Oakes is a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters and beautiful buildings.

But his idyll - and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot - is shattered when local drug dealers force him into a terrible crime: stealing rare and valuable books from the exceptional college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for help: the wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren; brave, beautiful Allison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen. Together they dream up an impossible, fantastical scheme that they scarcely imagine will work: to summon the fabled dragon King Sorrow to kill those tormenting Arthur.

But the six stumble backwards into a deadly bargain - they soon learn they must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow each year or one of them will become his next victim. Unleashing consequences they can neither predict nor control, this promise will, over the course of four decades, shape and endanger their lives in ways they could never expect.

Sara welcomes Sir Salman Rushdie to the Radio 2 Book Club to talk about his new collection of stories.

'The Eleventh Hour' consists of five stories, some short stories and some novellas.

Salman talks about his inspiration behind the work, including why he wanted to return to the world of 'Midnight's Children' - and regales us with some great stories - including the time he met E M Forster at university and ended up playing croquet with him!

Here's a little more info on Salman's new book: Two quarrelsome old men in Chennai, India, experience private tragedy against the backdrop of national calamity. Revisiting the Bombay neighbourhood of Midnight's Children, a magical musician is unhappily married to a multibillionaire. In an English university college, an undead academic asks a lonely student to avenge his former tormentor.

These five dazzling works of fiction move between the three countries that Salman Rushdie has called home – India, England and America – and explore what it means to approach the eleventh hour of life. They are the reckoning with mortality that we all must one day make, and speak deeply to what the author has come from and through.

Do we accommodate ourselves to death, or rail against it? How can we bid farewell to the places that we have made home? How do we achieve fulfilment with our lives if we don't know the end of our own stories? The Eleventh Hour ponders life and death, legacy and identity with the penetrating insight and boundless imagination that have made Salman Rushdie one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

Whether you're into the Halloween thing or not - we thought it was as good a time as any to celebrate some spooky, scary, dark, ghostly, chilling books which have recently come out - and - get some cracking recommendations.

Sara has invited six brilliant authors - who write in the horror genre - to tell us about their latest novels and their favourite scary book.

LISTEN IF YOU DARE MWAAAHAHAHA* (*they're all very nice really)

Here are our featured authors - and - the books discussed:

Gemma Amor - 'Itch' Daphne Du Maurier - 'The Birds And Other Stories'

Tobi Coventry - 'He's The Devil' Algernon Blackwood - 'The Willows"

Bora Chung - 'The Midnight Timetable' Stephen King - 'Thinner'

Andrew Michael Hurley - 'Saltwash' Mariana Enriquez - 'Things We Lost In The Fire'

Oyinkan Braithwaite - 'Cursed Daughters' Vikram Paralkar - 'Night Theatre'

Thomas Olde Heuvelt - 'Darker Days' Stephen King - "Pet Sematary'

As the nights draw in, it's the perfect time for some cosy crime - and our latest book choice will fit the bill.

The Murder At World's End has been described as Downton Abbey meet Knives Out, and is the debut adult novel from bestselling children's author Ross Montgomery.

Sara chats to Ross about his fascination with the Victorians, plotting a murder mystery and how he managed to get Sir Derek Jacobi to read his audiobook.

We also get a sneak preview of said audiobook, and Ross gives us a top book recommendation as well!

Here's the blurb for 'The Murder At World's End' Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.

All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for.

Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late...

Superstar librarian Kelly Greenwood joins Sara for a natter about working in libraries and being a children's book specialist.

She gives us her Top Five Reads Of The Year (so far) and also talks about being on our Book Club panel.

Her picks are:

Roar by Manjeet Mann You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne, 24 Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson Homebody by Theo Parish

Debut novelist Thomas R. Weaver joins Sara for a chat about his new techno-thriller 'Artificial Wisdom'.

They discuss Thomas' thoughts on AI, his entrepreneurial background and how he came to be a novelist. We also play out a little taster of the audiobook - and get some brilliant book recommendations too.

Here's a little more about the book:

Who would you trust with the future?

The year is 2050. In the teeth of a climate catastrophe, the world is left with a drastic solution: one global leader to steer it through the coming apocalypse.

The final two candidates are ex-US President Lockwood, and Solomon, the world’s first political artificial intelligence.

As whispers of a global conspiracy emerge, investigative journalist Marcus Tully find himself at the centre of it – when Solomon’s creator turns up murdered.

Overnight, one investigation becomes two, and it’s not just the result of the election that’s at stake but the future of the species. Suddenly humanity must make an impossible choice – between salvation, or freedom.

Sara welcomes international bestselling author, Maggie O'Farrell, to the Book Club. They discuss a brand new writing prize, set up in Hilary Mantel's name, which is open to all unpublished budding writers.

Maggie gives some great writing advice, talks us through her own writing routine - and - reveals her Top Five Reads Of The Year (so far)!

1. 'Glorious Exploits' by Ferdia Lennon 2. 'Clear' by Carys Davies 3. 'We The Animals' by Justin Torres 4. 'The Two Roberts' by Damian Barr 5. 'Charles Dickens: A Life' by Claire Tomalin

2026 is an exciting year for Maggie - not only is the film adaptation of her novel 'Hamnet' coming out, but she's also publishing a new novel - and Sara gets the lowdown on both of these new projects too!

500 Words - the UK's largest children's writing competition (for 5 - 11 year olds) - is back! On this week's episode, Sara is joined by bestselling children's author, actor and screenwriter - Charlie Higson - who is one of the judges for the prize. They chat about the prize, how to enter - and give some writing inspiration and tips.

They also chat about Charlie's new book - 'Willie Willie Harry Stee' - based on his history podcast, with illustrations by Jim Moir.

If you want to find out more about the 500 Words Competition, how to enter, and the all important Terms and Conditions, go to bbc.co.uk/500words

Author Dur e Aziz Amna joins Sara for the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her new novel, 'A Splintering'.

Dur e got the idea for the novel from a walk with her husband, after which the character of Tara came fully formed.

She talks to Sara about her inspirations for this story, how important hope is in a book, no matter how serious the themes and also recommends us what she has been reading and enjoying recently.

Here's a little more about 'A Splintering':

In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is waiting and watching. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not sufficient either.

She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. She wants what their husbands have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past? And what of the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?

Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.

Broadcaster and bestselling author, Dawn O'Porter, joins Sara for a special edition of The Radio 2 Book Club.

Recorded live in Hylands Park, Chelmsford (at Radio 2 In The Park), Dawn and Sara chat about her books and writing, in front of an intimate audience of bookworms.

Dawn also gives us her Top Five Reads Of The Year so far, and answers some questions about her writing process from our audience.

Remember you can get in touch with us anytime to tell us about what you're reading, about your own book group - or - to be one of our listener reviewers! The email address is: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Sara welcomes author and broadcaster Damian Barr to the Book Club, to chat about his new novel 'The Two Roberts'.

They discuss how he first discovered the real-life characters (artists Bobby MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun) and what drew him to them.

He was actually writing something else but had to stop and turn his attention to their story, because he was so taken with the love between them and how brave they both were.

There's a bit of ceramics chat (Damian reveals that his husband has a second love - his kiln!) and there's a bit of hazy recollection of them both being in 'Soho in the 90s' too.

Damian also gives us a couple of cracking book recommendations - and - we hear a little clip from the audiobook of The Two Roberts as well.

Here's a little more about the book:

Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is on his way. After years grafting at Lees Boot Factory, he's off to the Glasgow School of Art, to his future. On his first day he will meet another Robert, a quiet man with loose dark curls - and never leave his side.

Together they will spend every penny and every minute devouring Glasgow - its botanical gardens, the Barras market, a whole hidden city - all the while loving each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their unrivalled talent will take them to Paris, Rome, London. They will become stars as the bombs fall, hosting wild parties with the likes of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Elizabeth Smart. But the brightest stars burn fastest.

Stunningly reimagined, The Two Roberts is a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees - and paid a devastating price.

Sara welcomes the international bestselling author of 'Yellowface' - R.F. Kuang -to the Radio 2 Book Club.

Her latest novel, 'Katabasis', sees Rebecca return to her fantasy roots - and tell an unexpected love story, set in hell.

They chat about her inspirations for this incredible story, her research - and how her Philosopher husband came in handy. There's also a guest star appearance from a cat as well!

Here's a little more about 'Katabasis'

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick. But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.

But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she’s going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together.

That’s if they can agree on anything.

Will they triumph, or kill each other trying?

Chantelle Tijhaar is this week's listener reviewer, and has some great recommendations for us.

She works as a librarian, and as well as being in The Radio 2 Book Club - she's also a member of two other book groups, including a fantasy book club!

On this episode, Sara chats to Chantelle about her Top Five Reads of the year so far - and what books she's looking forward to later in the year.

Here are Chantelle's choices:

'Notes On An Execution' by Danya Kukafka

'My Father's House' by Joseph O'connor

'All The Colours Of The Dark' by Chris Whitaker

'The Great Alone' by Kirstin Hannah

'Wedding People' by Alison Espach

Debut novelist, Connor Hutchinson, joins Sara for the Book Club to tell us all about his new book - 'Dead Lucky'.

Connor is originally from the North of England, and it was very important to him that the book was set near where he's from, and that he told a working class story. When he was growing up, he didn't see many characters in books that reflected his own upbringing.

He tells Sara about getting a quote from legendary director Mike Leigh, working with his writing idol Douglas Stuart, the inspiration behind an undertakers setting - and - recommends us a brilliant book as well.

Here's the blurb for Dead Lucky: Jamie Fletcher should be the luckiest man in Manchester. His girlfriend Rebecca is out of his league, he has a best mate and drinking buddy in Trick, and he loves his job at a busy funeral home.

Preparing the dead is not something Jamie takes lightly - whether it's choosing the right stockings for his old dinner lady, or playing the local butcher's favourite album to him before cremation. But beneath his seemingly perfect life, Jamie has been keeping a big secret - one he reveals only to the dead.

