Compulsive Reader Talks Top 5 Shows Of All Time

My radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks is nearing it's fifth year.  In Internet terms, that's a long time and a lot of shows, all dedicated to authors, books, and the changing world of publishing.   As we inch towards the end of 2011, I thought it might be interesting to have a little look back, and see which shows have been most popular.  So, in order of popularity, I'm listing the top five shows of all time, which you might like to listen to once more or catch up on if you missed them first time round.  Note that all of the shows are also available on iTunes and you can download them and listen to them in the car or while you're cooking, etc.  I think you'll find much here that's enlightening and interesting.  I know that I've certainly enjoyed the significant privilege of being able to talk to such inspirational people and am very excited about the line up for 2012.

 1.  Interview with Craig Silvey
Craig Silvey's novel Jasper Jones won a swag of awards and changed the writing game for this young novelist and musician.  With film rights in hand, the book is set to continue its well-deserved popularity.  Silvey dropped by shortly after the book was published to talk to us about Jasper Jones in a show that remains the most popular that I've ever aired.

2.  Interview with Helen Townsend
Helen Townsend has had over 17 books published, and dropped by the show to talk to me about her book Above the Starry Frame, a historical novel that followed the life of William Irwin, an Irish farm boy who migrated to Australia at 18 in 1849, leaving behind the Irish potato famine.

3.  Interview with Sir Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson has become an international celebrity for, among other things, his amazing TED Talks, and his life changing, educationally focused book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.  From my point of view, what I liked best about Ken Robinson, was how down to earth and just plain nice he was when we chatted, shortly after The Element was released.

4.  Interview with Howard Waldman
Howard Waldman's literary works busts all genres, bringing sci fi, fantasy, mystery and historical fiction into a seamless literary experience.  In this interview he talks to me about his book Good Americans Go to Paris When They Die. 

 5.  Interview with Mark Coker
I don't think it would be a stretch to credit at least some of the impact and growth of ebooks to Smashwords' Mark Coker. From a one man show with a single book to 80,000+ books, Smashwords opened the floodgates for self-publishing, changing the way books are published and sold. Many others have since followed, but perhaps none to the same extent.  Mark dropped by the show to talk about his site in the relatively early days, and to make some predictions which nearly all played out.