I’m talking with the essayist Joanna Pocock, and this is some bonus content from our original interview. America is a place that has compelled countless writers to travel its vast and varied landscapes.  Perhaps you’ve done it yourself. But what happens when you feel compelled to do it all again?That’s the question at the heart of Joanna Pocock’s essay, Greyhound (Fitzcarraldo Editions). Named after the iconic bus company whose intercity network carries passengers from Detroit to Los Angeles — and which Joanna relies on for her own journey — Greyhound revisits familiar motels, crossings, and bus stations she first encountered years before. Joanna’s writing has appeared in the LA Times, Guardian US and the Nation among others. GREYHOUND is her second book, and her first, SURRENDER, won the Fitzcarraldo essay prize. Remember to like, share, follow, subscribe or leave a review if you enjoy the show.Joanna is talking about objects of influence, which are:Her notebooksHer photographs  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops!https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages 

I’m talking to the Swedish writer, Agnes Lidbeck, in this special edition live episode of the Rippling Pages! We really did have a coffee with one of the world’s, one of Sweden’s most interesting writers, because as we were live in person with a live audience in Leeds! Life is full of adjustments - perhaps there isn’t a bigger adjustment than having children. But what happens when you start to question your role in this adjustment? Crucially, what happens when a mother starts to question her role in this adjustment.  These are the questions at the heart of Agnes’s novel, SUPPORTING ACT, published by Peirene Press and translated by Nichola Smalley.  It’s a beautiful novel about fierce devotion in the face of fierce questions that need to be asked about why certain people seem to take on certain roles in society. Agnes is the author of five novels, but this was her first novel, and it’s her first to be translated into English. She is a renowned name in Sweden on TV, radio, and Swedish letters. This book alone was the winner of the prestigious Bourous Debut Novel Prize. This is part of Modern Culture’s programming of events called Stories from Sweden, so thanks to Martin Colthorpe for help making this happen.  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages    Rippling Points 0.15 introductions. 3.25 - Agnes time in Leeds4.35 opening to the novel6.05 - Agnes and Jens10.05 - Agnes’s reading 14.00 - touch and tactility   17.10 - Swedish society and parental leave19.50 - spiritual and physical pain of Anna. 22.00 - Jens and Ivan24.25 - why is Ivan so compelling to Anna27.15 - grips of passion  29.00 - rippling pages bookshop 30.15 - different modes of time 35.30 - Anna’s dark thoughts 38.15 - Agnes’s next book 40.45 - frustration and being kind to Anna42.30 - a strange interaction in the street!45.00 - questions from the audience - do you have a different relationship with Anna as a result of the translation 47.30 question from audience - is Anna a detached person, or detached as a result of motherhood.49.00 - the power of translation  Reference Points Hjalmar Söderberg Baruch Spinoza Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina Annie Ernaux Wretchedness - Andrzej Tichý (translated by Nichola Smalley)

America is a place that has compelled countless writers to travel its vast and varied landscapes.  Perhaps you’ve done it yourself. But what happens when you feel compelled to do it all again?That’s the question at the heart of Joanna Pocock’s essay, Greyhound (Fitzcarraldo Editions). Named after the iconic bus company whose intercity network carries passengers from Detroit to Los Angeles — and which Joanna relies on for her own journey — Greyhound revisits familiar motels, crossings, and bus stations she first encountered years before. Joanna’s writing has appeared in Granta, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and The London Review of Books, among others. GREYHOUND is her second book, and her first, SURRENDER, won the Fitzcarraldo essay prize. Remember to like, share, follow, subscribe or leave a review if you enjoy the show.    Reference Points- 1.40 - is Joanna a city or a country writer - 3.20 - where the journey starts-  6.15 - why are there not more women on the road?-  09.00 - starting in Canada.-  11.05 - Borders-  12.15 - the people Joanna meets-  16.05 - the sense of perspective.-  17.50 -  people Joanna sees- 19.30 - Amarillo and fecal dust - 23.00 - rippling pages podcast-  24.05 - the cost of travel-  26.35  - the bus as a political space-  30.30 - the enduring appeal of the American road. *****Tickets for Agnes Lidbeck in Conversation https://www.nextchapterleeds.co.uk/events/p/theripplingpagesliveoctober *****Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops!https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Reference PointsAnsel AdamsLewis BaltzSimone de  Beauvoir - America Day by DayJack Kerouac - On the RoadIrma Kirtz - The Great American Bus RideEthel Mannin - An America JourneyBenjamin Markovits - The Rest of Our LivesWilliam Least Heat-Moon - Blue HighwaysEd RuschaThe Salt Path - Raynor Winn  

Welcome to the second edition of Rippling Pages: Ask the Host! It's time to answer some more questions from you, the listeners! So, that’s what I’ve done: I’ve picked out some questions from the Rippling Pages inbox, and answered them! In this episode, I answer:- What I have been reading lately?- How are my French lessons going? - How do I prepare for interviews?- What is my favourite bookshop?- What is my favourite season?- Who's going to win the Premier League and Women's Super League? Got a question yourself? Why not leave a review and a question and I might pick out one for a future show! *****Tickets for Agnes Lidbeck in Conversation https://www.nextchapterleeds.co.uk/events/p/theripplingpagesliveoctober*****Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Reference PointsBooksOn the Clock by Claire Baglin (translated by Jordan Stump). Daunt BooksLanre Bakare - We Were There (Penguin Books)The Unreliable Nature Writer by Claire Carroll  (Scratch Books) Joy is My Middle Name by Sasha Debevec-McKenney (Fitzcaralldo Editions )Failed Summer Vacation by Heuijung Hur (translated by Paige Aniyah Morris) Scratch BooksNoreen Masud  - A Flat Place (Penguin Books)White Spines by Nicholas Royle (Salt Books)  Two Days, One Night (2014, directed by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne)

“It’s almost a perfect work of art.”This is some bonus content from the previous episode with Gurnaik Johal where we talk about objects of influence.    The return of a potentially holy river in the Indian mountains - is it a sign of a new age, a divine intervention, or simply the workings of nature? These are the questions at the heart of Gurnaik Johal’s novel, SARASWATI, published by Serpent’s Tail. Frauds, politicians, mystics, writers, and the family who own the farm in which the river exists, are caught up in trying to determine what the return of the SARASWATI river means. It is a novel that is truly global in its scope, set in Canada, India, the Chagos Islands, and Wolverhampton. It was named as a Guardian newspaper selection for 2025, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Gurnaik was a winner of the Galley Beggar short story prize.  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages 

The return of a potentially holy river in the Indian mountains - is it a sign of a new age, a divine intervention, or simply the workings of nature? These are the questions at the heart of Gurnaik Johal’s novel, SARASWATI, published by Serpent’s Tail. Frauds, politicians, mystics, writers, and the family who own the farm in which the river exists, are caught up in trying to determine what the return of the SARASWATI river means. It is a novel that is truly global in its scope, set in Canada, India, the Chagos Islands, and Wolverhampton. It was named as a Guardian newspaper selection for 2025, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Gurnaik was a winner of the Galley Beggar short story prize.  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages   Rippling Points 1.55 - what is the SARASWATI?3.35 - the family connection 6.45 - river symbolism 8.20 - characters in the novel 10.30 - family dynasties and novels 11.55- reclamation14.45 - rippling pages bookshop 15.30 - border conflicts 18.40 - human connection between 21 - romance in the novel 23.20 - the chagos islands 27.50 - how people communicate 29.30 - from short stories to novels 31.15 - being faithful to reality 34.35 - more advice for writers 