His gambling addiction has left him in eye-watering debt, and he's running out of ways to keep it hidden. When Rebecca decides it's time for them to buy their first home together, he knows he has to do something to cover his tracks. Desperate, Jamie does what he knows best - he walks up to the bookies and places the biggest bet of his life.

How far will he go until his luck runs out?

Sara welcomes former librarian turned book vlogger extraordinaire - Simon Savidge - to share his top five Summer Reads!

As well as recommending a range of great books - he picks out a few former Radio 2 Book Club choices which would go down well on the sun lounger - and tells us all about his recent induction to the Royal Society Of Literature.

Simon's Summer Reads

Passiontide by Monique Roffey The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden Dusk by Robbie Arnott Harriet Tubman Live In Concert by Bob The Drag Queen You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Debut novelist Aisling Rawle joins Sara for a chat about her brilliant new page-turner, 'The Compound'.

It has been described as Lord Of The Flies meets Love Island - and will be a great book to keep you entertained on your holiday.

Aisling is a former Bookseller and English teacher and her debut novel is a pacy, binge-able tale with twists and turns aplenty.

Sara discusses what inspired the book, the pros and cons of reality TV - and - how the heck Aisling wrote The Compound in just six weeks!

Here's the blurb:

Lily--a bored, beautiful twenty-something--wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she'll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams--but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

In this bumper episode of the Radio 2 Book Club, crime author and Agatha Christie fan, Jeremy Vines, takes a trip to the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

He chats to Lee and Andrew Child about their latest Reacher collaboration, debut novelist Kelly Mullen, the creator of Broadchurch Chris Chibnall, bestselling author Kate Mosse and the winner of the Crime Novel Of The Year, Abir Mukherjee.

The annual celebration of crime fiction takes place at The Old Swan Hotel, which is where Agatha Christie famously disappeared to in 1926. Hear Jeremy's tour of the hotel, with General Manager David Ritson, as he learns more about her story - and takes in some of the places she would have stayed.

Sara chats to Rose Kooper Johnson about her own book group, living in Bristol and how she discovered the Radio 2 Book Club through 'Ordinary Saints'.

Rose's Top Five Reads of the year (so far) are:

'Disappoint Me' by Nicola Dinan 'Agatha of Little Neon' by Claire Luchette 'Some Strange Music Draws Me In' by Griffin Hansbury 'The Original' by Nell Stevens 'The Safekeep' by Yael Van Der Wouden

Laura Shepherd Robinson is the author of four crime novels, set in the Georgian era.

In this episode, she tells Sara all about her latest book, 'The Art Of A Lie', a cat-n-mouse thriller that follows a widowed confectioner, drawn into a web of love, betrayal, intrigue and a battle of wits.

They chat about her fascination with the 18th Century, the crime-writing community and how to make ice cream (the Georgian way!)

Sara also shares a short clip from the audiobook - and - finds out more about the longest-running crime writing festival in the UK (which takes place in Harrogate each year)

More on the book...

London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit, and her suppliers are conspiring to put her out of business. So when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account that she knew nothing about, the surprise is extremely welcome. And when William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream”, Hannah believes it might transform the fortunes of her shop.

But her husband’s unexpected windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who suspects the money was illicitly acquired. Unless Hannah can prove otherwise, her inheritance will be confiscated. As she and Devereux work to uncover the secrets of her husband’s double life, their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.

To celebrate Pride Month, we're putting the spotlight on some brilliant queer literature, courtesy of the Queer Girls Book Club.

Ayse Huseyin joins Sara for a chat about their group and shares with us her Top Five Reads Of The Year so far. We also sent the book club a copy of 'Ordinary Saints' by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin (a previous choice of ours) and captured a little bit of their discussion. It turns out, they liked it just as much as we did!

Here are Ayse's Top Five Reads of 2025 (so far) as discussed on the episode:

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamyah H

How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

Two Lives by Vikram Seth

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Taylor Jenkins Reid (the author of 'Daisy Jones & The Six', 'Malibu Rising', 'The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo' and many more) joins Sara for a chat about her new book, 'Atmosphere'.

They discuss space travel in the 1980s, how women were treated at that time in a very male dominated space, her inspirations for this story and her love of the night sky.

We also get a snippet from the audiobook - and - some book recommendations from Taylor too.

Here's the 'Atmosphere' book blurb:

An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond; mission specialists John Griffin and Lydia Danes; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Author Beth Lewis joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new historical novel, The Rush.

Beth has set her latest book in the gold rush era in Canada, and has chosen to tell it from the point of view of female protagonists (rather than gnarled face old men we're used to hearing about)

Sara chats about her fascination with this era, her research and why lots of women have been written out of that time. We also learn about Beth's writing routine - and - get a great book recommendation from her too.

We always love to hear what you have been reading and recommending! You can email us anytime: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Here's a little more about Beth's book:

Canada, 1898. The gold rush is on in the frozen wilderness of the Yukon. Fortunes are made as quickly as they're lost, and Dawson City has become a lawless settlement.

In its midst, three women are trying to survive on the edge of civilisation. Journalist Kate has travelled hundreds of miles after receiving a letter from her sister, who fears that her husband will kill her. Martha's hotel and livelihood are under threat from the local strongman, who is set on buying up the town. And down by the river, where gold shimmers from between the rocks, Ellen feels her future slip away as her husband fails to find the fortune they risked so much to seek.

When a woman is murdered, Kate, Martha and Ellen find their lives, fates and fortunes intertwined. But to unmask her killer they must navigate a desperate land run by dangerous men who will do anything for a glimpse of gold...

Librarian Ros Harding tells Sara all about The Carnegies - the UK's longest running children's book awards.

Ros is this year's Head Of Judges - and tells us why these awards are important for recognising writers and illustrators, and why encouraging children to read is so vital.

She also shares her Top Five Reads Of The Year!

Louisa Reid - 'Handle with Care' Sarah Crossan - 'Where the Heart Should Be' Ravena Guron - Mondays are Murder' Richard Osman - 'We Solve Murders' Holly Bourne - 'So Thrilled For You'

V.E. Shwab returns to the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, 'Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil'

She has written and published 25 books in just 15 years (quite an achievement!) and was featured on the pod for her last novel - 'The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue'

She talks to Sara about 'fantasy with a small f', reading outside your comfort zone, writing queer love stories and why she likes vampires!

Here's a little more on the book:

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1837. Boston, 2019.

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.

One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.

And all of them grow teeth.

Luke Burton is one of our Superstar Librarians who helps choose our Radio 2 Book Club titles.

He's now a big cheese at Arts Council England, and talks to Sara about the importance of libraries and...how he comes from a family of qualified librarians (so it really is in his blood!)

He shares his Top Five Reads - and the books he's looking forward to reading this year.

Here is his list:

'In the Blink of an Eye' by Jo Callaghan

'What a Way to Go' by Bella Mackie

'The Masquerades of Spring' by Ben Aaronovitch

'Killing Thatcher: The IRA, the Manhunt and the Long War on the Crown' by Roy Carroll

'American Dirt' by Jeanine Cummins

Sara welcomes author Catherine Chidgey to the Radio 2 Book Club.

They discuss her new novel, 'The Book Of Guilt', which is an eerie, dark, chilling story set in England, in the late 1970s (but a slightly different England to what we know now)

Catherine talks about her inspirations, the things she does in the name of research (going on a rollercoaster even though she's terrified of them) and how she created the unnerving feeling in her books.

She also gives us some great book recommendations too!

Remember you can join in the conversation at any time - the email is radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Here's the blurb for The Book Of Guilt:

England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Every day, the triplets do their chores, play their games and take their medicine, under the watchful eyes of three mothers: Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night.

Their nightmares are recorded in The Book of Dreams. Their lessons are taken from The Book of Knowledge. And their sins are reported in The Book of Guilt.

All the boys want is to be sent to the Big House in Margate, where they imagine a life of sun, sea and fairground rides. But, as the government looks to shut down the Sycamore Homes, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told.

Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.

Listener Reviewer, Stef Loughrey, shares the five books she has loved reading recently.

She also tells Sara about her job as a TV producer, sharing books on Insta - and - which new novels she's looking forward to coming out this year...

Here are her picks:

Penance by Eliza Clark

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

All The Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

Our Book Club pick this week is 'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans.

She joins Sara down the line from the USofA to tell us all about the inspiration behind this novel, why she loves writing letters and how she once lost a draft of an entire book on her laptop!

She also gives us some great book recommendations too!

If you have read any of our choices recently, well we'd love to hear from you. Remember you can email anytime: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Here's the blurb for The Correspondent:

In her letters to family and friends we come to know the life of Sybil Van Antwerp: stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word.

But as the clock begins to tick for Sybil, the need for a few post-scripts to the life she’s led becomes apparent. Fixing her difficult relationship with her children. Taking a final chance at romance. Atoning for an old legal case which has come back to haunt her. And finally, reckoning with a devastating loss that she has spent the last thirty years holding close to her chest.

Becki works for Barnsley Libraries, and is also a member of the Radio 2 Book Club panel, who help choose our book choices.

She tells Sara which books have been flying off the shelves recently, shares her Top Five Reads of the year so far - and - reviews one of our previous Book Club choices ('The Favourites' by Layne Fargo)

Remember, if you'd like to be one of our listener reviewers on a future episode, all you have to do is email us your top five reads of the year so far, a little bit about yourself - and a contact number! The email is: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about her debut novel, 'Ordinary Saints'.

She discusses her writing journey, the weaving of many different themes in one book and why ultra marathons and writing go hand in hand!

Niamh also recommends us a book she has loved reading recently and confesses to leaving the first draft of her novel in a pub (which was, thankfully, retrieved)

Book Blurb:

Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself . . .

Inspired by the author's own devout upbringing, Ordinary Saints is a brilliant debut novel from a fresh, exciting new voice which asks - who gets to decide how we are remembered - and who we will become?

This week, listener reviewer Clare Kenney joins us, to share her Top Five Reads of 2025 so far...and tell us a little bit about the WI!

Sara learns about Clare's book group, her happy reading place (a VW Camper no less) and why she loves Taylor Jenkins Reid so much.

Here Top Five Reads are:

Foster by Claire Keegan

The Mad Women's Ball by Mas Victoria

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

After I do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Remember, if you'd like to be one of our listener reviewers in future, all you have to do is email us: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk (tell us a bit about yourself, and give us your Top Five Reads of 2025 so far)

This week’s book choice is a time-bending romance novel, which is bold and inventive and brilliant to read. If you were a fan of previous Book Club choices ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ‘ or ‘The Ministry Of Time’ – then we think you’ll love this too.

It's called 'Who Wants To Live Forever' - and is the debut novel by Hana Thomas Uose.

Sara chats about Hanna's inspirations, whether she WOULD like to live forever, and why a California writing retreat wasn't all it was cracked up to be!

We also get some brilliant book recommendations too.

Here's a little more about Hanna's novel:

This is the greatest romance you will ever read without the happily ever after.

Yuki and Sam are soulmates. They are destined to spend the rest of their lives together. They are supposed to love one another, forever.

But when a miracle drug is released which can extend a human's life indefinitely, Sam chooses to live forever, instead of loving Yuki forever - and the world they know is spun inside out.

WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER plunges into a parallel universe where forever is on sale to the highest bidder. What comes next is a world-building epic narrated by an intersecting cast of characters that will drive you to the edge of reality and leave you to answer biggest questions of all: What is life without death? What is life without love?

Sara welcomes debut author Nussaibah Younis to the Book Club to discuss her debut novel, 'Fundamentally'.

They discuss Nussaibah's previous life (advising top people in Washington DC on contemporary Iraq), why she felt it was important to write this book, and how she balanced humour with very serious issues.

She also gives us a reading recommendation!

Book Blurb here:

Nadia is an academic who’s been disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, Rosy. She decides to make a getaway, accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues.

Sara is a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen.

Nadia is struck by how similar they are: both feisty and opinionated, from a Muslim background, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines. A powerful friendship forms between the two women, until a secret confession from Sara threatens everything Nadia has been working for.

A bitingly original, wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion and the decisions we make in pursuit of belonging, Fundamentally upends and explores a defining controversy of our age with heart, complexity and humour.

This week on the pod we're recommending 'The Favourites' by Layne Fargo. Dubbed as "Wuthering Heights on ice", the book is a rip-roaring page-turner, set against the glitzy backdrop of competitive ice skating.

Layne joins Sara down the line from Chicago to discuss the book, where the Wuthering Heights inspiration came from and why she gave it this unique twist.

They also discuss the world of ice skating, female friendships in sport and get a book recommendation (or two) as well!

Here's a little more about The Favourites: Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn’t. My first love was figure skating.

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorised documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the ‘real story’ through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she's telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumours have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

Alternating Kat’s own account of her dramatic rise and devastating fall with scandalous snippets from the tell-all film, and capturing the can’t-look-away intensity of Emily Bronte’s classic novel, The Favourites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win

To celebrate World Book Day, Sara is joined by actor, screenwriter and children's author Stephen Mangan.

His new book, 'The Fart That Broke World Book Day', was written specifically for...well you guessed it...World Book Day, alongside books by Julia Donaldson, Bluey, Paddington and many more.

We sent his book to a school in Sheffield, for our Junior Book Club reviewers - Noah, Lily, Ayla and Arthur - to read and review. Listen to find out what they thought - and how Stephen reacts to their honesty!

Also in this bumper episode, Fun Kids presenter Bex Lindsay gives us a round-up of some of her favourite kids books that have been published recently. Her choices are:

Younger readers (under 7):

Charlie Higson and Nadia Shireen- What's That Noise? Gordon D'Arcy- Let's Play Rugby! James Kochalka- Green Eggs and Ham

7-9 year olds:

Nathaneal Lessore- Solving Crime is NOT My Superpower Serena Patel- Pia's Pet Club

Middle-Grade (9-12):

Judith Eagle- The Great Theatre Rescue Brogen Murphy- Wildlands AF Steadman- Skandar

And as if that wasn't enough - we're also joined by the CEO of World Book Day - Cassie Chadderton - who reminds us of the importance of getting children reading, and explains how you can use the vouchers to get a child a free book.

This week on the pod we welcome listener reviewer Rebecca Chalmers.

She gives us her Top Five Reads of the year (and last year) so far - as well as a bit of Argentine Tango chat. Yes!

Her choices are: 1. You are here - David Nicholls 2. The Women - Kristin Hannah 3. A Very Private School - Charles Spencer 4. Nesting - Roisin O’Donnell 5. Water - John Boyne

Sara also asks her what she thought of our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice, "Human, Animal" by Seth Insua.

Debut novelist and illustrator, Seth Insua, joins Sara for the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss his book "Human, Animal"

He talks about his inspirations for the book, from growing up in rural England to the Brexit vote of 2016. They discuss his publishing journey and how, after many years of thinking about it, the book was written in such a short time.

Seth is also an illustrator, but wasn't allowed anywhere near his own cover...for reasons that become apparent in the chat.

Sara delves into the themes of the book, what it means to be a farmer in 2025 - and - we hear a snippet of the audiobook as well.

Here's the blurb!

