Book Off!
A fun, upbeat, accessible show about brilliant books, writing and culture. Each episode sees two authors go head to head in a war of the words, championing a book they love and think we should all read...but only one can win. This book podcast features an incredible array of authors from across the globe and some amazing, and sometimes unexpected, book recommendations. #books #bookpodcast #authors #writers #booklovers #writing #literature #bookrecommendations #bookworms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Bestselling author Holly Smale goes head to head with Comedian and writer Cally Beaton in a War Of The Words.
The authors chat to Joe Haddow about their latest books, imposter syndrome, living in the present and what Orca's can teach us about feminism.
They also also share some great book recommendations
THE BOOK OFF
'East Of Eden' by John Steinbeck
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'The Beekeeper Of Aleppo' by Christy Lefteri
Here's more on our...
Bestselling spy novelists, David McCloskey and Paul Vidich, join Joe Haddow for a good ole fashioned booking off!
As well as discussing their new novels ('The Seventh Floor' and 'The Poets Game'), they also share some great book recommendations and talk us through their writing processes.
Spy novels are such a great way to learn about world history - and have arguably never been more popular - so we delve a little more into t...
Wendy Holden and Jane Thynne are both former journalists turned authors. In fact, they both worked in newsrooms together back in the 1980s.
In this episode, they bring their journalistic competitiveness to the Book Off, but who will triumph?
They also discuss their new novels, their fascination with WW2, why we need to keep telling historic stories and how fun research can be. They also give us some brilliant reading recommen...
Bestselling authors Linwood Barclay and CJ Tudor join Joe Haddow for a chat about their latest books.
They discuss genre bending, horror tropes, Stephen King, rocking horses, muffins and building tension. Quite the eclectic mix!
They also give us some brilliant book recommendations too.
THE BOOK OFF
'Long Island' by Colm Toibin
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'Altered Carbon' by Richard K Morgan
And here's more on their latest novels!
'Whistle' ...
This week, Joe welcomes Milly Johnson and Samuel Burr to the studio to chat about their new novels.
They talk about their writing habits, author mates, female friendships and the menopause amongst man other things.
They also give us some great book recommendations too!
THE BOOK OFF
'We All Want Impossible Things' by Catherine Newman
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'Persuasion' by Jane Austen
And here's more on our guests books...
T...
Emilia Hart and Bridget Collins join Joe Haddow for a pretty fun and chaotic Book Off!
They chat about their brilliant new novels and give us some great book recommendations too. They also talk about the importance of author mates, accidental deleted manuscripts and some scary scary creepy scenes too.
Joe had a glass of wine at lunch before the recording - and then had a negroni thrust in his hands at the studio - so he w...
Debut novelists, Roisin O'Donnell and Chris McQueer, go head to head in a war of the words.
They discuss their latest books ("Nesting" and "Hermit"), their writing inspirations, the power of short stories and the rise of toxic masculinity.
Whilst Andrew Tate doesn't in any way dominate this conversation (nor should he dominate any conversation), the authors discuss how young boys and men are being radicalised through danger...
Sir Ben Okri and Colum McCann join Joe Haddow for a war of the words...
This is Ben's second appearance on Book Off! (The first author to ever appear on the pod twice)
Let's see if he's learnt anything from the last time!
He chats about his woozy new novella - "Madame Sosostris And The Festival For The Broken-Hearted' - and the poem that inspired it. We also learn he has read 'War & Peace' FOUR times! And so we get a full...
Bestselling thriller writer(s) Nicci French go head to head in a war of the words, expertly refereed by Joe Haddow.
Nicci French is the pen name for husband and wife writing team, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, and this is our first official Book Off couple!
Sean and Nicci discuss their latest novel, The Last Days Of Kira Mullan, and dig into some of the themes which inspired this story.
Here's the blurb:
Nancy Nor...
On the first episode of Series 14, we welcome bestselling authors Emma Healey and Fiona Scarlett to the studio.
They chat about their new novels, give us some great book recommendations - and go head to head in a war of the words! (aka The Book Off)
Emma Healey's new novel - Sweat - is a maze-like game of revenge. It blends wellness culture with a slow-burn feminist thriller - and is eery and unsettling and brilliant.
We look ...
Two great music writers - James Kaplan and Paul Alexander - join Joe for a War of the Words.
Joe gets excited and takes a deep dive into both of their brilliant books, which are both about America in the 40s and 50s, both about the jazz music scene, but follow very different subjects.
'Three Shades Of Blue' by James Kaplan is biography of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans - and how those three extraordinary musician...
Two top crime and thriller writers, Ragnar Jonasson and Simon Kernick, go head to head in a war of the words!
They share their love of Agatha Christie, why scary crime fiction doesn't have to be gory and tell us about their latest novels. ("Death At The Sanitorium" and "You All Die Tonight")
We also get some cracking book recommendations from them too.
THE BOOK OFF!
'The Murder On The Links' by Agatha Christie
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'McNally's L...
We're so excited to bring you this episode of Book Off, featuring two of our favourite poets and humans - Salena Godden and Hollie McNish.
We've been wanting to bring these two together for a long time, and now it's finally happened!
They talk about their latest poetry collections ('With Love Grief and Fury' and 'Lobster'), the freedom of performance, why they love the form so much and why you can't start with a poem about ...
M.L. Rio and Kate Weinberg arrive as friends, but will they still be so chummy with each other after the Book Off?
They chat to Joe Haddow about their latest books, Trump, the importance of publishing at a time when books are being banned and why Scooby Doo is a great influence.
They also give us some briiiilliant book recommendations too - so apologies to your TBR pile in advance.
Here's more on our authors and their books......
Authors Rachel Abbott and Hannah Lynn go head to head in a war of the words.
They talk to Joe Haddow about their self-publishing journeys, the pros and cons and how things have changed on that side of the industry over the last 10 years.
They also discuss their new novels, how the weather can influence a chapter and why sometimes you just have to go away in the name of research!
THE BOOK OFF
'Good Girl, Bad Girl' by Mic...
Bestselling crime author, Attica Locke, goes head to head with John Le Carre's son - Nick Harkaway - in a war of the words.
Nick has written a new George Smiley novel, continuing his father's legacy, called Karla's Choice. He chats to Joe Haddow about the pressure he felt to get the character right and how he got himself in the right frame of mind to write the novel.
Attica discusses 'Guide Me Home' - the third novel in her...
Two brilliant authors and humans, Rumaan Alam and Tessa Hadley, go head to head in a war of the words.
They talk about the joy of writing about clothes, how money can drive you mad and how some cities are easier to fictionalise than others.
As well as discussing their new novels, their writing styles and processes and the difference between writing short stories, novels and novellas, they also give us some great book recomm...
Global bestselling author Liane Moriarty goes head to head with author and content creator Bea Fitzgerald.
They discuss their new novels, their writing practices and seasonal reading!
Bea shares her love of reality TV, which has inspired her new novel, and Liane tells us about her characterisation and plot structures.
They both get pretty nervous about the Book Off, and decide to have an arm wrestle to settle it! See our i...
Booker Prize winner, Alan Hollinghurst, and Booker Prize shortlistee, Rachel Kushner, join Joe Haddow for a Book Off!
Alan talks about his new novel 'Our Evenings' and the writing processes to create the tempo he wanted. The book follows the life of the actor Dave Win, from 1962 to 2020.
Rachel discusses her new novel 'Creation Lake' (her second novel to be shortlisted for the Booker) and the authors that have influenced this...
On this episode of Book Off, Joe welcomes Elif Shafak and Evie Wyld to the studio.
These two fabulous writers talk about their latest novels ("There Are Rivers In The Sky" and "The Echoes") as well as giving us some brilliant reading recommendations.
Evie lived in a haunted house, so we explore that and her fascination with ghosts - which are a central theme in her new book. She also discusses the importance of humour to li...
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