This week we’re speaking to Managing Director of the Booksellers Association, Meryl Halls.

Meryl has been part of the BA, the trade body which promotes retail bookselling in the UK & Ireland, since the year 2000.

Her first role in the organization was as a conference assistant in.  Since then, she has worked across all of organisation’s major campaigns including Books Are My Bag and Independent Bookshop Week as well as being heavily involved in the policy work.

In 2018 Meryl took on the role of Managing Director and was named FutureBook Person of the Year in 2020.  Meryl is passionate about all aspect of the book trade.  She works tirelessly for booksellers all over the country, and what she does is invaluable.

@booksaremybag #ChooseBookshops #BooksellersAssociation #Bookshop

Books Discussed in this episode: 

The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton
The Magus by John Fowles
The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies (Part of the Cornish Trilogy)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
Leonard & Hungry Paul by 

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Produced & presented by the team at Mostly Books (www.mostly-books.co.uk)
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mostlyreading
Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/mostlybooks_shop
Edited by Nick Short (www.instagram.com/alongstoryshorter)

Mostly Books Meets

Meryl Halls

Mostly Books Meets is back for another season and our first guest novelist, Kim Sherwood!

Kim’s first novel Testament was published in 2018, and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Award, shortlisted for the Best First Novel Award, and won the Bath Novel Award and the Harper's Bazaar Big Book of the Year.

A James Bond fan since a young age, and described as a “Fleming aficionado of the highest order”. In 2021 it was announced that a new series of double-0 novels penned by Kim had been authorized by the Fleming estate. These new novels mark an exciting departure, as they are set in the world of James Bond but instead turn their focus on a new generation of double-0 agents.

Double or Nothing, the first in Kim’s new Bond series, publishes on the 1st of September. Kim has used her brilliant talent at characterization to expand the dramatis personae of the Bond universe with a story that is sure to attract new fans to the series, as well as delighting its old friends. 

The podcast is produced and presented by the team at Mostly Books.  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. Edited by Michael Roberts.  Double or Nothing is published in the UK by Harper Collins.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood
The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen 
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

Kim Sherwood

It is our great pleasure to welcome to the podcast this week a true legend of crime fiction, the novelist Karin Slaughter. 

Karin launched onto the scene in 2001 with her first novel Blindsighted, which marked the beginning of the Grant County series. Since then she has gone on to write more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the much-loved Will Trent series which is due to be televised by Disney. Kim’s second-to-none storytelling has caught the eye of many a producer with her 2018 novel Pieces of Her being released as a limited series on Netflix starring Toni Colette. 

Karin has built a loyal fanbase with her stories that defy you to put them down and has garnered readers from across the globe. On top of very successful career as a novelist, she is the founder of Save the Libraries a nonprofit organization, which was established to support libraries and library programming. A cause that those of us at Mostly Books and many of our listeners will be passionate about. 

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. Edited by Michael Roberts. 
Girl, Forgotten is published in the UK by HarperCollins.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter ISBN: 9780099553052
Encyclopaedia Brown by Donal J. Sobol ISBN: 9780553482973
Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor ISBN: 9780571245789
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury ISBN: 9780571245789
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler ISBN: 9781788168632
Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter ISBN: 9780008303563

Karin Slaughter

On this week’s episode we have the amazing R. F. Kuang, the author of the much loved and lauded Poppy War Trilogy. Rebecca is a Marshall Scholar, translator, and has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford and is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale. 

Rebecca’s new novel, Babel, was published on 1st of September. It is both an exciting edition and challenge to the genre of the Oxford novel, a riveting story, a reflection on language’s power to subjugate and to liberate, and so much more besides.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the Mostly Books team. It is edited by Michael Roberts. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. 

Babel is published in the UK by @HarperVoyagerUK.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Animal Farm by George Orwell ISBN: 9780141182704
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 9780356500843
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov ISBN: 9780141185262
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ISBN: 9781784744649
SPQR by Mary Beard ISBN: 9781846683817
Babel by R. F. Kuang ISBN: 9780008501815

R. F. Kuang

On the podcast this week we are speaking to award-winning novelist Kamila Shamsie. 

I thought for a long time about how best to introduce a writer as renowned and respected as Kamila. I toyed with the idea of listing off her many accolades and achievements, but each time I read them out loud I found it didn’t capture the experience of reading a Shamsie novel for the first time. 

Instead, I’ll tell you that those who know and love her work talk about it in the same way they might recount a chapter from their own lives. Those who have yet to read one of her novels soon find themselves the subject of a swift conversion. Home Fire, with its beautiful and heart-breaking merging of the personal and the political, had a profound effect on me. And so, too, did Kamila’s latest novel, Best of Friends, which is published on 27th September. Best of Friends is an exquisite portrayal of friendship, of coming of age both physically and politically, and an exploration of how even those closest to us can still remain unknowable.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. It is edited by Michael Roberts @michael.glyn.roberts. Best of Friends is published in the UK by Bloomsbury.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 9780007323128
Meatless Days by Sara Suleri ISBN: 9780241342466
Companion Piece by Ali Smith ISBN: 9780241541340
Sterling Karat Gold by Isabel Waidner ISBN: 9781913512040
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan ISBN: 9781472150912
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf ISBN: 9780141183411
Best of Friends BY Kamila Shamsie ISBN: 9781526647702

Kamila Shamsie

This week we’re speaking to award-winning writer and illustrator, Jackie Morris.

Over her career Jackie has written and illustrated over 40 books.  In 2019 she won the CLIP Kate Greenaway Medal and The Books are My Bag Readers Award for the absolutely stunning book, The Lost Words. It is a staple in every bookshop and appeals to both adults and children alike.  

Told off as a child for drawing and dreaming, she now has the last laugh as she gets to do both every day. Her work has been translated into over fourteen languages and has been adapted for stage, film and set to music.  A huge supporter of independent bookshops, it’s fantastic to have her as a guest today.  

The podcast is produced and presented by the team at Mostly Books.  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. Edited by Nick Short @alongstoryshorter.  Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone is published in the UK by Unbound and Something About a Bear is published in the UK by Otter-Barry Books.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Call of The Wild by Jack London ISBN: 9781906230777
Watership Down by Richards Adams ISBN: 9780241953235
Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson ISBN: 9780241375983
The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes ISBN: 9781526604729
Land of the Forest by Caroline Pitcher ISBN: 9781802581645
The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris ISBN: 9780241253588
Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone by Jackie Morris ISBN: 9781800181557
Something About a Bear by Jackie Morris ISBN: 9781913074289

Jackie Morris

It is our great pleasure to welcome onto the podcast this week debut novelist, and journalist, Tracey Lien. 

Tracey grew up in Sydney, Australia. She was previously a reporter for Vox Media before going on to work for the Los Angeles Times. Tracey then made the brave leap into the world of fiction and joined the MFA program at the University of Kansas. It was during this time that her first novel All That’s Left Unsaid was born. 

Set in the Vietnamese enclave of Cabramatta in Sydney the story opens with the brutal murder of a seventeen-year-old boy. Realising that the full details of the crime are not being uncovered by the police the sister of the murdered boy, Ky, takes it upon herself to find the witnesses and discover the truth for herself. All That’s Left Unsaid manages to be both a compelling page-turner as well as a profound exploration of racism and the Vietnamese-Australian experience. 

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Michael Roberts @michael.glyn.roberts  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. All That’s Left Unsaid is published in the UK by HQ @hqstories.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ISBN: 9781408855652
Civilwarland In Bad Decline by George Saunders ISBN: 9781784871291
More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez ISBN: 9780241529980 
Easy Beauty by Chloe Cooper Jones ISBN: 9780349013824

Tracey Lien

On the podcast this week we are thrilled to be hosting the twice Booker prize shortlisted author Mohsin Hamid.

Mohsin is the author of five novels , including Exit West, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist as well as a book of essays, Discontent and Its Civilizations. His writing has been translated into forty languages, featured on bestseller lists, and has been adapted for the cinema.

Mohsin's latest book, The Last White Man, was published in August of this year.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Michael Roberts @michael.glyn.roberts  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. The Last White Man is published in the UK by Hamish Hamilton.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Charlotte’s Webb by E. B. White ISBN: 9780141354828
Dune by Frank Herbert ISBN: 9780340960196
Gilgamesh ISBN: 9780300268096
Beloved by Toni Morrison ISBN: 9780099511656
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid ISBN: 9780241566572

Mohsin Hamid

This week we welcome onto the podcast performer, activist, and author Jill Nalder. 

In January 2021 Russell T Davies‘ It’s a Sin hit our TV screens. For some, it was a reminder of the pain and prejudice of the AIDs crisis, while for many it was an education. Either way, it captured the hearts and minds of millions across the country. Jill Nalder, a lifelong friend of Russell, was the inspiration for the character of Jill Baxter (and even played Jill’s mum in the show!). 

Now she has put her life and experiences into her own words in Love from the Pink Palace. 

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Michael Roberts @michael.glyn.roberts  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. Love from the Pink Palace is published in the UK by Headline.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Famous Five by Enid Blyton ISBN: 9781444935011
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ISBN: 9781472154668
The Stand by Stephen King ISBN: 9781444720730
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy ISBN: 9780006550686
Love from the Pink Palace by Jill Nalder ISBN: 9781472288462

Jill Nalder

It is our great pleasure to welcome on to the podcast this week author Bobby Palmer.

Bobby’s much-anticipated debut novel Isaac and The Egg was published on the 9th of August. Before it was even released Isaac and The Egg had people queuing up to sing its praises. Author Joanna Cannon says it is: “‘Truly one of the most beautiful stories you’ll ever read… What’s it about? I’d love to have a stab at explaining, but I can’t. You’re just going to have to find out for yourself”. 

She’s right, to try and explain Isaac and The Egg would be to dispel its unique magic, just be assured that this story of grief and hope will be loved by many a reader for years to come.

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Michael Roberts @michael.glyn.roberts  Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop. Isaac and The Egg is published in the UK by Headline.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell ISBN: 9780552569620
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf ISBN: 9780241341117
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus ISBN: 9780857528124
Less by Andrew Sean Greer ISBN: 9780349143590
Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord ISBN: 9781398705487
Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman ISBN: 9781611855944

Bobby Palmer

It is our great pleasure to welcome onto the podcast this week Liz Calder and Alexandra Pringle. Liz was one of the founding directors of Bloomsbury and was editor-in-chief from 1987 to the year 2000, after which she passed the baton on to Alexandra, who served in the role until 2020. Between them they have published Nobel Prize, Booker Prize and Women's Prize winners and have published household names such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Madeline Miller. 

Together they have edited the Bloomsbury 35 Anthology, a celebration of the now much loved and admired publisher. To flick through its pages is to meet some of the most exciting voices in fiction writing from across the world, and is a testament to the brilliant work Bloomsbury has and continues to do.

(0:49) Introduction
(3:20) Liz Calder and Alexandra Pringle’s First Reading Experiences
(8:37) Liz and Alexandra’s Teenage Years
(15:41) Liz Calder's Most Recent Read
(22:21) Alexandra Pringle’s Most Recent Read
(26:14) The Books That Changed Their Lives
(38:35) The Emotional Side of Publishing

The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton @jackwrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four @storyninetyfour. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.

Bloomsbury 35 is published in the UK by Bloomsbury.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - ISBN: 9780349009308
Bartleby and Co by Enrique Vila-Matas - ISBN: 9781843430520
The Great Garden by Meg Rozoff - ISBN: 9781841585659
My Salinger Days by Joanna Rakoff - ISBN: 9780307958013
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan - ISBN: 9780393017755
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - ISBN: 9780395775592
The Ventriloquist Tale by Pauline Melville - ISBN: 9780747531500
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie - ISBN: 9780593421826

Liz Calder & Alexandra Pringle

Booksellers from an award-winning indie bookshop chatting books and how they have shaped people's lives, with a whole bunch of people from the world of publishing - authors, poets, journalists and many more.  Join us for the journey.

Music composed by Brian Randazzo.
www.mostly-books.co.uk

Meryl Halls

Mostly Books

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