Read On - The Audiobook Show from RNIB
RNIB Connect Radio
A weekly show all about audiobooks recorded at the RNIB Talking Book studios.
We talk to your favourite authors and narrators, along with reviews and news about new audiobooks.
Presented and produced by Robert Kirkwood, you'll find a new episode here every Friday at 1pm plus bonus content such as longer uncut interviews and episodes of our occasional extra show, The Book Group.
Talking Books is a free service from RNIB giving access to over 40,000 fiction and non fiction books for adults and children. Find out more by searching for RNIB Library.
Get involved and join the conversation by emailing radio@rnib.org.uk or find Robert on Twitter @Talking_Books
Other great podcast channels from RNIB Connect Radio
Connect - Our main channel with news, features and articles on sight loss.
Conversations - Blind and partially sighted people speaking about a wide range of topics.
Tech Talk - Technology for blind and partially sighted people.
Sport - See sport differently.
The Happy Hour - Mental health, mindfulness, and overall wellbeing.
Tracks of My Life - Take a journey through our guest's life.
Support - Other podcasts from RNIB.
TV Guide - Daily audio TV listings
We talk to your favourite authors and narrators, along with reviews and news about new audiobooks.
Presented and produced by Robert Kirkwood, you'll find a new episode here every Friday at 1pm plus bonus content such as longer uncut interviews and episodes of our occasional extra show, The Book Group.
Talking Books is a free service from RNIB giving access to over 40,000 fiction and non fiction books for adults and children. Find out more by searching for RNIB Library.
Get involved and join the conversation by emailing radio@rnib.org.uk or find Robert on Twitter @Talking_Books
Other great podcast channels from RNIB Connect Radio
Connect - Our main channel with news, features and articles on sight loss.
Conversations - Blind and partially sighted people speaking about a wide range of topics.
Tech Talk - Technology for blind and partially sighted people.
Sport - See sport differently.
The Happy Hour - Mental health, mindfulness, and overall wellbeing.
Tracks of My Life - Take a journey through our guest's life.
Support - Other podcasts from RNIB.
TV Guide - Daily audio TV listings
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 20, 2020 • 58min
195: Val Wood, Amanda Robson and Penny Melville-Brown
Val Wood discusses her new historical romance ‘The Lonely Wife’ and her long-standing role supporting those with sight loss in her local area of Hull and Yorkshire’s East Riding.
Amanda Robson leads us into the dark psychological world of her new domestic thriller ‘My Darling’.
Loyal listener, Penny Melville-Brown takes us on a European tour of her favourite crime fiction.
And we have a tribute to the recently departed actor and narrator Geoffrey Palmer.
Nov 13, 2020 • 58min
194: A 2020 Booker Prize Special
Ahead of next week’s announcement of who has won The 2020 Booker Prize, Read On this week features interviews with all six of the short listed authors as they discuss the background to their novels and the material they explore.
Ranging from a re-examination of the role played by African women during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia to a dystopian near future in which a group of people live as hunter gatherers in the last wilderness on Earth, the six novels in contention for the World’s most prestigious literary prize reveal some surprising facts about their books and show a common concern with examining how people behave under pressure.
And we finish up hearing from one of last year’s joint winners, Bernardine Evaristo, who shares the Books of Her Life.
Nov 6, 2020 • 58min
193: Maaza Mengiste, MJ Ford and Brandon Taylor
Booker shortlisted author Maaza Mengiste takes us back to 1935 and introduces us to the African women who fought Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia in 'The Shadow King'.
MJ Ford introduces us to his dark new crime thriller 'Watch Over You'.
And Brandon Taylor reveals how his Booker shortlisted debut 'Real Life' had to be saved from the trash!
Oct 30, 2020 • 58min
192: Polly Crosby, Douglas Stuart and Avni Doshi
Polly Crosby leads us into the haunting world of her debut novel ‘The Illustrated Child’.
Douglas Stuart reveals how a childhood afflicted by poverty and addiction in 1980s' Glasgow informed his Booker shortlisted novel ‘Shuggie Bain’.
Avni Doshi discusses the themes behind her debut ‘Burnt Sugar’, reveals how it has changed her view on audiobooks and her delight at also being shortlisted for this year’s Booker.
And we return to Polly Crosby for the Books of her Life.
Oct 23, 2020 • 58min
191: Caroline Corcoran, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Bernadine Evaristo
Caroline Corcoran introduces us to her disturbing new psychological thriller ‘The Baby Group’.
Tsitsi Dangarembga discusses her Booker short-listed novel ‘This Mournable Body’, and reflects on post-colonial life in Zimbabwe.
We hear from the joint-winner of last year's Booker Prize, Bernadine Evaristo.
And we return to share the Books of Caroline Corcoran’s Life.
Oct 16, 2020 • 57min
190: Gill Paul, Diane Cook and The New Wilderness
Gill Paul re-imagines the love triangle between the world’s richest man,
the President’s widow, and one of the greatest soprano of all time in her historical novel ‘The Second Marriage’.
Diane Cook walks us through her debut novel The New Wilderness, which has been shortlisted for this years Booker Prize.
And we return to Gill Paul to hear the books of her life.
Oct 2, 2020 • 58min
189: Morten Bonde, Stuart Turton and Notes on Blindness
Morten Bonde discusses his self-help memoir Sentenced to Blindness: Now What?
Robert Kirkwood looks at Notes on Blindness, and the source material Touching the Rock by John Hull (Starts at 23.25)
And Stu Turton unveils his dazzling new novel 'The Devil and the Dark Water'
Sep 25, 2020 • 58min
188: Claire Allan, Janice Galloway and Gail Honeyman
Claire Allan discusses her dark new psychological thriller, The Liar's Daughter
Janice Galloway joins Robert Kirkwood in the Glasgow studios to record her collection of short stories, Jellyfish (Starts at 21.36)
Gail Honeyman tells us all about Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, before the book was released (31.20)
And we return to Claire Allan for the books of her life. (46.46)
Sep 18, 2020 • 58min
187: Clare Marchant, Nicola Cornick, some Talking Book Narrators and the Booker Shortlist
In today's show we hear the shortlist for this year's Booker Prize.
Clare Marchant introduces us to her timeslip novel, The Secrets of Saffron Hall. (Starts at 7.30)
A gathering of Talking Book narrators tell Robert Kirkwood about their favourite reads. (22.00)
We timeslip back to Nicola Cornick's first visit to Read On. (34.11)
And we return to Clare Marchant for the books of her life (51.48)
Sep 11, 2020 • 58min
186: Miranda Emmerson, Roald Dahl and B.J. Novak
Miranda Emmerson transports us to Soho in the swinging sixties for ' A Little London Scandal'
For Roald Dahl Day, Robert Kirkwood discovers more than children's books in the RNIB Library (Starts at 18.25)
Penny Melville Brown reviews some thrillers and more. (26.20)
B.J. Novak talks about and reads from his 'Book With No Pictures' (33.50)
And we return to Miranda Emmerson for the Books of her Life. (44.34)
