Lit with Charles
Welcome to Lit With Charles, a podcast on all things literary! I'm Charles Pignal, and every fortnight I’m asking guests about the four books which have made the biggest impact on their lives and work. If you're like me, you love literature – but maybe aren't always sure what you should be reading. The aim of this podcast is to make literature exciting and accessible; in each episode writers, artists, and other interesting people are giving real recommendations, to help you discover new books and authors off the beaten track. Here at Lit With Charles, every book has a story to tell.
Show episodes
To kick off the new season, I’m joined by the brilliant Lee Cole, whose writing captures the heart, complexity, and contradictions of contemporary America. Raised in rural western Kentucky, Lee’s fiction explores themes of identity, class, and belonging with a rare mix of tenderness and clarity. In this episode, we tal
Time to close another season of the Lit with Charles podcast! During this second season, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some truly amazing authors about the books that have influenced them, the books they’ve written, and how they approach their work. For this episode, I've gone through the archive of interviews t
Gertrude Stein is a name that inspires equal amounts of both awe and fear in prospective readers. An absolute icon in her time, she was an unparalleled tastemaker: collecting work from Picasso and Matisse when they were unknown local painters; mentoring Hemingway and Fitzgerald as bright-eyed, unpublished hopefuls; and
In this episode, I’m joined by Irish writer Sarah Maria Griffin to talk about the four books that have most shaped her creative journey – from early influences to enduring literary obsessions. It’s a fantastic conversation, ending with her newest work, Eat The Ones You Love, a bold and visceral work of feminist horror.
Today’s episode looks a lot like the last one. Again, I wanted to dive deeper into one of our Book Club selections and in March, we read “Dream Count” by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In this episode, we look at her biography, at this specific novel, and how it fits into her wider work. If you enjoyed
Today’s episode looks a little different – rather than interviewing a guest about their work, I’m getting to grips with our last Lit With Charles book club pick. We read James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room last month as a community, and I, along with many of you, absolutely loved it. So, I’m using this space to reflect on