Dairy farmer George Calvert is fighting to keep the family business afloat. Worried about the future but resistant to change, he refuses to face the reality of his failing farm, his elderly mother's declining health and his troubled relationship with his youngest son, Tom.

Newly returned from university, Tom isolates himself in his childhood bedroom, guarding the truth of his burgeoning identity.

When animal rights activists break into the cowshed one morning and Tom appears to side with the protesters, father and son lock horns. As the Calverts begin to unravel, a decades-old secret surfaces – one that might rip them apart completely, or finally unite them.

This week's episode is all about recommendations! Listener Harriet Thomas joins Sara to go through her Top Five Reads of the year (and last year)

She picks: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell.

The Unseen by Roy Jackobson Shuggie Baine by Douglas Stewart

A Fortnight In September by RC Sherriff

Plus, we get her thoughts on our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice - "Nesting" by Roisin O'Donnell

Our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice is 'Nesting' by Roisin O'Donnell.

It is a beautiful but tense novel about hope and resilience, which contains themes of coercive control.

Roisin has been wanting to write ever since she was really young, but only started taking her writing 'seriously' a few years ago. She worked on writing short stories to hone her craft, before sitting down to write her novel in the evenings and on weekends, outside of a day job and being a single mum to two girls.

Sara chats to Roisin about her publishing journey, the NINE WAY AUCTION for her book and the influence that fellow Irish writer Claire Keegan had on her.

They also discuss how important it was to make the book as authentic as it could be, with such serious and important themes.

Listener Fiona Buckland joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to give us some fab recommendations.

Being a voracious reader, she has very broad taste - as her list shows!

Her Top 5 Reads of the Year are:

The Salt Flats by Rachelle Atella Weyward by Emilia Hart How We Named The Stars by Andres N Ordorica Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan Slum Boy by Juano Diaz

She discusses these books in detail with Sara, as well as giving us her review of our latest Book Club choice; 'A Serial Killer's Guide To Marriage'

Our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice is 'A Serial Killer's Guide To Marriage' by Asia Mackay.

Asia was a runner up of the CWIP prize back in 2018, which gave her the confidence to write more - and that eventually led to her getting a publishing deal.

Sara chats to Asia about her writing journey, why she is drawn to slightly dark subject matters and if she gets funny looks at the school gates. They also chat about a lost TV career and get some writing tips as well.

Asia's new novel is her third published book and tells the story of Hazel and Fox, who are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they're ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder. Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox's back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family. This could save their marriage - unless it kills them first.

**Please note during the interview there is a clip from the audiobook which references a fictional killing, with a knife.

Jeremy Vine, Angela Griffith, Dermot O'Leary, Mark Goodier, Shaun Keaveny and The Reverend Kate Botley share their favourite festive fiction with Sara.

Maybe you'll discover a book for your own stocking!?

Marjan Kamali joins Sara from Boston USA to talk about her brilliant new novel, 'The Lion Women Of Tehran'.

This book has been four years in the making and Marjan is thrilled to have it out in the world. It's a story of friendship, feminism, and political activism, set against three transformative decades in Tehran - and we think it's a cracking read!

Marjan interviewed her Mum a lot for research, to learn about Tehran in the 50s and 60s - and also delved into the family recipe book to make the food as authentic as it could be!

As well as discussing the novel, and her own writing journey, in true Book Club styel Marjan also recommends us a book that she has been reading and enjoying!

Remember we love to hear from you about what you've been reading and enjoying recently, so drop us a line anytime! radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Niall gives us some brilliant writing tips - and shares a little of his own writing routine too. As well as talking about his brilliant new novel, which takes place in the same village as his previous. He tells Sara about his fascination with this made-up village - Faha - and why he doesn't want to leave it on the page.

The novel tells the story of Doctor Jack Troy and his daughter, Ronnie.

Doctor Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come. His youngest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.

This week's listener reviewer is Rosa Miller from Bedfordshire. She gives us a review of our latest Book Club choice - "Playground" by Richard Powers - as well as telling us her Top 5 reads of this year.

Sara also quizzes Rosa about her book group! (they've been going for over 9 years, and have read over 50 books dontcha know!?)

We also hear from three authors about their brilliant new novels, which were published earlier in the year. We absolutely loved reading them and hope you will too? They are:

"The Coast Road" by Alan Murrin "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe "The Ministry Of Time" by Kaliane Bradley

(and each author gives us a great book recommendation too)

Remember, you can get in touch with us anytime you like to tell us about what you have been reading, recommend us something or apply to be a listener reviewer! The email is: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

*Please be aware that this episode contains discussions of adult themes

Our latest Book Club choice is 'Playground' by Richard Powers.

Richard won the Pulitzer in 2019, for his novel 'The Overstory' and his latest book is an epic tale told through three different stories, covering themes of AI, the environment and our shared humanity.

Sara chats to Richard about his love and fascination with coral reefs, his writing processes and whether publishing a book gets any easier.

This week on the Radio 2 Book Club podcast, Sara welcomes listener reviewer Sadia Rana to share her Top 5 Reads of 2024 so far. She has been reading really widely and recommends us five different novels, new and old, from Patrick Hamilton to Sebastian Barry. We also hear from three bestselling authors about their latest novels, all of which were chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club earlier in the year. Abir Mukherjee tells us about his standalone thriller 'Hunted'. Marian Keyes discusses her sixteenth novel, 'My Favourite Mistake'. And recent Booker Prize shortlistee, Percival Everett, talks about his re-telling of Huckleberry Finn, 'James'. And remember if you'd like to be a listeners reviewer, you can get in touch with us any time via the email: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

Our latest Radio 2 Book Club choice is 'The Glass Girl' by Kathleen Glasgow. It's officially a Young Adult book, but can be enjoyed by all readers (14+). It tells the story of Bella, a teenage girl on the brink, and the bumpy road back to recovery. Kathleen joins Sara to talk about her inspirations for this novel, her writing processes and why she still loves journalling. They also talk about balancing humour with dark themes and why books like this are so important for teenagers today. We hear an extract from the audiobook as well - and learn a bit too much about Sara's husband's spooning habits!

Sara features three books that her and the team have loved reading recently. These are:

You Are Here by international bestselling author David Nicholls.

Alter Ego by debut novelist Helen Heckety

Table For Two by international bestselling author Amor Towles.

Each author joins us to talk about their novels, the inspiration behind them and give us a book recommendation of their own too.

We're also treated to a snippet of Radio 4's Book At Bedtime adaptation of David Nicholls' book - read by Sally Phillips.

Remember, you can get in touch with the Radio 2 Book Club at anytime. We always love to know what you're reading and any new authors you have discovered. The email address is: radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

C.J. Cooke joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to talk about her new gothic novel, The Book Of Witching. This is her tenth book and is based on a real-life Scottish Witch-Trial. She tells Sara about her inspirations for this novel, her research trip to Orkney and how the word 'Witch' is slowly, but surely being reclaimed. C.J. (Carolyn) often writes strong, female characters - and from a feminist point of view - and talks about how she handled the re-telling of a real story about real humans, in order to honour the history, but ensure its being seen through a contemporary lens.

Here's a little more about the book:

Glasgow 2024: Clem waits by her daughter’s hospital bed. Erin was found on an idyllic beach in Fynhallow Bay, Orkney with catastrophic burns and only one memory: her name is Nyx. But how did she get these burns? And how did her boyfriend end up burned alive?

Orkney 1594: Accused of witchcraft, Alison Balfour awaits trial. The punishment? To be burned alive.

Separated by four hundred years but bound by the Book of Witching, two women stand imperilled. Can they unlock a centuries-old mystery? And will Fynhallow Bay give up its secrets before someone else dies?

If you'd like to get in touch to tell us what you've been reading and enjoying recently, or to apply to be one of our reviewers, you can email at anytime.

radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

In this episode, Sara features three of our Book Club choices from the summer, that we think you will really enjoy. We'll hear about each of the books from the author's themselves, and get some book recommendations from them too.

This week we're featuring:

'Precipice' by the international bestselling author Robert Harris. Based on real-life events in 1914, when then Prime Minister H.H. Asquith wrote obsessively to 26-year-old Venetia Stanley, who he was having an affair with, and shared the most sensitive matters of state.

'A Case Of Mice And Murder' by former Barrister and KC Sally Smith. Her debut novel is a detective mystery set in London's law courts in 1901 and introduces us to Sir Gabriel Ward, who'll also be appearing in her next novel.

'Rare Singles' by former music journalist turned bestselling novelist Benjamin Myers. His new book tells the story of an American Soul star, Bucky Bronco, whose career is re-ignited when he's brought over to the UK for a special one-off show, by Scarborough resident and Northern Soul fanatic, Dinah.

We hope you enjoy hearing about some of our recent choices! Remember you can get in touch with us at anytime to let us know what you have been reading and enjoying - and to give a shout out to your own book group. The email is:

radio2bookclub@bbc.co.uk

There'll be a new episode of the Radio 2 Book Club podcast every Tuesday. So why not click 'Subscribe' on BBC Sounds, so that you never miss an episode.

Booker Prize winning author, Alan Hollinghurst, joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club for a chat about his new novel, 'Our Evenings'. It's been seven years since Alan published his last book - and so there has been much excitement and anticipation for this new one, and it does not disappoint.

The book is written as a memoir of an actor called Dave Win, and spans his life from when he was thirteen, to his late sixties. We learn about his life at school, and university, his first love affairs, his experimental theatre shows in London and his late-life affair which transforms his sixties. Poignant, dark and at some times wickedly funny, 'Our Evenings' gives us a portrait of modern England through the lens of one man's acutely observed and often unnerving experience.

In this episode of the Radio 2 Book Club, Sara discusses Alan's writing processes, how long his ideas bubble up for and how much of him has gone into this book.

Vanessa Chan's debut novel - The Storm We Made - was fought over in a seven way publishing auction! It's now out in the world, and it's our first Radio 2 Book Club choice of 2024.

Zoe chats to Vanessa, from her apartment in Brooklyn, about the inspirations for the story, her Malaysian upbringing and her writing routine.

Here's a little bit more about the book: Her decision changed history. Now her family must survive it.

British Malaya, 1930s: Discontented housewife Cecily is seduced by Japanese general Fujiwara and the glorious future he is promising for ‘independent’ Malaya, free from British colonialism. As she becomes further embedded as his own personal spy, she unwittingly alters the fate of her country by welcoming in a punishing form of dictatorship under the Japanese in WWII.

Japanese-occupied Malaya, 1945: Cecily and her family are barely surviving. Her children, Jujube, Abel and Jasmin, are surrounded by threat, and look to their mother to keep them safe. But she can’t tell them about the part she played in the war – and she doesn’t know how to protect them.

Can Cecily face up to her past to save her children? Or is it already too late… ?

For our last Book Club of 2023, Zoe chats to bestselling author Katherine Howe about her latest novel, 'A True Account'

Katherine talks about her fascination with pirates, her love of history and her personal connection with the story she has just published.

Zoe also asks about her writing routine and her inspirations.

A little more about the novel:

In Boston, as the Golden Age of Piracy comes to a bloody close, Hannah Masury – bound into service at a waterfront inn since childhood – is ready to take her life into her own hands. When William Fly is hanged for piracy in the town square, the teenage Hannah is watching. Forced to flee for her life, Hannah disguises herself as a cabin boy and joins the pitiless crew of another notorious real-life pirate, Edward "Ned" Low. To earn her freedom and finally change the tide of her own future, Hannah must hunt down William Fly's lost treasure.

Meanwhile in 1930, Professor Marian Beresford pieces this bewitching story together, seeing her own lack of freedom reflected back at her as she watches Hannah's transformation. At the centre of Hannah Masury’s account, however, lies a centuries-old mystery that Marian is determined to solve. It soon becomes clear that Hannah was once just as determined to take this secret to her grave.

'A True Account' tells the unforgettable, interleaved stories of two women in different worlds, both shattering the rules of their own society, both daring to risk everything to go forge their own adventure.

Zoe welcomes author and screenwriter Femi Kayode to the Book Club to discuss his brilliant new novel, 'Gaslight'.

Femi has spent the last two decades in advertising, whilst also building an impressive resume on prime-time television, by creating and writing several award-winning TV dramas. He recently completed an MA in Crime Fiction - and is finishing a PHD now too (it seems he likes letters).

Femi published his first novel, 'Lightseekers', in the pandemic. This was the beginning of a series of books based on the investigations of Dr Philip K. Talwo. Gaslight is the second book in this series, which centres around a murder within a Nigerian megachurch.

Zoe chats with him about his inspirations for this story, his influences and how on earth he fits everything in!

This week, Zoe is joined by international bestselling novelist Terry Hayes. His new novel, The Year Of The Locus, is our lates Radio 2 Book Club pick - and it's quite the page-turner.

It's been 10 years since Terry published his debut smash hit, I Am Pilgrim', but we think it has been worth the wait.

Zoe chats to Terry about what has taken his so long, the status of the film adaptation, his writing habits and if we'll have to wait another ten years for his next book.

Here's a little more info on Terry's new novel: If, like Kane, you're a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again - by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide - and when to shoot. But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive. Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

Zoe welcomes Sarah Davis, one of our Superstar Librarians, to the podcast. Sarah has been working in libraries for 43 years! And is one of the original panel members for the Radio 2 Book Club.

She talks to Zoe about her love of reading, why she loves her job - and - recommends us a few books and authors too.

Zoe welcomes Caroline Bond to the Book Club to discuss her new novel, The Day We Left.

It's a powerful and moving story about identical twins, and Caroline draws on some of her own life experience for this book.

They chat about her writing routine, inspirations, habits and how some characters can steal the show (or book) even when they're only in it for a short time.

More on the book:

Oli and Joe are identical twins. But they will never be the same. Lizzie Truman gives birth to her sons at thirty-one weeks. From the start, the differences between the twins are clear. Oli is bigger, stronger, healthier. Joe is small and much less robust, his future inexorably altered by the trauma of his premature delivery. As soon as the boys are well enough, Lizzie checks out of the maternity hospital and leaves her old life behind. By the time Oli and Joe are grown, Beth has a new name, a thriving business, and she has successfully raised her sons alone. But when the truth about their past emerges, the twins are forced to reassess everything they thought they knew about their mother, their upbringing and themselves.

Sarah and Louise from a reading group in Westward Ho! join Zoe to chat about their book club and what books they have been reading and enjoying recently.

They recommend 'Lessons In Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus and 'The Witch Elm' by Tara French - both which they have read as a group recently.

Zoe also discusses the importance of strong female characters in fiction and why Radio 2's very own Jeremy Vine was spotted on a Penny Farthing!?

If you'd like to get involved in the Radio 2 Book Club, sharing your recommendations or putting your reading group forward to be featured, just email zoeball@bbc.co.uk.

Zoe chats with librarian Pete Hughes about his library, career and reading recommendations. They discuss books by Patrick Gale, Gabrielle Zevin, Andy Weir and Sally Rooney. They also talk about reading out of your comfort zone and the importance of libraries within communities.