<p>The FT’s books of the year special is out, and today, our literary editor Fred Studemann and outgoing deputy books editor Laura Battle join us one last time to talk about their top picks of 2024. This year has seen some huge releases from authors including Sally Rooney, Miranda July, Alexei Navalny, Al Pacino and Salman Rushdie. What trends did Fred and Laura notice this year? What books did they love? </p><p>-------</p><p><strong>As you know, the show is ending in early January – we’re still collecting your cultural questions. </strong>What’s rolling around in your head? How can we help? Email Lilah at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a> or message her on Instagram @<a href="https://instagram.com/lilahrap" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lilahrap</a>.</p><p>-------</p><p><strong>Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): </strong></p><p>– <strong>Books we mentioned: </strong><em>Orbital</em> by Samantha Harvey; <em>Patriot </em>by Alexei Navalny; <em>All Fours</em> by Miranda July;<em> Haunted Wood </em>by Sam Leith; <em>Rosarita</em> by Anita Desai; <em>There are Rivers in the Sky</em> by Elif Shafak; <em>Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World</em> by David van Reybrouck; <em>A Voyage Around the Queen</em> by Craig Brown; <em>Killing Time</em> by Alan Bennett; <em>Meditations for Mortals</em> by Oliver Burkeman; <em>The Wizard of the Kremlin </em>by Giuliano da Empoli;<em> Hope</em> by Pope Francis (2025); and <em>Dream Count</em> by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2025)</p><p>– The FT Books of the Year are out now! Here is a roundup of the FT’s top columnists and editors’ <a href="https://on.ft.com/3DeYPsT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">book recommendations for 2024</a>, including Fred’s top picks. Laura’s fiction picks are <a href="https://on.ft.com/4gvoOuy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>– Food, drink and travel books are <a href="https://on.ft.com/3VymFpC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. Music books <a href="https://on.ft.com/41tBSfy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. Art and design books are <a href="https://on.ft.com/4fgbYz2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. Check out the <a href="https://www.ft.com/booksoftheyear2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">full guide</a> for more (paywall)</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b2c58841-c7af-4212-aaf4-0dc3f16d0a59" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
