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Reading makes you better (in bed)
Reading makes you better (in bed)
Author: Amy Lovat & Laura Kebby
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© 2026 Secret Book Stuff
Description
Amy and Laura from Secret Book Stuff tell you what to read, what to watch, and stuff about their queer relationship you didn’t know you wanted to know.
Reading makes you better (in bed) is a podcast about books, popular culture, sexuality and relationships, and our life together as a same-sex couple.
Secret Book Stuff is an online bookshop specialising in book subscriptions and gifts for book-lovers. For every book sold, we plant a tree. Find us at www.secretbookstuff.com
10 Episodes
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Season finale: Our favourite books of 2022
In our final episode of season 1, we tell you Our favourite books of 2022, recap the year that was, share our visions for 2023 and decide on our WORD OF THE YEAR!
Season 2 of Reading Makes You Better (In Bed) will be back with a bang very soon.
In the meantime, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and sign up for our Secret Book Club to read excellent books alongside us this year.
Books mentioned in the show:
Wild Abandon - Emily Bitto
Notes on Heartbreak - Annie Lord
Salt and Skin - Eliza Henry-Jones
You can also check out Amy's top 9 books of the year here
Also special mention to:
Come From Away (which is incredible)
Thanks for listening to Reading Makes You Better (In Bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Gadigal land. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal landSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode we introduce a brand new segment called 'The quick and dirty' with the latest fun book news you need to know! We also share our top tips on how to get out of a reading slump, our thoughts on the recent Cruel Intentions Musical that came to Sydney, AND we reveal our August book club choice: Salt & Skin by Eliza Henry Jones, which is set in Scotland, and we'll be in Scotland for the virtual book club next month, with Eliza Henry Jones as our guest! Sign up here: https://www.secretbookstuff.com/amy-laura-book-club Books mentioned in the show: The New Yorker magazineCat Person by Kirsten RoupenianThe Twenty-seventh Annual African Hippopotamus Race by Morris LurieThe Twits by Roald DahlGeorge's Marvellous Medicine by Roald DahlFlat Stanley by Jeff BrownRowan of Rin by Emily RoddaThe Princess Diaries by Meg CabotThe Babysitter's ClubAlly's World by Karen McCombieBlack Beauty by Anna SewellTwo Weeks with the Queen by Morris GleitzmanThe Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid BlytonThe Secret Seven by Enid BlytonYou by Caroline KepnesDirt Town by Hayley ScrivenorTonight I'm Someone Else by Chelsea HodsonIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote Audiobooks mentioned in the show: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins ReidWhite Oleander by Janet FitchMy Thoughts Exactly by Lily AllenBecoming by Michelle ObamaBack, After the Break by Osher GunsbergThis May Hurt a Little by Busy Phillips TV Shows mentioned in the show: You (Netflix) Movies mentioned in the show: Cruel Intentions Thanks for listening to Reading Makes You Better (In Bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Gadigal land. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode we talk about the short stories that Laura is loving at the moment, analyse each other based on the movies that made us, and reveal where we are going on a writing/hiking/working holiday very soon!
Books mentioned in the show:
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
So Late in The Day, a short story in the New Yorker by Claire Keegan
Trucks by Stephen King, a short story in Night Shift
Movies mentioned in the show:
Centre Stage (2000)
Coyote Ugly (2000)
Bring It On (2000)
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
You've Got Mail (1998)
Thanks for listening to Reading Makes You Better (In Bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Gadigal land. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode (recorded via Zoom with Laura in the middle of NT!)... we talk about the books Laura took away with her, what we're reading at the moment, the fun movie challenge we set each other to stay connected during our months apart, and AMY'S BIG NEWS that we've been teasing for the past month. Books mentioned in the show: Enduring Love by Ian McEwan Felicity by Mary Oliver The Children Act by Ian McEwan Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby (our latest book club choice for Amy + Laura's Book Club) I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton Movies mentioned in the show: Centre Stage (2000) Coyote Ugly (2000) Bring It On (2000) Sleepless in Seattle (1993) When Harry Met Sally (1989) You've Got Mail (1998) Podcasts mentioned in the show: We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle -- the Liz Gilbert episodes Thanks for listening to Reading Makes You Better (In Bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Pintubi land. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode... we talk about what we've been reading lately and how we decide what to read next when we have teetering piles all over the house. And we reveal how many books we own after creating a Google spreadsheet inventory. Then we contemplate why we're all so obsessed with con artists and scammers right now, and share some life updates, like the fact that we just moved house again for the fifth time in two years. Listen to find out why! Books mentioned in the show: Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid TV Shows mentioned in the show: WeCrashed on AppleTV+ The Dropout on Disney Inventing Anna on Netflix Podcasts mentioned in the show: Who The Hell is Hamish? Scamfluencers Queen of the Con Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Gadigal land. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode... we talk about what we've been reading lately. Amy has been churning through great reads (but also starting way more books than she's finishing) and Laura is (surprise, surprise) reading a whole bunch of camping and hiking books in preparation for her Larapinta Trail hike in the NT in June. Plus, we talk about two reality TV shows we've been kind of obsessed with lately, and that we don't agree on, and share an update on our new small-town country life. Spoiler alert: there isn't much of an update, we've been so ridiculously busy with work and travel commitments. Oh and... the rain. The relentless rain, gah! It starts raining again in the episode. What a surprise. Also, remember that time Amy auditioned for Home & Away? Cringe. Books mentioned in the show: Love & Virtue by Diana Reid Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto Echolalia by Briohny Doyle Adult Fantasy by Briohny Doyle 10 Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby Wild by Cheryl Strayed Bewildered by Laura Waters Bliss(ters) by Gail M Francis Journeys North by Barney Scout Mann Heartsick by Jessie Stephens Deadlines Don't Care if Janet Doesn't Like Her Photos by David Thorne Theroux the Keyhole by Louis Theroux Podcasts mentioned in the show: Shameless Sentimental in the City with Dolly Alderton and Caroline O'Donoghue And Just Like That... The Writers RoomTV shows mentioned in the show: Byron Baes (Netflix) Love is Blind (Netflix) And Just Like That (Binge) Please donate books to flood-affected communities!We've donated to @blackfullabookclub (look them up on Instagram) and then Lismore Public Library. Find more details on our Instagram and on the @newcastlewritersfestival Instagram. Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Gundungurra Country. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode... we have officially decided on our 2022 reading goals, and we revisit our 2021 goals (did we keep them? Do we feel shitty about it?). Plus, we give some hot notes to the writers of And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot, and debunk the myths and common assumptions people have about our same-sex relationship.
Other fun links: That's bullsh*t Carrie and you know it!
Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram.
This podcast is recorded on unceded Gundungurra Country. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode... our summer reading list, our attempted rewrite of the Jagged Little Pill musical, and our big news! We moved from Newcastle to the Southern Highlands, and we've been dubbed the youngest gays in the village. Books mentioned in the show:Acknowledgements by Becky Lucas488 Rules for Life by Kitty FlanaganTurns Out I'm Fine by Judith LucyIt Ends With Us by Colleen HooverYou and Me On Vacation by Emily HenryLucky by Marissa StapleyThe Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller Other fun links:Jagged Little Pill, the musical - write up by Time Out Dec 2021How to spice up your sex life with Harry Potter by Becky Lucas on At Home Alone Together, ABCMaggie McKenna is Gina Riley's offspring and Amy's mind is blown! Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram. This podcast is recorded on unceded Gundungurra Country. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode... in defence of the beauty of hate-watching Twilight (don't hate us coz you ain't us), secret questions to test the strength of our relationship, and we share our top 5 desert island favourite books of all time, as inspired by High Fidelity (the novel by Nick Hornby and subsequent movie starring John Cusack and Hulu show with the babetown Zoe Kravitz).
Books mentioned in the show:
Felicity by Mary Oliver
Hold Your Own by Kae Tempest
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Tonight I'm Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Insomnic City by Bill Hayes
Animal People by Charlotte Wood
Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram.
This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Gadigal Country. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On our very first episode of the season, we introduce our movie-like love story (yes, it's gross and wholesome and epic), the best books we read in 2021 and how to enjoy break-up albums when you're hot heartbroken.
Books mentioned in the show:
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid Love & Virtue by Diana Reid
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Music mentioned in the show:
30 by Adele
Sour by Olivia Rodrigo
Thanks for listening to Reading makes you better (in bed) by Amy + Laura from Secret Book Stuff. You can find us at www.secretbookstuff.com or @secretbookstuff on Instagram.
This podcast is recorded on unceded Awabakal and Gadigal Country. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.







