Bookylicious

In this episode Paul talks to author Jennifer Kavanagh about her new book 'Thread of Life: My Russian Legacy'. The story of Jennifer's mother and grandmother which unfolds across the turbulent 20th Century from Russia to Latvia, Switzerland, Egypt and finally England. The book explores those threads of life which link the generations.To find out more about Jennifer go to https://www.jenniferkavanagh.co.uk/ and as always here is a bookshelf with some of the books (or ideas) we mentioned in this episode https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-8-jennifer-kavanagh-thread-of-life-my-russian-legacy?

This is a special episode celebrating Wrexham Carnival of Words 2025 the 11th year of this wonderful book festival. There are interviews with our very own Holly Thorpe (1 min 15 secs), fabulous crime writer Elly Griffiths https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/ (6 mins 15 secs), debut novelist Kate Kemp (13 mins 35 Secs), author Harriett Evan (AKA Harriett K. Townson) https://www.harriet-evans.com/ (18 mins 49 secs) and our long awaited interview with Danielle Giles author of ‘Mere' (27 mins 37 secs). This is just a small selection of some of the writers and authors who appeared but hopefully it gives a flavour of the variety and atmosphere of the Carnival. For more information see www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.comAs always you can find and even buy some of the booksmentioned in this episode here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-7-carnival-crime-and-convents%E2%81%A0?

In this episode Gwyn returns and joins Paul, Lara and Hollyin a far reaching chat about books and much more relating to the weird,witches, and liminal places and much more. There is also a brief glimpse thisyear's Wrexham Carnival of Words www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.comWe also mention the zine Weird Walk, you can find more informationhere https://www.weirdwalk.co.uk/Here is a shelf of books we reviewed or mentioned https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-6-the-weird-the-wonderful-and-everything-in-between?

In this episode Paul speaks to Andrew Green about his book 'Voices on the Path, a history of walking in Wales'. A rich misture of drovers, long distance trails, pedestrianism and much more!You can find Andrew's website at www.gw allter.com The recent episode of Clare Balding's Ramblings featuring Andrew can be found here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027jy0 Here is a bookshelf of some of the authors and books mentioned in this episode https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-5-voices-on-the-path-a-history-of-walking-in-wales?

In this episode Paul, Lara and Holly finally get together to discuss their favourite reads of 2024 and what they are looking forward to reading in 2025. Along the way they talk about: James A Pearson https://jamesapearson.com/ Dead Ink Books https://deadinkbooks.com/ Adventurous Ink https://adventurousink.co.uk/ Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses https://www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk/site/fenns-whixall-and-bettisfield-mosses-nnr/ Here is a bookshelf with some of the books we mention in this episode: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-4-poppies-poetry-and-pasternak?

After being away for a short while Bookylicious the podcast is back. In this episode Paul's wife Adrienne takes over the microphone to ask him some searching questions about books past , present and future. We cover a lot of ground from early childhood book memories to book marketing and everything in between! There is also a short preview of some of the exciting episodes to come... As always you can find a bookshelf with some of the books we mentioned here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-3-question-time?

Paul and Lara are joined by ilustrator Laura Jet to chat about books and illustration, graphic novels and comics, judging books by their cover. As always the conversation drifts into a diversity of horror, nature writing and much much more. Here is a bookshelf of some of the books we discussed https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-2-a-gallimaufry-with-illustrator-laura-jet? We also discussed https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Shaun-Tan/The-Arrival/16260122 and https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Bryan-Talbot/Alice-in-Sunderland--An-Entertainment/577680

In this episode Paul is in conversation with Welsh writers Alis Hawkins and Mike Parker. Alis is a crime writer and author of the Teifi Valley Coroner series and the Oxford Mysteries series. Mike is a writer and broadcaster and he is author of Map Addict, On the Red Hill and All Along the Wide Border and much more! The conversation starts inevitably with Wales and hiraeth and then ranges widely from the meaning and origins of community, the invasion of the motor car, the value of libraries and archives and much more. You can find out more about Alis here https://alishawkins.co.uk/ and Mike here https://www.mikeparker.org.uk/index.html You can find out more about their books and buy some of them here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-4-episode-1-alis-hawkins-and-mike-parker?

Holly, Lara and Paul chat about some of the books they are reading and highlights of the 10th Wrexham Carnival of Words www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com The Womens Prize for Fiction 2024 longlist also gets a mention https://womensprize.com/announcing-the-2024-womens-prize-for-fiction-longlist/ If you would like to download and read the University of Sheffield Creative Writing Society's latest anthology edited by Holly you can find it here https://uoscreativewritingsoc.wordpress.com/our-anthology/ And yes! We do talk about blue cheese and Dorset Knobs, Thomas Hardy's favourite snack. To order your own Dorset Knobs go to www.moores-biscuits.co.uk As always you can find all the books we discussed on our Bookshop.org bookshelf here  https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-8-carnival-reads-and-blue-cheese? We also now have a new Instagram page @bookyliciouspodcast so please come and follow us. If you used to follow out old page bookyliciouspod you will need tomove over to our new one.

Lara and Paul talk to Paul Clifton about his new poetry collection ‘1988, a poetic diary of a Wrexham author'. They chat about the creative process, how do poems emerge and reach their final form and Paul reads some of his work. If you would like to buy Paul's work go here https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Paul-Clifton/author/B006VE1EFO?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Paul and Lara also mention ‘Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo and ‘Strands' by Jean Sprackland

Paul, Lara and Holly talk some more about audiobooks based on Patricia Bracewell's recommendations. They also discuss Thomas Hardy's women, is “romantasy” a genre, BB's Little Grey men (gnomes) and nature writing and much more! Go to our bookshelf for some of the books mentioned in this episode.  https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-6-thomas-hardy-romantasy-gnomes-and-nature?

For the first time ever Paul, Holly and Lara gathered in the library stacks in Wrexham and not on Zoom to record this episode. That's why it is a slightly longer episode than normal but the conversation was too good to cut! We cover everything including audiobooks, Les Miserables, whether Wombles and Moomins share the same DNA, the joys and pitfalls of genre fiction including sci-fi. You will find the shelf with most of the books we discuss here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-5-wombles-moomins-audiobooks-and-sci-fi? For more information about Wrexham Carnival of Words 2024 go here www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com For more information about Mary Oliver and Upstream https://maryoliver.com/bio/ If you want to get in touch please go to www.bookylicious.com

In this episode Paul speaks to Dave McCall AKA author David Ebsworth about his latest book ‘Blood Among the Threads' a murder mystery set in Wrexham in 1876. For more information about Dave, his books and to sign up to his mailing list go here https://www.davidebsworth.com/ Other authors we discuss are Robert Harris https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/575.Robert_Harris  and Rosemary Sutcliff https://rosemarysutcliff.com/summaries-and-synopses-of-rosemary-sutcliff-books/   And if you are interested in the recent Slightly Foxed editions of Sutcliff's works go here https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/a-set-of-rosemary-sutcliff-novels/

In this episode Paul and Lara chat about their Good Reads reading challenges for 2023 and select fiction and non-fiction favourites. They discuss their progress (or not?) Wrexham Carnival of Words long read for 2024 ‘Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo. Plus a few suggestions for what Santa might consider bringing! As always here is a bookshelf of some of the books we mention https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-3-2023-reading-challenge-review-les-miserable-and-christmas-wishes Here are links for Slow Ways https://beta.slowways.org/ and Danny Robins Uncanny website https://www.dannyrobins.com/uncanny If you want more information about Bookylicious go to www.bookylicious.com or https://www.facebook.com/Bookylicious Email us at info@bookylicious.com

In this episode Paul interviews Sian hughes the Booker longlisted author of ‘Pearl' in her beautiful bookshop Magpie Books in Malpas , Cheshire https://www.magpiebookshop.co.uk/ Sian talks about the long process of writing ‘Pearl, Old English poetry in the Cheshire dialect, being longlisted for the Booker prize, the Wales/Cheshire border and much more! For more information about Sian here are a couple of sites with more information: https://theindigopress.com/sian-hughes/ https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/sian-hughes And as always here is our bookshelf.org bookshelf with some of the books we mention: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-2-sian-hughes Apologies because this was recorded on location the sound levels are a little variable but hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment.

In this episode Paul talks to Dani Robertson the Dark Sky Officer for Prosiect Nos Dark Skies Partnership in North Wales. She is author of ‘All Through the Night' a book highlighting the issues of light pollution and what we can all do about it. Here are some links about Dani and Project Nos https://www.discoveryinthedark.wales/project-nos https://darksky.org/news/dani-robertson-monthly-star/ https://darksky.org/news/dani-robertson-monthly-star/ As always you can see books we talked about in our bookshop.org bookshelf ⁠https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-1-dani-robertson-all-through-the-night  

In this episode Gwyn reviews Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' and Paul feeds back on his viewing of the 1986 film of the book and the 2019 TV series. Paul recommends some Medieval monastic sleuths to follow on from 'The Name of the Rose'. For details of the books mentioned please check our bookshelf here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-2-episode-13-the-name-of-the-rose

In this show Paul and Holly chat about novels featuring libraries and librarians inspired by the Electric Literature reading list https://electricliterature.com/7-novels-that-reveal-librarians-behind-the-shelves/ From which emerges ‘The Name of the Rose' by Uberto Eco as our book of the month. Gwyn shares her favourite reads about magic and mysticism. Paul and Holly discuss their current reads and hopefully we will inspire you in our varied choice! All books mentioned can be found on our Bookshop.Org bookshelf https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-featuring-librarians-and-librarians-and-gwyn-explores-all-things-magical-and-mystical-bookylicious-series-2-episode-12 If you want to get in touch with us please email info@bookylicious.com we love to hear from you!

In this episode Paul is in conversation with Jennifer Kavanagh about her new novel ‘And this shall be my dancing day' and they also discuss the creative process. If you want to know more about Jennifer and her writing you can find out more here https://www.jenniferkavanagh.co.uk/ To buy or find out more about Jennifer's book and some of the other books we mentioned here is our Bookshop.org bookshelf https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/jennifer-kavanagh-and-this-shall-be-my-dancing-day-bookylicious-series-2-episode-11  

This is a bumper episode as we weren't able to record in June. In this episode we discuss our book of the month ‘The Silver Sword' by Ian Serraillier. For more information on Ian Serraillier go to https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/people/ian-serraillier We also take a look at the latest BBC list of 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time which you can explore here https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230522-the-100-greatest-childrens-books-of-all-time For all the books we mentioned in this episode please go to our bookshop at https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/ian-serraillier-s-the-silver-sword-and-children-s-classics You can find more information about Bookylicious and how to contact us here www.bookylicious.com

In this episode Gwyn and Paul explore the graphic novel ‘The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes' by Neil Gaiman and its recent Netflix adaptation. If you feel inspired to explore the world of graphic novels and comics why not have a look at the excellent Page 45 bookshop site https://page45.com/ For most of the books we discuss in this episode go to the bookshelf in our bookshop here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/neil-gaiman-s-the-sandman-bookylicious-series-2-episode-9   Gwyn also mentions Joanna Biggs book ‘A Life of One's Own' which has only just been published, you can read an extract here https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/04/03/on-mary-wollstonecraft/ Plus there is a unofficial playlist on Spotify for the Sandman series https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WiEftzChg34LESRtnJehr?si=49b8ca8c968b464d

Paul and Holly chat about Max Porter, one of Britain's most innovative and creative author's writing today with his latest book being ‘Shy'. The conversation then turns to all things Medieval with ‘The Wake' by Paul Kingsnorth and ‘Cuddy' by Benjamin Myers. Paul reflects on some of the highlights at this year's Wrexham Carnival of Words. To see some of the books we mention go to https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/max-porter-the-medieval-and-much-more-bookylicious-series-2-episode-8 For more information about Paul Kingsnorth and Dark Mountain see https://www.paulkingsnorth.net/ And for more about Max porter and his books go to https://www.maxporter.co.uk/

In this episode Gwyn and Paul discuss the Book of the Month Joan Aiken's ‘The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' and then dive down the rabbit hole to explore the origins of fantasy fiction. You can find the full text of Tolkien on Fairy Tales here https://archive.org/details/on-fairy-stories_202110 If you wish to watch the BBC adaptation of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase you can find it here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA_LNZIHHj8&t=61s All the books we discuss are in our Bookshop.org bookshop here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-wolves-of-willoughby-chase-and-other-fantastic-imaginings-bookylicious-series-2-episode-7 Gwyn also mentions Joseph Campbell's ‘Hero with a Thousand Faces' which you can find here https://archive.org/details/the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces-by-joseph-campbell There is only one episode of Bookylicious this month we will be back with two in May!    

Paul, Gwyn and Lara chat about ‘Edgelands' by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts It leads to a great discussion about nature in unexpected places and on our back doorstep. One other book gets a brief mention along the way and that is ‘How Green was my Valley' by Richard Llewellyn where nnaature and industry collide in the South Wales valleys. For the insatiably curious among you here is a link to an episode of ‘Old Country' starring Jack Hargreaves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpRvcEC2fnY this will give you a flavour of who we were talking about. His biography is interesting as well https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves

In this episode Paul, Gwyn, Holly and Lara catch up on some of their latest good reads. Listener and author Patricia Bracewell raises the question would there be Harry Potter without The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper? Gwyn champions Stephen King's ‘Fairy Tale' as a great read; Holly and Lara both recommend Margaret Atwood's ‘Hag Seed' and Paul delves into Victorian natural history with Isabella Tree's ‘John Gould, the Bird Man'. We also catch up on the most recent book group read by Amy Liptrot. Lara recommends two Liverpool bookshops News from Nowhere in Bold Street http://newsfromnowhere.org.uk/and Out of Print in Smithdown Road For a list of some of the books we talk about on the show go here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/from-harry-potter-to-hag-seed-bookylicious-season-2-episode-5

Paul Gwyn and Holly discuss Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, this month's book of the month. We also highlight some of our favourite bookshops including: Troutmark Books (Cardiff and Newport) https://www.troutmarkbooks.com/ Books Llangollen https://www.booksllangollen.co.uk/ Booka Bookshop (Oswestry) https://www.bookabookshop.co.uk/ Juno Books (Sheffield) https://www.junobooks.co.uk/shop To see and buy some of the books we discussed in this episode go to https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/treasure-island-and-our-favourite-bookshops-bookylicious-series-2-episode-4 To get early bird festival tickets for Wrexham Carnival of Words 2023 go to https://wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com/

In this episode Paul, Holly and Gwyn through the spotlight on Charles Dickens, including ‘Six things you almost certainly didn't know about Dicken's' . What fun we had! For a flavour of what Dicken's World' was like here is a brief video from 2008 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jdx1docVTI For some of the books we mentioned go to our Bookylicious bookshelf here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/what-the-dicken-s-bookylicious-series-2-episode-3

Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 2 – Book of the Month Paul, Gwyn and Lara talk about their Book of the Month selection Susan Cooper's ‘The Dark is Rising' a perfect Winter read. You can find the new BBC World Service adaptation here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvp7 To see all the books we mention in this episode plus a few more children and young adult takes on the Arthurian legend go to https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-dark-is-rising-bookylicious-series-2-ep-2

Paul, Gwyn and Lara get 2023 off to a flying start, talking about reading resolutions and targets (not challenges). Bookylicious has a new feel with two shorter episodes a month whilst keeping book chat you love and occasional author interviews we will be introducing some new feature such as Book of the Month, Classic Author Spotlight, favourite book podcasts and much more. Here are links for Horatio Clare's Sound Walk in the Faroes and Dan Richards Only After Dark To see and buy all the books mentioned on the show go to https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/new-year-reading-challenges-bookylicious-series-2-ep-1

In this episode Paul interviews author David Ebsworth (aka Dave McCall) about his new book ‘The House on Hunter Street' set in Liverpool in 1911. For more information about Dave and his previous books go to www.davidebsworth.com Paul also talks to Monika Evans about her love for ‘The Master and Magarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov and the challenges and surprises (Robert Burns in Silesian!) of literature in translation. Dave also speaks from about having his novel ‘Until the Curtain Falls' translated into Spanish. You can go and check out Monika's excellent work as a singer songwriter here https://soundcloud.com/monikaevans-music Gwyn, Lara and Paul catch up after the long summer and check in on their current reading. Here is a link to Bloody Scotland and click here if you want to find out more about Shelterbox Book Club and Adventurous Ink Here are some of the other books we talked about: Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo Charlotte Belton – Putin's People Janina Ramirez - Femina Elise Downing - Coasting Arthur C. Clarke – Cradle John Woolf – The Wonders, lifting the curtain on the freak show, circus and the Victorian age Dan Jones – Hollow Crown Graham Swift – Waterland Nyuyen Phan Que Mai – The Mountains Sing Cixin Liu – The Three Body Problem Andri Snaer Magnason - Lovestar Tove Jansson – The True Deceiver Stieg Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo Victor Hugo – Les Miserables Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis Nora Krug - Heimat

A slightly shorter episode than usual, that's because we needed to get into a cool shady spot and read! In this episode Gwyn, Holly and Paul recommend books from their to be read pile for you to take on your Summer holidays. Be it your backyard or a beach far far away there may be a book just for you. We give a shout out to an excellent podcast The Rest is History and you can listen to it here https://open.spotify.com/show/7Cvsbcjhtur7nplC148TWy Here is the link to the Bloody Scotland website https://bloodyscotland.com/ Here are some of the books we discussed: Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo Bora Chung - Cursed Bunny Virginia Woolf - Orlando D. L. Marshall - Anthrax Island Yukio Mishima - Star Sally Rooney - Conversations with Friends Rainer Maria Rilke - Letters to a Young Poet Natalia Ginzburg - All Our Yesterdays Lucinda Riley - Seven Sisters T. S. Eliot - The Waste Land Zoe Gilbert - Mischief Acts S. G. Maclean - The Seeker Amy Liptrot - The Instant Tom Holland - Persian Fire

In this episode we explore travel and travel writing. Paul interviews Pete Evans (19 mins) author of 'Resurrection River' and 'The Holy Dee' and they chat about travel books that have inspired them, with lots of travellers tales weaved in. Gwyn, Lara and Paul also talk about travel writing that has inspired them (1:07). Also a shout out to friend of the show Pat Bracewell and you can find her blog here http://www.patriciabracewell.com/blog/ Here are links to the books we chat about about: Alexander Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo Emily Houghton - Before I Saw You Jean Rhys - Wide Sargasso Sea (don't forget to check out the Big Jubilee Read list) Anna Keay - The Restless Republic, Britain without a Crown Michelle Paver - Wakenhyrst As promised there is a very long list of books we talk about and we hope they inspire you to read and travel from your armchair or beyond! Dervla Murphy - A Place Apart (Charlie Connelly's article in the New European is here ) Geert Mak - In Europe and In America Robert Macfarlane - The Old Ways Dan Richards - Outpost Robert Macfarlane and Dan Richards - Holloway Amy Jeffs - Storyland Monisha Rajesh - Around the World in 80 Trains Bill Bryson - Neither Here Nor There Will Ferguson - Hokkaido Highway Blues Heinrich Harrer - Seven Years in Tibet Hilly Janes - Three Lives of Dylan Thomas George Borrow - Wild Wales Cees Nooteboom - Roads to Santiago Bruce Chatwin - In Patagonia Robert Harris - Pompeii

In this episode we have an interview with Patricia Bracewell author of the Emma of Normandy historical fiction series ‘Shadow on the Crown'; ‘The Price of Blood' and ‘The Steel Beneath the Silk'. We discuss all things Anglo-Saxon, Viking and strong women in history! This leads Paul and Gwyn on to a chat about string female leads in fiction. We also briefly mention the BBC's Big Jubilee Read which is an interesting list of 70 books that are representative of each decade since 1952 from across the UK and the Commonwealth. Oh and not forgetting you may wish to check out the magnificent Fun Lovin' Crime Writers As some of our regular listeners may have noticed this episode is a little late going live. The technical gremlins offered some challenges, especially in the first section of the episode, rather than delay any further we have decided to go ahead. Hopefully the sound quality won't detract from your enjoyment. Here are some of the books which get a mention: Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden Anna Sewell - Black Beauty Jennifer Lucy Allen - The Foghorn's Lament Mark Billingham - Rabbit Hole and Cry Baby Carys Davies - The Redemption of Galen Pike and The Mission House George Eliot - Middlemarch Charles Dickens - Bleak House and Little Dorrit Michelle Paver - Wakenhyrst Manda Scott - Boudicca Series Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones Diary Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the D'Urbervilles Sarah Hilary - Fragile Terry Prachett - Discworld Series Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina

