You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.

My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.

The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.

With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping

you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together

by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,

check out BBC Sounds. This is the BBC.

Hello, with me today, Alexei Sale, godfather of alternative comedy, TV, film and theatre

actor, and author of screenplays, short stories, novels, plus an autobiography of which

volume two, Thatcher stole my my trousers came out last year.

On Radio 4, you can currently catch him in Alexei Sayles' imaginary sandwich bar.

With him is the novelist Meg Rosef, whose books for young adults include How I Live Now and, most recently Beck, a collaboration with the late Mal Pete. Last year I also saw the

publication of Meg's first novel for adults, Jonathan Unleashed. Meg, start us off. Your choice of a good

read is? Well, it's a high wind in Jamaica written by Richard Hughes in 1929. And a friend of mine in America, strangely, sent me this book,

which I'd never heard of, about five years ago. And I eventually got around to reading it.

And it absolutely blew my mind, so much so that I then went around trying to foisted on everybody

I knew. And I discovered that almost every male of a certain age in the UK read it in school.

And if you ask them what it's about, they all said it's about pirates.

And I became slightly apoplectic and said, it's not about pirates.

It's about everything except pirates.

It's about sex and coming of age and kidnapping and murder and, you know, how absolutely awful children are.

And then, you know, way down at the bottom of the list, it's kind of about pirates.

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