The Mr B's Bookshop

Welcome to the final episode of A Flamboyancy of Children's Authors Season 2! We are so excited to be joined by bestselling author Roshani Chokshi! Her middle grade Percy Jackson - sequel mythology series has finally come to a close, and we're here to celebrate Aru Shah, stories, and the beautiful belief system/mythology that shaped Roshani's books. 

On the third episode of the season, we celebrate the final finale of the beloved Wolf Brother series by Michelle Paver. After many false endings, Wolf Bane is the true end of this teen series and continues with its tradition of exploring indigenous cultures' beliefs and relationships with the natural world. 

Today, we are joined by Sophie Anderson, award winning author of the House with Chicken Legs. To celebrate her newest publication, 'The Thief Who Sang Storms,' we discuss the beautiful slavic folklore that she weaves into all her stories! Find out about her beloved Baba Yaga and a new mythological creature - the alkonosts in episode 2! 

Join us on the first episode of season two of our children's podcast! We are so excited to be speaking with Axie Oh, bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, a reimagining of the Old Sea God myth from Korean folklore.  Take a deep dive with us into korean folklore, manga, and other books that Axie has been loving! 

On the final episode of this first season, we are joined by Mr B's bookseller Rhian who shares her expertise on YA crime reads with some great recommendations. To cap off the season, Maureen Johnson, author of the Truly Devious trilogy, details the intricacies of writing a crime detective novel...mixed with a few stories from working in a Haunted House theme restaurant in NYC. Thank you for tuning into this season of our podcast celebrating children's books. Happy reading! 

On this episode of the Mr B's Bookshop Podcast, we talk picture books and all the lovely pictures and stories they give us. Mr B's Bookseller Laura shares her favourite picture books for a range of ages and why she loves picture books.  Then author Mick Jackson speaks on his picture books While You're Sleeping and We're Going Places, the process of writing and building a picture book, and all of the influences that have gone into this lyrical nonfiction picture books. 

This week on the podcast, we celebrate kids graphic novels! Hannah is joined by fellow Mr B's Bookseller Tess Mahuta, who shares her incredible knowledge of art work and graphic novels. Tim Probert joins the podcast to discuss his first kids graphic novel, Lightfall--a shop favourite! 

On this episode of the Mr B's podcast, Hannah and renowned Mr b's bookseller Ed discuss The Legend of Podkin One Ear and the amazing fantasy books for kids, both middle grade and leading into teen.  Their chat is followed by an interview with bestselling author of Podkin, Kieran Larwood, about his fantastic series that we all know and love. And if you don't know, now you will! 

On episode 5 of the Mr B's Podcast, Hannah and fellow bookseller Tom Mooney discuss how much young readers books have changed and how to graduate children from picture books to independent chapter books.  Hannah also chats with Serena Patel, author of the young readers series Anisha, Accidental Detective about her delightful series and the importance of children's books! 

Joining us today on the podcast is co-owner of Mr b's Nic Bottomley, speaking about how the children's nonfiction genre has developed, and Dr. Mya-Rose Craig aka Birdgirl, speaking on youth activism and her debut children's nonfiction book We Have a Dream. 

Today on the Mr B's Podcast, Hannah and fellow bookseller Amy discuss the ever growing world of young adult literature and why Mr B's loves Laura Wood and her delightful historical fiction novels, as well as Laura's newest release 'A Single Thread of Moonlight'...as well as what it means to be in the Georgette Heyer club (if ya know, ya know)

Join us on the second episode of the Flamboyancy of Children's Authors Season of the Mr B's Podcast as our host Hannah chats with bookseller Gemma about spooky teen graphic novels and author and illustrator Pam Smy about her newest book The Hideaway, a heavily illustrated teen novel.    Suitable for 12+ audience 

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Flamboyancy of Children's Authors podcast season, the first podcast season ever to celebrate the wonderful world of children's books! To ring in the celebration, our host Hannah Jensen reminisces on her experiences attending children's book festivals as a kid in the US and how important kids book festivals are to children. Hannah also chats with bestselling author Joanna Nadin about the power of children's books and her new middle grade novel 'No Man's Land.' 

Bringing the Legacy Season of the podcast to a close, Ed, Kate and Jess sit down in Mr B's legendary bibliotherapy room, for the first in-person recording of the podcast since the start of the pandemic. In true Mr B's spirit, the discussion quickly turns eclectic, ranging from Barbara Comyns and Raymond Chandler to a novel in verse about Sami history, and how we feel about the term 'family saga'. Although Jess is handing over the microphone (and moving to Scotland) after five years of hosting the podcast, we'll be back soon! Look out for announcements about the next season on our social media. Hosted by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Browse the books mentioned in this episode (at least those which are in print!) HERE.

In the penultimate episode of #MrBsLegacySeason, we find out about a movement which gave rise to a campaign, which gave birth to a thousand written responses and eventually, a book.  We hope you're inspired by this conversation with Kay Michael, co-founder of the movement Culture Declares Emergency and the project Letters to the Earth, and Daniela Torres Perez, co-founder of the UK Student Climate Network, and contributor to 'Letters to the Earth'.  Hosted by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Browse our recommended reading in the episode Reading List  

In the fourth episode of this season, Jess chats to author Julianne Pachico. Julianne's debut  was 'The Lucky Ones', a collection of interlinked stories, following a group of school girls in Colombia. Julianne's second book, 'The Anthill', which is out next month, follows a young woman returning to Colombia and the city of Medellin, where she lived until she was eight, to volunteer at an after-school community centre run by her childhood friend.  Join Julianne and Jess as they discuss different perceptions of a country, inside and outside, writing about childhood and political violence, and hear about a bunch of excellent contemporary Colombian books recommended by Julianne! Hosted by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Browse the books mentioned in this episode by heading over to the episode Reading List

In the third episode of our Legacy Season, Jess talks to translators Julia Sanches and Daniel Hahn about the ways in which any book is itself a legacy passed on from the writer to the translator. We hope you enjoy this chat, about re-translations of classics, 'donkey bellies' and what kind of translations the pandemic will generate, among much else! Hosted by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Browse the books mentioned in this episode by heading over to our Translation as Legacy reading list

In the second episode of the Legacy Season, Tom Mooney sits down for a virtual chat with novelist Michael Christie, author of the gorgeous novel Greenwood, for a conversation about home-schooling, family-trees and families in trees, climate collapse and the entanglement of all life.  Hosted by Tom Mooney with music by The Bookshop Band Interested in any of the books mentioned in this episode? Head over to our Legacy of Trees reading list.

Welcome to a brand new season of the Mr B's Podcast - the place where our disembodied voices explore books, ideas and, quite often, very random side-tracks. Thinking so much about what will come out of the pandemic, and where we will be in a possible afterward, we started talking about the idea of legacy - what will be passed on and left behind from this era: enter The Legacy Season. Throughout the next few months, with a new episode every two weeks (roughly), we'll be hearing from authors, editors and translators about the role that legacy plays in their work. We'll be exploring the natural world as a legacy running through, and destroyed by, humanity, as well as the legacy of specific conflicts and events in fiction. To kick it all off, join Nic, Sam and Jess as they tackle another HUGE theme, in search of stories of any size. Hosted by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson with music from The Bookshop Band

We got there! Join Lottie, Nic and Jess as they look back on the experiment that was #MrBsJusticeSeason, our very first themes season of the podcast. Never letting go of the book recommendations, this episode also touches on raising daughters, global injustice and dam-building in Brazil as well as Bruce Springsteen. We also talk about whether themes are a good idea in the first place, concluding that the Justice Season may be over but we'll never stop talking about justice. As this season draws to a close, we'd love to hear what you thought about it. Join the conversation online using #MrBsJusticeSeason and let us know what you'd love us to talk about when the Mr B's Podcast comes back in the spring! Music from the Bookshop Band. Browse through the books mentioned in this episode HERE.

We've arrived at episode 5 of #MrBsJusticeSeason. Join us as we talk to journalist Maeve McClenaghan about her experience of a year investigating the homelessness crisis in the UK, and the book which emerged from this journey. 'No Fixed Abode' is a revealing and moving exploration of how very far the tragedy of homelessness has been allowed to develop, but also about the solutions which already exist. It began with one question, which Maeve asked after coming across a few news stories in 2018: how many people die in the UK while homeless? As it turned out, this piece of statistic just didn't exist. Hosted by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson. Music by The Bookshop Band. Have a look at our list of some good books on homelessness HERE.

The Justice Season of the podcast continues through the autumn 2020, a fortnight and many books at a time. For episode four, we're delighted to share a conversation with Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah about her latest novel 'Out of Darkness, Shining Light'. It's a story twenty years in the making which follows the last journey of David Livingstone in 1873, as he was carried by his African companions toward the coast, so that he could be buried in England. Petina Gappah is the author of two short story collections, starting with 'Elegy for Easterley' which won the the Guardian First Book Award, and the novel 'The Book of Memory', which has been a firm favourite on the Mr B's shelves since its publication in in 2015. She's also an international-trade lawyer. Join Petina and Jess as they talk about choosing two characters out of almost a hundred, justice versus equity, and the teaching of colonial history in UK schools. Hosted by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson. Music by the Bookshop Band. Have a look at a reading list of all the books mentioned in this episode HERE.

In the third episode of our Justice Season, we talk to writer, poet, editor and all-round fantastic word- person John Freeman. Editor of the biannual Freemans, and former editor of Granta magazine, John is the author of books of nonfiction such as 'Dictionary of the Undoing', as well as two collections of poems: 'Maps' and 'The Park'. Since 2014 he's edited three anthologies of writing about inequality: 'Tales of Two Cities', focusing on New York, 'Tales of Two Americas', and this year, 'Tales of Two Planets'. The latter brings a plethora of climate-crisis realities, in essays, fiction and poems, to the reader, carried through by voices which are intimate, visionary, varied and essential. In this episode, Jess talks to John about what the much used term climate justice means, the challenges of addressing the climate crisis in fiction, and what kind of writing moves us to take action. Hosted by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson Explore the books mentioned in this episode HERE.

Join us as we plunge deeper into versions and stories of justice in the second episode of our autumn 2020 season. Niven Govinden is the author of five novels, most recently 'This Brutal House', which was published in 2019. In this episode, Jess chats to Niven about the vogue culture of New York City, chosen families, community, and 'eco-systems of protest'. Niven also reads some mesmerising experts from 'This brutal House' throughout the episode. This is such a special one. We hope you enjoy it! For more reading exploration, you can find a book list curated by Niven Govinden HERE. 

Welcome back to the Mr B's podcast! After a long break, we're re-launching our mix of bookseller-chats and author interviews, but this time with a particular focus. Enter: the Justice Season. Throughout 2020 so far, it's been brought home to many of us how crises such as the pandemic lay bare the deep injustices around us, and how interlaced these issues are, yet a word such as 'justice' risks being watered down if we don't specify what we mean. In the first episode, Sam, Callum, Tom M and Jess talk about books they've come across recently which explore ideas of justice, on a small or large scale. They're a varied bunch to say the least - from the murders of women in Argentina to Cambridge Analytica and the extraction, culture and capitalism surrounding one rare type of mushroom. We've loved working on this new series of the podcast and hope you enjoy it. Make sure not to miss coming episodes of the Justice Season throughout the autumn by subscribing to the Mr B's Podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. Hosted by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson Music by The Bookshop Band Browse through the books discussed in this episode HERE.

October really lends itself to thinking about atmospheric old houses, and this is what we're doing in this episode of the podcast. We chat to Claire Fuller, whose latest novel takes place in an around Lyntons, a dilapidated country estate where its protagonist – the now dying Frances Jellico – spent the scourging summer of 1969. 'Bitter Orange' welcomes us to a house as full of secrets as the couple staying there at the same time as Frances, with whom she becomes increasingly obsessed.   We're also joined by Liz Fenwick, Cornwall-based novelist and supporter of the crowdfunding campaign which made the expansion of Mr B's possible earlier this year.   Hosted by Jessica Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Take a look at our Between These Walls reading list.

As an increasing number of us wake up to the climate and ecological crises, it becomes clear that climate change is as much a question of narrative, storytelling, psychology and human behaviour as it is about science. How could it not be in the stories we read? In the first of what will be a series of podcasts highlighting writing concerned with our time of crisis, writer Emma Geen, author of the novel 'The Many Selves of Katherine North', joins Jess and Henry to talk about novels which actively engage with climate change whilst looking beyond the apocalyptic, into possible new ways of thinking and being human. We also met up with prize-winning author Amitav Ghosh to discuss his new novel Gun Island, why he wouldn't classify his own writing as 'cli-fi' and the potential problem with dystopias. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Take a look at our Climate Crisis in Fiction reading list.

Sherlock and Watson may be the epitome of a mystery-solving duo, but when put to the task of finding others, the Mr B's team went down some unexpected literary trails. Join Jess, Ed and Tom M as they discuss larger-than life characters in search for clues, characters who are like two sides of a coin, and why we struggled to find female detective pairs. We also chat to the wonderful Jess Kidd about her new novel 'Things in Jars', which not only features a ghost-boxer sidekick, but mixes state-of-the-art banter with stunningly lyrical passages describing Victorian London. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Have a browse through our Two Bs in a Pod reading list .

This month Jess talks to the Mexican author Valeria Luiselli about her most recent novel "The Lost Children Archive", a bold and wise book which is as much about protecting our children, and being children ourselves, as it is about the horrors of the refugee experience, as currently seen around the US-Mexico border. 'The Lost Children' archive is also fascinating in the way it deals with recordings of reality and everyday experience, including sounds. We talk to Valeria about the sounds which surrounded her during night-time sessions writing the book, finishing up with a sound experiment of our own. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band If you like the sound of 'The Lost Children Archive' take a look at this reading list for more reading suggestions.

The Mr B's Podcast (we're so sorry!) has been on a winter break, but we had a good excuse: we were hard at work with our shop expansion. Suitably, we also thought that the first episode of 2019 should focus on things which are kind of the same but not quite. Not that our new space is a replica of the old one...but you get the picture. Join us as we chat to authors Simon Garfield and Edward Carey, who both visited the shop at the end of last year. Simon Garfield's curious, insightful and entertaining book 'In Miniature' explores our ancient fascination with small versions of everyday things and the craftsmanship involved in making them. Edward Carey, a novelist very close to our hearts, has just published his first novel for adults - a superbly atmospheric fictional biography of the queen of replicas herself: Madame Tussaud.  Hosted by Jessica Johannesson with music by The Bookshop Band Browse through our Same but Different reading list

A real person? As in a REAL person? The cheek of it! This month we're looking at great (as in bold, irreverent, inventive, insightful...) examples of authors using real historical individuals as overt basis for their characters. We're not talking vaguely inspired by, but names and all, although - as we will see - a name can be deceiving. How much is ever real in fiction? And how much is ever made up? Olivia Laing, author of art-memoir gems such as The Lonely City and The Trip to Echo Spring, joins us to talk about her first novel, Crudo, who uses the persona of artist/writer Kathy Acker as her narrator. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson. Music: ‘Declaration' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our Magpies of Fiction reading list

Autumn is here and we've had a busy summer indeed. At the end of July, a few members of the Mr B's team set off to sell books at WOMAD festival, where we built a tent, saw an array of fruit-shaped hats, and interviewed some fantastic authors, among them debut novelist Kim Sherwood. Her incredible first book "Testament", winner of the Bath Novel Award, left us thinking about the hazy territory between private and public in times of upheaval, be it because of a missing child, the loss of work, or the horrors of war. Recorded this past summer, Kim Sherwood talks about her journey of research into legacies of the Holocaust in Hungary, and the beginnings of 'Testament'. In the latter part of the podcast, Sam and Jess talk about some of their recent favourites. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson. Music: ‘Old Man Winter' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our Worlds Turned Upside Down reading list

When it comes to addictions, books and coffee may not be among the more serious, but they're definitely cravings which abound in the Mr B's team. Inspired by the publication of Smoking Kills by Antoine Laurain, we gathered a little stack of moving, surprising and off-kilter writing on addiction. Listen to Jess and Lucinda as they take you from sleazy Los Angeles dives to Hemingway's letters, then hear Antoine Laurain chat to us about his own writing routines. With bonus material in French! Hosted by Jessica Johannesson. Music: ‘Just a Case of Fallling' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our Writing and Addictions reading list

Borrowing the title from the fabulous Jeanette Winterson novel from 1992, Jess and Lottie present a choice of books which make the human body strange and unfamiliar. Tattooed bodies, fed and starved bodies, bodies seen-through and examined, you'll find them all within these pages - in areas as varied as those of forensic science and a YA adventure. Our special guest this month is Jack Hartnell, art historian and author of a fascinating exploration of medieval views of the human body.  Hosted by Jessica Johannesson. Music: ‘For an Ending' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our Written in the Body reading list

In May 2018's podcast we look at the intrigues of ecosystems, and the books that delve right in to them. Which fury or winged inhabitants really belong in our cities, and who's to say if they don't? What happened to European rabbits under Henry VIIIs reign and do sea gulls qualify as wilderness? Also featuring an interview with the award-winning novelist Aminatta Forna about her new novel 'Happiness'. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson. Music: 'Fortune's Never Kind' by The Bookshop Band.

In March Nic sat down with two eager learners to chat about their experience of education and what going to school is good for.  First up is the author Tara Westover, whose memoir, about growing up as the youngest child to Mormon survivalist parents in Idaho, is out in the UK this year. We also welcome our youngest guest yet to the podcast:  Nic and Juliette's 8-year-old daughter Leah.  Hosted by Jessica Johannesson and Nic Bottomley. Music: ‘Faith in Weather' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our School Days reading list

The sight of a magic tree, or thorns and thistles, on a book cover will immediately catch the attention of a few the Mr B's team members. We kick off February's podcast by chatting to the poet, writer and vlogger Jen Campbell about her most recent short story collection 'The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night'. Booksellers Emma Smith and Amy Coles recommend their favourite reads where old stories are given a modern touch. A note of warning for this one - the sound quality in the first half of the podcast is not up to our usual standards, but we really wanted to share this episode with you and hope you'll bare with us. It gets much better in the second half! Next month we'll be back to our audio-technical glory of yore. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson.  Music: 'Sirens Island' by The Bookshop Band.   Now take a look at our Fairy Tales in Disguise reading list

Welcome to our first podcast of 2018. One of the last events we hosted in 2017 was an evening with the neuroscientist Adrian Owen, whose research over the past decades has been dedicated to patients diagnosed as Permanent Vegetative State. His hugely moving and informative memoir Into the Grey Zone  invites us to ask the most crucial questions about what it means to be conscious, but it also inspired us to think about how other authors have tackled ideas about - consciousness, from the realm of artificial intelligence to a small child's eerie reality. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson.  Music: 'Declaration' by The Bookshop Band. Now take a look at our 'What it's Like to Be' reading list

Are you the kind of person who will spontaneously start chatting to the passenger next to you on the train? Or are you more comfortable reading about personality clashes and matches made in heaven in the safety of a book page? Jess, Nic and Lottie dig up some of their more extraordinary and thought-provoking 'odd encounter' reads. We also talk to the prize-winning author Julian Sayarer about his experiences hitchhiking through the US, and about the fantastic book that came out of it. Find our Odd Encounters reading list here.

September 28th is National Poetry Day 2017. Listen to Jess and Lucinda dive into poetry which explores this year's theme, Freedom, from the freedom of a lunch hour in Japan, to that of using two languages within one poem. We also hear from poets Marchant Barron, Beth Calverley and Rachel McCrum, whose work offer widely different takes on what it means to seek freedom. If you've been meaning to get back to reading poetry, this is the episode for you. With contributions from Marchant Barron, Beth Calverley and Rachel McCrum Hosted by Jessica Johannesson, with music by The Bookshop Band   Poems and collections mentioned in this episode:  ‘A Prison Evening' by Faiz Ahmed Faiz from Being Alive ed. Neil Astley  'Wild Geese' by Mary Oliver, from New and Selected Poems  'Tanglefoot' and 'Hear This', both by Marchant Barron 'A Lesson in Drawing' by Nazir Kabani  'The Tiger who came to Tea' by Beth Calverley Ode to Bob by Helen Mort, from No Map Could Show Them  ‘The Marunouchi Building' by Nakahara Chúya from The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse transl. by Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite The Tijuana Book of the Dead by Luis Alberto Urrea  Vaginaland by Jen Campbell 'Last of the Late Great Gorilla-Suit Actors' by Patricia Lockwood from Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals 'My Underwear was Made of Iron' by Rachel McCrum, from The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate

The novel Dodgers was one of our favourite novels of 2016, a surprising and elegantly-tuned coming of age story disguised as a crime novel. Jess talks to its author Bill Beverly about the road trip at the centre of the story, and we recommend other superb reads which will take you off the beaten track, and unto the unending road. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson Music: 'Star of the River' by The Bookshop Band   Books mentioned in this episode:   Dodgers by Bill Beverly Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson Native Son by Richard Wright Home by Toni Morrison The Road by Cormac McCarthy American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson Almost Heaven by Martin Fletcher Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon Butterflies in November by Audur Ava Olafsdottir How's the Pain? by Pascal Garnier The Shiralee by D'Arcy Niland

Some of us love being introduced to a plethora of characters in our fiction reads, whereas some can't think of anything better than being swept up by a single voice, and one experience of the world. We talk to Cynan Jones, whose novel Cove follows the joys and sorrows of one desolate man in a kayak, and recommend other favourite tales of isolation and loneliness. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson Music by The Bookshop Band   Books mentioned in this episode: Cove by Cynan Jones The Dig by Cynan Jones I am Legend by Richard Matheson A Line Made by Walking by Sara Baume Hummingbird by Tristan Hughes Fire Season by Philip Connors The Lonely City by Olivia Laing   Other Tales of Isolation recommended by the Mr B's team:   A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume Hansen's Children by Ognjen Spahic Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller Caribou Island by David Vann Deep Country by Neil Ansell    

We do love our lists at Mr B's. In this episode, the books we chat about are themselves made up of lists. Nic, Sam and Jess discuss the why's and why not's of anthologies of all kinds, and we also hear about a true labour of love, the creation of an anthology of contemporary Venezuelan writing. As always, listen out for Bath's unavoidable background-gulls... Hosted by Jessica Johannesson Music by The Bookshop Band   Books mentioned in this episode: A Convergence of Birds, Ed. by Jonathan Safran Foer (Penguin Books) Invisible Planets: 13 Visions of the Future, Ed. by Ken Liu (Head of Zeus) The Moth: all these Wonders (Profile Books) True Tales of American Life, Ed. by Paul Auster (Faber & Faber) Litmus: Short Stories from Modern Science, Ed. by Ra Page (Comma Press) The New Granta Book of Travel, Ed. by Liz Jobey (Granta books) Best American Sports Writing of the Century, Ed. by David Halberstam (Houghton Mifflin) Lunatics, Lovers and Poets: Twelve Stories after Cervantes and Shakespeare, Ed. by Daniel Hahn, Margarita Valencia (And Other Stories) Dime-store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell by Charles Simic (New York Review of Books) In Sunlight or in Shadow: stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, Ed. by Lawrence Block (Pegasus Books) Crude Words: Contemporary Writing from Venezuela, Ed. by Katie Brown, Montague Kobbe, Tim Girven (Ragpicker Press)   Other anthologies we love: A kind of compass: stories on distance, Ed. by Belinda McKeon (Tramp Press) Refugee Tales, Ed. by David Herd & Anna Pincus (Comma Press) New American Stories, Ed. by Ben Marcus (Granta Books) Sisters of the Revolution, Ed. by Anna and Jeff Vandermeer (PM Press)

Ed, Emma and Jess tackle one of the toughest questions in literature since 'what comes after post-modernism' and 'are dog-eared pages ok': what makes a good Western? Prepare to be introduced to some cracking classics in full cowboy-regalia, as well as a range of genre-bending contemporary frontier tales. We also talk to novelist and short-story writer Donald Ray Pollock about his most recent novel The Heavenly Table. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson Music by The Bookshop Band Books discussed in this episode (including those we talked about which didn't make the final cut due to time constrains)  Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey The Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock The Devil all the Time by Donald Ray Pollock Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge Blood, Bone, and Marrow: A Biography of Harry Crews by Ted Geltner The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage The Orenda by Joseph Boyden St Agnes' Stand by Thomas Eidson Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Far as the Eye can See by Robert Baush Dog Run Moonby Callan Wink True Grit by Charles Portis All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy The Far Empty Todd J. Scott

This month we talk literary peaks  and mighty vistas in some of our current favourites, starting with an interview with author Dan Richards. Dan is a long-time friend of Mr B's and author of Climbing Days, a remarkable journey in the foot-steps of the pioneering mountaineer Dorothy Pilley. Our Juliette Bottomley and Lucinda Corby also share some striking examples of novels in which mountains represent the utmost freedom as well as the depths of the underworld. Hosted by Jessica Johannesson Music by The Bookshop Band   Books and authors mentioned in this podcast: Climbing Days by Dan Richards Down to the Sea in Ships by Horatio Clare Trieste & The Meaning Of Nowhere by Jan Morris A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson Mountains of the Mind by Robert MacFarlane

