Book Off!
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Podcast Overview
<p>A fun, upbeat, accessible show about brilliant books, writing and culture. </p><br><p>Each episode sees two authors go head to head in a war of the words, championing a book they love and think we should all read...but only one can win.</p><br><p>This book podcast features an incredible array of authors from across the globe and some amazing, and sometimes unexpected, book recommendations. </p><br><p> #books #bookpodcast #authors #writers #booklovers #writing #literature #bookrecommendations #bookworms</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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Publishing Since
2/1/2019
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Recent Episodes
July 3, 2026
Justin Currie and Debsey Wykes
<p>Justin Currie - lead singer of Del Amitri - and Debsey Wykes - frontwoman of Dolly Mixture - join Joe for a natter about their memoirs, music, writing, forgotten histories and much more.</p><br><p>Justin talks about touring America, then and now, how the US took Del Amitri under their wings and, essentially, helped him buy a house!</p><br><p>Debsey talks about touring with The Undertones and U2, keeping an archive - and writing to remember.</p><br><p>They also recommend us some brilliant books that they have enjoyed recently!</p><br><p><br></p><p>THE BOOK OFF</p><p>'The Haunting Of Hill House' by Shirley Jackson</p><p>VS</p><p>'Train Dreams' by Denis Johnson</p><br><p><br></p><p>Here's a little more info on our guest's memoirs:</p><br><p><strong>'The Tremelo Diaries' by Justin Currie </strong></p><p>It’s 2022 and we join Justin at the doctor’s office, looking down the barrel of a Parkinson’s diagnosis. After concerned fans noticed a tremor in his hand, Currie sought the medical advice which led him to the discovery that would throw his future into uncertainty. </p><br><p>The immediate fallout of his diagnosis is laid bare in Currie’s candid, stream of consciousness voice. A voice that is also by turns poetic, self-deprecating and darkly humorous across a series of diary entries that capture Justin’s innermost feelings ― part travelogue, part confessional. </p><br><p>Following a coming to terms with the situation whilst on tour in the U.S, the second half of the story joins Currie in 2024, supporting Simple Minds on tour with Del Amitri. Anger, heartbreak and a looming sense of finality concoct a terse relationship between what once was and what may never be. Yet, page after page, what prevails is the achingly perfect timing of his acerbic wit.</p><br><p>The Tremolo Diaries is a beautiful and unique meditation on illness and aging. It is a twilight years reflection on band life in the 21st Century. It’s a travelogue around the world’s art galleries, parks, bars and sites of natural beauty. And most importantly, it is about love and friendship, adversity and courage, life and loss.</p><br><p>In a first-of-its-kind exploration of Parkinson’s by a multi-platinum selling musician, The Tremolo Diaries looks the dramatic irony of Currie’s affliction in the eye, puts down the guitar, and returns the needle to the start of the song.</p><br><p><br></p><br><p><strong>'Teenage Daydream: We Are The Girls That Play In The Band' by Debsey Wykes </strong></p><p>Debsey Wykes' memoir is a vivid coming-of-age story from one of the UK’s earliest female post-punk musicians. As bassist and vocalist in cult trio Dolly Mixture, Wykes was thrown into the male-dominated music world of the late 1970s, brushing against fame with an unlikely No.1 hit alongside Captain Sensible before finding long-term acclaim through her work with Saint Etienne.</p><br><p>Told with charm and defiance, the book revisits a youth shaped by DIY ethics, schoolgirl friendship, and the thrill of performance. It features appearances from key figures of the era — including Paul Weller, Madness, and The Pogues — and captures the spirit of a scene where handmade hula skirts met Top of the Pops.</p><br><p>Now performing with both Saint Etienne and her group Birdy, Wykes reflects on the enduring appeal of Dolly Mixture, whose reissues remain in high demand. Teenage Daydream is a rare, first-hand account of a woman forging her path through punk’s golden age.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
June 26, 2026
Pip Landers-Letts and Laura Evans
<p>Two authors go head to head in a war of the words! </p><br><p>This week - Laura Evans and Pip Landers-Letts join Joe Haddow for a natter. </p><br><p>They chat about writing sapphic fiction, big skies, eerie landscapes, the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award...and the joys of writing in Ikea! </p><br><p><br></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
June 19, 2026
Ken Follett and Amy Jeffs