“I think when you’re young you really allow yourself to be stupid.” Welcome to part 2 of my conversation with Yan Ge. Yan Ge is here to discuss her life and writing. She was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province People’s Republic of China. Emerging as a prodigious writer in Chinese and Sichuanese, she was named as one of China’s twenty future literary masters by People Magazine. In 2012, she was chosen as Best New Writer by the Prestigious Chinese Literature Media Prize. For English language readers, Nicky Harman first translated her novella, White Horse, for Hope Road publishing in 2014, a story about young girls negotiating adolescence in the presence of a mysterious white horse. Then, four years later, Nicky translated The Chilli Bean Paste Clan in 2018, published by Balestier. Elsewhere arrived in 2023 (Faber), and Yan Ge treated us to a new dimension of her work entirely: short fiction and, for the first time, written in English.   Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink  Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages    Rippling Points Chapters  - 3.30 - writing parts of ourselves that are distinct - 7.35 - SBoC taking off - 10.05 - identifying vulnerabilities - 12.15 -all consuming spells of writing - 16.45 - finding balance - 20.15 - inspired by a younger self- 24.40 - The Chilli Bean Paste Clan- 27.35 - food in Yan ges work- 31.35 - Yan’s parents  - 35.02 - Another Liam!   Reference Points Nicky Harman Jeremy Tiang  

”If I enter a project knowing what I’m going to do, confidently, I wouldn’t do it.” It’s Women in Translation Month! Yan Ge is here to discuss her life and writing. She was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province People’s Republic of China. Emerging as a prodigious writer in Chinese and Sichuanese, she was named as one of China’s twenty future literary masters by People Magazine. In 2012, she was chosen as Best New Writer by the Prestigious Chinese Literature Media Prize. For English language readers, Nicky Harman first translated her novella, White Horse, for Hope Road publishing in 2014, a story about young girls negotiating adolescence in the presence of a mysterious white horse. Then, four years later, Nicky translated The Chilli Bean Paste Clan in 2018, published by Balestier. Elsewhere arrived in 2023 (Faber), and Yan Ge treated us to a new dimension of her work entirely: short fiction and, for the first time, written in English.   Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink  Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages    Reference Points George Saunders   Rippling Points  Chapters02.30 - connected by Leeds4.20 - Drifting from the Chinese language5.45 - Writing elsewhere in English09.20 - Transforming the process10:50 - A new relationship with language 14:05 - Linguistic and cultural experiences of the characters16:47- Happiness19:24 - Contentment and striving 21:00 - Rippling Pages Bookshop23:41 - Making writing hard and easy28:26 - Having belief  

“She starts having an experience to see her own life as a more shifting sands that isn’t to be fear but in fact to be enjoyed.”   Kimberly Campanello is here to talk about her novel, USE THE WORDS YOU HAVE (Somesuch Editions). It’s a sweltering summer in Bretagne, France. K, an American exchange student, is navigating more than just unfamiliar streets. She’s finding a new language. This is bonus content from the previous episode.  In this bonus content, I’ve asked Kimberly to provide me with some objects that Kimberly associated with writing the book, USE THE WORDS YOU HAVE. It’s an interesting and new way to think about influence, and a way to understand both the book and the writer a bit more.  We talk about a flag, a musician, Alan Stivell, and something called a ‘Fest Noz’, all of them relating to the culture of Brittany where the novel is set. Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodSupport the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Rippling Points 1.54 - Proust and Memory 04.01 - Objects of influence 06.21 - Fest Noz 07.01 - Alan Stivell 08.29 - The Brittany Flag, the Blanche Ermine   Reference Point Jonathan Culler Arthur Rimbaud  

“How do you sound like you know what you’re doing when you don’t have the words” Kimberly Campanello is here to talk about her novel, USE THE WORDS YOU HAVE (Somesuch Editions). It’s a sweltering summer in Bretagne, France. K, an American exchange student, is navigating more than just unfamiliar streets. She’s finding a new language. Kimberly’s work moves between forms, genres, and histories. She’s the author of MOTHERBABYHOME (zimZALLA), a harrowing and formally innovative response to Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes, is held in the national poetry special collections across the U.K and Ireland. Her poetry has appeared in publications like Granta, The White Review, and The Poetry Review, and essays in Tolka. And, this year, her poetry collection, AN INTERESTING DETAIL was released by Bloomsbury.  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodSupport the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points01:30 - Motherbabyhome02:07 - From motherbabyhome to Use the words you have05:38 - What is the novel about08:02 - Sounding like you know what you’re doing when you don’t09:51 - Differences poetry and the novel11:46 - Who is K14:16 - Belief and reading15:58 - Making sense through Rimbaud16:28 - Life in the Midwest20:03 - Rippling Pages Bookshop21:05 - K in Paris22:16 - K’s notebook25:37 - Wonky translations29:19 - Kimberly’s notebooks.Reference PointsHart CraneDanteMarguerite DurasAnnie ErnauxTony HarrisonMarcel ProustArthur Rimbaud Nathalie SarrauteBruce Omar Yates review https://thelondonmagazine.org/review-use-the-words-you-have-by-kimberly-campanello/

“I found myself writing an apology letter…and I didn’t know what I was apologising for.” In Uttama Kirit Patel’s novel, The Shape of an Apostrophe (Serpent’s Tail), Lina is pregnant, and she’s finding that this seemingly salubrious society is not congenial and accommodating to the difficult challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. Uttama, born to Gujarati parents who then since found their way to the United Arab Emirates via Kampala, Surat, Pondicherry and Colchester. Her short fiction was nominated for the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for emerging writers. Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodSupport the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Reference Points Helen Phillips - The Need Rippling Points .30 - Uttama's life living around the world.2.47 - An unexpected pregnancy3.45 - Limited reproductive rights and setting the novel in Dubai5.47 - writing a novel about someone who doesn't want children6.30 - Uttama writing an apology letter to herself7.59 - On desire11.17 - Lina's relationship with her parents12.57 - Does Lina have a support network?14.03 - Lina's husband and her mother-in-law16.44 - Is Lina's mother-in-law a feminist?22.27 - Uttama's interest in sea-life.24.10 - Lina's feeling of loss26.41 - Lines, traces and artistry of Lina in the novel. 32.45 - Uttama's writing journey

“When I set out to plan the business, I wrote ten words - the world I always kept coming to was community.”The Rippling Pages is all about curating the best writers to inspire you and your writing - today, we’re speaking to another curator. Eden Barnes is the owner of Next Chapter Books, an indie women-focussed bookshop in Leeds, and I had a quick chat with her in store. There’s lots going on this week in Leeds. Leeds Lit Fest is starting, and it’s Indie Bookshop Week. Here someone who is at the centre of it.Eden tells us: The personal journey to opening a bookshop in Leeds Why she focusses women’s writing Balancing commercial and personal interests Creating a safe space and sense of community for readers What she’s got planned for next week and the rest of the year.   Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop on bookshop.org.uk are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodSupport the Rippling Pages on a new Patreonhttps://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink  Check out Next Chapter Books website: https://www.nextchapterleeds.co.uk/Tickets for Leeds Lit Fest Events: https://www.leedslitfest.co.uk/Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages 

"It is also difficult to imbue the people and the movements of the past with the complexities we offer ourselves."  If you were to meet a time traveller from the future, what would you ask them? This is the question Roisin Dunnett asks in her novel, A LINE YOU HAVE TRACED (Magpie Books/Oneworld Publications). Spanning over three centuries, three women are connected by forces they, at first, don’t understand. From post-WWI Britain, to East End London’s modern queer scene, to a portentous dystopian future, Roisin’s novel is coded with messages between the past, present and future. It's published by Magpie Books, an imprint of Oneworld.   You can buy A LINE YOU HAVE TRACED from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod  Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages    Rippling Points 2.01 - the past, present and future.3.55 - is there a past event that influenced this novel?6.45 - Narratives of women10.16 - which character did Roisin write first?11.33 - Why do characters feel out of time13.02 - Visions and dreams in Roisin's novel19.24 - what would we do if we could actually see the future?24.30 - The marshes in Roisin's novel. 29.24 - Does your dad pick up litter?30.59 - Roisin's writing journey     Reference PointsCharles Dickens

“They got fired for that!” Katharina Volckmer is here to discuss her second novel, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes (Indigo Press) and it was live at the Hyde Park Book Club! Thank you to the Hyde Park Book Club for hosting us and Next Chapter Books for supporting the event. This is the second part of our conversation.  Katharina’s first novel, THE APPOINTMENT, was translated into over fifteen languages, it was adapted for the stage starring Camille Cottin and was nominated for several prizes. Katharina is in ribald mode in this funny, outlandish, and yet, very melancholic novel about a man called Jimmie who works in a call centre. Jimmie helps holiday makers.  He placates their fears about sharks in the waters of Mykonos, Greece, among many other strange and wonderful challenges.  He also manages a complicated relationship with his mother and has a traumatic memory of an electric carving knife that threatens to burst to the surface. The Irish writer, Colm Tóibín, said the book is ‘filled with brilliant dialogue, unexpected turns, some very dirty talk with sudden bursts of hilarity, and then fierce sadness.’ A special treat here - Leeds based poet Kirsty Went gave a reading for, some of her work to open the event. We’ve re-recorded for the purposes of the podcast. You can buy CALLS MAY BE RECORDED FOR TRAINING AND MONITORING PURPOSES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Where to find Next Chapter Books:  https://www.nextchapterleeds.co.uk/    Rippling Points  1.35 - writing about mothers and fathers5.03 - clowns9.45 - on jokes and fantasies 11.23 - Kirsty Went reading 14.19 - questions from the audience - where does the relentless comic vulgarity come from?20.10 - question from the audience - does this book fit into the wonderfully weird fiction category? Can we have more daring takes in fiction? 23.35- question from the audience - did Katharina know the book would end in this subversive way?  Reference points Thomas Bernhard 

Katharina Volckmer is here to discuss her second novel, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes (Indigo Press) and it was live at the Hyde Park Book Club! Thank you to the Hyde Park Book Club for hosting us and Next Chapter Books for supporting the event. Katharina’s first novel, THE APPOINTMENT, was translated into over fifteen languages, it was adapted for the stage starring Camille Cottin and was nominated for several prizes. Katharina is in ribald mode in this funny, outlandish, and yet, very melancholic novel about a man called Jimmie who works in a call centre. Jimmie helps holiday makers.  He placates their fears about sharks in the waters of Mykonos, Greece, among many other strange and wonderful challenges.  He also manages a complicated relationship with his mother and has a traumatic memory of an electric carving knife that threatens to burst to the surface. The Irish writer, Colm Tóibín, said the book is ‘filled with brilliant dialogue, unexpected turns, some very dirty talk with sudden bursts of hilarity, and then fierce sadness.’ You can buy CALLS MAY BE RECORDED FOR TRAINING AND MONITORING PURPOSES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Where to find Next Chapter Books:  https://www.nextchapterleeds.co.uk/  Rippling Points 05.07 - Katharina's tour of Leeds.05.49 - What's Katharina's novel about?08.11 - Jimmie's need for the toilet in the opening scenes!10.28 - A reading from the novel.14.07 - Life in a call centre.16.42 - Experience of moving abroad19.03 - Why people overshare20.33 - Differences between this novel and Katharina's previous novel24.14 - Intimacy and speaking to strangers26.14 - The other side of anonymity28.25 - Kafka  Reference PointsFranz KafkaThe Appointment - Katharina Volckmer

Welcome to the first edition of Rippling Pages: Ask the Host! Over the years, I’ve been asking the questions, but it’s about time I answered some too. So, that’s what I’ve done: I’ve picked out some questions from the Rippling Pages inbox, and answered them! In this episode, I answer: - Where am I from?- Why did I start the podcast?- Who would I like to interview?- What books have I enjoyed recently?- Would I rather speak every language or to every animal?! Got a question yourself? Why not leave a review and a question and I might pick out one for a future show!***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** Don’t forget there’s a Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages *****Lots of books and writer’s mentioned in this one Reference Points:Alice Chadwick - Dark Like Under (Daunt Books)Anton ChekhovVincent Delacroix - Small Boat (Hope Road Publishing) - translated Helen StevensonGurnaik Johal - Saraswati (Serpent’s Tail)Vincenzo LatronicoTiago MillerIris MwanzaOluwaseun Olayiwola - Strange Beach (Fitzcarraldo Editions)Pola OloixaracMercè RoderedaMontserrat Roig - The Song of Youth (Fum d’Estampa)Montserrat Roig - Goodbye Ramona (Fum d’Estampa)Montserrat Roig - The Time of the Cherries (Daunt Books)Anthony Shapland - A Room Above a Shop (Granta Books)Olga TokarczukVirginia Woolf

"She finds herself in London working in a theatre having to touch people!"   Elaine Garvey, to discuss her novel, THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT, published by Canongate Books. It’s 2002. Mairéad Sweeney has moved from rural Ireland to work in London’s West End. While the prestige of working in theatre doesn’t exactly wear off, the long hours and spoiled actors make Mairéad’s transition from Ireland more difficult than it should be. Things get even more difficult when Mairéad has to return home for her grandmother’s funeral. It’s here she begins to reconcile with the life, people and values she left behind. This is Elaine’s first book. She has been published in the Dublin Review and the Winter Papers, and has been awarded funding schemes by the Irish Department of Arts for her writing. *****Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation!https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984*****You can buy THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodBuying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops!Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpagesRippling Points1.31 - Why the year 2002?4.32 - books about women walking. 5.39 - who is Mairéad and why is she in London7.39 - what is the wardrobe department9.40 - shadowing the costume department!12.10 - differences between London and Mairéad's home in Ireland. 13.34 - Mairéad's family. 14:40 - Mairéad's boss. 18.15 - Similarities to the Milkman21. 16 - when is Mairéad's moment of realisation23.48 - Choosing your words and religion.27.29 - Is how Mairéad feels about Ireland different to Elaine?29.15 - how the novel emerged from a short story. Reference PointsAnna Burns - MilkmanCharlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre Seamus Heaney - Sweeney AstrayHilary Mantel - The Mirror and The LightHerta Müller - The Land of Green PlumsRozsika Parker - The Subversive StichVirginia Woolf - Mrs Dalloway

“It’s my mum’s favourite book that I wrote!”Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he’s moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes  in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he’s deferring some health issues and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben’s own experiences.  Ben’s novel, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications.  We discuss: Are families about power dynamics? Hear about Ben and I reflecting on our family life Is Steph Curry Benjamin’s new obsession instead of Michael Jordan? Why is Syme, Ben’s first novel, his mum’s favourite novel?   *****Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984*****You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodBuying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops!Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages

‘The people I like to write about are what I would describe as moderately successful failures.’ Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he’s moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes  in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he’s deferring some health issues and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben’s own experiences.  Ben’s novel, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications. *****Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984*****You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodBuying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops!Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points 2.42 - Why Tom goes on a roadtrip4.12 - Feelings of failure and sport7.10 - Constructing the narrator9.00 - Tom’s difference to other narrators of Ben’s11.30 - Pick-up basketball15.15 - East Coast privilege16.00 - The NBA - basketball and race21.20 - Katharina Volckmer in conversation 22.45 - Tom’s relationship with his children23.57 - Tom and Ben’s illness26.58 - Matters of life and death28.10 - Doctors and writers29.45 - Ben’s next steps Reference PointsPhilip Roth John UpdikeBen’s novels The Syme PapersPlaying DaysYou Don’t Have to Live Like This The Sidekick

"Taylor Swift is somebody who has managed to keep reinventing herself to stay relevant." Welcome to Rippling Points, more content and more insights and inspiration into the craft of literature:Marni Appleton is here to talk about her short story collection, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, published by Indigo Press. We discuss:- How Taylor Swift's ability to reinvent herself and stay relevant differs to that of the characters - Ideas of productivity and how they shouldn't reflect your value in the worldThe modern world Marni presents to us in her stories is one that feels incredibly liberating, but then hinged by archaic attitudes from the past all at the same time. Women go viral on social media for seemingly innocent reasons; open and polyamorous relationships that suddenly feel shut; roles in theatre feel too close to real life. Marni holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Her writing has been published in Banshee, The Tangerine, Contemporary Women’s Writing. This is her first collection.You can buy I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespodBuying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops!Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how:https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages