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A Good Read

A Good Read: Ruby Tandoh and Jake Yapp on favourite books by René Goscinny, Nora Ephron and Ian McEwan

A Good Read

BBC

Arts, Books

4.2848 Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2018

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Harriett Gilbert talks to comedian Jake Yapp, whose condensed satires include Radio 4 in 4 Minutes, and Ruby Tandoh, runner-up in The Great British Bake Off and cookery writer, about their favourite books.

Jake's is Nicholas Again by René Goscinny (author of Asterix) and Jean-Jacques Sempé, translated by Anthea Bell. Ruby loves Nora Ephron's essays I Remember Nothing: and other reflections, written at the end of her life. And Harriett introduces them to On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, which reminds Jake for some reason of the TV series Lost...

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Transcript

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0:00.0

In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers.

0:08.0

But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA

0:12.0

was himself an informer, a secret British army agent with the codename Stakeknife.

0:18.0

Who gets to play God? And why me? Why my family? When lies are still being told to this day,

0:24.0

who do you believe? I wouldn't even know where to start and I'm with the IRA.

0:28.5

Steakknife. Listen first on BBC Sounds. Hello, this is Harriet Gilbert. You've downloaded the

0:35.3

A Good Read podcast with Ruby Tando and Jake Yap.

0:39.7

Hello, today the shock of getting old and other thoughts from the late Nora Ephron,

0:44.8

a honeymoon disaster in Dorset, and a well-intentioned if somewhat pugilistic little French schoolboy.

0:51.3

With me to introduce their good read are first the comedian Jake Yap, currently hosting

0:56.0

TV program The Hirting on Dave. Jake's condensed satires include Radio 4 in 4 minutes, and coming up

1:04.3

later in the year on Radio 4 is Jake Yap saves humanity in 28 minutes. With him is Ruby Tando, runner-up in the Great British Bake Off,

1:14.5

and in 2016 voted the programme's favourite past contestant.

1:19.3

She's the author of three cookbooks,

1:21.0

Crumb the Baking Book,

1:22.6

flavour, eat what you love, and, just out, eat up.

1:27.4

Jake Yap, would you start off with your choice of a good read?

1:30.8

It is what?

1:31.7

It's Nicholas again by Gossini and Sompuy, two brilliant French writers and artists.

1:39.6

Gossany is most famous for having written the Asterix books, which I grew up on and loved. But Nicholas

1:45.9

was an invention that came a few years before Asterix, actually. And it's a series of short

1:51.2

stories about a little boy. And I have to take issue with you for saying pugilistic, because

...

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