The Radio 2 Book Club

This week, Zoe is joined by international bestselling novelist Terry Hayes. His new novel, The Year Of The Locus, is our lates Radio 2 Book Club pick - and it's quite the page-turner. It's been 10 years since Terry published his debut smash hit, I Am Pilgrim', but we think it has been worth the wait. Zoe chats to Terry about what has taken his so long, the status of the film adaptation, his writing habits and if we'll have to wait another ten years for his next book. Here's a little more info on Terry's new novel: If, like Kane, you're a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again - by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide - and when to shoot. But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive. Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

Zoe welcomes Sarah Davis, one of our Superstar Librarians, to the podcast. Sarah has been working in libraries for 43 years! And is one of the original panel members for the Radio 2 Book Club. She talks to Zoe about her love of reading, why she loves her job - and - recommends us a few books and authors too.

Zoe welcomes Caroline Bond to the Book Club to discuss her new novel, The Day We Left. It's a powerful and moving story about identical twins, and Caroline draws on some of her own life experience for this book. They chat about her writing routine, inspirations, habits and how some characters can steal the show (or book) even when they're only in it for a short time. More on the book:Oli and Joe are identical twins. But they will never be the same. Lizzie Truman gives birth to her sons at thirty-one weeks. From the start, the differences between the twins are clear. Oli is bigger, stronger, healthier. Joe is small and much less robust, his future inexorably altered by the trauma of his premature delivery. As soon as the boys are well enough, Lizzie checks out of the maternity hospital and leaves her old life behind. By the time Oli and Joe are grown, Beth has a new name, a thriving business, and she has successfully raised her sons alone. But when the truth about their past emerges, the twins are forced to reassess everything they thought they knew about their mother, their upbringing and themselves.

Sarah and Louise from a reading group in Westward Ho! join Zoe to chat about their book club and what books they have been reading and enjoying recently. They recommend 'Lessons In Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus and 'The Witch Elm' by Tara French - both which they have read as a group recently. Zoe also discusses the importance of strong female characters in fiction and why Radio 2's very own Jeremy Vine was spotted on a Penny Farthing!? If you'd like to get involved in the Radio 2 Book Club, sharing your recommendations or putting your reading group forward to be featured, just email zoeball@bbc.co.uk.

Zoe chats with librarian Pete Hughes about his library, career and reading recommendations. They discuss books by Patrick Gale, Gabrielle Zevin, Andy Weir and Sally Rooney. They also talk about reading out of your comfort zone and the importance of libraries within communities.