Pulp fiction v the classics: summer reading

<p>What do we mean by a “good book”? Some people choose a holiday read that demands time and attention. Others pick rip-roaring novels that require little thought. Our bookworms discuss whether art has to be improving to be praiseworthy, and give genre fiction some much-needed air time.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>This is a full list of the books mentioned in the show:</p><p>“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen</p><p>“Red Rising” by Pierce Brown</p><p>Jack Reacher series by Lee Child</p><p>“The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy</p><p>“Riders” and the other Rutshire chronicles by Jilly Cooper</p><p>Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman</p><p>“Middlemarch” by George Eliot</p><p>“Ulysses” by James Joyce</p><p>“Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel</p><p>“The Diamond Age” by Neal Stephenson</p><p>The Murderbot series by Martha Wells&nbsp;</p><p>“The Martian” by Andy Weir</p><p>“American Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Catherine Nixey, culture and Britain correspondent</li><li>Tom Standage, Economist deputy editor</li><li>Alexandra Suich Bass, culture editor</li><li>Alex Hern, AI writer</li><li>Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Fiction, romance, sci-fi, crime, thrillers, fantasy, romantasy</li><li>Jane Austen, Jilly Cooper, Curtis Sittenfeld, Lee Child</li><li>Matt Dinniman, Pierce Brown, Neal Stephenson</li></ul><p><br /></p><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—</em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+</em></a></p><br /><p><em>For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>