Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

Journalist, author and political commentator, Daniel Finkelstein, joins Simon and Matt to discuss his brilliant new book; 'Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad'He talks about his fascinating family history, the stories he was told growing up, how he researched the book and what it means now it's finally out in the world.This is the book Daniel has always wanted to write and hopes one day it might even make it on to the screen.Here comes the science bit...From longstanding political columnist and commentator Daniel Finkelstein, a powerful memoir exploring both his mother and his father's devastating experiences of persecution, resistance and survival during the Second World War.Danny's mother Mirjam Wiener was the youngest of three daughters born in Germany to Alfred and Margarete Wiener. Alfred, a decorated hero from the Great War, is now widely acknowledged to have been the first person to recognise the existential danger Hitler posed to the Jews and began, in 1933, to catalogue in detail Nazi crimes. After moving his family to Amsterdam, he relocated his library to London and was preparing to bring over his wife and children when Germany invaded Holland. Before long, the family was rounded up, robbed, humiliated, and sent to Bergen-Belsen.Danny's father Ludwik was born in Lwow, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family. In 1939, after Hitler and Stalin carved up Poland, the family was rounded up by the communists and sent to do hard labour in a Siberian gulag. Working as slave labourers on a collective farm, his father survived the freezing winters in a tiny house they built from cow dung.Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad is a deeply moving, personal and at times horrifying memoir about his parents' experiences at the hands of the two genocidal dictators of the 20th century. It is a story of persecution and survival; and the consequences of totalitarianism told with the almost unimaginable bravery of two ordinary families shining through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon and Matt throw questions at bestselling author Kate Mosse, to find out more about her craft, writing processes and what she likes to read. There's also a guest appearance from Louise Minchin... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Mosse is busy, really busy! Not only has she just published her new novel, The Ghost Ship, but has recently been on tour with her one woman show - AND - has been running the Women's Prize For Fiction (which she founded in 1996) In this episode, the bestselling author talks to Simon and Matt about her research, her fascination with the history of France, continuing a series and why she finds ships so fascinating. Here comes the science bit... THE GHOST SHIPPiracy. Romance. Revenge. Across the seas of the seventeenth century, two seafarers are forced to fight for their lives. The sequel to The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship is the third novel in The Joubert Family Chronicles from bestselling author Kate Mosse.The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months it has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved by corsairs, manned by a courageous crew of mariners from Italy and France, Holland and the Canary Islands.But the bravest among them are not who they seem. The stakes could not be higher. If arrested, they will be hanged for their crimes. Can they survive the journey and escape their fate?A sweeping and epic love story, ranging from France in 1610 to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the 1620s, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling novel of adventure and buccaneering, love and revenge, stolen fortunes and hidden secrets on the High Seas. Most of all, it is a tale of defiant women in a man's world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TJ Newman knows how to write a page-turner! And in this episode, she talks about her writing processes, her love of books, who she likes to read and why she prefers to write at night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flight attendant turned bestselling thriller author, TJ Newman, joins Simon and Matt to discuss her latest novel, "Drowning" TJ wrote her first book on red eye flights when she was working, sometimes jotting ideas on napkins or scraps of paper. This formed her first book, which received 41 rejections. She talks about her writing journey and why "failure" is a positive thing. She also discusses her writing processes and why she thinks her books will be sold in airports - despite the subject matter! Here comes the science bit...Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors-but it's too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent - Shannon's mother and Will's soon-to-be ex-wife - who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.There's not much time.There's even less air.With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family's desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them - against impossible odds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon and Matt put some questions to S.A. Cosby. They discuss his reading habits, where he writes best and his inspirations. There's also a cameo appearance from bestselling author, Ruth Ware! Remember you can get in touch with us at anytime by emailing booksoftheyear@yahoo.com And follow us @booksoftheyear on twitter / @pickanypage on instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It's our favourite book so far this year"Simon and Matt have called it! And with good reason, S.A. Cosby's new novel - 'All The Sinners Bleed' - is fantastic!Shawn joins us from New York to discuss his inspirations, his made-up town of Charon, the role of Sherifs and the messages he wants readers to take from his novels.*Please note that there are some themes discussed which listeners may find triggering or difficult to hear.Here comes the science bit:A BLACK SHERIFF. A SERIAL KILLER.AND A SMALL TOWN READY TO COMBUST.Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, Charon has had only two murders. After years of working as an FBI agent, no one knows better than Titus that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.But a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student. The student is then fatally shot by Titus’s deputies.As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes, and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus tries to project confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, answers questions about his reading habits and writing processes. It turns out he's a big Richard Osman fan (well, who isn't?) and a big champion of libraries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Simon and Matt are joined by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.They discuss his new book, 'Breathe', and his passion and determination to change the air pollution in London - and tackle climate change in the wider world.Simon gets 'a bit 5 Live' and Matt asks if it's too late! (so, nice and light)Here comes the science bit:A seven-step guide to winning support for tough action on climate change - the first book from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.For many years, Sadiq wasn't fully aware of the dangers posed by air pollution, nor its connection with climate change. Then, at the age of 43, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with adult-onset asthma - brought on by the polluted London air he had been breathing for decades.Scandalised, Sadiq underwent a political transformation that would see him become one of the most prominent global politicians fighting (and winning) elections on green issues. Since becoming Mayor of London in 2016, he has declared a climate emergency, introduced the world's first Ultra-Low Emission Zone, built hundreds of kilometres of new cycle lanes, led a drive for affordable insulation in council homes, and turned London into the first ever 'National Park City'.But with every year bringing more wildfires, extreme temperatures and flooding - and with around 4,000 people still dying prematurely from London's polluted air every year, with older, working class and ethnic minority Londoners most affected - there is so much more to do.Now, Sadiq draws on his experiences to identify the seven ways environmental action gets blown off course. And he reveals how to get it back on track, by:- Proving to sceptics that the climate crisis is a health crisis too;- Overcoming voters' cynicism by building coalitions across the political spectrum;- Shaking hands with everyone from your fiercest opponents to the most steadfast climate activists (even if you're a bit worried they might superglue you).Breathe is a call to action demonstrating how anyone - whether voter, activist or politician - can win the argument on climate. It will help create a world where we can all breathe again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our bonus Q&A episode, Joanne Harris answers questions about her reading and writing habits. We hear from bestselling author, and Chair of the Women's Prize For Fiction, Kate Moss, as well as discussing the British Library, scents and how a you don't need a physical writing shed, to have a writing shed. (eh!?) Joanne talks about some of the authors she loves, including Shelley Parker-Chan, whose novel 'She Who Became The Sun' is the last book she really really enjoyed reading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices