Recent Posts
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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and other fantastical imaginings (S2E7)
In this episode Gwyn and Paul discuss our book of the month, Joan Aiken's 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase', and then dive down the rabbit hole to explore the origins of fantasy fiction. In particular, Gwyn covers Tolkien's 'On Fairy-Stories' and Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces'.
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Edgelands by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts (S2E6)
Paul, Gwyn and Lara chat about 'Edgelands' by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts, leading 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 nature and industry collide in the South Wales valleys.
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From Harry Potter to Hag-Seed (S2E5)
In this episode Paul, Gwyn, Holly and Lara catch up on some of their latest good reads. Listener and author Patricia Bracewell raises the question "would there be Harry Potter without Susan Cooper's 'The Dark is Rising' sequence?" Gwyn champions Stephen King’s 'Fairy Tale' as a great read; Holly and Lara both recommend Margaret Atwood’s 'Hag-Seed'; and Paul delves into Victorian natural history with Isabella Tree’s 'The Bird Man: A Biography of John Gould'. We also catch up on the most recent book group read by Amy Liptrot.
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Treasure Island, and some of our favourite bookshops (S2E4)
Paul, Gwyn and Holly discuss Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, February's book of the month. We also highlight some of our favourite bookshops.
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What the Dickens! (S2E3)
In this episode Paul, Holly and Gwyn throw the spotlight on Charles Dickens, including 'Six things you almost certainly didn’t know about Dickens'.
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The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (S2E2)
Paul, Gwyn and Lara talk about their Book of the Month selection: Susan Cooper’s 'The Dark is Rising', a perfect Winter read, and recently adapted for the BBC World Service by Robert Macfarlane.
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New Year Reading Targets and Resolutions! (S2E1)
Paul, Gwyn and Lara get 2023 off to a flying start, talking about reading resolutions and targets (not challenges). Bookylicious has a new feel, with two shorter episodes a month whilst keeping the book chat you love and occasional author interviews. We will also be introducing some new features such as Book of the Month, Classic Author Spotlight, favourite book podcasts and much more.
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David Ebsworth ‘The House on Hunter Street’ and Monika Evans on literature in translation (#16)
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. Paul also talks to Monika Evans about her love for 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov, and the challenges and surprises (Robert Burns in Silesian!) of literature in translation. Dave also speaks about having his novel 'Until the Curtain Falls' translated into Spanish.
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Farewell to Middlemarch and onward to The Count of Monte Cristo
Paul's reflections on the Middlemarch readathon, and initial thoughts on The Count of Monte Cristo
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Summer reading recommendations (#15)
A slightly shorter episode than usual - that's because we needed to get into a cool shady spot and read! In this episode Gwyn, Holly and Paul recommend books from their to-read pile for you to take on your summer holidays. Be it your backyard or a beach far far away, there may be a book just for you. We give a shout out to an excellent podcast The Rest is History, and the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival.