Welcome to the first edition of Rippling Pages: Ask the Host!

Over the years, I’ve been asking the questions, but it’s about time I answered some too.

So, that’s what I’ve done: I’ve picked out some questions from the Rippling Pages inbox, and answered them!

In this episode, I answer:

- Where am I from? - Why did I start the podcast? - Who would I like to interview? - What books have I enjoyed recently? - Would I rather speak every language or to every animal?!

Got a question yourself? Why not leave a review and a question and I might pick out one for a future show! Lots of books and writer’s mentioned in this one

Reference Points: Alice Chadwick - Dark Like Under (Daunt Books) Anton Chekhov Vincent Delacroix - Small Boat (Hope Road Publishing) - translated Helen Stevenson Gurnaik Johal - Saraswati (Serpent’s Tail) Vincenzo Latronico Tiago Miller Iris Mwanza Oluwaseun Olayiwola - Strange Beach (Fitzcarraldo Editions) Pola Oloixarac Mercè Rodereda Montserrat Roig - The Song of Youth (Fum d’Estampa) Montserrat Roig - Goodbye Ramona (Fum d’Estampa) Montserrat Roig - The Time of the Cherries (Daunt Books) Anthony Shapland - A Room Above a Shop (Granta Books) Olga Tokarczuk Virginia Woolf

"She finds herself in London working in a theatre having to touch people!"

Elaine Garvey, to discuss her novel, THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT, published by Canongate Books. It’s 2002. Mairéad Sweeney has moved from rural Ireland to work in London’s West End. While the prestige of working in theatre doesn’t exactly wear off, the long hours and spoiled actors make Mairéad’s transition from Ireland more difficult than it should be. Things get even more difficult when Mairéad has to return home for her grandmother’s funeral. It’s here she begins to reconcile with the life, people and values she left behind. This is Elaine’s first book. She has been published in the Dublin Review and the Winter Papers, and has been awarded funding schemes by the Irish Department of Arts for her writing. ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points 1.31 - Why the year 2002? 4.32 - books about women walking. 5.39 - who is Mairéad and why is she in London 7.39 - what is the wardrobe department 9.40 - shadowing the costume department! 12.10 - differences between London and Mairéad's home in Ireland. 13.34 - Mairéad's family. 14:40 - Mairéad's boss. 18.15 - Similarities to the Milkman 21. 16 - when is Mairéad's moment of realisation 23.48 - Choosing your words and religion. 27.29 - Is how Mairéad feels about Ireland different to Elaine? 29.15 - how the novel emerged from a short story. Reference Points Anna Burns - Milkman Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre Seamus Heaney - Sweeney Astray Hilary Mantel - The Mirror and The Light Herta Müller - The Land of Green Plums Rozsika Parker - The Subversive Stich Virginia Woolf - Mrs Dalloway

“It’s my mum’s favourite book that I wrote!” Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he’s moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he’s deferring some health issues and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben’s own experiences. Ben’s novel, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications.

We discuss:

• Are families about power dynamics? Hear about Ben and I reflecting on our family life
• Is Steph Curry Benjamin’s new obsession instead of Michael Jordan?
• Why is Syme, Ben’s first novel, his mum’s favourite novel?

***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation!

https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages