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The Book Review podcast
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Simon's Book Review
On Thursdays guest reviewers give their verdict on 2 books which becomes the Book Review podcast.
Books on 18th June:
Dead Tomorrow by Peter James
The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life by William Nicholson
Previously reviewed books:
11th June: One Day by David Nicholls and The Devil's Paintbrush by Jake Arnott
4th June: Three Ways to Capsize a Boat by Chris Stewart andTurbulenceby Giles Foden
28th May: The Solitude of Prime Numbersby Paolo Giordano and White Is For Witchingby Helen Oyeyemi
21st May: Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani and Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
14th May: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly and The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne
7th May: Devil in Disguise by Julian Clary and Long Lost by Harlan Coben
30th April: The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith and Heartland by Anthony Cartwright
23rd April: Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child and More Trees to Climb by Ben Moor
16th April: The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland and Flood and Fang: The Raven Mysteries: Book 1 by Marcus Sedgwick
9th April: Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi byGeoff Dyer and Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerristen
2nd April: Assegai by Wilber Smithand The Reinvention Of Ivy Brown by Roberta Taylor
26th March:Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer and John The Revelator by Peter Murphy
19th March: Losers Town by Daniel Depp and Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
5th March: Two Little Boys by Duncan Sarkies and The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah
26th February: The Lost City Of Z by David Grann and Songs For The Butcher's Daughter by Peter Manseau
18th February: The Girl On The Landing by Paul Torday and The Immortals by Paul Stewart
12th February: Inhuman Remains by Quintin Jardin and The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
5th February: The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta and Mr Toppit by Charles Elton
29th January: The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent and The Rescue Man by Anthony Wuinn
22nd January: Live Fireby Stephen Leather and Bait by Nick Brownlee
15th January: The Crossroadsby Niccolo Ammaniti and The Coronder by M.R. Hall
8th January: Friday NightsbyJoanna Trollope and The Unicorn Roadby Martin Davies
1st January: The Other Hand by Chris Cleave, The Rest is Noise - Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross, My Judy Garland Life by Suzi Boyt and Perfumes: The Guide by Lucy Turin & Tania Sanchez.
18th December: Special children's book reviews withOstrich Boysby Keith Gray, Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton, The Owl who was afriad of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson and The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
11th December: The Hour I First Believedby Wally Lamb andCross Country by James Patterson
4th December: Meltdown by Martin Baker and The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
27th November: Mister Robertsby Alexei Sayle and Blood Runs Cold by Alex Barclay
20th November: Requiemby Robyn Young and A Mercy by Toni Morrison
13th November: All In The Mindby Alastair Campbell and Black Orchidsby Gillian Slovo
6th November: La's Orchestra Saves the Worldby Alexander McCall Smith and An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
30th October: Double Cross by Malorie Blackman and The Morning I Met A Whale by Michael Morpurgo
23rd October:The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama and Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell
16th October: Anathem by Neal Stephenson and The Edge of Madness by Michael Dobbs
9th October: Slaughter House 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and Swan Peak by James Lee Burke.
2nd October:The Likenessby Tana French andThe Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.
25th September:The Believersby Zoe Heller and All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson
18th September: When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson and Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs
11th September: Breaking Dawnby Stephenie Meyer and The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam
4th September: Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo andChicago by Alaa Al Aswany
28th August: Comin Up Next by Penny Smith and A Fraction Of The Whole by Steve Toltz
7th August: In The Dark by Mark Billingham and Fractured by Karin Slaughter
31st July:Trauma by Patrick McGrath and Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais
24th July: 5 Live Book of the MonthA Case Of Exploding by Mohammed Hanif Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
10th July: The Return by Victoria Hislop and The Beach House by Jane Green.
12th June:The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway and Quantum Of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories edited by Simon Winder
5th June: Paper Butterfly by Diane Wei Liang and Dexter In The Dark by Jeff Lindsay
29th May: The Sorrows Of An American by Siri Hustvedt andThe Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry
22nd May:Breath by Tim Winton and 5 Live Book Of The MonthOut Of A Clear Sky by Sally Hinchcliffe
15th May: The Story of Forgetting by Stephan Block and The Lighted Rooms by Richard Mason
8th May:The Outcast by Sadie Jones and A Good War by Patrick Bishop
1st May: The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher: Or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summer and Human Smoke by Nicholas Baker
24th April: The Butt by Will Self and 5 Live Book Of The MonthA Mile Of River by Judith Allnatt
17th April: The Sum Of Our Days by Isabel Allende andBorn Yesterday The New As A Novel by Gordon Burn.
10th April: Things I Want My Daughter To Know by Elizabeth Noble and Once Upon A Time In England by Helen Walsh
3rd April: Northline by Willy Vlautin
27th March: Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky and Nothing To Lose by Lee Child
20th March:The Partisan's Daughter by Louis De Bernieres and 5 Live Book of the Month Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith.
6th March:Taking Pictures by Anne Enright and The Heritage by Will Ashon
28th February:The Diplomats Wife by Pam Jenoff and Power Play by Joseph Finder
21st February: We Are Now Beginning Our Descent by James Meek and The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
14th February:Sara's Face by Melvin Burgess and Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooksw
7th February:The Race by Richard North Patterson and Dead Men by Stephen Leather
31st January: Serious Things by Gregory Norminton and Monster Love by Carol Topolski
24th January: 5 Live Book of the MonthCrusaders by Richard T Kelly and Lesson in Heartbreak by Cathy Kelly
17th January: A Quiet Adjustment by Benjamin Markovits and The Shakespeare Secret by J L Carrell
10th January: Bitter Chocolate by Lesley Lokko and The People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks
3rd January: Lord of the Bow - The Epic Story of the Great Conqueror by Conn Iggulden and The Infidelity Chain by Tess Stimson.
27th December: No broadcast panel due to breaking news.
20th December: A special audio books review with Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams read by Jack Davenport, This year it will be different by Maeve Binchy read by Kate Binchy, Ghost Stories by M R James read by Sir Derek Jacobi and Penguins stopped play: Eleven Village Cricketers take on the world by Harry Thompson read by Julian Rhind Tutt.
13th December: A children's book special with Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman by Francesca Simon, Iron Hand by Charlie Fletcher and Count Karstein by Philip Pullman.
6th December: The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke and Not Dead Enough by Peter James.
29 November: Fire and Steam by Christian Wolmar and Teacher's Deadby Benjamin Zephaniah.
22 November: 5 Live Book of the MonthThe Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall and Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo.
15 November: The Red Necklace: A Story of the French Revolution by Sally Gardner and One Soldier's War in Chechnya by Arkady Babchenko.
08 November: Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley, and the The QI Annual, by John Lloyd and John Mitchison.
01 November: Sepulchre, by Kate Mosse, and Will, by Christopher Rush
25 October: The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award's six shortlisted books: The Autobiography: My Manchester United Years by Sir Bobby Charlton with James Lawton, Tommy's Honourby Kevin Cook, Up Pompey by Chuck Culpepper, Provided You Don't Kiss Me by Duncan Hamilton, Left For Dead by Nick Ward with Sinéad O'Brien, Shane Warne: Portrait of a Flawed Genius by Simon Wilde
18 October: 5 live Book of the Month: Blue Sky July, by Nia Wyn, and The Man in the Picture, by Susan Hill.
11 October: Fire in the Blood, by Irene Nemirovsky (translated by Sandra Smith), and Zugzwang, by Ronan Bennett.
04 October: World Without End, by Ken Follett, and Ask the Parrot, by Richard Stark (the pseudonym of Donald E. Westlake).
27 September: 5 live's Book of the Month: The Pools, by Bethan Roberts, and Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel, by Eoin Colfer.
11-year-old Matt Williams volunteered to read the latest instalment in the Artemis Fowl series. Click here to find out more (the BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites).
20 September: Lucky Star, by Cathy Cassidy, and Vampirates: Blood Captain, by Justin Somper.
13 September: Thames: Sacred River, by Peter Ackroyd, and My Revolutions, by Hari Kunzru.
06 September: Tokyo Year Zero, by David Peace, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid.
30 August: Starbook: A Magical Tale of Love and Regeneration, by Ben Okri, and Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea.
23 August: Hurting Distance, by Sophie Hannah, and The One From The Other, by Philip Kerr.
16 August: The Illumination of Merton Browne, by JM Shaw - 5 live's Book of the Month - and The Gravedigger's Daughter, by Joyce Carol Oates.
09 August:Faith, by Lesley Pearse, and The Last Testament, by 'Sam Bourne' (pseudonym of journalist Jonathan Freedland).
02 August: Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow and The End of Mr Y, by Scarlett Thomas.
26 July: The Sleeping Doll, by Jeffery Deaver, and Dark Flight, by Lin Anderson.
12 July: 5 live Book of the Month: Before I Die, by Jenny Downham, and First Among Sequels, by Jasper Fforde.
21 June: 5 live Book of the MonthGifted, by Nikita Lalwani, and The Overlook, by Michael Connolly.
14 June: The Woman in the Fifth, by Douglas Kennedy, and Burma Boy, by Biyi Bandele.
07 June: The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon, and When Red is Black, by Qiu Xiaolong.
31 May: The Welsh Girl, by Peter Ho Davies, and When We Were Bad, by Charlotte Mendelson.
24 May: The Widow and Her Hero, by Thomas Keneally, and Darkside, by Tom Becker.
17 May: 5 live Book of the Month: You Can Live Forever, by Julie Maxwell, and Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann.
10 May: Engelby, by Sebastian Faulks, and The Blackest Bird, by Joel Rose.
3 May: In the Dark, by Deborah Moggach, and Redemption Falls, by Joseph O'Connor.
26 April:An Absolute Scandal, by Penny Vincenzi, and Fresh Apples, by Rachel Trezise.
19 April: Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka, and 5 live Book of the Month: The Male Gaze, by Joe Treasure.
12 April: Beyond a Boundary, by C.L.R James, and Fear of Stones, by Kei Miller.
5 April:Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris, and The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall.
29 March:Jacky Daydream, by Jacqueline Wilson, and Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse, by Rick Riordan.
22 March: 5 live Book of the Month: What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn, and A Curious Earth by Gerard Woodward.
8 March: Gone to Ground by John Harvey, and Certainty by Madeleine Thien.
1 March: A Concise English-Chinese Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo, and The Illusion of Return by Samir El-Youssef.
22 Feb: Runt by Niall Griffiths, and Oystercatchers by Susan Fletcher.
15 Feb: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday, and The Peacock Throne by Sujit Saraf
8 Feb: 5 live Book of the Month: Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton, and The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany.
1 Feb: Losing You by Nicci French, and Graffiti My Soul by Niven Govinden.
25 Jan: What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George, and The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G W Dahlquist
18 Jan: Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
11 Jan: 5 live Book of the Month: Taking Leave by Jeremy Thomas, and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.
Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear
Find out more about the 5 live Book of the Month
Photos (flickr)
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