Lit with Charles

Episodet

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  Sartre, Spies, and How to Read More 14.09.2026 25min

  Welcome to a new season of Lit With Charles, and a new format, as Charles is joined by co-host Liv for a weekly conversation about books, reading and the literary world.This week, they discuss Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit, Javier Marías’s Tomás Nevinson, and the surprising history of the CIA using literature as Cold War propaganda, including Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. Plus, they answer a listener question: how do you encourage someone to read more? From putting down your phone to simply choosing books you actually enjoy, Charles and Liv share their best advice.
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  Santanu Bhattacharya, author of "Deviants" 24.07.2026 49min

  This week, Charles is joined by acclaimed novelist Santanu Bhattacharya. Santanu is one of the most exciting emerging voices in contemporary British fiction. Raised in India and now based in London, with eight cities across three countries in between, he is the author of the acclaimed novels One Small Voice and Deviants (2025). His writing explores identity, belonging, family, masculinity, and queer experience with remarkable warmth, intelligence, and emotional depth.Together, they explore queer literature and LGBTQ+ life in India, the impact of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the relationship between politics, identity and fiction. Santanu also shares his journey to becoming a novelist, the books and writers who shaped him, and what Pride means to him today.A fascinating conversation about writing, queer history, Indian literature and the stories that help us understand a changing world.
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  Sir Ben Okri, author of “The Famished Road” and “Waking the Warriors” 16.07.2026 48min

  Today, Charles speaks with one of Britain’s most esteemed authors, the novelist and poet Sir Ben Okri.Sir Ben first shot to international fame in 1991 with The Famished Road, which won the Booker Prize that same year, making him the youngest-ever winner at the time, at just 32. Since then, he has published more than twenty books spanning novels, poetry, short stories, essays and plays, including Songs of Enchantment, Astonishing the Gods, Dangerous Love, The Age of Magic and The Freedom Artist. In 2023, he was knighted for services to literature.In this episode, Charles speaks with Sir Ben about his life and remarkable literary career, as well as his newest novel, Waking the Warriors. The book follows three unlikely heroes – Mel, Rosa and Apibus – as they set out to find a witch who can wake a group of sleeping warriors and save their city from a foreign invasion.Waking the Warriors is out now, available online and from bookstores.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Season 3 Finale: Charles & Olivia Reflect on the Highlights 23.03.2026 43min

  It was such a pleasure today to be joined by Olivia Kate Menzies - aka Liv - for this Season 3 finale, as we looked back on what has been a rich and varied run of conversations on Lit With Charles. Liv has played a key role behind the scenes this year – researching, preparing, and occasionally conducting interviews – so it felt only right to bring her in for a proper recap.In this episode, we revisit some of our standout moments: the interviews that stayed with us, the books by our guests that we most admired, and the recommendations that have gone right to the top of our TBR lists. We also touch on broader themes that emerged across the season, from the psychology of certain literary tropes to the changing nature of reading and travel today.We’ll be taking a little break before Season 4, where we’re going to be trying out a more conversational format, alongside a couple of very special interviews. So, you can expect more of Liv in the upcoming series!It was a pleasure to reflect on the season together, and I hope you enjoyed listening.
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  Andrew Miller, author of "The Land in Winter" 16.03.2026 46min

  It was such a pleasure today to speak with the novelist Andrew Miller, one of Britain’s most accomplished contemporary writers, whose career now spans more than three decades and ten novels. Andrew joined me from South Somerset in the west of England to discuss his latest book, The Land in Winter, recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Set during the brutal winter of 1962–63, the novel explores the emotional tensions within two marriages as a great freeze isolates a small community and forces its characters to confront truths about their relationships and themselves. It is also fair to say that I was fascinated by our discussion, which explored Andrew’s upbringing in the West Country, the moment at eighteen when he decided to become a writer, and the importance of landscape and weather in shaping fiction. We also discussed the four books that have helped shape his literary imagination, from James Salter’s beautifully written portrait of a marriage in Light Years to Tarjei Vesaas’s haunting Norwegian novel The Ice Palace. It was wonderful to have this conversation with Andrew, and I hope you enjoy listening to our chat.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Sarvat Hasin, author of "Strange Girls" 09.03.2026 39min

