The Reading Room – Details, episodes & analysis

Another new episode from our sister programme SPOILER - to subscribe to SPOILER, please go to www.spoilerpodcast.co.uk 

This week, against Paul’s express wishes, the Spoiler team have accepted a listener request and are reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s philosophical fantasy novel ‘The Buried Giant’. This dense meditation on collective memory pretty much splits the team three ways, with professed fantasy fan Rachael wishing for more fantastical elements and Andy, who is ambivalent at best about the fantasy genre, pleased to find the emphasis more on themes and ideas than on ogres and pixies. Paul, meanwhile, is perplexed and frustrated by the slow pace, the lack of action and the fact that everyone is so unnecessarily courteous. It doesn’t help that certain elements of the book also remind him of Chris de Burgh! Regardless of their opinions on the text itself, the team use it as a jumping-off point for interesting discussions on our reaction as human beings to concepts and events that we struggle to process. And everyone agrees that the numerous critical comparisons with ‘Game of Thrones’ are as lazy as DJs who play The Bangles ‘Manic Monday’ on a Monday morning.

Elsewhere, Rachael takes a sublimely uplifting look at Kazuo Ishiguro’s lesser-known stint as a jazz lyricist, with plenty of lovely musical interludes to enjoy.

This week’s scale: A giant in the world of fiction or a book that should be buried deep, deep in the ground

“There should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives”

This week the Spoiler team are feeling inspired as we read R.J. Palacio’s children’s novel ‘Wonder’. Paul predicts that Andy, given his favourite film is ‘Dumbo’, will enjoy this (for the record, Paul’s favourite film is ‘Paddington’) and its themes of kindness make Rachael a shoo-in but Paul teases the group by managing to spin out his opinion for as long as possible. Still, all the misdirection in the world can’t ultimately hide the fact that everyone loved this book and tears flow freely as Paul deliberately skirts the issue of Daisy the dog’s passing, Andy recounts a childhood experience of prejudice and Rachael remembers her relationship with her own grandmother. Rachael illustrates the difference between bullying and a gentle ribbing by making fun of Paul's strange pronunciation of the word ‘Mobile’, while Andy wonders if the novel could have found a place for the voice of school bully Julian. On the subject of voices, Paul struggles with his usual routine of listening to the audio book when he finds the impersonation of a child’s voice unlistenable but fortunately the YouTube channel ‘Mrs. Powers Loves to Read’ comes to his rescue. And the team get to the bottom of the mystery of the strange man who has been seen around Lincoln punching the air and crying at birch trees.

Elsewhere, Rachael decries the modern phenomenon of replacing book covers with images from their movie adaptations, a dubious honour bestowed upon ‘Wonder’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’.

This week’s scale: A respectful abstention

To find out more about our current podcast SPOILER, and listen to previous shows, go to www.spoilerpodcast.co.uk 

Hello again!  It's been a few years now since The Reading Room ended, but now we're back with a brand new show called SPO!LER, which reviews books, films and TV shows in their entirety - without fear of spoilers.  We thought we'd give you loyal Reading Room subscribers a preview of the new show - this first episode features the 2014 drama Whiplash.  We're only putting the show on this feed once, so if you like it and want to hear more, head over to www.spoilerpodcast.co.uk or https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/spo!ler/id1042430544 to subscribe.

This month, The Reading Room Book Group reconvenes to review young adult sci-fi novel The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore. Paul Tyler and regular reviewer Gill Hart are joined by Georgia Twynham who, as author of The Thirteenth series, knows a thing or two about writing for young adults.  There's also poetry from Andrew Goulding and Jim Bob, former frontman with Carter USM and author of Driving Jarvis Ham, gives us his nomination for our list of 101 Books To Read Before You Die. Click the player below to listen online, or subscribe using the links on the right.

In another of our special extended monologues, this month The Reading Room presents The Barraclough Newsletters.... Bunny Barraclough is a real pillar of her community - a leading member of the local amateur dramatics society and ladies luncheon club, respectable housewife and mother of two loving children. Join us for her bi-annual round-robin newsletters has she fills you in on the latest news of her perfect family... The Barraclough Newsletters was written by Jim Gotts and performed by Mary Scott.

On this programme we present a specially produced story by writer and performer Gareth Calway.  A terrified grave robber comes across the severed mummified head of England's greatest revolutionary - Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell's head proceeds to tell him his life story - a tale of tyrannical kings, civil war and violent revenge!

On this month's programme, the final Reading Room Book Group (for now at least) reviews The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, we talk to documentary maker Nick Gray about his book Escape From Tibet which tells the real life story of two young boys as they flee their homeland in order to escape Chinese repression.  John Mitchinson from Unbound gives us his nomination for our list of 101 Books The Read Before You Die, we have poetry from Brendan Cleary, and Jamie McKay brings us his Musings of a Muddled Mind.

In the second part of our special LIVE show recorded at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre we talk to Red Dwarf, Scrapheap Challenge and Carpool star Robert Llewellyn about his varied career and his writing. Robert talks about the return of Red Dwarf later this year, his love of electric cars and his past books including Sold Out and The Man Behind The Rubber Mask, before giving us an exclusive first reading from his new sci-fi novel News From Gardenia. The show also features music from Michael Reeve. WARNING: Mr Llewellyn's self-confessed "potty mouth" does put in an appearance during this show

In the first part of our live special recorded at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, we have poetry from John Osborne and Andrew Goulding, Abigail Tarttelin reads us two exclusive excerpts from her next novel Golden Boy which has just been snapped up by a major publisher, Jodie Orton reads us a fairy tale for grown ups, Reading Room regulars Gill Hart and Jamie McKay bring us live versions of their regular contributions and host Paul Tyler performs a piece of his own. Click on the player below to listen online... And don't forget to look out for Part 2 of the show in a couple of weeks time where Paul interviews Red Dwarf star Robert Llewellyn about his career and his writing, and Robert gives us an exclusive first reading from his new book News From Gardenia - subscribe to our feed to ensure you don't miss it.

On this programme we talk to ex-Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine frontman Jim Bob about his new novel Driving Jarvis Ham, then The Reading Room Book Group give their verdict on the book.  We also talk to John Mitchinson, co-founder of the revolutionary crowd-sourcing publisher Unbound, John Osborne gives us his nomination for our list of 101 Books To Read Before You Die and we have poetry from Andrew Goulding. Click the player below to listen now or subscribe to our iTunes feed using the buttons on the right...