Experimental Punk, Stephen King, and Literary Lying

Things get rather gruesome this week, as Charles and Liv discuss two of the most shocking novels they've encountered. Charles has finally read Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, while Liv has been exploring the strange, provocative world of Kathy Acker's Blood and Guts in High School. From 1980s excess to punk feminism, there's plenty to unpack.The darker theme continues with the extraordinary story of Stephen King's near-fatal road accident in 1999, and its eerie parallels with his own fiction. Finally, a confession: Charles has been lying about the books he's read. From *War and Peace* to *American Psycho*, Charles and Liv discuss the classics they're embarrassed to have missed, and whether it's ever acceptable to pretend you've read a book.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

From 18th-century satire to some truly questionable 1990s pop music, this week's episode covers a fair bit of literary ground. Liv has been reading Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, while Charles tackles Chateaubriand's mammoth Memoirs from Beyond the Grave - a book with an almost unbelievable story behind its publication.Things take a musical turn with the revelation that, before becoming a bestselling novelist, Dan Brown tried his hand at becoming a pop star. There's also a rather more successful musical venture from Maya Angelou to discuss. Finally, Charles and Liv tackle a listener question: when does challenging literature become simply tedious? From William Faulkner to Olga Tokarczuk, they debate whether the rewards of a difficult book are always worth the effort.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Charles has found his new favourite book of all time: Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate, a sprawling Russian epic that has left him completely blown away. Liv, meanwhile, has been reading something considerably shorter – Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, a lyrical meditation on the colour blue, heartbreak and memory.From there, things take a criminal turn with the extraordinary story of an international gang stealing rare editions of Alexander Pushkin from libraries across Europe. And finally, a pressing domestic question: how should you organise your bookshelves? Charles and Liv consider everything from chronological arrangements to colour coding, and confess to some rather questionable bookshelf habits.There's also news from their Page to Picture book club at London's Roof Gardens.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Religion, artificial intelligence and a particularly terrifying lunch date are on the menu this week. Liv has been reading Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, while Charles tackles Pope Leo XIV’s thoughts on AI and the relationship between humanity and technology.Elsewhere, they revisit the time Christian Bale frightened American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis by turning up to lunch in character as Patrick Bateman. And speaking of literary lunches, which fictional character would you most like to sit down with? Charles and Liv make their picks, from Marcel Proust’s Parisian aristocrats to the mysterious disappearance at the heart of Picnic at Hanging Rock.Finally, some exciting news about Lit With Charles book collections at Tonic and Original Fibres in London.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Marguerite Duras and Philip K. Dick make for an unlikely pairing this week, as Charles and Liv compare notes on The Lover and A Scanner Darkly. Then, things get stranger with a trip through the extraordinary life of Victor Hugo – a man whose habits involved live bats, raw lobsters and some deeply questionable party tricks.Finally: when is it okay to give up on a book? Charles and Liv disagree on the virtues of persevering, the dreaded reading slog, and whether life is simply too short for bad books.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

This week, Charles and Liv discuss Gisèle Pelicot’s harrowing memoir A Hymn to Life and Alan Bennett’s brilliantly subtle Talking Heads.They also delve into Serge Doubrovsky’s The Broken Book and the strange, tragic consequences of turning your own life into fiction. Plus, they answer a listener question: do bestseller lists actually tell us anything useful? From publishing-industry marketing to what our reading habits reveal about society, Charles and Liv consider what — if anything — we can learn from the books that sell.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

This week, Charles and Liv discuss Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Kamel Daoud’s controversial novel Houris, exploring the Algerian Civil War and the strange story surrounding the book.They also uncover the time Hunter S. Thompson terrified Jack Nicholson with an elk heart, before answering a listener question: how do you decide what to read next? From obsessive reading spreadsheets to simply trusting the universe, Charles and Liv reveal their very different – or perhaps surprisingly similar – systems.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

This week, Charles and Liv discuss Ian Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only, Clarice Lispector’s strange and brilliant The Hour of the Star, and why some books are better read like poetry.They also uncover John Steinbeck’s unpublished werewolf novel and debate whether authors’ work should ever be published against their wishes. Plus, they answer a listener question: what would you change about contemporary book culture? From endless “best books” lists to the pressure to read 100 books a year, Charles and Liv have a few complaints.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

Welcome to a new season of Lit With Charles, and a new format, as Charles is joined by co-host Liv for a weekly conversation about books, reading and the literary world.This week, they discuss Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit, Javier Marías’s Tomás Nevinson, and the surprising history of the CIA using literature as Cold War propaganda, including Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. Plus, they answer a listener question: how do you encourage someone to read more? From putting down your phone to simply choosing books you actually enjoy, Charles and Liv share their best advice.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let’s get more people listening – and reading!

This week, Charles is joined by acclaimed novelist Santanu Bhattacharya. Santanu is one of the most exciting emerging voices in contemporary British fiction. Raised in India and now based in London, with eight cities across three countries in between, he is the author of the acclaimed novels One Small Voice and Deviants (2025). His writing explores identity, belonging, family, masculinity, and queer experience with remarkable warmth, intelligence, and emotional depth.Together, they explore queer literature and LGBTQ+ life in India, the impact of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the relationship between politics, identity and fiction. Santanu also shares his journey to becoming a novelist, the books and writers who shaped him, and what Pride means to him today.A fascinating conversation about writing, queer history, Indian literature and the stories that help us understand a changing world.