459: Kiran Desai - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

A book 19 years in the making, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai is a spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years – an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity. Robert Kirkwood asks Kiran about her writing process, casting the audio version and where to get a good kebab in New York.

A listen back to the times I was set free at both Boswell and Wigtown Book Festivals featuring Rupert Everett, Louise Minchin, Wayne Sleep, Dom Joly and Andrew O'Hagan.

A listen back to some 2025 highlights from later in last year including Percival Everett, Yael van der Wouden, Nate Lessore, Margaret McDonald, David Szalay and pay tribute to Frederick Forsythe and Dame Stella Rimington.

A listen back to some 2025 highlights from early last year including AJ West, Yael van der Wouden, Rachel Kushner, Clare Mackintosh, Lucy Edwards and pay tribute to narrator Steve Hodson.

In today's Read On, Robert Kirkwood chats to the Map Men, also known as Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones about their debut book This Way Up - When Maps Go Wrong (and why it matters).In the second part of their chat they discuss accessibility, made up mountains, an audiobook co-incidence and even have a feel of a tactile map from RNIB.Plus we'll find some more festive books in the RNIB Library.

In today's Read On, Robert Kirkwood chats to the Map Men, also known as Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones about their debut book This Way Up - When Maps Go Wrong (and why it matters). In this first part of a two part show Jay and Mark talk about accents, breaking the fourth wall and addressing the listener directly and about turning a very visual book into an audiobook. Plus we'll find some festive books in the RNIB Library.

Author of many favourites in the RNIB Library, Joanna herself was very aware of the importance of accessibility as she had an eye condition that made her partially sighted. Here she is on the importance of Talking Books

From her home in Los Angeles, author E.K. Wise tells Robert Kirkwood about The Keepers of the Rock - Book 1 The Debilis Rising, a thrilling YA fantasy full of secrets, crystals and history. We discuss the science behind the book, about neurodivergent representation and ask why the audio version was recorded in the UK Plus we find some new books in the RNIB Library

In the final show this year recorded in Scotland's Book Town, we chat to author Annaliese Avery about her new series, The Wycherleys, storyteller Renita Boyle has some Wild Words and listener Charlotte Bennie, and her guide dog Christie, tell us what the Wigtown Book Festival is like for accessibility. Plus as always, we find some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today Robert Kirkwood chats to Nicholas Jubber about Monsterland, a journey around the world's dark imagination and he also talks to an author with two heads ... those being that of Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman AKA Ambrose Parry, about the latest Raven and Fisher mystery, The Death of Shame. We also travel to the RNIB Library to find some brand new books.