<p>Multi-million selling superstar author, Ken Follett, returns to Book Off and goes head to head in a war of the words with author and artist Amy Jeffs.</p><br><p>Ken discusses his latest novel 'Circle Of Days' and his fascination with Stonehenge. He talks about the challenges of writing in different historic periods, deep research and how to turn lots of factual information into a brilliantly engaging, page-turning novel.</p><br><p>Amy chats about her book 'Old Songs', and her fascination with folk songs and ballads. Amy steeped herself in medieval history and has studied this period and the songs of this time extensively.</p><br><p>The two guests also give us some brilliant book recommendations - and Ken tells about his short-lived comedy writing career in the 70s!</p><br><p><br></p><p>THE BOOK OFF</p><p>'The Man Of Property' by John Galsworthy</p><p>VS</p><p>'Moonfleet' by J. Meade Falkner</p><br><p>But which one will win?</p><br><p><br></p><p>Here's a little more info on our guests' books:</p><br><p><strong>'Circle Of Days' by Ken Follett </strong></p><p>A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT</p><br><p>Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his stone at the Midsummer Rite, and to find Neen, the girl he loves. Her family lives in prosperity and offers Seft an escape from his brutish father and brothers, within their herder community.</p><br><p>A PRIESTESS WHO BELIEVES THE IMPOSSIBLE</p><br><p>Joia, Neen's sister, is a priestess with a vision and an unmatched ability to lead. As a child, she watches the Midsummer ceremony, enthralled, and dreams of a miraculous new monument, raised from the biggest stones in the world. But trouble is brewing among the hills and woodlands of the Great Plain.</p><br><p>A MONUMENT THAT WILL DEFINE A CIVILISATION</p><br><p>Joia's vision of a great stone circle, assembled by the divided tribes of the Plain, will inspire Seft and become their life's work. But as drought ravages the earth, mistrust grows between the herders, farmers and woodlanders - and an act of savage violence leads to open warfare . . .</p><br><p><br></p><p><strong>'Old Songs' by Amy Jeffs</strong> <strong>and Gwen Burns </strong></p><p>Old Songs fuses short stories, histories, lyrics and illustrations in an enthralling reimagining of traditional folk ballads. Sunday Times Bestselling historian Amy Jeffs and Illustrator Gwen Burns combine forces to create a rich compendium, singing of travel, mystery, magic and the essential urges of humanity.</p><br><p>Featuring iterations of fairy tales and sinister descendants of Greek myths and bible stories, as well as a cast of lesser-known characters with names like Tam Lim, Child Wynd and Maisery, Old Songs threads a tapestry of Britain's landscape, history and cultures. At the base of hills we can visit to this day, elf queens kidnap hapless poets and carry them through rivers of blood; and at the foot of a tree whose offspring still stand in the forests of Northumberland, a girl mimes combing the hairless head of a dragon who was once her brother.</p><br><p>In spellbinding tales of brown-skinned girls who danced on their lovers' graves, of golden-masted ships captained by the Devil, of fiddles that cried "Murder!", of men kidnapped by fairies and boys married at fourteen, we find narrative motifs as ancient as humanity itself.</p><br><p>In the histories interconnecting the stories, we find the fantastical rooted in the everyday, bringing to light the real experiences of great swathes of people to whom such story-songs were not only familiar, but a way of escaping into the extraordinary and returning gratefully home. Bringing enchantment to familiar landscapes, ballads were created anew by each singer and passed down from fireside to fireside, at the knees of childhood nurses, in manuscripts and in early printed pamphlets. Now, ten stories are gathered here, beautifully recreated for modern readers.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
173 total episodes available
Recent guests on Book Off!
Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.
David McCloskey
Guest
Paul Vidich
Guest
Wendy Holden
Guest
Jane Thynne
Guest
Linwood Barclay
Guest
CJ Tudor
Guest
Milly Johnson
Guest
Samuel Burr
Guest
Emilia Hart
Guest
Bridget Collins
Guest
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Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Book Off!?
<p>A fun, upbeat, accessible show about brilliant books, writing and culture. </p><br><p>Each episode sees two authors go head to head in a war of the words, championing a book they love and think we should all read...but only one can win.</p><br><p>This book podcast features an incredible array of authors from across the globe and some amazing, and sometimes unexpected, book recommendations. </p><br><p> #books #bookpodcast #authors #writers #booklovers #writing #literature #bookrecommendations #bookworms</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates weekly.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 10 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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