This week, Jack is joined by debut novelist Khashayar J. Khabushani.
Khashayar's hotly anticipated first novel, I Will Greet the Sun Again, is a beautiful novel about family, queer adolescence, and the multifaceted nature of identity and while it is a story unafraid to face difficult subject matter, just like the poem from which it takes its title, it is ultimately a novel filled with love.
Purchase I Will Greet the Sun Again
(0:27) Introduction
(6:10) Being your own protagonist
(9:37) Khashayar's early reads
(23:42) Recent Reads
(31:30) Khashayar's most impactful book
(39:27) I Will Greet the Sun Again
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
I Will Greet the Sun Again is published in the UK by Viking
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh - ISBN: 9781784701468
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing - ISBN: 9780007498772
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - ISBN: 9780099272779
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff - ISBN: 9780099592532
Middlemarch by George Elliot - ISBN: 9780141439549
This week, Jack is joined by novelist Rowan Hisayo Buchanan. Rowan's first novel was 2017's Harmless Like You, which won a Betty Trask and Authors Club First Novel Award. Since then, she has penned Starling Days, and now this year she has released her third novel, The Sleep Watcher, an exquisite exploration of adolescence, family, and the complexity of love.
(0:27) Introduction
(3:37) Roman's childhood reads
(17:30) Ghosts and breaking boundaries
(20:39) Where to start writing
(35:11) Rowan's favourite book
(43:43) The Sleep Watcher
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Sleep Watcher is published in the UK by Sceptre
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - ISBN: 9780141191447
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - ISBN: 9781568363912
Reverse Engineering by Scratch Books - ISBN: 9781739830106
This week, Jack is joined by the legendary international literary agent, Barbara J. Zitwer. Barbara has been at the forefront of bringing some of the most exciting voices from Korea over to the Anglosphere, from Han Kang, the author of The Vegetarian, to the Man Asian Booker Prize winner, Shin Kyung-sook, to name a few.
Now she has released her own book, The Korean Book of Happiness, sharing with us the knowledge she has gained from her years working closely with Korean writers.
Purchase The Korean Book of Happiness
(0:27) Introduction
(8:01) Translated texts
(21:41) The Korean Book of Happiness
(26:59) Why Korea?
(31:14) Recipes in the book
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Korean Book of Happiness is published in the UK by Short Books Ltd
Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness by Kyung-sook Shin - ISBN: 9781681772370
Walking Practice by Dolki Min - ISBN: 9780063258617
The Vegetarian by Han Kang - ISBN: 9781846276033
This week, Jack is joined by novelist Kate Mascarenas. To date, Kate has published three novels, including The Psychology of Time Travel and The Thief on the Winged Horse. Her third and most recent is the gorgeously gothic Hokey Pokey.
Set in 1929 at the Regent Hotel, Birmingham, Nora checks in under a false name. She is there to spy on the famed operatic singer Berenice Oxbow. But just like the Regent Hotel, there is more to Nora's story than meets the eye.
Purchase Hokey Pokey
(0:27) Introduction
(5:40) Childhood reading
(20:37) University and literature
(30:56) Fiction and Therapists
(38:14) Recent Reads
(51:09) Hokey Pokey
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Hokey Pokey is published in the UK by Bloomsbury
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce - ISBN: 9780192734501
Monsters by Claire Dederer - ISBN: 9781399715034
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet - ISBN: 9781913393441
My Friend Natalia by Laura Lindstedt - ISBN: 9781631498176
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - ISBN: 9780099588115
We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - ISBN: 9780141191454
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi - ISBN: 9780330534697
This week, Jack is joined by author and musician Mat Osman. Mat is the founding member of the British rock band Suede.
In 2020 his first novel The Ruins was released and this year it was followed by his hotly anticipated second book The Ghost Theatre which was chosen as a book of the year 2023 by The Observer, The Times and The Evening Standard.
(0:27) Introduction
(1:02) A love letter to theatre
(17:19) Writing historical fiction
(21:55) London allure
(24:28) Childhood reading
(36:30) Writing habits
(43:21) The Ghost Theatre
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Ghost Theatre is published in the UK by Bloomsbury
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - ISBN: 9781408871775
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - ISBN: 9781782114413
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - ISBN: 9780349017464
This week, Jack is joined by novelist Sophie Mackintosh. Sophie's first book, The Water Cure, was published in 2018 and was long-listed for that year's Booker Prize. In 2020 came her second novel, Blue Ticket, and this year she published the haunting and dreamlike Cursed Bread, which was long-listed for the Women's Prize. Sophie was also included in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists list.
(0:23) Introduction
(1:11) Building rapport with readers
(4:46) Childhood reading
(14:59) Writing from reality
(22:49) Recent reading
(29:30) Cursed Bread
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Cursed Bread is published in the UK by Penguin Books
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Junk by Melvin Burgess - ISBN: 9781783440627
The Magic Toy Shop by Angela Carter - ISBN: 9780860681908
Close to Home by Michael McGee - ISBN: 9780241582978
Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein - ISBN: 9781783789931
Sea State by Tabitha Lasley - ISBN: 9780008390976
The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - ISBN: 9781529005219
This week, Jack is joined by writer and academic Blessin Adams. Blessin's book, Great and Horrible News was published on the 30th of March this year. It is a wonderful exploration of murder and violent death in the early modern period, told through the lives of the ordinary people that experienced it. It is a hugely engrossing and often touching read, which marks a brilliant new voice in non-fiction.
Purchase Great and Horrible News
(0:27) Introduction
(2:05) Childhood reading habits
(19:08) Blessin's catalyst for writing
(25:54) Inspiration behind Great and Horrible News
(32:44) Old crimes and modern problems
(36:55) Recent reading
(41:56) Great and Horrible News
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Great and Horrible News is published in the UK by Harper Collins
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - ISBN: 9780241620236
Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews - ISBN: 9781736080269
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer - ISBN: 9780099585541
Redwall by Brian Jaques - ISBN: 9780099595182
This week, Jack is joined by debut author Stephen Buoro. Stephen's novel, the Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa was published on the 13th of April. It's already received impressive praise. Author Max Porter described it as eccentric, profound and timely and says he fell in love immediately.
In this episode, Stephen delves into the themes of his debut novel, including duality, faith, and science, as well as the psychological elements of his writing. The conversation also covers Stephen's experience balancing his PhD studies with writing, and the power of reading and writing to empower oneself.
Purchase The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa
(0:27) Introduction
(4:00) Early reading
(13:07) Getting into creative writing
(18:29) Current reading habits
(22:40) Recent reads
(32:36) The writing process
(39:08) The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa is published in the UK by Bloomsbury
Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson - ISBN: 9780062692597
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss - ISBN: 9780141325309
My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay - ISBN: 9781786892362
Normal People by Sally Rooney - ISBN: 9780571334650
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - ISBN: 9780099922803
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - ISBN: 9780141182605
This week Jack is joined by Alice Winn. Alice Winn's gorgeous In Memoriam follows Elwood and Gaunt, two boarding school boys desperately in love with one another. Together they navigate the highs and lows of school life until World War I comes crashing into their lives, irrevocably changing them and the world they know forever.
(0:27) Introduction
(1:23) Being a debut author
(11:10) Growing up
(28:47) Reading as an adult
(39:37) A favourite read
(45:14) In Memoriam
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
In Memoriam is published in the UK by Penguin Books
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - ISBN: 9780141040387
Vanity Fair by William Thackerey - ISBN: 9780141439839
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbitt - ISBN: 9781847498427
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel - ISBN: 9780007250554
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin - ISBN: 9780141186351
This week Sarah is joined by Reverend Richard Coles. Richard is co-presenter of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live and is regularly seen as a guest panelist on shows such as Would I Lie to You, Have I Got News for You, and QI.
He first came to the public's attention in the mid-1980s as part of the pop duo The Communards. After deciding to study theology in the early 90s, the Reverend embarked on a new life as a priest. He retired from the priesthood in 2022. Richard's latest book, Murder Before Evensong, came out in paperback on the 2nd of March.
Purchase Murder Before Evensong
(0:26) Introduction to Richard Coles
(4:47) Richard and writing
(9:25) Children's book recommendation
(14:33) Reading habits
(22:25) Richard's recent read
(28:19) The book that changed his life
(30:35) Murder Before Evensong
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Murder Before Evensong is published in the UK by Wiedenfeld & Nicolson
Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Madness of Grief by Richard Coles - ISBN: 9781474619622
The Viking Sage by Henry Treese - ISBN: 9780141368658
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - ISBN: 9780099529934
Show Me the Bodies by Peter Apps - ISBN: 9780861546152
This week Jack is joined by Elly Griffiths. In 2009 she released The Crossing Places and introduced the world to the wonderful Dr Ruth Galloway who over several books has garnered a loyal cohort of fans from across the world. Now many mysteries later Ruth's story is coming to an end with the release of The Last Remains in January of this year.
Elly has also penned the Brighton Mysteries series as well as the Children's A Girl Called Justice series. One thing we can be sure of is there is always another great Griffith story on the horizon.
(1:03) Closing the book on Ruth Galloway
(3:32) Elly's childhood reading
(17:28) Recent reading habits
(37:00) Elly's writing space
(45:15) An all-time favourite
(50:03) The Last Remains
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Last Remains is published in the UK by Quercus
Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Starlight Barking by Dodie Smith - ISBN:9781405204125
The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish - ISBN: 9781398509726
Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - ISBN: 9781405953283
The Italian Quarter by Domenica De Rosa - ISBN: 9781843958130
The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown - ISBN: 9781782691853
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - ISBN: 9780241418895
This week Jack is joined by Cecile Pin. Her debut novel, Wandering Souls, tells the story of three siblings who flee Vietnam after the terrors of war, and find themselves orphaned and seeking a new home in Thatcher's Britain.
(0:27) Introduction and Childhood reads
(9:14) Fact and Fiction
(19:01) Being a debut author and moving forward
(23:19) Working in publishing as a writer
(32:28) Cecile's favourite reads
(37:04) Wandering Souls
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Wandering Souls is published in the UK by Harper Collins
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Matilda by Roald Dahl - ISBN: 9780241558317
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - ISBN: 9780099523994
Fire Rush by Jaqueline Crooks - ISBN: 9781787333635
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker - ISBN: 9780241983201
Human Acts by Han Kang - ISBN: 9781846275975
This week Jack is joined by Kevin Jared Hossein. His latest book, Hungry Ghosts is set in rural 1940s Trinidad and follows two households, the wealthy Changoors and the impoverished Sharups. It is a novel about family, caste, religion and violence.
(1:06) Publishing the novel
(4:07) Childhood reads
(12:47) Kevin's approach to writing
(18:41) Modern reading habits
(32:43) A book which changed his life
(39:49) Hungry Ghosts
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
Hungry Ghosts is published in the UK by Bloomsbury
Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien - ISBN: 9780261103344
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger - ISBN: 9780241950432
Chernobyl Prayer: Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich - ISBN: 9780241270530
The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata - ISBN: 9780141192628
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - ISBN: 9781447299370
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - ISBN: 2928377128418
This week Jack is joined by debut author Santanu Bhattacharya. Santanu was included in the Guardians list of the 10 best new novelists of 2023 and in 2021 he won the Mo Siewcharran prize.
His novel One Small Voice is a beautiful novel brimming with humanity and populated by a cast of characters that feel so real you could reach out and touch them.
(0:58) The release of One Small Voice
(5:00) Santanu's childhood reading
(13:48) Writing habits
(18:13) Santanu's recent recommendations
(27:29) The books that changed Santanu's life
(44:43) One Small Voice
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
One Small Voice is published in the UK by Penguin Books
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - ISBN: 9780141192499
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - ISBN: 9781913519438
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - ISBN: 9780141392462
A Sabbatical in Liepzig by Adrian Duncan - ISBN: 9781788169707
Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - ISBN: 9780241981382
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante - ISBN: 9781787702226
This week Jack is joined by poet and debut novelist Victoria Mackenzie. Victoria's novel For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain, which follows two medieval mystics, Marjery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. It is an exquisite historical fiction debut which explores themes of faith, trauma, and women's writing.
Purchase For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain
(1:03) Being a debut author
(10:02) A children's book recommendation
(19:56) Victoria's recent reads
(23:30) Writing historical fiction
(40:36) For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain is published in the UK by Bloomsbury.
Books mentioned in this episode include:
When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne - ISBN: 9781405281300
Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan - ISBN: 9781914198250
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - ISBN: 9781786898555
To find more titles, visit our website
This week, Jack is joined by debut author Eleanor Shearer. Eleanor’s novel River Sing Me Home was published on the 19th of January. The story follows Rachel, who after escaping slavery goes on the search for her missing children. Jeanette Winterson called it "a strong and beautiful novel that stares into the face of brutality and the heart of love".
(1:16) Becoming a debut author
(3:57) Eleanor's children's book of choice
(9:44) Writing while working
(13:34) Eleanor's recent read
(20:15) The influences behind River Sing Me Home
(35:05) River Sing Me Home
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
River Sing Me Home is published in the UK by Headline Review
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - ISBN: 9781840227840
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - ISBN: 9780141199078
Barkskins by Annie Proulx - ISBN: 9780007232017
Beloved by Toni Morrison - ISBN: 9780099511656
This week, Jack is joined by Georgina Moore. Georgina has worked in the publishing industry for 20 years and is an award-winning book publicist. It is no wonder that having spent her life immersed in the world of books that she has decided to put pen to paper and write one herself.
That book, the wonderful and absorbing The Garnett Girls follows three sisters Rachel, Imogen and Sasha and their relationship with their charismatic mother Margot. All families have their secrets and the Garnett girls are no exception.
Purchase The Garnett Girls here
(03:13) Georgina's childhood reading
(14:53) BookTok and younger readers
(19:20) Book buying during the cost of living crisis
(22:42) Georgina Moore's recent reads
(30:21) A book that changed Georgina's life
(40:56) The Garnett Girls
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The Garnett Girls is published in the UK by Harper Collins
Books mentioned in this episode include:
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid - ISBN: 9781529152128
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - ISBN: 9780785253006
Mrs Wobble the Waitress by Allan Ahlberg - ISBN: 9780723275596
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - ISBN: 9780785252993
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell - ISBN: 9781472240767
Secret Loves of Church Ladies byDeesha Philyaw - ISBN: 9781911590699
Without Warning and Only Sometimes by Kit De Waal - ISBN: 9781472284839
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - ISBN: 9780141040387
Welcome to Mostly Books Meets, a podcast by the independent bookshop, Mostly Books. Booksellers from an award-winning indie bookshop chatting books and how they have shaped people's lives, with a whole bunch of people from the world of publishing - authors, poets, journalists and many more. Join us for the journey.
Meet the host:
Jack Wrighton is a bookseller and social media manager at Mostly Books. His hobbies include photography and buying books at a quicker rate than he can read them.
Connect with Jack on Instagram
The podcast is produced and presented by Jack Wrighton and the team at Mostly Books. It is edited by Story Ninety-Four. Find us on Twitter @mostlyreading & Instagram @mostlybooks_shop.
