BBC's Between the Covers reveals its 12 book choices for fifth series

Books by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Benjamin Myers are to feature on the "Between The Covers", which returns to BBC for a fifth series in November.

Hosted by Sara Cox, the six-part series celebrates the enjoyment of reading in a book club-style setting. In each programme, a different group of four famous guests brings along a book of their choice and discuss a newly published book. Hot on the heels of the Booker Prize, each show will also feature a title from the Booker backlists.

Kicking off the selection of newly published books is Myers’ The Perfect Golden Circle (Bloomsbury), The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk (Transworld) and Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson (HarperCollins). 

Jess Kidd’s The Night Ship (Canongate), Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Orion) and The Dance Tree by Millwood Hargrave (Pan Macmillan) complete the line-up. 

The Booker backlist novels are Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Hodder & Stoughton), Snap by Belinda Bauer (Transworld), The Long Song by Andrea Levy (Headline), Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of The Day (Faber), Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Penguin Books) and Us by David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton). 

Among the guests for this season are Graham Norton, Amanda Abbington, Ruth Jones, Kae Kurd, Jenny Eclair, Stephen Mangan, Pam Ferris, Gabby Logan, Ugo Monye and Clara Amfo.

Cox said: "Absolutely over the moon that we’re back showcasing some excellent new books, celebrating forgotten gems and shining a spotlight on some mind-blowing debut authors with a brilliant bunch of guests! I suggest you find a quiet comfy spot, grab a brew and brace for your ‘to be read’ pile to get even taller and more teetering as we return with a fifth series of the world’s most welcoming book club."

Amanda Ross, c.e.o of Cactus TV, who leads the book selection panel, added: "We are especially excited about this series’ new book selections because we are able to shine a light on a truly diverse mix of talented writers, including debut novelists. Our selections from the Booker backlist will encourage audiences to try some truly great books they may have missed out on."

The 12 selected books featured in the series will be labelled with "Between The Covers" stickers in shops, libraries and online. Audiences can read and join the conversation on social media using #BetweenTheCovers.