Letters of Note, Bookish Cures and a Santa Hat - the BBC Radio Oxford Afternoon Bookclub

The BBC Radio Oxford Afternoon Bookclub is always a lot of fun, but today's was more fun than usual. Perhaps it was the distinctly festive air (this is the last show we'll do this year after all), perhaps it was the selection of books, but it could have just been the general pantomime atmosphere...and a santa hat or two:

Together with Kat and Nigel of Coles Bookstore, you can might have spotted 'The Goldfinch' there (easily one of our favourite books of the year), and also 'Maps' by the wonderful Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński. But we also discussed Shaun Usher's sublime collection of 'Letters of Note', guitar-strumming astronaut-hero Chris Hadfield's 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth', and some 'Ant and Bee'.

But we kicked off with Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin's 'A Novel Cure'. This is a masterfully put together list of bookish cures for a whole range of ailments. From being 'too busy' to suffering from man-flu, listen in to what therapeutic reading the authors have on offer...

The BBC Radio Oxford Afternoon Bookclub - fast-forward to 1 hour 9 minutes for bookish inspiration for Christmas...