Read On - The Audiobook Show from RNIB

In today's Read On Robert Kirkwood chats to author and narrator A.J. West about his books The Betrayal of Thomas True and The Spirit Engineer and why he didn't narrate them, but also about the book he is narrating, Death in the Sauna. Plus we find some new books in the RNIB Library.

In our second look back at 2024, Momfluencers clash in Jesse Q. Sutanto's book You Will Never Be Me, Gregg Mosse tells us about The Coming Storm, we have a Hot Girl Summer with Sophie Gravia, Kirsten Miller tells us about Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, Jo Piazza has A Sicilian Inheritance and we go Orbital with Booker winner Samantha Harvey.

In today's round up of the first half of 2024 we hear from Hiba Noor Khan and Sophia's War, we visit Harlem After Midnight with author Louise Hare, Michael McGee stays Close to Home, Becky Holmes tells us Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You, Lynda Marron has a Last Chance in Paris and we talk about The Beholders with Hester Musson.

In today's festive show we have a new chat with one of Britain's best loved children's authors, Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE, about retelling the bard's work for a modern audience in his Tales from Shakespeare and we get to bring in games in the form of live D&D shows in the RNIB Library, and we find some festive and not so festive brand new audiobooks.

What would you do if you walk down the aisle and find the wrong man waiting for you? And no-one else sees anything wrong? This week a return visit from Fiona Lucas with her deeply emotional story of love, secrets and second chances, Always and Only You. Plus we find four brand new books in the RNIB Library.

This week we chat to Anita Frank about the Sunday Times bestselling WW1 historical fiction murder mystery thriller, The Good Liars. Plus we find some brand new audio out now and also available from RNIB.

In today’s 400th episode of Read On – The Audiobook Show, Robert Kirkwood chats to Anne Michaels about her book ‘Held’, which last week was the winner of the $100K Giller Prize in Canada. The audio version of the book, which was also Booker shortlisted in the UK, is narrated by the author and she tells us why she was the only person for the job. We also find some brand new books in the RNIB Library and have a very quick look back over 400 episodes.

This week author Rachel Greenlaw tells us about a cosy new tale of witches, magic, mystery, family and romance, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells plus we here from Blind Poet Dave Steele about The Big Test. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library. The image is a book cover with a magical, mystical theme. The background is a deep navy blue, scattered with golden and turquoise stars, crescent moons, and glowing accents. At the top, the text reads: “Love can be a curse…” in a delicate, curved font. In the center, the title of the book is displayed in bold, white letters: "The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells". Below it, there’s an illustration of an open book emitting faint, glowing light, with ornate decorative patterns on either side. The author’s name, Rachel Greenlaw, is written at the bottom in white uppercase text. The corners of the cover are framed with intricate golden floral and vine-like designs, which give the image a whimsical and enchanting look.

Today a long chat with Booker Winner 2024 Samantha Harvey and a listen to her winning book Orbital. We hear about the quirks of living on the ISS, about sleeping in orbit, and closer to home we hear about the importance of accessible reading and that Samantha is currently training a guide dog puppy. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library on today's Read On. Image is the cover of the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024. The design features a cosmic or abstract space-themed illustration with a black background dotted by colorful, cloud-like shapes in blue, orange, white, and green. The design gives an impression of planets or nebulae in space, with Earth visible in the lower left. The title "Orbital" is prominently centred in large, white text, and the author's name appears below in smaller, yellow font. The Penguin Books logo is at the bottom right.

Full interview on Friday's show, but here's a clip from my interview with Booker winner 2024, Samantha Harvey