Wow! This is a bumper episode full of some wonderful things! We start with Paul and gwyn chatting about books that they are currently reading; there is an interview with poet and writer Peter Read at about 31 minutes in and we end at 1 hour 10 minutes with Lara in conversation with Paul and sharing here favourite poems and poets. You can find links to some of Peter Read's work here https://www.gwales.com/search_basic/ To get you tickets for Wrexham Carnival of Words 2022 click here https://wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com/events/ And here are just some of the books, poems and poets we mentioned: Gwyn and I chatted about Michelle Paver author of Wakenhyrst and Dark Matter; The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles; Help the Witch by Tom Cox; Borderland, a Journey Through the history of Ukraine by Anna Reid; Putin's People by Catherine Belton; Grey Bees and Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkuv and The Rumour by Lesley Kara. Peter Read mentions a biography of one of his favourite philosophers Clare Carlisle's – Philosopher of the Heart, the restless Life of Soren Kierlegaard These are some of the poems and poets Lara and I mention, Spike Milligan; Ogden Nash; Daffodilsby William Wordsworth; Rememberby Christina Rosetti; Treesby Joyce Kilmer; Sonnets from the Portuguese 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Miraclesby Walt Whitman; I Felt a Funeral in my Brain by Emily Dickinson; Annabel Leeby Edgar Allan Poe; Still I Riseby Maya Angelou. Finally the new book by Ian Lucas is called Digital Gangsters

In this first of two episodes Paul and Holly explore the joys of all things poetic. At 20 minutes in you will find an interview with poet and writer Liz Lefroy. You can find out more about Liz at her website https://lizlefroy.wixsite.com/liz-lefroyand this is a link to her blog here https://someonesmumsays.blogspot.com/ This is a link for the playlist that goes with this show, please feel to add relevant tracks for us all to enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rTORm6NCVm6CTYjRkUyct?si=25adc661b2474702 Here are some of the books and poems that get a mention Marc Morris – The Anglo-Saxons, a history of the beginnings of England 400-1066 Hermann Hesse - Steppenwolf Max Porter – Grief is a Thing With Feathers, Lanny, The Death of Francis Bacon (Grief is a Thing with Feathers title is a play on the Emily Dickinson poem ‘Hope is a thing with feathers' Emma Souton – A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Murder in Ancient Rome John Suchet – Beethoven: the man revealed John Suchet – The Last Master Trilogy a fictional biography of Ludwig van Beethoven T.E. Carhart – The Piano Shop on the Left Bank Bloodaxe Anthologies – Being Human, Staying Alive, Being Alive T S Eliot – Collected Poems 1902-1962 Andrew McMillan - Physical Phillip Gross – Love Songs of Carbon John Donne – The Sun Rising James Joyce – Chamber Music Kate Tempest – Brand New Ancients Wendy Cope – Serious Concerns Sylvia Plath – Lady Lazarus Hannah Lowe – The Kids Mary Oliver – New and Selected poems Volume 1

In this episode our theme is London. At 19 minutes you will find an interview with author Jennifer Kavanagh about her book ‘Let Me Take You by the Hand, True Tales from the London's Streets'. You can find more about Jennifer and her work here https://www.jenniferkavanagh.co.uk/ There is an eclectic Spotify playlist to accompany this episode and you can it here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27R7wCg3896XowhqMszYyg?si=297b766b62c34384 Here are some of the books we mention ( Lara and Paul are preparing a more extensive bibliography of London books so keep an eye on our website www.bookylicious.com for that): What Paul, Gwyn, Holly and Lara reading: Grace Dent – Hungry Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven Pat Barker – Silence of the Girls, Regeneration Trilogy Yoko Ogawa – Memory police George Eliot - Middlemarch Ian Fleming – Man with the Golden Gun Hannah Lowe – The Kids Nick Hayes - Book of Trespass Margaret Mitchell - Gone with the Wind Books set in or about London: Henry Mayhew – London Labour and the London Poor Arthur Conan Doyle – The Complete Sherlock Holmes Sarah Perry – The Essex Serpent Zadie Smith – NW and White Teeth Neil Gaimen – Neverwhere Colin MacInnes – City of Spades Beryl Bainbridge – The Bottle Factory Outing Ben Aaronovitch – Rivers of London Terry Pratchett – Dodger Andrew Taylor – Ashes of London Charles Dickens - Bleak House Iris Murdoch - Under the Net

Paul and Lara chat about books that they might like to see under the Christmas tree, their favourite Christmas/winter poems and stories and what books they would like to give to others. Our Christmas stories and poems are: ‘The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper (Gwyn) ‘In the Bleak Midwinter' by Christina Rossetti (Lara) ‘The Oxen' by Thomas Hardy (Lara) ‘Under the Greenwood Tree' by Thomas Hardy (Paul) ‘What the Donkey Saw' and ‘Not the Millennium' by U.A. Fanthorpe (Paul The books we'd like for Christmas: ‘Help the Witch' by Tom Cox (Gwyn) ‘Free; a Child and a Country at the End of History' by Lea Ypi (Paul) ‘Lily' by Rose Tremain (Lara) ‘Ariadne' by Jennifer Saint (Lara) The books we would like to give others: ‘The Bell' by Iris Murdoch (Paul) ‘How to be Free' by Tom Hodgkinson (Gwyn) ‘Hamnet' by Maggie O'Farrell (Lara) And the Christmas playlist can be found here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1oQMeFB078Tzw1Rl9xa2ar?si=6b651d8eae59402c

In this episode Paul, Gwyn and Holly celebrate the 150thanniversary of the publication of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Paul dives down the rabbit hole with Mark Davies author, guide and Oxford local historian to discuss aspects of Lewis Carroll and Alice. You can find out more about Mark's books here Alice in Waterland and King of Balloons and a link to the Lewis Carroll Society here https://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/ Also in this episode we muse on the joy of bookshops with a shout out to the Ladies Who Londonpodcast and their episode on London Bookshops which you can find here https://www.ladieswholondon.com/post/bookmarking-the-best-bookshops-in-london One of Gwyn's favourite bookshops is Troutmarkbooks in Cardiff. You can find the links for crowdfunding to keep Book-ishin Crickhowell open here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-bookish-on-the-high-street?member=15332081and the link to support the staff at Berwyn Books which burnt down recently here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-staff-at-berwyn-books This is the link to the episode playlist with songs inspired by Carroll and Alice https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1dpcHN6KDDidmiSHwAPJo4?si=52b7cc95e0e04694 And finally here are the links to some of the books we talk about in this episode: Oliver Burkeman - Four Thousand Weeks Chinua Achebe – Things Fall Apart Virginia Woolf – To the Lighthouse Edgar Allan Poe – Short Stories Margaret Atwood – Handmaids Tale Robert Tombs – The English and their History Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug – On Tyranny Nora Krug – Heimat Timothy Snyder – Bloodlands and The Red Prince George Eliot – Middlemarch

In this episode Gwyn and Paul chat about scary stories and things that go bump in the night. Ghosts, witches and exorcists and even Holst's Planet Suite. As well as some of the books and stories we chatted about listed below we have also done a Spotify playlist to accompany the episode you can find it here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yTJ7q7EhKyJqS5uJNkW7u?si=4e1e0d2f08674c8d Here are some of the stories and books we discussed Edward Parnell - Ghostland, in search of a haunted country Charles Dickens - The Signalman Susan Hill - The Woman in Black and The Small Hand Jason Bray - Deliverance Phil Rickman - The Wine of Angels (the first in the Merrily Watkins series) Graham Swift - Waterland M. R. James - Rats Jon McGregor - Reservoir 13

In this episode Holly, Gwyn and Paul explore the literature of the American West. Including an interview with Anna North author of 'Outlawed'. You can find more about Anna on her website www.annanorth.net where you will also a suggested soundtrack to accompany 'Outlawed' and some excellent further reading. Other books we discuss or touch on in this episode include: James Fennimore Cooper - The Last of the Mohicans (the 1971 BBC adaptation starred Welsh actor Philip Madoc as 'Magua' and the series is said to have popularised the Mohican hairstyle) Owen Wister - The Virginian Zane Grey - Riders of the Purple Sage Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet Elmore Leonard - Hombre Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses Thomas Eidson - St Agnes' Stand Patrick De Witt - The Sisters Brothers Charles Frazier - Cold Mountain Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove Stephen King - The Gunslinger Louis Sacher - Holes Dee brown - Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee and The American West Apologies if I've missed any. Last but not least the mystical western starring Pierce Brosnan that I couldn't recall in the podcast was of course 'Seraphim Falls'

In this special episode Paul speaks to Peter Francis, Warden and Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden. In the interview we discover how Gladstone's Library was originally created and how it has evolved. We also find out what has been going on behind the scenes while the Library has been closed and look forward to the re-opening today 1 September 2021 and the forthcoming Gladfest which takes place online 11-12 September. For more information about this unique and wonderful place visit their website at www.gladstoneslibrary.org

Books in the fantasy genre can represent a diverse range of subjects and ideas. In this episode we explore what fantasy literature might or might not be. Gwyn interviews Tiffani Angus author of 'Threading the Labyrinth' you can find out more about her here http://www.tiffani-angus.com/ Here are some of the books we mention in this episode: Robert Macfarlane - 'Underland' and 'The Old Ways' You may also like to check out Robert's recent appearance on Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000y641 Matthew Syed - 'Rebel Ideas' Franz Kafka - 'The Trial' Samantha Shannon - 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' Madeline Miller - 'Circe' and 'The Song of Achilles' Lewis Carroll - 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass' Neil Gaiman - 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains' and 'Coraline' and 'The Sandman Vol. 1' Alice Roberts - 'Ancestors a Pre-history of Britain in Seven Burials' Robert Holdstock - 'Mythago Wood' H P Lovecraft - 'The Call of Cthulhu' Eoin Colfer - 'Artemis Fowl' JRR Tolkein - 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings'

This episode is all about history, specifically historical fiction. In this episode: Barbara Erskine talks about her new novel The Dream Weavers. Dave McCall (AKA David Ebsworth) and Holly Thorpe talk about the importance of historical fiction to them. You can find information about Dave's books here http://www.davidebsworth.com/ and the link to the Young Walter Scott Prize is here https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/young-walter-scott-prize/ Rebecca Hill talks about how The Last Kingdom series of boom/3nc9tmmr oks changed her life. Rebecca shares her favourite historical fiction reads on Good Reads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3639817-rebecca?shelf=historical-fiction Our book recommendations include: Paul Morley - A sound mind, how I fell in love with classical music... Clare Whitfield - People of abandoned character Kiana Davenport - Shark dialogues Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet Charles Dickens - A tale of two cities Markus Zusak - The book thief For more information about the podcast go to https://www.bookylicious.com/

This month the Bookylicious team explore the joys of short stories and essays, each of us choosing three stories of essays to recommend. Chekhov, Sherlock Holmes, Ursula le Guin, bodysnatchers, the Moon and crows. The short form is truly beautiful and diverse. Plus we chat about books we are reading. Something for everyone to be inspired! Here are some of the short stories we discuss: Ray Bradbury - All Summer in a Day Ursula le Guin - The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Robert Louis Stevenson - The Body Snatcher Ted Chiang - The The Story of Your Life Arthur Conan Doyle - A Scandal in Bohemia The Idler Anton Chekhov - The Black Monk Sheena Mackay - Curry at the Laburnums Amanda Thomson - Craw Sunday Helen Phillips - The Knowers Italo Calvino - Daughters of the Moon Lisa Cupolo - Fort Pierce, Florida

In this episode you will meet the team Paul, Gwyn, Lara and Holly. We chat about what we are reading just now including Neil Gaiman, Barabara Erskine, Phillip Pullman and Kathleen Jamie. Paul interviews Dylan Hughes, Dave McCall and Sue Miller founders of Wrexham Carnival of Words and previews this year's festival www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com.