Comic novelist Jonathan Coe and Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney recommend their favourite books, in conversation with presenter Harriett Gilbert. Jonathan's choice is the first in a tragi-comic epic, a semi-autobiographical novel by David Nobbs. Gemma chooses a novel by Laura Dockrill, a vividly imagined story of mermaids and pirates, while Harriett dusts off a Nevil Shute novel from the 1940s with a subject matter that is sharply topical
