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Johny Pitts talks to Laura Barnett, whose previous books include The Versions of Us and Greatest Hits, about her seasonal novel Gifts. Inspired by The Twelve Days of Christmas, Gifts weaves a festive paper chain of stories, as twelve interconnected characters in a small Kent village search to give a perfect gift.

From neuro science to nature writing to literary biography and memoir; Johny discusses some of the best non-fiction titles of the year with writers Sathnam Sanghera, Kate Summerscale, and environmentalist Anita Roy.

Yana Vagner’s debut book ‘To the Lake’ tells the story of a deadly flu epidemic sweeping through Moscow. Yana sends a literary postcard from her home city, taking us back to childhood memories of her favourite bookshop.

Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Kirsten Locke

Book List – Sunday 19 December and Thursday 23 December

Why I Adore the Night by Jeanette Winterson
Gifts by Laura Barnett
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett
To the Lake by Yana Vagner: Translated by Maria Wiltshire
Ain’t I a Woman? by bell hooks
Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera
The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale
A Year in Kingcombe by Anita Roy
Gifts of Gravity and Light and Pippa Marland by Anita Roy
This Lonely Century by Noreena Hertz
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Islands of Abandonment by Carl Flynn
I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain by Anita Sethi
Return of a Native by Vron Ware
A Thing of Beauty: Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece by Peter Fiennes
The Sleeping Beauties by Suzanne O’Sullivan
It’s All in Your Head by Suzanne O’Sullivan
Maybe I Don't Belong Here by David Harewood
The Selfless Act of Breathing by J.J Bola
Burning Man by Frances Wilson
Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
My Mess is a Bit of a Life by Georgia Pritchett
Sidesplitter by Phil Wang
Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Book details for Anita Roy

https://www.waterstones.com/book/gifts-of-gravity-and-light/anita-roy/pippa-marland/9781529363159 for Gifts of Gravity and Light,
and https://anitaroy.net/2019/12/a-year-in-kingcombe-the-wildflower-meadows-of-dorset/ for Year in Kingcombe.