Blabbing with Booksellers - a Waterstones Brighton Podcast.

This week Phil was delighted to be joined by the author of one of his all-time favourite books. That book is The Lamb. The author is, of course, Lucy Rose. A wonderful chat in which Lucy digs into her writing process, the ongoing success of The Lamb, her approach to creativity post-neurodivergence diagnosis, upcoming work and even a mutual love for Dungeons and Dragons.

We're back with a super interesting episode this week. Phil's guests are Adam and Andy from "Action Your Potential", an actionable neuroscience company whose aim is to educade people in neuroscience and psychology to create positive change through understanding. It's a fascinating and very different episode with some incredible insight and reading recommendations for those looking to create some change in their lives through better habits. Books discussed: Action Your Potential https://www.actionyourpotential.org/ Atomic Habits https://www.waterstones.com/book/atomic-habits/james-clear/9781847941831 Courage To Be Disliked - Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-courage-to-be-disliked/ichiro-kishimi/fumitake-koga/9781760630737 The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-artists-way/julia-cameron/9781788164290 The Dose Effect https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dose-effect/tj-power/9780008667290 Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir https://www.waterstones.com/book/project-hail-mary/andy-weir/9781529157468 The Hotel Avocado - Bob Mortimer https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hotel-avocado/bob-mortimer/9781398529656 Being You - Anil Seth https://www.waterstones.com/book/being-you/professor-anil-seth/9780571337729 Incognito - David Eagleman https://www.waterstones.com/book/incognito/david-eagleman/9781782112464 Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker https://www.waterstones.com/book/why-we-sleep/matthew-walker/9780141983769

Phil is beyond excited to share this episode with you all. He sat down with legendary director Tim Pope to chat all about his new book "I Shoot Rockstars" and his life and career working with, alongside and around some of the biggest names in music. As a lifelong music nerd, this was a fun one to record and the book sounds fantastic. Be sure to check it out when it releases on 13th August 2025 - limited signed editions are available on Waterstones.com Books discussed: I Shoot Rock Stars - Tim Pope https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-shoot-rock-stars/tim-pope/9781035448210 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks https://www.waterstones.com/books/search/term/the+wasp+factory Flicker - Theodore Roszak Candide - Voltaire https://www.waterstones.com/book/candide-and-other-stories/voltaire/9781857151305 Cognitive Dissident: Conversations With The The's Matt Johnson - Matt Johnson and Jason Wood https://www.waterstones.com/book/cognitive-dissident/matt-johnson/jason-wood/9781915841650 Easy Riders Raging Bulls - Peter Biskind https://www.waterstones.com/book/easy-riders-raging-bulls/peter-biskind/9780747544210 High Concept - Charles Fleming https://www.waterstones.com/book/high-concept/charles-fleming/9780747542629 Curepedia: The Story of The Cure - Simon Price https://www.waterstones.com/book/curepedia/simon-price/9781474619356 Every Man For Himself And Go Against All - Werner Herzog https://www.waterstones.com/book/every-man-for-himself-and-god-against-all/werner-herzog/michael-hofmann/9781529923865 Dream Brother - David Browne https://www.waterstones.com/book/dream-brother/david-browne/9781857029895

This week Phil sat down with David, another Senior Bookseller from the store who is found mostly amongst our Non-Fiction work. It's a wonderful chat in which David opens up with vulnerability about his journey with Personal Development and Self-Help and how that informs not only his worldview, but also his interactions with customers in our store. Recommendations aplenty in this one so here's a list of which titles came up: Rupert The Bear Annual https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-rupert-annual-2026/rupert-bear/farshore/9780008682262 Simple Electronics - Ladybird Books Richard Dawkins - Selfish Gene https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-selfish-gene/richard-dawkins/9780198985389 Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-god-delusion/richard-dawkins/9781804997123 Anil Seth - Being You https://www.waterstones.com/book/being-you/professor-anil-seth/9780571337729 Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-alchemist/paulo-coelho/9780722532935 Richard N Bolles - What Color Is Your Parachute? https://www.waterstones.com/book/what-color-is-your-parachute-2023/richard-n-bolles/9781984861207 Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird/harper-lee/9781784752637 John Williams - Stoner waterstones.com/books/search/term/stoner+williams Ursula K Le Guin - The Word For The World https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-word-for-world/ursula-k-le-guin/sarah-shin/9781068591815 Jeff VanderMeer - Annihilation https://www.waterstones.com/book/annihilation/jeff-vandermeer/9780008139100

