Book Off!

Two great music writers - James Kaplan and Paul Alexander - join Joe for a War of the Words. Joe gets excited and takes a deep dive into both of their brilliant books, which are both about America in the 40s and 50s, both about the jazz music scene, but follow very different subjects. 'Three Shades Of Blue' by James Kaplan is biography of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans - and how those three extraordinary musicians made one of the greatest jazz albums of all time: Kind Of Blue. 'Bitter Crop' by Paul Alexander is a biography of the great Billie Holiday, but told through the last year of her life - 1959 - which coincidently is when Kind Of Blue came out. Both books are brimming with great stories and accounts from the time - they are meticulously researched - snd Joe asks both authors how immersed they get in their subjects when writing. They also give us some brilliant book recommendations as well! THE BOOK OFF 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote VS'Last Train To Memphis' by Peter Guralnick We hope you enjoy the chat - which we've kept a little long - which may well inspire you to put on some jazz after listening!? :-)Oooooh and get this!For a limited time, you can get £100 off off any HD light and free UK delivery. Just visit seriousreaders.com/bookoff to claim your discount!

Two top crime and thriller writers, Ragnar Jonasson and Simon Kernick, go head to head in a war of the words!They share their love of Agatha Christie, why scary crime fiction doesn't have to be gory and tell us about their latest novels. ("Death At The Sanitorium" and "You All Die Tonight")We also get some cracking book recommendations from them too.THE BOOK OFF!'The Murder On The Links' by Agatha ChristieVS'McNally's Luck' by Lawrence SandersQUICK NOTE!For a limited time, you can get £100 off off any HD light and free UK delivery. Just visit seriousreaders.com/bookoff to claim your discount!

We're so excited to bring you this episode of Book Off, featuring two of our favourite poets and humans - Salena Godden and Hollie McNish. We've been wanting to bring these two together for a long time, and now it's finally happened! They talk about their latest poetry collections ('With Love Grief and Fury' and 'Lobster'), the freedom of performance, why they love the form so much and why you can't start with a poem about blow jobs. They also give us some brilliant book recommendations too! Hollie McNish's collection 'Lobster' is written out of both hate and love for the world. As people, we are capable of both love and hate; amazement and disgust; fun and misery. So why do we live in a world that is constantly telling us to hate, both ourselves and others? We are told constantly to be repulsed by our own bodies, bodies that let us laugh and sweat and eat toast, amongst other activities; to be ashamed of pleasure; to be embarrassed by fun. In this brand-new collection, Hollie McNish brings her inimitable style to the question of what have been taught to hate, and if we might learn to love again.Salena Godden's collection 'With Love Grief And Fury' contains love poems, for people and the planet. Grief poems brimming with compassion, mourning what was and contemplating what could be. And poems of fire and fury that will kick some ass, tell the truth and inspire change and hope. Like a big sister’s arm around your shoulder, With Love, Grief and Fury is important and nourishing for the soul. THE BOOK OFF 'Everything Is Going To Be Alright' (selected poems) - edited by Cecilia KnappVS 'Parable Of The Sower' by Octavia E ButlerQUICK NOTE! For a limited time, you can get £100 off off any HD light and free UK delivery. Just visit seriousreaders.com/bookoff to claim your discount!

M.L. Rio and Kate Weinberg arrive as friends, but will they still be so chummy with each other after the Book Off?They chat to Joe Haddow about their latest books, Trump, the importance of publishing at a time when books are being banned and why Scooby Doo is a great influence.They also give us some briiiilliant book recommendations too - so apologies to your TBR pile in advance.Here's more on our authors and their books...and what they picked for the Book Off! (we hope you enjoy the episode)M.L Rio's new novella is called Graveyard Shift. Every night, in the college's ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story. One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn't there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?Kate Weinberg's latest novel is called There's Nothing Wrong With Her. Vita Woods is on the brink. She has a good job and a successful doctor boyfriend, Max, with whom the sex is great and the chat sufficient; a vivacious and charming sister Gracie, and she’s even got a goldfish called Whitney Houston, who brightens her days by showing her she's not the only one going round in circles. Because it’s the days that are Vita’s problem. Vita is not leaving the house. In fact, Vita rarely exits the basement apartment where she lives, since Vita is in “The Pit” – a place of deep exhaustion and semi-consciousness. One day an unexpected courier delivery forces Vita upstairs, into the light – and into a chance encounter with her neighbours. Suddenly, Vita finds herself faced with an even trickier dilemma. She likes her new friends; she’ll even sneak upstairs to see them while Max is out, against all medical advice but something about her “condition” is nagging at the borders of her mind. After all, what is a house-bound girl to do when she can’t keep the light, her new friendships, or – worst of all – her memories out? The problem might be Vita herself but as far as anyone can prove... there’s nothing wrong with her.THE BOOK OFF'Moon Tiger' by Penelope LivelyVS''Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang' by Kate WilhelmPlus - for a limited time, you can get £100 off off any HD light and free UK delivery. Just visit seriousreaders.com/bookoff to claim your discount!

Authors Rachel Abbott and Hannah Lynn go head to head in a war of the words. They talk to Joe Haddow about their self-publishing journeys, the pros and cons and how things have changed on that side of the industry over the last 10 years. They also discuss their new novels, how the weather can influence a chapter and why sometimes you just have to go away in the name of research! THE BOOK OFF 'Good Girl, Bad Girl' by Michael Robathan VS 'The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind' by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Bestselling crime author, Attica Locke, goes head to head with John Le Carre's son - Nick Harkaway - in a war of the words. Nick has written a new George Smiley novel, continuing his father's legacy, called Karla's Choice. He chats to Joe Haddow about the pressure he felt to get the character right and how he got himself in the right frame of mind to write the novel. Attica discusses 'Guide Me Home' - the third novel in her trilogy of books dubbed The Highway 59 series, featuring the Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. As well chatting about their writing and new books, they also give us some brilliant book recommendations! THE BOOK OFF"In My Time Of Dying" by Sebastian JungerVS"Tokyo Express" by Seicho Matsumoto

Two brilliant authors and humans, Rumaan Alam and Tessa Hadley, go head to head in a war of the words. They talk about the joy of writing about clothes, how money can drive you mad and how some cities are easier to fictionalise than others. As well as discussing their new novels, their writing styles and processes and the difference between writing short stories, novels and novellas, they also give us some great book recommendations. Entitlement by Rumaan Alam is a novel about an ambitious young Black woman, plotting her way into the world of the one percent, and an old white billionaire, facing his own extinction. He's attracted to her intelligence, her refusal to be deferential, maybe also her Blackness, whilst she's drawn to his power and money – and his apparent willingness to share both with her. But how far is each prepared to go to get what they think they deserve?The Party by Tessa Hadley is a novella set in post-war Bristol. Sisters Moira and Evelyn are on the cusp of adulthood who meet two men at a dockside party. Paul and Sinden's air of worldliness and sophistication both intrigues and repels them. Sinden calls a few days later to invite them over to the grand suburban mansion Paul shares with his brother and sister. As the night unfolds in this unfamiliar, glamorous new setting, the sisters learn things about themselves and each other that shock them, and release them into a new phase of their lives.We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Off! If you did, please do leave us a review...

Global bestselling author Liane Moriarty goes head to head with author and content creator Bea Fitzgerald.They discuss their new novels, their writing practices and seasonal reading!Bea shares her love of reality TV, which has inspired her new novel, and Liane tells us about her characterisation and plot structures.They both get pretty nervous about the Book Off, and decide to have an arm wrestle to settle it! See our instagram account for that...THE BOOK OFF"Idol" by Louise O'NeillVS"The Accidental Tourist" by Anne TylerThis was such a lovely, warm chat - and we hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording it! You can find our more about Bea Fitzgerald and her books on her Instagram account - she is veeery entertaining. And for more on Liane Moriarty and her writing - you can visit her website, or follow her on instagram

Booker Prize winner, Alan Hollinghurst, and Booker Prize shortlistee, Rachel Kushner, join Joe Haddow for a Book Off!Alan talks about his new novel 'Our Evenings' and the writing processes to create the tempo he wanted. The book follows the life of the actor Dave Win, from 1962 to 2020.Rachel discusses her new novel 'Creation Lake' (her second novel to be shortlisted for the Booker) and the authors that have influenced this book and it's noir-ish elements.THE BOOK OFF'Painting Time' by Maylis de KerangalVS'A Voyage Around The Queen' by Craig Brown