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 a download from the BBC. To find out more, visit BBC.com.ukuk slash radio four.

Hello on today's programme. We explore the trends shaping contemporary Chinese writing,

and author of the globally popular Tales of the City series Armistead Morpin shares the book he'd never lend.

But first to Ireland, and an author whose debut novel, Four Letters of Love, remains firmly in my top ten,

16 years after it was first published. Nile Williams may not be a household name, but his gift

for symphonic prose and lush imagery has earned him a place

among the Irish greats. His skill for emotionally immersing his readers in the lives of ordinary

folk remains evident in a series of subsequent novels, where faith, hope, and the enduring

power of redemptive love are recurring themes. His latest book, History of the Rain, tells the story of Ruth Swain,

who, when we first meet her, is confined to bed with an unknown illness,

surrounded by almost 4,000 books as she narrates and writes the history of her family.

Here she is with her occasional tutor, Mrs. Quinty.

Mrs. Quinty hands me back the most recent pages of my family. Here she is with her occasional tutor, Mrs. Quinty. Mrs. Quinty hands me back the most recent pages of my book.

I only give her the ones in which she doesn't feature.

I write like a man and I'm a bit extreme, she has told me previously.

I'm that anacrism, a book reader, and from this my writing has developed eccentric superabundance of style,

...