A disturbing and eye opening novel which raises difficult questions. What happens when a mother does not connect emotionally with her child? What if this child commits mass murder? Is the mother to blame? Has her lack of affection created a sociopathic killer?     Sue Klebold's TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlnrFpCu0c&rco=1 

The Hay Festival is an annual literary festival in the town of books, Hay-on-Wye, in Wales. I spent 10 days at the festival this year taking in all the incredible energy. In total I attended about 20 events, each one packed with things to think about.   Day 1 mentions: Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes For Ian Charleson by Ian McKellen Bibliomaniac by Robin Ince   Day 2 mentions: BBC Radio 4 Podcast You’re Dead to Me: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07mdbhg  Eat Your Words - Oyster...

This week I'm looking at the classic novel Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. A controversial tale of Humbert Humbert, a middle aged man who falls in love with a 12-year-old girl. 

This week I'm reviewing a short story by Ghassan Kanafani. Men in the Sun follows three Palestinian refugees in the early 1960s who are being smuggled across the border from Iraq to Kuwait in search of a better life. A gripping tale as old as old as time about what happens when we are excluded from every form of nationhood.

This week's book is A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman, winner of the 2017 Man Booker International prize. Watch as Dovaleh slowly descends into madness while giving a stand-up comedy show at a comedy club in Netanya. Dovaleh's breakdown is perhaps a physical and emotional manifestation of the damaged psyche of a nation trying to live a normal existence, under extremely abnormal circumstances.Book mentioned in the episode: To the End of the Land by David Grossman David Grossman’s...

This week's book is Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara. Kara travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the heart of the cobalt mining communities where unimaginable atrocities are happening on a daily-basis in the process of mining for cobalt, a vital element in the manufacturing of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. He gives first hand accounts of those being exploited by the cobalt mining industry. This is the very bottom of the manufacturing chain that makes it possible for all of us to...

Join me and my friend Jeni in a conversation about books we’ve read, loved and hated. We talk about motherhood and the social and neurological changes that come with it; audio books and why many of us think of it as cheating; the controversy surrounding support for non-offending pedophiles and so much more!   Books mentioned in this episode: Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins Stolen focus by Johan Hare Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Watership Down by...

This week's book is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, another historical fiction novel. The story spans 300 years, alternating between Ghana and the United States in the midst of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and leading up to modern times. It's a tale of inherited trauma and its evolution across multiple generations of persecution.    The Guardian Books Podcast: https://www.theguardian.com/books/series/books    Yaa Gyasi on The Guardian Books Podcast:...

This week's book is The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. A historical fiction novel that reimagines the life of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob. In The Bible, Dinah is very briefly mentioned in relation to the tragic loss of her husband at the hands of her brothers. In Diamant's novel, the Gods still have plans for Dinah who lives a long life beyond the tragedy. One of my all time favourite novels, it is a captivating tribute to womanhood. Book mentioned in this episode: Women Who Run with the...

This week's non-fiction book is Stolen Focus by Johan Hari. In my personal opinion, it is one of the most important books of the decade. We should all read this one. Hari explores our collective inability to pay attention, and why this has increased over the last ten years. He interviews a number of experts to find out how and why our phones have been designed to keep us distracted. Is this something we are doing to ourselves, or is this being done to us? Johan Hari's interview with Oprah...

This week's book is the 2023 Booker Prize winner, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. As Ireland slowly succumbs to a devastating civil war, Eilish refuses to leave. With her husband abducted by Ireland's secret police, she is on her own trying to keep her family together. As everything around her falls apart, she realises that the end of the world is not a grand world-wide finale, it's a localised event that happens over and over all the time.   Article on how power affects the brain, by The British...

This week's book is the classic science fiction novel, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Charlie Gordon's life is changed by a group of scientists that develop a treatment that can help increase his IQ, but what happens once Charlie becomes aware enough to see things as they are? Is ignorance truly bliss?

This week's book: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo.  Zhuang's life is forever changed after she spends a year abroad in England. She falls in love, travels around Europe, expands her cultural horizons, and learns what true loneliness means. Narrated as journal entries, we watch her struggle to navigate and make sense of a foreign language, as well as a foreign lover.  Interview with Xiaolu Guo:...