I love hearing reviews and discussions about books on the radio. Once a month I go on to my local BBC radio station and review a book for the regular weekly Book Club slot on the drive time show. I asked to be one of the contributors because I am part of a Book Club set up by some of my fellow Nordic Walkers.
Sometimes I go on my own, sometimes I go with a fellow book club member. The books we choose sometimes – not always – have a reference to walking, or the countryside and great outdoors, which allows us to talk about Nordic walking over and above the introduction.
Books we have covered have included Clare Balding’s Walking Home and Simon Armitage’s Walking Away. Whilst this isn’t a slot to promote your business or interest blatantly, it can be an opportunity for you to get on air and link your books on the radio airwaves to books that cover what you do in an enjoyable way.
You could choose a book that inspired you to make some bold choices in your career, or encouraged you to take up a new hobby that then became a business. Don’t think just fiction: if you are in the food or hospitality business why not review a cookery book, or a travel book for those of you in tourism? Food for thought!
Feedback:
What’s your favourite book at the moment? Does it connect into something that’s currently in the news, or perhaps a challenge that your industry is facing. Sometimes using a book or quote as an analogy can be useful for media interviews when you want to explain something particularly complex.
Notice:
What books are people around you reading? What is the zeitgeist of the moment? And if you are facing an upcoming media interview, check out the interviewer – what are their favourite books. It is certainly worth investing a little time into building links with the interviewer, and what better than to exchange views over a shared love of literature or a favourite author.