Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Joining John and Andy in this episode are multiple returnees and Official Friends of Backlisted: Dr Una McComack and Andrew Male. The book they are here to talk about is The Inheritors by William Golding, his second published novel (after Lord of the Flies) and first released by ...  Show more

Dr Rowan Williams, theologian, poet and former Archbishop of Canterbury, joins Andy and John for a thoughtful and moving discussion of Till We Have Faces (1956), the last novel by C.S. Lewis. This episode was recorded in London in June 2025. Although not as well-reviewed as his p ...  Show more

Charlie Lovett joins Anne to discuss the enduring power of not only stories but the books themselves, how books connect people of all ages, and of all times, how we can preserve literature for future generations, the joy of a book as a physical object, the art of literary forgery ...  Show more

Guest Sterling Hardaway values efficiency and growth in his reading life, which has led him to a hefty serving of nonfiction to learn new exciting things, fiction that sidesteps predictable tropes to deliver a truly unique reading experience, and seeking out authors whose perspec ...  Show more

Today Anne talks books with David Krohse, an Iowa reader who’s woven a love of literature into all aspects of his life — the waiting room of his chiropractic practice, the bar with a group friends, and quality time spent with his wife. David loves larger than life nonfiction, esp ...  Show more

Break out the wrapping paper, because our yearly WSIRN holiday recommendation episode is here! Listeners wrote and called in to let us know who they wanted to give the gift of reading to this Winter, and today, Anne is joined by Holland Saltsman of The Novel Neighbor in St Louis ...  Show more