Reports of our death have been grossly exaggerated. We're coming right at you with some meaty book questions. Does the literary world need a Rabbit Angstrom novel about Wayne Rooney? Does Mary Beard make for good poolside reading? And how on earth does anyone say the word 'minutiae'? All this and...well, mostly this.

New Vague Review of Books

1.7 - JEST IS BEST

What does the way you order and catalogue your books say about you? Was Dickens all about spanking people? If you listen to an audiobook at double speed, does it still count? All this plus the exclusive confessions of a student librarian. Powerful stuff.

1.6 - Long, hard Dickens

New year, new panellist. Our merry band save you a lot of precious time by naming the books you don't need to bother reading, Esme and Amy (and Producer Fred) admit to never having read 1984, and Jordan shares his controversial One-book policy. Plus we respond to your book-related troubles. Books (vaguely) discussed: Noughts & Crosses - Malorie Blackman, 1984 - George Orwell, The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Outsider - Albert Camus, The Plague - Albert Camus, the complete works of Graham Greene, My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante, The Story of a New Name - Elena Ferrante, War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy, Emma - Jane Austen, The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare, Great Expectations - Charles Dickens, Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf, The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka.

1.5 - What books don't you need to read?

We're hitting you with a veritable explosion of festive cheer. Has anyone actually read A Christmas Carol? What's the etiquette around giving the gift of books? Which great, alcoholic writer's signature drink should you be drinking this Christmas? All of this plus the usual blundering tomfoolery and a big reveal from Producer Fred. Books (sort of) discussed: The Kitchen Diaries III - Nigel Slater, As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner, The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald, A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens, Only Time Will Tell - Jeffrey Archer, The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler, How To Set A Fire And Why - Jesse Ball, Time Travel - James Gleick, Young Stalin - Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History - Boris Johnson, Pour Me: A Life - A A Gill, The Pigeon Tunnel - John Le Carre, The Human Stain - Philip Roth, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers. Audio engineering courtesy of Max Prior.

1.4 - Christmas Special

Here we go again. This episode is a journey of discovery; from finding out Tom doesn’t know what Goodreads is, to having our first ever serious(ish) discussion about anything ever. How many pages of a book should you read before you give it up? Are Donald Trump’s books worth reading? All this and much more, plus some very special furry panellists. Step inside. Books (vaguely) discussed: Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler, Eileen - Ottessa Moshfegh, Versions of Us - Laura Barnett, Story of My Teeth - Valeria Luiselli, Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn, Zayn - Zayn Malik, This Was A Man - Jeffrey Archer, Little Book of Hygge - Meik Wiking, Swing Time - Zadie Smith, NW - Zadie Smith, The Power - Naomi Alderman, Ivanhoe - Walter Scott, I Am Zlatan - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis, The books of Donald Trump, Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham, A Burnt Out Case - Graham Greene, Look Homeward, Angel - Thomas Wolfe, War Horse - Michael Morpurgo, Choke - Chuck Palahniuk. Audio engineering courtesy of Max Prior.

1.3 - Can bad people write good books?

The New Vague Review of Books is your thoroughly roughshod guide to the world of literature. Every episode we stumble through the topics that you’re curious about, in an ill-prepared and irreverent way that would make our old English lit teachers squirm a little bit. From Harry Potter to Infinite Jest, and everything in between; no book is out of our grasp. And look at that, we sort of know how to use a semi-colon. Sort of. Is there something you want us to discuss? Got a literary problem that needs our expertise? Get in touch: newvaguereviewofbooks.co.uk newvaguereviewofbooks@gmail.com @NewVagueRB

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New Vague Review of Books

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