Rnib Talking Books

Today Robert Kirkwood is joined by journalist and author Clémence Michallon from her home in New York, as we explore Our Last Resort, the brand new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant We also find some brand new books in the RNIB Library.

Charlotte Butterfield joins Robert Kirkwood to talk about The Sister Switch, the brand new hilarious, emotional and thought-provoking book club read about twin sisters who make a bet to switch lives for a week We also find some brand new books in the RNIB Library.

"The Light of Day" by Christopher Stephens and Louise Radnofsky, tells the story of Roger Butler, a man who came out as gay in the British press in 1960, before the decriminalization of homosexuality. The book explores Butler's life, his activism, and his later struggles with blindness and isolation.  Plus Blind Poet Dave Steele and filmmaker Matt Hopkins discuss 'The Film I'll Never See' and we get some book recommendations from poet and Carnegie Shortlisted author Matt Goodfellow.

Author Dame Stella Rimington has died at the age of 90. As the first female director of MI5 she poured years of lived experience into her spy novels featuring both Liz Carlyle and Manon Tyler. She spoke to RNIB Connect Radio's Read On show about her latest novel, her career and her membership to RNIB Talking Books. For that full interview you can download Read On episode number 420 from wherever you get your podcasts, just search for RNIB Read On

Today Robert Kirkwood is joined by Alis Hawkins as we explore 'The Oxford Mysteries' with her books A Bitter Remedy and The Skeleton Army, plus we explore her past series on 'The Teifi Valley Coroner' with blind protagonist Harry Probert-Lloyd.

In today's final visit to Dumfries House and the Boswell Book Festival we get out in nature as we forage for Free Food with Mo Wilde and find the Wilderness Cure, we go to Bird School with Adam Nicolson and we travel behind the former Iron Curtain with Charlie English and the CIA Book Club. Plus we'll find some new books in the RNIB Library.

In today's Read On we hear from Andrew O'Hagan after his keynote address on humour, sponsored by RNIB Connect Radio, and discuss his book Caledonian Road which is set to become a recurring series on Netflix.  Former News at Ten host John Suchet goes In Search of Beethoven in his latest book about the composer, plus in the sprit of Boswell we find some new biography and memoir in the RNIB Library. 

In today's edition of Read On, we're once again on location at Dumfries House at this year's Boswell Book Festival. Robert Kirkwood chats to Wayne Sleep OBE about his book, Just Different, artist Juano Diaz tells us about Slum Boy, his heart-breaking memoir that he insisted be available in audio and comedian Dom Joly becomes The Conspiracy Tourist and asks if Finland really exists.  We step away from the festival for some book recommendations from author Clare Furniss and find new memoir and biography in the RNIB Library.

In today's edition of Read On, we're on location at Dumfries House at this year's Boswell Book Festival. Robert Kirkwood chats to Hollywood Icon Rupert Everett about his book, The American No, Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author Gelong Thubten tells us about his Handbook for Hard Times and comedian Helen Lederer tells us about her memoir, Not That I'm Bitter. Plus in the spirit of the festival we find some new biographies in the RNIB Library.

Today we travel to the Isle of Skye with Sue Moorcroft as the third volume of her best selling Skye Sisters Trilogy is released. Plus we find some new books entering the RNIB Library.

Our final Carnegie Medal for Writing show with winner of the Shadowing Award Nathanael Lessore for King of Nothing and winner of this year's Medal for Writing, Margaret McDonald on Glasgow Boys. Plus we take a swift visit to the RNIB Library to find some brand new books.

Today on Read On we're continuing our interviews with authors on the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal for Writing. This week Kelly McCaughrain on Little Bang and Matt Goodfellow on The Final Year, plus we find some new audiobooks out now and available from RNIB Library.

Frederick Forsyth, the author of The Day Of The Jackal, has died at the age of 86 after a brief illness.  He was a great supporter of RNIB Talking Books, visiting the studios many times to record messages and raise awareness, and even to record a small non-fiction tale he wrote for us as part of a fundraising effort to re-archive our old tape recordings to a digital format. On one visit, Robert Kirkwood grabbed him for a chat about his books and his dangerous research trips and to ask why he supported RNIB. 

In today's episode, we talk to two more authors on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist, Luke Palmer on his book Play and Brian Conaghan on Treacle Town, plus we find some new books out now and available from the RNIB Library.

In today's episode, we talk to two authors on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist, Blessing Musariri on her book All That It Ever Meant and Clare Furniss on The Things We Leave Behind, plus we find some new books out now and available from the RNIB Library.

A mix of fiction and non-fiction in today's show as Becky C Brynolf tells us about her debut I Found A Body in which an influencer gets mixed up in a murder investigation.  We also hear from writer and savant Daniel Tammet about Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum, delving into the extraordinary lives of nine neurodivergent men and women from around the globe, including blind academic Amanda in Australia. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library.

Winner of the National Book Award and now the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, James is a subversive reimagining of “Huckleberry Finn” told from the perspective of Jim, Huck's enslaved companion on the raft ride. Percival Everett tells Robert Kirkwood about the book and reveals he read Huck Finn too many times in the research! We also hear about the science behind James Bond's gadgets and Agatha Christie's poisons with Kathryn Harkup and find some new books in the RNIB Library.

As I'm off recording at Dumfries House at the moment, here's selection of interviews from past Boswell Book Festival events including Lady Anne Glenconner, founder of Private Eye Richard Ingrams, biographer Ben McIntyre, Winston Churchill's granddaughter Emma Soames, Andrew Cotter with Olive and Mabel, and we're Cloistered with Catherine Coldstream.

On this week's Read On, Robert Kirkwood chats to Celia Silvani about her debut novel Baby Teeth, a cautionary tale about how vulnerable, isolated people can be lured into toxic communities and the catastrophic consequences this can have.  Trigger Warning: This interview contains discussions and references to pregnancy and infertility. There is also a scene of pregnancy loss in the book.

This week on Read On a captivating chat with Beth O'Brien, visually impaired author of new HarperCollins Children’s Book 'Wolf Siren', which also has a visually impaired narrator. Beth talks about her writing, watching the narration process and her passion project, 'Disabled Tales.'