  This week on Lit With Charles, Liv — who has worked on the podcast for quite a while now — steps in to interview novelist and dramaturg Sarvat Hasin, author of the new novel Strange Girls. Sarvat is a British-Pakistani writer based in London. She studied Politics at Royal Holloway before completing a Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford. Prior to Strange Girls, she published This Wide Night (longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature), You Can’t Go Home Again, and The Giant Dark, which won the inaugural Mo Siewcharran Prize.Strange Girls follows two friends, Ava and Aliya, who meet at university and form an intense friendship built around books, ambition, and a shared sense of being outsiders. Years later, after growing apart, they reunite in London for a friend’s hen weekend — where old tensions, buried resentments, and unresolved feelings begin to surface.In their conversation, Liv and Sarvat talk about obsession and intimacy in female friendships, the politics of who gets to tell a shared story, and what happens when the person who once knew you best becomes someone you can no longer quite face. It was a brilliant conversation — I hope you enjoy listening.Sarvat’s four books were:The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (1992)Angels in America, by Tony Kushner (1991)Hera Lindsay Bird, by Hera Lindsay Bird (2016)Mr Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi (2011)Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Philippa Malicka, author of "In Her Defense" 02.03.2026 40min

  It was such a pleasure today to interview a novelist I have known for many years, though not at the time as a novelist at all. Philippa Malicka and I first met about fifteen years ago in Delhi, when we were both living in India, long before writing became part of her public life. She has since published her debut novel, In Her Defense, a gripping and psychologically astute story that interrogates loyalty, truth, and the complicated narratives we construct around guilt and innocence. The novel was recently selected as a monthly pick by Reese’s Book Club, an endorsement that has had a remarkable impact on the book’s visibility and sales. It is also fair to say that I was fascinated by our discussion, which explored the uneasy space between responsibility and devotion, as well as the four books that have helped shape her literary path from our days in Delhi to writing this bestselling novel. It was wonderful to have this conversation with Philippa , and I hope you enjoy listening to our chat.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Leïla Slimani, author of "The Country of Others" & "Watch Us Dance" (Re-release) 23.02.2026 46min

  Leïla Slimani, author of "The Country of Others" & "Watch Us Dance"Leila Slimani is a highly acclaimed French-Moroccan author who has written some absolutely fantastic novels over the last few years. She burst into the mainstream consciousness when she won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in France in 2016 for her second novel Chanson Douce, which was translated into English in 2018 as The Perfect Nanny in the US, or Lullaby in the UK.She followed this up with non-fiction work as well as a fantastic trilogy which is two-thirds finished, called  “Le Pays des Autres” (The Country of Others) in which the second novel “Regardez-nous danser” (Watch Us Dance) has just been translated into English.In today’s episode, Leïla and I discuss, as always, the four books which have most influenced her writing – spanning all the way from early childhood literary beginnings, all the way to some very contemporary picks.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Ask Me Anything: My Reading Life 16.02.2026 27min

  In this relaxed Q&A episode, Charles answers listeners’ questions about his reading life, from how he structures his days around books to the different rhythms that shape how he approaches “easy” versus “demanding” reads. He shares his flexible methods, whether that means devouring a page turner in one long sitting or slowly metabolising a dense classic in small, manageable bursts. The conversation moves through travel habits, why he still prefers physical books over a Kindle, and the slightly chaotic reality of keeping notes while reading.Charles also reflects on his favourite Russian author, the challenge and reward of tackling big novels, and the myth of daily page targets, including his own extreme “big reading days.” He touches on becoming a parent and the environment he hopes to create around books, before revealing the story behind a hidden novel he once wrote purely for the joy of the process. A candid, thoughtful glimpse behind the scenes for fellow readers and the reading-curious alike.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  JR Thornton, author of "Lucien" 09.02.2026 36min

  Invention and re-invention are themes that are set deep in the American psyche and the American novel. My guest today is the American novelist JR Thornton, author of the upcoming novel “Lucien” to be published next month. It’s a tale of intrigue, set at Harvard, in the modern day, where a freshman artist is dazzled by his Euro-glamorous room-mate, and led down a tempting path of forgery and deceit. Imagine “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, meets “The Goldfinch”, also by Donna Tartt, and you’re halfway there. In the book, JR Thornton, himself a Harvard alumnus, evokes the immense privilege that remains in certain pockets of these high-powered universities and the desperation of many outsiders to fit in. In our interview, JR Thorton talks about the four books that helped shape his literary path, and specifically this book, so if you’re in the market for recommendations of great books about re-invention, re-emergence and revenge, you’re in the right place!Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!JR Thornton's four books: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (1844)The Great Gatsby (1925)Brideshead Revisited (1945)The Bell Jar (1963)
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  Lucy Caldwell, author of "Devotions" 02.02.2026 1h 1min

  In this episode, I’m joined by Lucy Caldwell, ahead of the publication of her new short story collection Devotions, due out in April 2026. We may be early to the party, but this conversation offers a rich introduction to a book that explores love, loss, longing, and the everyday objects and rituals we turn into acts of devotion. From a Belfast theatre troupe taking an experimental Hamlet to New York, to stories that edge into the metafictional and the uncanny, Devotions is a collection of intimate, luminous portraits of desire and regret.Our conversation unfolds as something of a masterclass in writing. Lucy reflects on her life and work, from growing up in Belfast during the Troubles in an ecumenical family, to building an acclaimed literary career marked by depth, empathy, and formal curiosity. We talk about how and why she writes, her path to international recognition, and the four books that shaped her literary imagination. Thoughtful, generous, and quietly inspiring, this is an episode especially rich for readers and writers alike.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!Lucy Caldwell’s four books:Lorrie Moore, Self-Help (1989)Lucia Berlin, A Manual for Cleaning Women (2015)James Joyce, Dubliners (1914)Richard Adams, Watership Down (1972)
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  Michelle Steinbeck, author of "Favorita" 26.01.2026 44min

  Content warning: this episode discusses sexual assault and feminicide in detail and may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening and step away if needed.In this episode, I’m joined by Swiss novelist Michelle Steinbeck to discuss her haunting second novel Favorita, newly translated into English, and the urgent subject of feminicide, the murder of women, often by men. Through literature, we explore how gendered violence, authoritarian power and historical memory intertwine. Favorita follows Fila, a young woman who uncovers the possibility that her mother, once the ringleader of a collective of sex workers, was murdered by a shadowy network of fascists. Moving between post-war Italy and the present, the novel blends surreal, ghostly imagery with political realism to examine how violence against women reverberates across generations.Our conversation explores writing with ghosts, literature as resistance, and the importance of giving narrative shape to erased lives. Steinbeck reflects on fascist afterlives, memory, and the ways the past continues to shape women’s bodies and choices today. Michelle's four books were:Paolo Falconi: La Bella Elvira (1947)Leanne Shapton: Guest Book (2019) Maggie Nelson: Jane A Murder (2005)Goliarda Sapienza: The Art Of Joy (1994)Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Best Books of 2025 22.12.2025 25min

  In today’s episode, I look at the 5 best books that I’ve read in 2025. I’m pleased to say that this is an eclectic list of books which covers a lot of different genres so there’s something for everybody! What are some of the best books that you’ve read this year? Thank you so much for listening this year and see you in 2026! Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Manish Chauhan, author of "Belgrave Road" 15.12.2025 41min

  In this episode of Lit with Charles, Charles welcomes British writer Manish Chauhan to celebrate the lead-up to his debut novel Belgrave Road (out with Faber in January). Set in Leicester, the book traces the intersecting lives of Mira, newly arrived from India in an arranged marriage that offers little refuge, and Talia, a Somali refugee navigating the UK asylum system. Manish speaks candidly about the long road to publication - writing since his teens, balancing a demanding career as a finance lawyer, and building momentum through short fiction - and about the real-life encounters and observations that sparked his story. At the heart of the conversation is what he hopes fiction can do right now: complicate the rhetoric around immigration by showing that every person contains “a whole number of stories,” not just the ones that dominate headlines.As always, the episode is also a masterclass in reading as a writer. Manish shares four books that shaped his craft and sensibility: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, Runaway by Alice Munro, Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Cosi Carnegie, Classics Historian 08.12.2025 46min

  I’m joined today by Cosima Carnegie, better known on social media as Cosi’s Odyssey: a classicist, writer, and creative producer whose work brings Greek myth and ritual into the present through essays, videos, and immersive events. We’re talking not only about her journey into Classics, but about the four books that have most influenced her on her path to scholarship. It’s a great blend that opens up conversations about childhood reading, ancient ritual, the visual imagination of Greek art, and what it means to inherit stories across generations.Talking to Cosi was a huge amount of fun, and I know you’re going to enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!Cosi Carnegie’s four books were:Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rick Riordan (2005–09)Medea, Euripides (431 BC)The Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet, François Lissarrague (1990)An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, Daniel Mendelsohn (2017)
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  Ilya Gridneff, author of "Your Name Here" 01.12.2025 49min

  I’m joined this week by writer and journalist Ilya Gridneff, whose career has taken him from Sydney to South Sudan and now to the Financial Times bureau in Canada. We talk about his first work of fiction, Your Name Here, co-authored with the brilliant Helen DeWitt — a wild, experimental novel with a long, unusual history. We also dive into the ideas and books that shaped him. If you enjoy the episode, please leave a review and follow @litwithcharles.Ilya Gridneff’s four books were:2666, by Roberto Bolaño (2004)A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (1980)Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre (1938)Post Office, by Charles Bukowski (1971)
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  The Special 100th Episode 24.11.2025 46min

  Today’s a very special day for this podcast. After three years, and a whole lot of work, we’ve arrived at huge milestone – the 100th episode of the Lit With Charles podcast. After 99 conversations where I’m the one asking the questions about what four books have influenced our guests’ lives and work, I thought I’d try a little plot twist. In this conversation, I’m going to be talking about the four books that have most shaped my life and work. We cover the origins of Lit With Charles, my relationship with reading and how it’s evolved over the years, and my hopes for a collective literary future. Enjoy!My four books were:The Dead Zone, by Stephen King (1979)Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad (1902)The Magus, by John Fowles (1965)Christie Malry’s Own Double‑Entry, by B. S. Johnson (1973)Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!
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  Rosamund Bartlett, editor of "Anton Chekhov, Earliest Stories" 17.11.2025 47min

  In this episode of Lit With Charles, I speak with writer, translator, and Chekhov expert Rosamund Bartlett about her new translation of Anton Chekhov’s Early Stories. We talk about how Anton Chekhov - the Russian doctor who transformed short fiction - first found his voice, and why his quiet, compassionate storytelling still feels so modern. Rosamund also shares insights from her other acclaimed works, including About Love and Other Stories (Oxford World’s Classics, 2004/8), her celebrated translation of Anna Karenina (Oxford World’s Classics, 2014), and The Russian Soul: Selections from A Writer’s Diary (Notting Hill Books, 2017). It’s a fascinating conversation about literature, translation, and the enduring power of small moments — and I hope you enjoy listening to it!Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!Rosamund Bartlett’s four books were:The Queen of Spades, by Alexander Pushkin (1834)The Student, by Anton Chekhov (1894)Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy (1878)A Writer’s Diary, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1873–1881)
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  James Geary, author of "The World in a Phrase" 09.11.2025 45min

  On Lit with Charles, we usually dive into novels, short stories, and poetry - but in this episode, we’re doing something a little radical. From the longest literary forms to one of the shortest: the aphorism.An aphorism is a short, striking statement - often just a line or two - that captures a deep universal truth. It’s a form beloved by some of history’s greatest minds: Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Friedrich Nietzsche, to name a few.Today’s guest, James Geary, is an American writer and lifelong devotee of this deceptively simple art. From his early fascination with language to his career as an editor at Time magazine and later as a lecturer at Harvard, James has explored the timeless power of the aphorism - those brief sentences that linger far longer than they last. His works include The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism and Wit’s End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It.We talk about what makes an aphorism work, why brevity can sometimes reveal more than verbosity, and how these tiny truths continue to shape how we think and write.I loved this conversation - it’s a thoughtful, witty, and illuminating dive into the distilled essence of language. I hope you enjoy it too.If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review — it really helps others discover the podcast. You can also follow me on Instagram @litwithcharles for more book recommendations and literary discussions.Let’s get more people listening — and reading!James Geary’s four books were:Reader's DigestWalden, Henry David Thoreau (1854)I Ching (c. 1000 – 750 BCE)Ulysses, James Joyce (1920)
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  Liliana Colanzi, author of "You Glow in the Dark" 03.11.2025 51min

  This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Bolivian author Liliana Colanzi, one of the most exciting new voices in Latin American horror. Her latest short story collection, You Glow in the Dark (2022), recently translated into English, blends science fiction, myth, and social commentary with a distinctly eerie beauty. We talk about the four books that shaped her imagination, the rise of female Latin American horror, and how she crafts stories that blur the boundaries between the cosmic and the intimate. A must-listen for fans of speculative fiction, contemporary horror, and global literature.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!Liliana Colanzi’s four books were:Being Dead, by Jim Crace (1999)The Houseguest and Other Stories, by Amparo Dávila (2018)The Colour out of Space, by H. P. Lovecraft (1927)Women Talking, by Miriam Toews (2018)