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PODCAST

Lit with Charles

Welcome to Lit With Charles, a podcast on all things literary! I"m Charles Pignal, and every fortnight I’m asking guests about the four books which have made the biggest impact on their lives and work. If you"re like me, you love literature – but maybe aren"t always sure what you should be reading. The aim of this podcast is to make literature exciting and accessible; in each episode writers, artists, and other interesting people are giving real recommendations, to help you discover new books

arts books

All Episodes

00:25:04

Best Books of 2025

Lit with Charles ·

2025/12/22

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

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00:41:44

Manish Chauhan, author of "Belgrave Road"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/12/15

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

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00:46:46

Cosi Carnegie, Classics Historian

Lit with Charles ·

2025/12/08

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

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00:49:12

Ilya Gridneff, author of "Your Name Here"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/12/01

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

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00:46:38

The Special 100th Episode

Lit with Charles ·

2025/11/24

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

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00:47:23

Rosamund Bartlett, editor of "Anton Chekhov, Earliest...

Lit with Charles ·

2025/11/17

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

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00:45:13

James Geary, author of "The World in a Phrase"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/11/09

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

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00:51:22

Liliana Colanzi, author of "You Glow in the Dark"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/11/03

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

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00:44:13

Tessa Hadley, author of "The Party"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/10/27

This week I’m speaking with award-winning British author Tessa Hadley about her newest novella, The Party. Set in postwar Bristol, it follows two sisters over a single weekend as they move through a series of gatherings that reveal the class divisions and shifting gender roles of mid-century Britain — that fascinating era between the war and the Beatles.In our conversation, we discuss Hadley’s approach to memory, social change, and everyday life, as well as the literary influences that shaped her

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00:42:44

Mairi Kidd, author of "Poor Creatures"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/10/20

As we approach Halloween, I figured it was time to get a little gothic on the Lit With Charles podcast. My guest today is writer and literary champion Mairi Kidd, whose new novel Poor Creatures imagines the world of Mary Shelley before she wrote Frankenstein - the people around her, the ideas she was grappling with, and the forces that shaped one of the most enduring stories in literature.Our conversation ranges from the radical literary circles of the early 19th century to the power of Scottish

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00:41:00

Richard Scott, author of "Soho" and "That Broke into...

Lit with Charles ·

2025/10/13

We don’t have enough poetry on this show, and it’s time to change that. My guest today is Richard Scott, a contemporary British poet known for his bold, lyrical explorations of queer identity, desire, shame, and the politics of the body. He trained as an opera singer before turning to poetry, and has released two collections, Soho (2018) and That Broke into Shining Crystals (2025). In our conversation, Richard and I go through 4 poems that have inspired his journey as a poet and I was so grateful to

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00:41:13

Tom Ayling, a bookseller for Jonkers Rare books (REPLAY)

Lit with Charles ·

2025/10/06

We’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes: a 2023 conversation with rare bookseller Tom Ayling. Tom shares insights into the world of rare and antiquarian books — from the thrill of uncovering forgotten first editions to the evolving market for collectors.Now running his own business in Oxfordshire, Tom offers a behind-the-scenes look at book collecting, the history of the trade, and the enduring appeal of physical books. Perfect for anyone curious about rare books, literary history, and the

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00:50:49

Tom McCarthy, author of "The Threshold and The Ledger"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/29

Today I’m joined by acclaimed novelist and critic Tom McCarthy to talk about his latest book, The Threshold and the Ledger, a fascinating exploration of Ingeborg Bachmann — one of the most important writers of postwar European literature.We discuss Bachmann’s major works, including Malina and Salt and Bread, and the recurring themes of trauma, memory, history, and hospitality in her writing. Tom also shares the writers and books that shaped his own work, and we explore the connections between

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00:44:16

Alexander Starritt, author of "We Germans"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/22

In this episode of Lit with Charles, I speak with Alexander Starritt, author of the novels We Germans (2020) and Drayton and Mackenzie (2024).We Germans is a devastatingly humane wartime confession: an elderly German writes a long letter to his British grandson about serving on the Eastern Front, with the grandson’s present-day interjections sharpening the moral contrasts between war and ordinary life. Drayton and Mackenzie is a rare, gripping business novel that follows two friends from graduation

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00:46:07

Benjamin Pester, author of "The Expansion Project"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/15

In this episode of Lit with Charles, I speak with Ben Pester, author of the novel The Expansion Project.Blending corporate satire with surrealism, The Expansion Project follows Tom, who brings his daughter Hen to Capmeadow Business Park for “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.” When Hen vanishes without a trace, Tom’s reality begins to unravel. Decades later, an unnamed Archivist pieces together the story from the ruins of the mysterious “Expansion Project.”We discuss Ben’s approach to structure,

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00:39:02

Amy Twigg, author of "Spoilt Creatures"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/08

This week, we’re doing something a little different. Normally I’m the one asking the questions, but today, in the name of bringing new voices into the conversation, I’m handing the mic over to someone who usually works behind the scenes on the Lit With Charles podcast – Liv. In this episode, she speaks with British author Amy Twigg, whose fantastic debut Spoilt Creatures follows a 30-something woman as she joins an all-women commune in rural Kent, and falls down the rabbit hole in all that entails

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00:37:19

Alice Austen, author of "33 Place Brugmann"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/01

Today’s guest is a truly remarkable creative – novellist, screenwriter, playwright, producer, past resident of the Royal Court Theatre, co-founder of the Harvard Human Rights Journal, winner of the John Cassavetes Award for film, as well as the first American to receive a fellowship to the European Court of Human Rights. I spoke with Alice Austen about her debut book, 33 Place Brugmann, which is a suspenseful, emotive portrait of a Brussels apartment block during the Second World War. It’s always a

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00:36:48

Caitlin Macy

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/26

Today’s episode marks a very fun development in the Lit With Charles universe: my first repeat podcast guest! Caitlin Macy is an American writer known for her sharp portrayals of class, privilege, and social dynamics – especially of New York City’s elite. So, when I visited the States a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to make time to chat with her. Caitlin is a fantastic writer, and I found her thoughts on literature (and four book selections) absolutely fascinating.Lit with Charles loves reviews

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00:45:39

Joanna Pocock, author of "Greyhound"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/18

This week, I spoke with the Irish-Canadian author Joanna Pocock, whose new memoir, Greyhound, absolutely blew me away. The story follows Joanna as she recounts two journeys – one from 2006, and one from 2023 – that she took across the United States of America. However, unlike the classic ‘roadtrip’ novel, Joanna undertook the entirety of both journeys by Greyhound bus. What follows is an incredible portrait of a nation and its people: a feminist, ecological, anti-capitalist, profoundly humanist

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00:44:02

Tash Aw, author of "The South"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/11

My guest today is Tash Aw, the acclaimed author of The South, a moving coming-of-age novel set during the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis. The story follows 16-year-old Jay as he spends a summer on his family’s orchard in southern Malaysia, navigating family tension, economic uncertainty, and a tender relationship with another boy. It’s a quiet, potent emotional journey, as both wrestle with identity, desire, and belonging. In addition to The South, Tash is the author of several award-winning

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105 results

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