Bestselling author Robert Harris joins Simon and Matt for a Q&A episode.

He tells us the last book her really REALLY enjoyed reading, what he learns (and has learnt) from writing each of his books, why he's drawn to WWI and WWII and who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Harris returns to Books Of The Year to discuss his new novel, 'Precipice', with Simon and Matt.

A new Robert Harris novel is always a big moment - and once again, he hasn't let us down!

They chat about the extraordinary letters that were sent from Prime Minister H.H. Asquith to the woman he was besotted with, Venetia Stanley, and how that relationship changed the shape of government forever.

'Precipice' like many of Robert's novels is based on true events - and so these letters, and Asquith's love for Venetia Stanley, form the backbone of this book.

He also discusses his research, 'The War Book' which he got to hold in the national archives - and what he thinks Asquith would have made of our current government.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Macintyre returns to Books Of The Year and answers questions about his craft, research, favourite books and authors.

He tells us who he would invited to his fantasy dinner party, and gives us some great book recommendations too.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Macintyre joins us again to discuss his brilliant new book 'The Siege'

Simon and Matt chat to him about the incredible research and interviews he undertook to write the account of this incredible historic event.

They delve into who carried out The Siege and what the people wanted, and how Ben managed to get so much access to the first hand accounts.

Here's a little more on the book:

On April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park in London. There they took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors, and three British citizens.

A tense six-day siege ensued as millions gathered around screens across the country to witness the longest news flash in British television history, in which police negotiators and psychiatrists sought a bloodless end to the standoff, while the SAS – hitherto an organisation shrouded in secrecy – laid plans for a daring rescue mission: Operation Nimrod.

Drawing on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS, and testimony from witnesses including hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site psychiatrist, bestselling historian Ben Macintyre takes readers on a gripping journey from the years and weeks of build-up on both sides, to the minute-by-minute account of the siege and rescue.

Recreating the dramatic conversations between negotiators and hostages, the cutting-edge intelligence work happening behind-the-scenes, and the media frenzy around this moment of international significance, The Siege is the remarkable story of what really happened on those fateful six days, and the first full account of a moment that forever changed the way the nation thought about the SAS – and itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome music journalist and author David Hepworth to the studio, to find out about his favourite authors and books and get a sense of his reading habits.

You'll probably be as surprised as us to discover that he only reads standing up!

There's also a surprise question from broadcasting legend, Bob Harris, and we find out who David would invite to his fantasy dinner party!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome music journalist David Hepworth to the studio.

His new book - Hope I Get Old Before I Die - looks at how enduring rock icons like Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen and many more have remained in the ever changing music game.

They discuss Mick Jagger, Elton John, Paul McCartney and many other rock icons, and just how and why they are still so relevant today.

The book is full of great anecdotes, which are endlessly quotable, and is a must read for any music fan.

We hope you enjoy the chat !

(here's a little more on the book)

When Paul McCartney closed Live Aid in July 1985 we thought he was rock's Grand Old Man. He was forty-three years old.

As the forty years since have shown he - and many others of his generation - were just getting started.

This was the time when live performance took over from records. The big names of the 60s and 70s exploited the age of spectacle that Live Aid had ushered in to enjoy the longest lap of honour in the history of humanity, continuing to go strong long after everyone else had retired.

Hence this is a story without precedent, a story in which Elton John plays a royal funeral, Mick Jagger gets a knighthood, Bob Dylan picks up the Nobel Prize, the Beatles become, if anything, bigger than the Beatles and it's beginning to look as though all of the above will, thanks to the march of technology, be playing Las Vegas for ever.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ragnar Jonasson is a veracious reader and prolific writer. In this Q&A episode, he talks about his writing processes, his favourite authors and how he orders his bookshelves.

We also hear from fellow author Vaseem Khan, who poses a question to Ragnar, and discover who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ragnar Jonasson joins Simon and Matt to discuss his latest novel, 'Death At The Sanitorium'

They talk about the influence of Agatha Christie, the Icelandic way of life and how he keeps so many stories in his head at one time.

Remember you can get in touch with us any time - to let us know what you're reading, books you have loved (or not) recently - and if any of our recommendations have gone down well.

Our email is: [email protected]

And we're on instagram and threads too!

Here's a little more about Death At The Sanitorium

AN OLD SANATORIUM. ONE TERRIFYING MURDER. FIVE SUSPECTS. AND A CASE THAT NEVER CLOSED.

WELCOME TO THE SANATORIUM

High up in the mountains stands a sanatorium. Once a hospital dedicated to treating tuberculosis, it now sits haunted by the ghosts of its past.

One wing of the hospital remains open and houses six employees: the caretaker, two doctors, two nurses and a young research assistant.

Despite the wards closing decades ago, they remain at the hospital to conduct research. But the cold corridors, draughty windows and echoey halls are constant reminders of the building’s dark history.

When one of the nurses, Yrsa, is found brutally murdered, they discover that death has never left this place – and neither did its secrets. None can escape this terrifying legacy.

Despite just five suspects the case is never solved and remains open for two decades. Until a young criminologist named Helgi Reykdal attempts to finally lay the ghosts of the hospital's past to rest . . .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former journalist turned author, Chris Brookmyre, joins Simon and Matt for a spot of Q&A.

They ask him about the last book he really really enjoyed, whether there's a book or plot her wished he'd written, and who he'd invite to his fantasy dinner party.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Brookmyre joins Simon and Matt to chat about his latest novel.

You may have heard Mark Billingham on one of our previous Q&A episodes rave about The Cracked Mirror? Well, he did such a good job - we read it, and loved it too! So we had to have Chris on!

The idea for the book came from a discussion with his Editor, who was looking for a meta crime novel. Chris has never been one to shy away from a challenge, and loves to mix up genres, so he came up with an elevator pitch "What would happen if Miss Marple had to work with Harry Bosch?"

What we have is The Cracked Mirror - where cosy crime meets the grittier end of the scale. (more on the book below)

As well as his new novel, Chris discusses his gig at Glastonbury, his writing processes and how and why the crime writing community is so supportive.

THE CRACKED MIRROR

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Whitaker joins Simon Mayo and Matt Williams for the Q&A episode.

He discusses the last book he really REALLy enjoyed reading, his writing routine and who he'd invite to his fantasy dinner party.

Also, in an exclusive, he reveals us what his next book is about and what we can expect!

Author of The List Of Suspicious Things, Jennie Godfrey, surprises Chris with a question - and - we find out what profession he might have chosen, if he hadn't become an author.

*if you missed our chat with Chris about his new novel, All The Colours Of The Dark, you can find it wherever you're listening to this one!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices