Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

The best selling author of The Sanatorium chats to Simon and Matt about some of her favourite books and authors - which include Jo Nesbo, Enid Blyton and Guy Morpuss. Plus there is a lot of chat about Warwick University Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of households brands before following her passion for writing.Her experiences living in the Swiss Alps in her early twenties inspired her acclaimed debut novel, The Sanatorium, which was an instant Sunday Times and New York Times Top Ten bestseller in hardback, and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best selling author of Girl A talks about some of her favourite books and authors - which include Gone Girl, A Little Life and Never Let Me Go Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abigail Dean studied English Literature at Cambridge University, and graduated with a double first in 2011. Her first job was as a bookseller at Waterstones. Abigail now works as a lawyer at Google. Ahead of her thirtieth birthday, she took time off between jobs to work on her first novel, GIRL A. The book immediately became a New York Times and Sunday Times Bestseller and has sold in 31 territories including television/film.GIRL A tells the story of Lex, better known to the world as Girl A, who escaped her family home where she and her siblings were held captive by their parents. Now, after her mother’s death, she and her siblings are left the family home. Wanting to transform the House of Horrors into a force for good, Lex must come to terms with her six siblings – and with the childhood they shared. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The multi million selling author and comedian chats about his favourite books and authors which include Alan Partridge, Nick Hornby and John Updike Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Baddiel is an author, comedian and screenwriter. He has written and performed in a series of highly successful TV comedy shows, including Fantasy Football, The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned. He is the author of four novels as well as six books for children which have sold over 1 million copies. In Jews Don't Count David combines powerful polemic and personal testimony to investigate why, in an age of heightened awareness of the evils of systemic racism, anti-Semitism appears to have been neglected by those who consider themselves progressive and enlightened.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The author of the US best selling novel American Dirt tells Simon and Matt about her favourite books and authors - which include Colson Whitehead, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ann Patchett, Jasper Fforde and Toni Morrison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeanine Cummins chats about her US best selling novel. American Dirt follows the path of a Mexican woman who survives an attack by a drug cartel - and escapes as an undocumented immigrant to the United States with her son. It was selected by Oprah for her Book Club and Radio 4 for their Book At Bedtime - but then drew criticism from fellow authors about her representation of Latinos. Jeanine talks openly about the year she has had dealing with the backlash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BBC's man in Washington talks us through his favourite books and authors - which include John Le Carre, Hugo Young, Joseph Heller, Robert Caro and Denis Healey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BBC's North America Editor chats about his diary of the 2020 US Presidential Election.It was an incredible year, which started with Joe Biden getting off to a very shaky start in the Primaries. And ended with a riot in Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices