Book Talk

Summer is heating up, and we have a sizzling edition of Booktalk to go with the rising temperatures. First up, host Ryan Van Winkle sits down with Ruth Ozeki, whose novel, A Tale for the Time Being, has been longlisted for this year's Booker Prize. The book, about a diary written by a 16-year-old Japanese girl that washes up in British Columbia, inspires a spirited discussion of such wide-ranging subjects as reader-writer relationships, how major world events can impact on a work-in-progress (and how said work can provide a sort of therapy for the writer), and bullying in both children and adults. It's also inspired a soulful tune from Bath-based The Bookshop Band, a trio of literary songwriters who were commissioned by the owner of Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights to liven up authors' readings with some original songs. Though nerve-wracking (they do have to perform the songs for the authors themselves, after all!) the Band has taken up the project and run with it magnificently. They now have nearly 100 tu