WARNING: this episode contains some adult language.

We’re back after our festive hiatus – and how better to start the year than with a rundown of some of the most-anticipated reads of 2024. This week, Jo and James are joined by journalist and TLS podcast host Alex Clark, so listen in as they discuss the books, by Booker Prize authors and beyond, that we should all keep an eye out for this year.

2024 reading list:

• Long Island by Colm Tóibín


• The Women Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle


• James by Percival Everett


• Choice by Neel Mukherjee


• What Will Survive of Us by Howard Jacobson


• Parade by Rachel Cusk


• The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota


• The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry


• The Underground Sea by John Berger


• The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain by Kazuo Ishiguro


• Knife by Salman Rushdie


• My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison


• The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma


• Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi


• Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner


• Mr Geography by Tim Parks


• Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel


• Day by Michael Cunningham


• Enlightenment by Sarah Perry


• Godwin by Joseph O'Neill


• Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan

Other books mentioned:

• Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín


• The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle


• Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle


• The Committments by Roddy Doyle


• The Snapper by Roddy Doyle


• The Van by Roddy Doyle


• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle


• Two Pints by Roddy Doyle


• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain


• The Sellout by Paul Beatty


• The Trees by Percival Everett


• Erasure by Percival Everett


• Suder by Percival Everett


• The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee


• Who's Sorry Now? by Howard Jacobson


• Kalooki Nights by Howard Jacobson


• J by Howard Jacobson


• The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson


• Live a Little by Howard Jacobson


• Mother's Boy by Howard Jacobson


• The Dog's Last Walk: (and Other Pieces) by Howard Jacobson


• The Outline trilogy by Rachel Cusk


• Into the Fold by Rachel Cusk


• Second Place by Rachel Cusk


• Self-Portrait by Celia Paul


• The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota


• China Room by Sunjeev Sahota


• City of Bohane by Kevin Barry


• Beatlebone by Kevin Barry


• Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry


• The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie


• The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison


• The Hours by Michael Cunningham


• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry


• Virginia Woolf's Nose by Hermione Lee


• Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

You can listen to Alex's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-tls-podcast/id868068396  

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