Andrew Maxwell and Kamila Shamsie

Harriett Gilbert and her guests - Irish stand-up comedian, Andrew Maxwell and Pakistani writer, Kamila Shamsie - discuss their favourite books by Doris Lessing, Anita Desai and John Steinbeck.

Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai Publisher: Vintage

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck Publisher: Penguin

In Pursuit of the English by Doris Lessing Publisher: Fourth Estate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.