Stig Abell's Guide to Reading
For a whole year on his train to work, Stig Abell read books from across genres and time periods. Then he wrote about them, and their impact on our culture and his own life. In this brand new podcast, Stig talks to guests about their favourite books and tries to get to the bottom of what makes them so good. Episodes focus on a range of genres, from Crime to Classics, from Poetry to Shakespeare's Plays. It's a lively and funny celebration of the power of words, as well as a guide to discover new books to love and remind you of the ones that you already do. The podcast accompanies Stig's book THINGS I LEARNED ON THE 6.28: A GUIDE TO DAILY READING, published by John Murray Press on 12th November 2020.
Show episodes
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. In this concluding episode of Season 1, Stig is joined by the remarkable actor, writer and director Simon Callow for a riveting discussion about Shakespeare’s works. From the plays - Simon’s choice TITUS ANDRONICUS and Stig’s favourite HAMLET - to the sonnets, the pair discuss
Season 1, Episode 7 - Historical Fiction with Suzannah Lipscomb
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. In today's episode, Stig chats to historian, author and presenter Suzannah Lipscomb about Historical Fiction. From 14th century France in Maurice Druon's THE IRON KING (Book 1 in The Accursed Kings series) to 20th century India with Rohinton Mistry's A FINE BALANCE and everythi
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. In this episode, Stig chats to author and journalist Sam Leith about two English Classics: Geoffrey Chaucer's THE CANTERBURY TALES and Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. In addition, they discuss whether so-called 'classics' are actually enjoyable to read, the characters they l
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. This week, Stig is joined by author and poet Hollie McNish to discuss all things Poetry. From HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN POEM by Kate Clanchy to the works of Emily Dickinson, as well as favourite children’s poems, Shakespeare’s plays and the connection between writing poetry and lear
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. In this episode James O'Brien, bestselling author of HOW TO BE RIGHT and HOW NOT TO BE WRONG, joins Stig to talk about Non Fiction books. Choosing Anthony Burgess's LITTLE WILSON AND BIG GOD and Rachel Carson's SILENT SPRING, James and Stig also chat about their love of histori
Welcome to Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading. In this episode Stig talks to Kit de Waal, bestselling author of MY NAME IS LEON, about Modern Literary Fiction. Chatting about Donal Ryan’s STRANGE FLOWERS and OFFSHORE by Penelope Fitzgerald, they discuss everything from what ‘literary fiction’ really means, to how important