I hope it goes without saying that I was utterly thrilled to be able to chat to Norman Cook for this episode. He's a worldwide musical megastar and is now dipping his toes into new waters with the release of his wonderful book, a photographic restrospective look at his career entitled "It Ain't Over ... 'Til The Fatboy Sings". We chat about everything from cultural influence, the composition of the book itself, music videos, the experience of playing iconic music venues and the sense of togetherness, community and connection that is central to his work. A really fun and interesting chat and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you.

I was over the moon to be joined by Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters and the fantastic new title; The Girl With A Thousand Faces. Join us as we chat about Sunyi's journey as an author, take a closer look at both of her full length novels with some wonderful insight into her creative process, cultural influences and narrative structure. Sunyi's Book Recommendations: Harbour Of Hungry Ghosts - Eliza Chan https://www.waterstones.com/book/harbour-of-hungry-ghosts/eliza-chan/9780356526607 When Sleeping Women Wake - Emma Pei Yin https://www.waterstones.com/book/when-sleeping-women-wake/emma-pei-yin/9781529440706 There Is No Antimemetics Division - QNTM https://www.waterstones.com/book/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/qntm/9781529953176

In this episode we meet Steve, a senior bookseller who works primarily on the Children's floor of our store. He's a space-obsessed, Sci-Fi enthusiast who loves to learn and inspire young readers through humour, imagination and fun. A really lovely episode. There's something here for everyone. Books discussed: Don't Trust Fish - Neil Sharpton The Lost Robot - Joe Todd-Stanton Butterfly Garden - Harry Woodgate Monkeypig - Huw Aaron Sleep Tight Disgusting Blob - Huw Aaron Huge Numbers - Richard Elwes Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams Robert Rankin - Trout Mask Replica Robert Rankin - The Anti-Pope The Ascent Of Rumdoodle - W. E. Bowman Wildlands - Brogan Murphy Murder by Narwhal - Alex T. Smith Grimstink - Daniel Peake Mallory Vale and the Curse of Maggoty Skull - Martin Howard People Need People - Benjamin Zephaniah Fungus The Bogeyman - Raymond Briggs Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder

I was absolutely delighted to be joined by Irish Times Best Selling Author Kim Curran this week. I adored both The Morrigan and Brigid, both of which are steeped in Irish folklore and mythology, using Kim's unique voice to tell the stories of two of the most incredible women of Western mythology and history. Join us as we chat all about Kim's journey into writing, her exploration of different genres, deep dives into both The Morrigan and Brigid as well as brief look at what the future holds. See you on the shop floor.

In this episode I'm joined by Rich, one of our managers at the Brighton store. Anyone that follows our social media channels will be familiar with Rich's top tier Horror recommendations. An avid reader, passionate bookseller and all-round great guy, this was a real treat of a chat. Books mentioned: J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit Stephen King - Carrie/Pet Semetary Caroline Bicks - Monsters In The Archives Stephen Graham Jones - Buffalo Hunter Hunter Kylie Lee Baker - Bat Eater Keith Rosson - Crone Dead Ink Publishing Alice Evelyn Yang - A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing Lucy Rose - The Lamb Will Maclean - Solace House

For our first ever episode, I was thrilled to be joined by the lovely Sam. Sam works as the Head of Events at Waterstones Brighton as well as a bookseller on the shop floor. We chatted about life as an Events Manager, recent Lit Fic reads, a few all-time favourites and some upcoming releases Sam is excited about. Get ready to add to that TBR! Books Discussed: Melissa Auf Der Maur - Even The Good Girls Will Cry Lucy Rose - The Lamb Sarah Gilmartin - Service Douglas Stuart - Shuggie Bain/ Young Mungo/ John Of John Maggie O'Farrell - Land Chris McQueer - Hermit Marilynne Robinson