Bookwandering with Anna James – Details, episodes & analysis

Comedian, writer and podcaster Cariad Lloyd joins me to talk about Jane Austen. Cariad is the co-creator of Austentatious, the improvised Jane Austen play, the host of Griefcast, and Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club with Sara Pascoe. She’s also the author of The Christmas Wish-Tastrophe, amagical middle grade Regency story.

We started with Pride and Prejudice but cover a bit of everything Austen. We talk about our favourite and least favourite Austen novels, the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and why writing and reading the Regency period is such fun. 

You can find The Christmas Wish-Tastrophe, my favourite Austen editions and my books at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast? and find our more about Brian's work at https://cariadlloyd.com/

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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Theatre producer and friend of the pod Brian Hook joins me to talk about the first three books in Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea series. Brian is the co-owner of Hartshorn Hook which has produced shows including Immersive Gatsby, Choir of Man, Amelie the Musical and Immersive Peaky Blinders. Brian and I are both huge fans of Earthsea and we chatted about why it means so much to us, bookish tattoos, and why the natural pause point in the series is after book three, not the traditional book four break.

You can find Earthsea and my books at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast? and find our more about Brian's work at https://hartshornhook.com/ 

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode three, Eliza Clark joins me to talk about Terry Pratchett's 1989-1990 Nome trilogy which kicks off with Truckers. Eliza is the author of cult classic and BookTok sensation Boy Parts, soon to be on stage at the Soho Theatre. Her newest novel, Penance is a brilliant meta true crime novel set in a Yorkshire seaside town. We chat about the enduring appeal of tiny people and big food, pretending to be an elf on the Internet, and both horrible and wholesome teenage obsessions.

You can find Penance and Truckers on my Bookshop.org page, where you can get free shipping with the code BOOKWANDERER: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast-s2

Next week's episode features Jeffrey Boakye on Holes by Louis Sachar. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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In episode two, Angie Thomas joins me to talk about Mildred D. Taylor's 1977 children's classic, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Angie is the author of publishing sensation The Hate U Give, her debut YA novel inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement which was later adapted into a film starring Amandla Stenberg. As well as other YA books she's the author of new children's fantasy series, Nic Blake and the Remarkables. We chat about how Roll of Thunder helped her find her voice, book bans and what to do about them, as well as the importance of magical transportation systems when writing fantasy. 

You can find the books we discussed here where you can get free shipping with the code BOOKWANDERER: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast-s2

Next week's episode features Eliza Clark on Truckers by Terry Pratchett. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Porter joins me to talk about the work of the late author and illustrator John Burningham who created Avocado Baby, Mr Gumpy's Day Out and Borka among many, many other beloved picture books. Max is the award-winning author of several books including Grief is the Thing with Feathers, which was adapted into a play starring Cillian Murphy, and most recently Shy. We chat about the alchemy of words and pictures together, frameworks of good and bad for art and beauty and the idea of childhood imagination as vengeance on the banality of the adult world - as well as playing a Burningham-inspired game of Would You Rather?

You can find the books we discussed here where you can get free shipping with the code BOOKWANDERER: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast-s2

Next week's episode features Angie Thomas on Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cressida Cowell joins me to talk about The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones, the 1974 fantasy standalone. Cressida is the author of the multi-million selling How To Train Your Dragon series as well as brand new series Which Way to Anywhere. She was also the Children's Laureate from 2019 - 2022. We talk about coming back to the ideas your found intoxicating as a child, the importance of school libraries and why Diana Wynnes Jones made both of us the writers we are. 

You can find the books we discussed here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

And you can find out more about Cressida's Life-Changing Libraries campaign here: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-do/childrens-laureate/lifechanginglibraries/

This is the final episode of series one of Bookwandering, but we'll be back later in the year with series two. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Dockrill joins me to talk about the iconic Tracy Beaker. Laura is the author of books for all ages from picture books to poetry including her memoir What Have I Done?, the Darcy Burdock series for young readers and her new non-fiction book about creativity, You Are a Story. We talk about why Jacqueline Wilson is as good as the Spice Girls, how we find essences of our littler selves when we revisit childhood books as well as sharing some embarrassing tween memories. 

You can find out more about Laura's books, and the books we discuss in the episode here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

The last episode of series one of Bookwandering will be out next Wednesday, and we'll be back for series two later in the summer. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guy Gunaratne joins me to talk about Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak’s beloved 1963 picture book. Guy is the award-winning author of In Our Mad and Furious City and Mister, Mister which comes out at the end of May. We discuss domesticity, order and disorder, and embracing wildness and bewilderment as readers and writers. 

You can find out more about Guy’s books, as well as more about the other books that come up in our conversation at my Bookshop store: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

The video essay by Jack Halberstam that we discuss can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia5CmrzTqw4&ab_channel=RIBOCA 

The Hilary Mantel quote I could not remember is part of this interview with her in 2020 in the Guardian, the particular bit I was trying to bring to mind was in answer to Amanda Foreman’s question, about half way through: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/04/hilary-mantel-wolf-hall-mantel-pieces 

New episodes on Wednesdays. Music by Adam Collier, artwork by Hester Kitchen. Produced by Adam Collier. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Juno Dawson joins me to talk about the Point Horror cult classic, The Forbidden Game by LJ Smith. Juno is the bestselling author of several books including Clean, This Book is Gay and recent viral hit Her Majesty’s Royal Coven which is out in paperback tomorrow. The sequel, The Shadow Cabinet, is publishing in June. We talk about campy scares, horny teens and why horror is so much fun to read and write.

Unfortunately The Forbidden Game is currently out of print in the UK, however you can find more information on Juno’s books at my Bookshop store: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

New episodes on Wednesdays. Music by Adam Collier, artwork by Hester Kitchen. Produced by Adam Collier. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna is joined by Emily St John Mandel, author of novels including Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility. Emily chose Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising although as she hasn’t revisited it as an adult this is a wonderfully free-ranging conversation about the perils of revisiting old favourites, experience magic through the eyes of a child and how to get divorced on Wikipedia.

You can find all the books mentioned on Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

New episodes on Wednesdays. Music by Adam Collier, artwork by Hester Kitchen. Produced by Adam Collier.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.