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Bookylicious

Bookylicious

By Paul Jeorrett

Bookylicious is not just any book podcast. Paul, Gwyn, Lara and Holly share their love of books. As well as interviews with authors, librarians and booksellers and our usual book chat there will be regular features such as Book of the Month and spotlights on particular authors, bookshops, libraries and other even book podcasts. Come with us on the journey and be inspired! Sometimes serious, always fun a podcast to open your mind!
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Currently playing episode

Episode 5 - Gladstone's Library

BookyliciousSep 01, 2021

00:00
44:32
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 8 - Carnival reads and blue cheese

Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 8 - Carnival reads and blue cheese

Holly, Lara and Paul chat about some of the books they are reading and highlights of the 10th Wrexham Carnival of Words www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com

The Womens Prize for Fiction 2024 longlist also gets a mention https://womensprize.com/announcing-the-2024-womens-prize-for-fiction-longlist/

If you would like to download and read the University of Sheffield Creative Writing Society’s latest anthology edited by Holly you can find it here https://uoscreativewritingsoc.wordpress.com/our-anthology/

And yes! We do talk about blue cheese and Dorset Knobs, Thomas Hardy’s favourite snack. To order your own Dorset Knobs go to www.moores-biscuits.co.uk

As always you can find all the books we discussed on our Bookshop.org bookshelf here  https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-8-carnival-reads-and-blue-cheese?

We also now have a new Instagram page @bookyliciouspodcast so please come and follow us. If you used to follow out old page bookyliciouspod you will need tomove over to our new one.


Apr 15, 202448:02
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 7 – Paul Clifton - ‘1988, a poetic diary of a Wrexham author’
Mar 14, 202444:32
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 6 - Thomas Hardy, "Romantasy", Gnomes and Nature
Feb 25, 202444:48
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 5 – Wombles, Moomins, audiobooks and sci-fi
Jan 20, 202457:48
David Ebsworth - Blood Among the Threads - Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 4
Jan 11, 202439:01
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 3 - 2023 Reading challenges, 'Les Miserables' and Christmas wishes!
Dec 20, 202335:21
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 2 - Sian Hughes author of 'Pearl'

Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 2 - Sian Hughes author of 'Pearl'

In this episode Paul interviews Sian hughes the Booker longlisted author of ‘Pearl’ in her beautiful bookshop Magpie Books in Malpas , Cheshire https://www.magpiebookshop.co.uk/

Sian talks about the long process of writing ‘Pearl, Old English poetry in the Cheshire dialect, being longlisted for the Booker prize, the Wales/Cheshire border and much more!

For more information about Sian here are a couple of sites with more information:

https://theindigopress.com/sian-hughes/

https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/sian-hughes

And as always here is our bookshelf.org bookshelf with some of the books we mention:

https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-3-episode-2-sian-hughes

Apologies because this was recorded on location the sound levels are a little variable but hopefully this won’t spoil your enjoyment.

Dec 04, 202350:27
Bookylicious Series 3 Episode 1 - Dani Robertson - 'All Through the Night'
Nov 15, 202331:42
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 13 - The Name of the Rose

Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 13 - The Name of the Rose

In this episode Gwyn reviews Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' and Paul feeds back on his viewing of the 1986 film of the book and the 2019 TV series.

Paul recommends some Medieval monastic sleuths to follow on from 'The Name of the Rose'.

For details of the books mentioned please check our bookshelf here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookylicious-series-2-episode-13-the-name-of-the-rose

Oct 09, 202322:35
Libraries, librarians magic and witches and everything in between! Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 12

Libraries, librarians magic and witches and everything in between! Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 12

In this show Paul and Holly chat about novels featuring libraries and librarians inspired by the Electric Literature reading list https://electricliterature.com/7-novels-that-reveal-librarians-behind-the-shelves/ From which emerges ‘The Name of the Rose’ by Uberto Eco as our book of the month.

Gwyn shares her favourite reads about magic and mysticism.

Paul and Holly discuss their current reads and hopefully we will inspire you in our varied choice!

All books mentioned can be found on our Bookshop.Org bookshelf https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-featuring-librarians-and-librarians-and-gwyn-explores-all-things-magical-and-mystical-bookylicious-series-2-episode-12

If you want to get in touch with us please email info@bookylicious.com we love to hear from you!

Aug 28, 202344:46
Jennifer Kavanagh - 'And this shall be my dancing day' - Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 11
Jul 22, 202328:16
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 10 - 'The Silver Sword' andClassic Children's Fiction
Jul 03, 202359:20
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 9 - Book of the Month 'The Sandman' by Neil Gaiman

Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 9 - Book of the Month 'The Sandman' by Neil Gaiman

In this episode Gwyn and Paul explore the graphic novel ‘The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes’ by Neil Gaiman and its recent Netflix adaptation. If you feel inspired to explore the world of graphic novels and comics why not have a look at the excellent Page 45 bookshop site https://page45.com/

For most of the books we discuss in this episode go to the bookshelf in our bookshop here https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/neil-gaiman-s-the-sandman-bookylicious-series-2-episode-9

 

Gwyn also mentions Joanna Biggs book ‘A Life of One’s Own’ which has only just been published, you can read an extract here https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/04/03/on-mary-wollstonecraft/


Plus there is a unofficial playlist on Spotify for the Sandman series https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WiEftzChg34LESRtnJehr?si=49b8ca8c968b464d


May 25, 202338:57
Max Porter, the Medieval and much more... Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 8
May 08, 202342:57
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 7 - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and other fantastical imaginings
Apr 10, 202346:60
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 6 - Book of the Month 'Edgelands' by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts

Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 6 - Book of the Month 'Edgelands' by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts

Paul, Gwyn and Lara chat about ‘Edgelands’ by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts

It leads to a great discussion about nature in unexpected places and on our back doorstep. One other book gets a brief mention along the way and that is ‘How Green was my Valley’ by Richard Llewellyn where nnaature and industry collide in the South Wales valleys.

For the insatiably curious among you here is a link to an episode of ‘Old Country’ starring Jack Hargreaves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpRvcEC2fnY this will give you a flavour of who we were talking about. His biography is interesting as well https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves

Mar 20, 202326:26
From Harry Potter to Hag Seed - Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 5
Mar 05, 202333:11
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 4 - Book of the Month - Treasure Island and some of our favourite bookshops
Feb 21, 202334:08
Bookylicious Series 2 Episode 3 "What the Dickens!"
Feb 04, 202329:04
Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 2 - Book of the month - The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Jan 23, 202326:14
Bookylicious Season 2 Episode 1 – New Year Reading Targets and Resolutions!
Jan 12, 202327:08
Episode 16 - David Ebsworth 'The house on Hunter Street' and Monika Evans on literature in translation

Episode 16 - David Ebsworth 'The house on Hunter Street' and Monika Evans on literature in translation

In this episode Paul interviews author David Ebsworth (aka Dave McCall) about his new book ‘The House on Hunter Street’ set in Liverpool in 1911. For more information about Dave and his previous books go to www.davidebsworth.com

Paul also talks to Monika Evans about her love for ‘The Master and Magarita’ by Mikhail Bulgakov and the challenges and surprises (Robert Burns in Silesian!) of literature in translation. Dave also speaks from about having his novel ‘Until the Curtain Falls’ translated into Spanish. You can go and check out Monika’s excellent work as a singer songwriter here https://soundcloud.com/monikaevans-music

Gwyn, Lara and Paul catch up after the long summer and check in on their current reading.

Here is a link to Bloody Scotland and click here if you want to find out more about Shelterbox Book Club and Adventurous Ink

Here are some of the other books we talked about:

Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo

Charlotte Belton – Putin’s People

Janina Ramirez - Femina

Elise Downing - Coasting

Arthur C. Clarke – Cradle

John Woolf – The Wonders, lifting the curtain on the freak show, circus and the Victorian age

Dan Jones – Hollow Crown

Graham Swift – Waterland

Nyuyen Phan Que Mai – The Mountains Sing

Cixin Liu – The Three Body Problem

Andri Snaer Magnason - Lovestar

Tove Jansson – The True Deceiver

Stieg Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo

Victor Hugo – Les Miserables

Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis

Nora Krug - Heimat

Sep 07, 202201:20:45
Episode 15 - Summer reading recommendations
Jul 18, 202235:10
Episode 14 - "It is better to travel well than to arrive" Buddha

Episode 14 - "It is better to travel well than to arrive" Buddha

In this episode we explore travel and travel writing. Paul interviews Pete Evans (19 mins) author of 'Resurrection River' and 'The Holy Dee' and they chat about travel books that have inspired them, with lots of travellers tales weaved in. Gwyn, Lara and Paul also talk about travel writing that has inspired them (1:07).  Also a shout out to friend of the show Pat Bracewell and you can find her blog here http://www.patriciabracewell.com/blog/

Here are links to the books we chat about about:

Alexander Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo

Emily Houghton - Before I Saw You

Jean Rhys - Wide Sargasso Sea (don't forget to check out the Big Jubilee Read list)

Anna Keay - The Restless Republic, Britain without a Crown

Michelle Paver - Wakenhyrst

As promised there is a very long list of books we talk about and we hope they inspire you to read and travel from your armchair or beyond!

Dervla Murphy - A Place Apart (Charlie Connelly's article in the New European is here )

Geert Mak - In Europe and In America

Robert Macfarlane - The Old Ways

Dan Richards - Outpost

Robert Macfarlane and Dan Richards - Holloway

Amy Jeffs - Storyland

Monisha Rajesh - Around the World in 80 Trains

Bill Bryson - Neither Here Nor There

Will Ferguson - Hokkaido Highway Blues

Heinrich Harrer - Seven Years in Tibet

Hilly Janes - Three Lives of Dylan Thomas

George Borrow - Wild Wales

Cees Nooteboom - Roads to Santiago

Bruce Chatwin - In Patagonia

Robert Harris - Pompeii


Jun 13, 202201:40:40
Episode 13 - “I am no bird, and no net ensnares me” Jane Eyre

Episode 13 - “I am no bird, and no net ensnares me” Jane Eyre

In this episode we have an interview with Patricia Bracewell author of the Emma of Normandy historical fiction series ‘Shadow on the Crown’; ‘The Price of Blood’ and ‘The Steel Beneath the Silk’. We discuss all things Anglo-Saxon, Viking and strong women in history! This leads Paul and Gwyn on to a chat about string female leads in fiction. We also briefly mention the BBC’s Big Jubilee Read which is an interesting list of 70 books that are representative of each decade since 1952 from across the UK and the Commonwealth. Oh and not forgetting you may wish to check out the magnificent Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers 

As some of our regular listeners may have noticed this episode is a little late going live. The technical gremlins offered some challenges, especially in the first section of the episode, rather than delay any further we have decided to go ahead. Hopefully the sound quality won’t detract from your enjoyment.

Here are some of the books which get a mention:



May 18, 202201:25:45
Episode 12 - Poetry in Motion Part 2

Episode 12 - Poetry in Motion Part 2

Wow! This is a bumper episode full of some wonderful things! We start with Paul and gwyn chatting about books that they are currently reading; there is an interview with poet and writer Peter Read at about 31 minutes in and we end at 1 hour 10 minutes with Lara in conversation with Paul and sharing here favourite poems and poets.

You can find links to some of Peter Read’s work here https://www.gwales.com/search_basic/

To get you tickets for Wrexham Carnival of Words 2022 click here https://wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com/events/

And here are just some of the books, poems and poets we mentioned:

Gwyn and I chatted about Michelle Paver author of Wakenhyrst and Dark Matter; The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles; Help the Witch by Tom Cox; Borderland, a Journey Through the history of Ukraine by Anna Reid; Putin’s People by Catherine Belton; Grey Bees and Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkuv and The Rumour by Lesley Kara.

Peter Read mentions a biography of one of his favourite philosophers Clare Carlisle’s – Philosopher of the Heart, the restless Life of Soren Kierlegaard

These are some of the poems and poets Lara and I mention, Spike Milligan; Ogden Nash; Daffodilsby William Wordsworth; Rememberby Christina Rosetti; Treesby Joyce Kilmer; Sonnets from the Portuguese 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Miraclesby Walt Whitman; I Felt a Funeral in my Brain by Emily Dickinson; Annabel Leeby Edgar Allan Poe; Still I Riseby Maya Angelou.

Finally the new book by Ian Lucas is called Digital Gangsters

Apr 04, 202201:56:06
Episode 11 - Poetry in Motion Part 1

Episode 11 - Poetry in Motion Part 1

In this first of two episodes Paul and Holly explore the joys of all things poetic.

At 20 minutes in you will find an interview with poet and writer Liz Lefroy. You can find out more about Liz at her website https://lizlefroy.wixsite.com/liz-lefroyand this is a link to her blog here https://someonesmumsays.blogspot.com/

This is a link for the playlist that goes with this show, please feel to add relevant tracks for us all to enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rTORm6NCVm6CTYjRkUyct?si=25adc661b2474702

Here are some of the books and poems that get a mention

Marc Morris – The Anglo-Saxons, a history of the beginnings of England 400-1066

Hermann Hesse - Steppenwolf

Max Porter – Grief is a Thing With Feathers, Lanny, The Death of Francis Bacon (Grief is a Thing with Feathers title is a play on the Emily Dickinson poem ‘Hope is a thing with feathers’

Emma Souton – A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Murder in Ancient Rome

John Suchet – Beethoven: the man revealed

John Suchet – The Last Master Trilogy a fictional biography of Ludwig van Beethoven

T.E. Carhart – The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

Bloodaxe Anthologies – Being Human, Staying Alive, Being Alive

T S Eliot – Collected Poems 1902-1962

Andrew McMillan - Physical

Phillip Gross – Love Songs of Carbon

John Donne – The Sun Rising

James Joyce – Chamber Music

Kate Tempest – Brand New Ancients

Wendy Cope – Serious Concerns

Sylvia Plath – Lady Lazarus

Hannah Lowe – The Kids

Mary Oliver – New and Selected poems Volume 1

Mar 03, 202201:35:52
Episode 10 - The Streets of London
Jan 27, 202201:33:16
Episode 9 - It's Christmas!
Dec 15, 202151:29
Episode 8 - Through the Looking Glass

Episode 8 - Through the Looking Glass

In this episode Paul, Gwyn and Holly celebrate the 150thanniversary of the publication of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Paul dives down the rabbit hole with Mark Davies author, guide and Oxford local historian to discuss aspects of Lewis Carroll and Alice. You can find out more about Mark’s books here Alice in Waterland and King of Balloons and a link to the Lewis Carroll Society here https://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/

Also in this episode we muse on the joy of bookshops with a shout out to the Ladies Who Londonpodcast and their episode on London Bookshops which you can find here https://www.ladieswholondon.com/post/bookmarking-the-best-bookshops-in-london

One of Gwyn’s favourite bookshops is Troutmarkbooks in Cardiff. You can find the links for crowdfunding to keep Book-ishin Crickhowell open here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-bookish-on-the-high-street?member=15332081and the link to support the staff at Berwyn Books which burnt down recently here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-staff-at-berwyn-books

This is the link to the episode playlist with songs inspired by Carroll and Alice https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1dpcHN6KDDidmiSHwAPJo4?si=52b7cc95e0e04694

And finally here are the links to some of the books we talk about in this episode:

Oliver Burkeman - Four Thousand Weeks

Chinua Achebe – Things Fall Apart

Virginia Woolf – To the Lighthouse

Edgar Allan Poe – Short Stories

Margaret Atwood – Handmaids Tale

Robert Tombs – The English and their History

Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug – On Tyranny

Nora Krug – Heimat

Timothy Snyder – Bloodlands and The Red Prince

George Eliot – Middlemarch

Nov 30, 202101:14:02
Episode 7 - Halloween
Oct 27, 202152:36
Episode 6 - "Once upon a time in the West"

Episode 6 - "Once upon a time in the West"

In this episode Holly, Gwyn and Paul explore the literature of the American West. Including an interview with Anna North author of 'Outlawed'. You can find more about Anna on her website www.annanorth.net where you will also a suggested soundtrack to accompany 'Outlawed' and some excellent further reading. Other books we discuss or touch on in this episode include:

James Fennimore Cooper - The Last of the Mohicans (the 1971 BBC adaptation starred Welsh actor Philip Madoc as 'Magua' and the series is said to have popularised the Mohican hairstyle)

Owen Wister - The Virginian 

Zane Grey - Riders of the Purple Sage

Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet

Elmore Leonard - Hombre

Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses

Thomas Eidson - St Agnes' Stand

Patrick De Witt - The Sisters Brothers

Charles Frazier - Cold Mountain

Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove

Stephen King - The Gunslinger

Louis Sacher - Holes

Dee brown - Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee and The American West

Apologies if I've missed any. Last but not least the mystical western starring Pierce Brosnan that I couldn't recall in the podcast was of course 'Seraphim Falls'


Oct 09, 202101:04:52
 Episode 5 - Gladstone's Library
Sep 01, 202144:32
Episode 4 - "Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy"

Episode 4 - "Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy"

Books in the fantasy genre can represent a diverse range of subjects and ideas. In this episode we explore what fantasy literature might or might not be. Gwyn interviews Tiffani Angus author of 'Threading the Labyrinth' you can find out more about her here http://www.tiffani-angus.com/

Here are some of the books we mention in this episode:

Robert Macfarlane - 'Underland' and 'The Old Ways' You may also like to check out Robert's recent appearance on Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000y641

Matthew Syed - 'Rebel Ideas'

Franz Kafka - 'The Trial'

Samantha Shannon - 'The Priory of the Orange Tree'

Madeline Miller - 'Circe' and 'The Song of Achilles'

Lewis Carroll - 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass'

Neil Gaiman - 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains' and 'Coraline' and 'The Sandman Vol. 1'

Alice Roberts - 'Ancestors a Pre-history of Britain in Seven Burials'

Robert Holdstock - 'Mythago Wood'

H P Lovecraft - 'The Call of Cthulhu'

Eoin Colfer - 'Artemis Fowl'

JRR Tolkein - 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings'


Aug 03, 202101:20:03
Episode 3 - "We are made by history" - Historical Fiction Extravaganza

Episode 3 - "We are made by history" - Historical Fiction Extravaganza

This episode is all about history, specifically historical fiction. In this episode:

Barbara Erskine talks about her new novel The Dream Weavers.

Dave McCall (AKA David Ebsworth) and Holly Thorpe talk about the importance of historical fiction to them. You can find information about Dave's books here  http://www.davidebsworth.com/ and the link to the Young Walter Scott Prize is here https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/young-walter-scott-prize/ 

Rebecca Hill talks about how The Last Kingdom series of boom/3nc9tmmr oks changed her life.  Rebecca  shares her favourite historical fiction reads on Good Reads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3639817-rebecca?shelf=historical-fiction 

Our book recommendations include:

Paul Morley - A sound mind, how I fell in love with classical music...

Clare Whitfield - People of abandoned character

Kiana Davenport - Shark dialogues

Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet

Charles Dickens - A tale of two cities

Markus Zusak - The book thief

For more information about the podcast go to https://www.bookylicious.com/ 

Jun 02, 202101:31:18
Episode 2 - Small is Beautiful
Apr 30, 202157:54
Bookylicious Episode 1

Bookylicious Episode 1

In this episode you will meet the team Paul, Gwyn, Lara and Holly. We chat about what we are reading just now including Neil Gaiman, Barabara Erskine, Phillip Pullman and Kathleen Jamie. Paul interviews Dylan Hughes, Dave McCall and Sue Miller founders of Wrexham Carnival of Words and previews this year's festival www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com.

Mar 24, 202101:08:37