The Mr B's Podcast is back after its Christmas/New Year hiatus when we were all busy placing books into the hands of readers from dawn till dusk. It has returned with a slight difference. From now on, each podcast will be based on a theme (think time travel, think revolutions and political upheaval, think the great tradition of letters written to people's pets…we shall try!), and they will include a short author interview as well as one of our signature Mr B's team book chats. Every episode is also accompanied by a unique reading list for your perusal.  To start off the year, we're chatting to S.E. Lister about her book The Immortals – a story where time is treated as place and the characters negotiate both in their attempts to find a home.  Jess, Nic and Emma also re-visit some time-bending favourites – novels where history does not work in the usual way. Music by The Bookshop Band   Books mentioned in this podcast The Immortals by S.E. Lister The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro The Demi-Monde series by Rod Rees (beginning with The Demi-Monde: Winter) El complot de los romanticos (The conspiracy of the romantics) by Carmen Boullosa 11.22.63 by Stephen King The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

Christmas time is approaching and so is the Mr B's Christmas catalogue. Tom's favourite book of the year, featured in the catalogue, is a novel set in Spain, written in Swedish and translated into English. Breat Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs is an inventive, edgy and darkly humorous tale in which the protagonist doesn't get a voice of her own, and in which everyone is always telling a story about someone else. Lina Wolff, its author, came to the shop earlier in the year and sat down to chat to Jess about brilliant girls in literature, Spanish gossip, and why there are no Swedish characters in her novel. Books mentioned in this episode: Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs by Lina Wolff Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Nightwood by Djuna Barnes The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Music by The Bookshop Band

Novelist Yann Martel, author of the Booker prize-winning  Life of Pi, joins us for a conversation about books, reading and the endless scope of art in making sense of the world. His latest novel The High Mountains of Portugal  is out in paperback this month -  a gorgeous story about loss, and the sometimes eccentric ways in which we deal with it. We also finds out about a very peculiar guerrilla book group, conducted once upon a time by Yann himself… Books mentioned in this episode: The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel Life of Pi by Yann Martel The old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway The Iliad by Homer, Transl. Stephen Mitchell The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony,  and Other Stories by Franz Kafka   Music by The Bookshop Band

The weekend after the Brexit vote we decided to create a podcast celebrating European fiction. We felt that the best way to move forward in uncertain times, was to embrace the cross-cultural creativity which underpins so much of the writing we love and champion in the shop. We also asked our listeners to contribute with their own favourite reading memories. We hope you're inspired to read the whole list. Spot the background seagulls! Books mentioned in this episode: All the Names by Jose Saramago, Transl. by Margaret Jull Costa The Burnt-out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen, Transl. by Don Bartlett The Howling Miller by Aarto Paasilinna, Transl. by Will Hobson Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, Transl. Michael Hoffman Thinner than a Hair by Adnam Mahmutovic Her Father's Daughter by Marie Sizun, Transl. by Adriana Hunter Arab Jazz by Karim Miské, Transl. by Sam Gordon Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, Transl. by Anthea Bell   Read about more of the extended Mr B family's favourite European reads here.  

We've been hosting a series of events under the theme of Revivals and Retellings. Here, Danielle, Kate and Jessica chat about some of the books that have grabbed their attention recently. As usual in our 'At Home' episodes, you can also expect a few palate-teasing tasters from the books themselves. Books discussed in this episode: Reader, I Married Him Ed. by Tracy Chevalier Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie Rasputin and Other Ironies by Teffi The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah Lunatics, Lover and Poets: Twelve Stories after Cervantes and Shakespeare, Ed. by Margarita Valencia and Daniel Hahn

In the inaugural episode (which is slightly longer than twenty minutes!) Jess, Nic and Naomi talk about what radio and podcasts mean to them in their reading life, and we also get to hear about six very different titles we're excited about right now, re-discoveries as well as recent releases. One is a play inspired by the Lebanon hostage crisis in the 80s; another transports us to a gothic castle in an unknown European country. Enjoy! Music by The Bookshop Band