Comedian, director, and author Richard Ayoade discusses his latest book about a rom-com, its deeper resonance on life, good plane reading, PG Wodehouse, and the emotional impact of Happy Eaters. They also touch on the importance of embracing imperfections in literature and life, childhood memories of fast food restaurants, and the impact of being observant on writing and directing.

This week we're travelling to South-East London and the lovely, award-winning home of writer, stand-up and podcast host Jenny Eclair! As well as being a legendary comedian and familiar face on our TV screens thanks to shows like Grumpy Old Women and Loose Women, Jenny is the author of many books including the novels Moving, Having a Lovely Time and, her latest, Inheritance. We talked to her about the joy of audiobooks, writing habits, sub-par city guides and comedy versus writing.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodJenny Eclair - InheritanceDavid Nicholls - Sweet SorrowAnna Hope - ExpectationTaffy Brodesser-Akner - Fleishman is in TroubleJohn Niven - Straight White MaleTayari Jones - An American MarriageClare Mackintosh - After The EndKat Gordon - An Unsuitable WomanCressida Connolly - After The PartyLynne Reid Banks - The L Shaped RoomNancy Mitford - The Pursuit of LoveJane Gardam - Old FilthJenny Eclair - The Book of Bad BehaviourErin Kelly - Stone MothersErin Kelly - He Said She SaidJonathan Coe - What a Carve UpJonathan Coe - Middle EnglandAyisha Malik - This Green and Pleasant LandAlan Hollinghurst - The Line of BeautyAnna Burns - MilkmanTaylor Jenkins Reid - Daisy Jones and the SixAndrea Lawlor - Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal GirlRaymond Chandler - Farewell My LovelyJenny Eclair - MovingSue Townsend - Secret Diary of Adrian MoleNina Stibbe - Love NinaJamie Oliver - 5 IngredientsYotam Ottolenghi - SimpleBarbara Kingsover - The LacunaBruno Vincent - Five Go ParentingJill Dawson - The Language of BirdsJill Dawson - Fred and EdieAlice Munro - Selected StoriesPhoebe Eclair-Powell - National Theatre ConnectionsJenny Eclair - Grumpy Old CouplesShappi Khorsandi - Nina is Not OKJennifer Egan - Visit From the Goon SquadJennifer Egan - Manhattan BeachMary Roach - BonkCharlotte Roche- WetlandsLeïla Slimani - AdeleLeïla Slimani- LullabyRobert Galbraith - Lethal WhiteJilly Cooper - Man Who Made Husbands JealousDavid Friend - Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back in leafy North London to visit the lovely (if slightly damaged - as she explains) home of author Tracy Chevalier! Tracy is the enormously successful novelist behind such books as The Lady and the Unicorn, Burning Bright and, most famously, the mega-hit Girl with a Pearl Earring. We talked to Tracy about her latest book A Single Thread plus hardcore book organisation, emulating Margaret Atwood, gifts from fans and book resolutions.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodTracy Chevalier - A Single ThreadTracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl EarringLeo Tolstoy - War and PeaceJean-Paul Didierlaurent - The Reader on the 6.27Susan Sontag - On PhotographyColson Whitehead - The Nickel BoysColson Whitehead - The Underground RailroadTana French - Wych ElmSophie Mackintosh - The Water CureJulian Barnes - Flaubert’s ParrotJL Carr - A Month in the CountryJan Morris - VeniceJudith Mackrell - Unfinished PalazzoDonna Tartt - The GoldfinchMargaret Drabble - The Needle’s EyeAnne Tyler - Tin Can TreeMary Wollstonecraft- Original StoriesTracy Chevalier - Burning BrightLaura Ingalls Wilder - Farmer BoyDylan Thomas - Poems of…Tracy Chevalier - The Lady and the UnicornTracy Chevalier - At the Edge of the OrchardTracy Chevalier - The Last RunawayHelen Ellis - Southern Lady CodeMargaret Atwood - The TestamentsMargaret Atwood - Alias GraceMargaret Atwood - The Handmaid’s TaleElizabeth Gilbert - Big MagicEM Forster - Howards EndJane Harris - The ObservationsJane Harris - Gillespie and ILorrie Moore - A Gate at the StairsLorrie Moore - BarkLorrie Moore - Self HelpLisa Taddeo - Three WomenTaffy Brodesser-Akner - Fleishman Is in TroubleSarah Waters - FingersmithF Scott Fitzgerald - Tender is the NightCharles Dickens - David CopperfieldCharles Dickens - Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens - Bleak HouseNorman Collins - London Belongs To MeMargaret Atwood - SurfacingMargaret Atwood - Life Before ManPeter Carey - Parrot and Olivier in AmericaBarbara Kingsolver - The LacunaLaura Hillenbrand - UnbrokenSjon - The Blue FoxSena Jeter Naslund - Ahab’s WifeCarola Hicks - The Girl in the Green GownHermione Lee - Edith WhartonLyndall Gordon - Lives Like Loaded GunsKaren Armstrong - Bible: The BiographySarah Bakewell - How To LiveCraig Brown - Ma’am DarlingBart van Es - The Cut Out GirlElaine Dundy - Life Itself! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're kicking off season 4 in style by visiting the beautiful North London home of the magnificent David Nicholls! As we are sure you are aware, David is massively bestselling internationally renowned author of novels such as One Day, Us and most recently Sweet Sorrow as well adapting work such as Edward St Aubyn's Patrick Melrose and Great Expectations for the screen. We spoke to David about being an understudy, Dickens, adaptation and Billy Wilder.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodDavid Nicholls - One DayDavid Nicholls - Starter For TenDavid Nicholls - The UnderstudyDavid Nicholls - UsDavid Nicholls - Sweet SorrowJean De Brunhoff - Colourful World of BabarDaniel Rosenthal - National Theatre StoryTobias Wolff - Stories ofEdward St Aubyn - Never MindRoald Dahl - Danny the Champion of the WorldFord Maddox Ford - The Good SoldierPatrick Hamilton - Hangover SquareMuriel Spark - Girls of Slender MeansMuriel Spark - Prime of Miss Jean BrodieMuriel Spark - The Driver’s SeatCharles Dickens - Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens - David CopperfieldCharles Dickens - Oliver TwistCharles Dickens - Bleak HouseCharles Dickens - Our Mutual FriendLucia Berlin - Evening in ParadiseLucia Berlin - Manual For Cleaning WomenNell Zink - The WallcreeperNell Zink - MislaidKen Kesey - One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s NestJohn Cheever - StoriesF. Scott Fitzgerald - Tender is the NightF. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great GatsbyThomas Hardy - Tess of the d'UbervillesPhillip Larkin - A Girl in WinterPhillip Larkin - JillMilan Kundera - Book of Laughter and ForgettingMilan Kundera - Unbearable Lightness of BeingMilan Kundera - Life is ElsewhereAlan Hollinghurst - Line of BeautyEM Forster - Howards EndHelen Garner - The Spare RoomHelen Garner - The Children’s BachPenelope Lively - Heat WavePenelope Fitzgerald - At Freddie’sChoderlos de Laclos - Les Liaisons DangereusesMichael Ondaatje - The ConversationsCameron Crowe - Conversations With WilderFrancois Truffaut - HitchcockElif Batuman - The IdiotTove Jansson - Moominvalley in NovemberLorrie Moore - Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?Lorrie Moore - Collected StoriesZadie Smith - Feel FreePhilip Gourevitch - Paris Review InterviewsJoan Didion - Play It As It Lays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're back in Brighton to meet the sensational Dorothy Koomson! Dorothy is the author of 15 books including the best-selling and award-winning My Best Friend's Girl, The Ice Cream Girls and The Brighton Mermaid. Her latest is Tell Me Your Secret, described as "totally addictive, can't put down, rollercoaster ride of a story". We talked to Dorothy about the power of Jackie Collins, the importance of editing and the influence of Judge Dredd. BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodDorothy Koomson - Tell Me Your SecretMargaret Atwood - Handmaid’s TaleAraminta Hall - Our Kind of CrueltyMichelle Obama - BecomingDorothy Koomson - The FriendJackie Collins - ThrillJackie Collins - The Power TripJackie Collins - VendettaDorothy Koomson - Marshmallows for BreakfastDonna Hay - Modern ClassicsLisa Faulkner - Recipes from My Mother to my DaughterDorothy Koomson - Woman He Loved BeforeElizabeth Gilbert - Big MagicDorothy Koomson - That Girl From NowhereDorothy Koomson - Goodnight BeautifulJudy Blume - Are You There God It’s Me MargaretJudy Blume - ForeverDorothy Koomson - The Ice Cream GirlsPenguin Poems for LoveSophie Kinsella - Shopaholic to the StarsSophie Kinsella - Can You Keep a SecretGiovanna Fletcher - Dream a Little DreamGiovanna Fletcher - You’re the One That I WantSophie Kinsella - Shopaholic and BabyJulie Cohen - Dear ThingGillian Flynn - Gone GirlLinda Green - And Then It HappenedLinda Green - The MummyfestoSareeta Domingo - The Nearness of YouLouise Doughty - Apple Tree YardPaula Hawkins - Girl on the TrainStieg Larsson - Girl With the Dragon TattooHilary Mantel - Wolf HallHilary Mantel - Beyond BlackStephen King - On WritingStephen King - ItStephen King - The Green MileStephen King - The BodyStephen King - CarrieDorothy Koomson - The Brighton MermaidJilly Cooper - JumpJackie Collins - The StudShirley Conran - LaceSidney Sheldon - Other Side of Midnight Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're off to South London this week to meet and chat to the fabulous Ayisha Malik! Ayisha worked in publishing before the publication of her first smash hit novel Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, described as 'the Muslim Bridget Jones'. She then produced a sequel The Other Half of Happiness and her new book, This Green and Pleasant Land has just been released to great acclaim. We talked to her about Rochester versus Darcy, religion in writing, childhood faves and terrible author behaviour.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodAyisha Malik - Sofia Khan is Not Obliged Ayisha Malik - This Green and Pleasant LandL. Frank Baum - The Wizard of OzLewis Carroll - Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandAngela Carter - Fairy TalesJane Austen - PersuasionJane Austen - Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen - EmmaCharlotte Bronte - Jane EyreNancy Mitford - Love in a Cold ClimateNancy Mitford - The Pursuit of LoveNancy Mitford - Don’t Tell AlfredMuriel Spark - Prime of Miss Jean BrodieMuriel Spark - Momento MoriMuriel Spark - Loitering With IntentHelen Fielding - Bridget Jones’s DiaryHelen Fielding - The Edge of ReasonMonica Ali - Brick LaneNorton Anthology of LiteratureGraham Greene - End of the AffairGraham Greene - A Burnt Out CaseAnita Brookner - Hotel Du LacAlex Khan - Bollywood WivesRegina Porter - The TravellersNigella Lawson - Nigella KitchenGiorgio Locatelli - Made in SicilyBrian Chikwava - Harare NorthFatima Bhutto - Songs of Blood and SwordKate Fox - Watching the EnglishJK Rowling - Casual VacancyLiane Moriarty - Big Little LiesRichard Yates - Collected StoriesRichard Yates - Revolutionary RoadRaymond Carver - What We Talk About When We Talk About LoveGrace Paley - Collected StoriesRichard Flanagan - Narrow Road to the Deep NorthAdam Johnson - Orphan Master’s SonFyodor Dostoyevsky - The IdiotFyodor Dostoyevsky - Crime and PunishmentElif Bautman - The IdiotElena Ferrante - My Brilliant FriendThomas Hardy - Tess of the d’UbervillesThomas Hardy - Far From the Madding CrowdDavid Nicholls - One Day Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back in leafy London this week and visiting the beautiful home (including glorious bookshelves with a library ladder that made us green with envy) of Elif Shafak. Elif is a celebrated and award-winning novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. She has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels, including the bestselling The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, and Three Daughters of Eve. Her latest book is the critically acclaimed 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World. Elif is also an activist advocating for women's rights, LGBT rights and freedom of speech. We talked to her about baklava, politics, Death Metal and stationery obsessions. BOOKS (CLICK ON TITLES FOR MORE)Daisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodElif Shafak - 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World Elif Shafak - Three Daughters of EveMarco Pierre White - The Devil in the KitchenSamin Nosrat - Salt Fat Acid HeatJason Goodwin - Yashim Cooks IstanbulCharles Dickens - A Tale of Two CitiesVirginia Woolf - OrlandoRowan Coleman - We Are All Made of StarsElena Ferrante - My Brilliant FriendThomas Page McBee - AmateurElif Shafak - HonourDonna Tartt - The Secret HistoryEsquire - Oral History of BenningtonBret Easton Ellis - Rules of AttractionDavid Sedaris - CalypsoLaura Esquivel - Like Water For ChocolateRumi - Selected PoemsHilary Mantel - Wolf HallMatthew Sperling - AstroturfOttessa Moshfegh - My Year of Rest and RelaxationSarah Krasnostein - The Trauma CleanerWill Eaves - MurmurCervantes - Don QuixoteMarian Keyes - The Break Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re travelling to leafy South London and visiting the glorious home of comedy legend Helen Lederer. Helen is probably best known as a trailblazing stand-up comedian and actress, appearing in such iconic shows as Absolutely Fabulous, Bottom, Girls on Top and Naked Video. But she is also a celebrated novelist and humour writer with her book Losing It nominated for the P. G. Wodehouse Comedy Literary prize. She also founded her own comedy prize CWIP - Comedy Women in Print. We talked to Helen about breasts in 1970s literature, the Four Marys, embarrassing teenage diaries and the power of funny women.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodNina Stibbe - Reasons To Be CheerfulNina Stibbe - Love NinaHelen Lederer - Losing ItMuriel Spark - The Driver’s SeatMuriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieEM Delafield - Diary of a Provincial LadyLeslie Thomas - Tropic of RuislipHelen Fielding - Bridget Jones’s DiarySusan Jeffers - Feel the Fear and Do It AnywayCharlotte Mendelson - When We Were BadMelissa Broder - The PiscesAnnabelle Gurwitch - I See You Made an EffortNoel Streatfeild - The Circus is ComingArianna Huffington - ThriveLaurie Graham - Life According to LubkaLaurie Graham - Mr StarlightLaurie Graham - Gone With The WindsorsEckhart Tolle - The Power of NowLydia Davis - Can’t and Won’tHelen Lederer - CopingJane Asher - Easy EntertainingEnid Blyton - Malory Towers In the FifthLaurence Olivier - Confessions of an ActorHelen Lederer - Single MindingDC Thomson - The Best of JackieSofie Hagan - Happy Fat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're down in sunny Brighton (or Hove, actually) to meet the award-winning, bestselling author, screenwriter, journalist and activist Juno Dawson! Juno is the author of 17 books including the YA works Clean and Meat Market, the non-fiction This Book is Gay and her first book aimed at adults The Gender Games. We talked to her about horror, meeting your heroes, education and the importance of Tales of the City.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodE. A. Jones - Hermits and Anchorites in EnglandJuno Dawson - The Gender GamesJuno Dawson - This Book is GayJuno Dawson - Meat MarketJuno Dawson - Cruel SummerJuno Dawson - Margot & MeJuno Dawson - Mind Your HeadVC Andrews - Flowers in the AtticTabitha Suzuma - ForbiddenMalorie Blackman - Noughts & CrossesMalorie Blackman - Pig Heart BoyMargaret Atwood - Handmaid’s TaleEmily Bronte - Wuthering HeightsKate Mosse - I Am HeathcliffGillian Flynn - Gone GirlRoald Dahl - The WitchesRoald Dahl - George’s Marvellous MedicineRoald Dahl - MatildaStephen King - Pet SemataryLJ Smith - Forbidden GameLJ Smith - The Vampire DiariesAngela Carter - Bloody ChamberAngela Carter - Nights at the CircusAngela Carter - New EveArmistead Maupin - Tales of the CityAngela Carter - Wise ChildrenErin Kelly - He Said She SaidSimon James Green - Noah Can’t EvenTom Ellen & Lucy Ivison - LobstersArmistead Maupin - BabycakesArmistead Maupin - More Tales of the CityArmistead Maupin - Significant OthersArmistead Maupin - Further Tales of the CityArmistead Maupin - Sure of YouArmistead Maupin - Michael Tolliver LivesArmistead Maupin - Mary Ann in AutumnArmistead Maupin - Days of Anna MadrigalJudith Kerr - A Small Person Far AwayStephen King - MiseryJuno Dawson - Say Her NameMichelle Paver - Dark MatterPatrick Ness - Chaos WalkingPhilip Pullman - Northern LightsPatrick Ness - The Knife of Never Letting GoPatrick Ness - A Monster CallsLouise O'Neill - Only Ever YoursJacqueline Susan - Valley of the DollsDick Bruna - A Story To TellStephenie Meyer - TwilightJuno Dawson - Hollow PikeDonna Tartt - Secret HistoryBret Easton Ellis - The Rules of AttractionCurtis Sittenfeld - PrepAngie Thomas - Hate U GiveFrances Hardinge - The Lie TreeJohn Green - The Fault in Our Stars Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back in London town this week and in the home of the phenomenal Holly Bourne! Holly is the celebrated, award-winning YA author of such books as It Only Happens in the Movies and Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? Her debut adult novel was the critically acclaimed How Do You Like Me Now? We talked to Holly about getting books signed, colour co-ordination, meeting Metallica and troubling literary crushes.BOOKS:Daisy Buchanan - The SisterhoodSonder & Tell (Edit) - Comfort ZonesHolly Bourne - How Do You Like Me Know?Harper Lee - To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee - Go Set a WatchmanIrvin D Yalom - Love’s ExecutionerJD Salinger - Catcher in the RyeWill Storr - Science of StorytellingStephen King - On WritingGillian Flynn - Gone GirlElizabeth Gilbert - Big MagicElizabeth Gilbert - Eat Pray LoveJudy Blume - ForeverJudy Blume - Are You There God It’s Me MargaretJudy Blume - Summer SistersElizabeth Gilbert - CommittedGermaine Greer - Female EunuchMolly Keane - Good BehaviourMaggie Nelson - The ArgonautsLeila Slimani - AdeleLeila Slimani - LullabyLouise Rennison - Complete Georgia NicolsonLouise Bagshawe - Career GirlsHolly Bourne - It Only Happens in the MoviesDavid Nicholls - One DayJojo Moyes - Me Before YouIan McEwan - AtonementThomas Hardy - Far From The Madding CrowdMarian Keyes - This Charming ManLouise Rennison - Knocked Out by my Nunga-Nungas Louise Rennison - And That's When It Fell Off in My Hand Gabrielle Moss - Paperback CrushKate Cann - Hard CashKate Cann - FootlooseKate Cann - In The Deep EndSharon Creech - Walk Two MoonsAnonymous - Go Ask AliceHolly Bourne - What a Girls Gotta DoHolly Smale - Geek GirlAngie Thomas - Hate U GiveSue Townsend - Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.