This episode is a little different from a regular Backlisted, the next episode of which has been delayed through illness (though given that its subject is the radio scripts of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, this tardiness may not come as a complete surprise). A conversation about shelftalkers in bookshops leads to a broader discussion about where we get our book recommendations and Andy runs a quiz based on the principle of algorithmic recommendation. There is also a discussion inspired by Thomas Bernhard’s pitch black 1980’s novel The Cheap Eaters (translated by Douglas Robertson) and John Boorman and Bill Stairs’ 1974 novelisation of the cult film, Zardoz.

Books mentioned
Kevin Barry - Night Boat to Tangier; Beatlebone
Thomas Bernhard - The Cheap Eaters
Duncan Sprott - The Clopton Hercules
Georg Perac - A Void
John Boorman - Zardoz
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy