Curious Readers

Join Amanda and Joseph for another deep dive, this time into Heart the Lover, Lily King’s tale of first loves and lost opportunities. Plus, as always, they talk about their recent reads and discuss the titles they’re keen to pick up next. (1:23) Book News(1:23) The Booker Prize 2025(1:34) Flesh by David Szalay (2:09) The Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction(2:12) How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Helen Garner (2:45) The Goldsmith’s Prize(3:26) We Live Here Now by CD Rose(4:11) What We’re Reading Next (4:16) Big Kiss, Bye Bye by Claire Louise Bennett(7:46) Checkout 19 by Claire Lousie Bennett(8:28) Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley(14:26)  Deep Dive into Heart the Lover (15:44) The Pleasing Hour(15:49) The English Teacher(15:53) Father of the Rain(15:57) Euphoria (16:30) Writers & Lovers (18:04) Heart The Lover synopsis(25:17) Book Reporter Talks to: Lily King, Heart the Lover(29:07) The Aeneid by Virgil (29:12) “Some day we will remember even these our hardships” (Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit)(31:34) Ulysses by James Joyce(31:41) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald(32:14) Literary references in Heart The Lover(32:47) ‘The Dead’ by James Joyce(1:06:41) We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman(1:07:21) What we’re reading next(1:07:45) Independent People by Halldor Laxness(1:08:05) Ambrose Through The Tall Grass by Nathan Korn(1:09:01) The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez(1:09:43) Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph on this week’s episode as they discuss the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist and talk in depth about what worked and what didn’t work for them with each of the six nominated books. They also chat book news and have a look at some of the upcoming titles they’re looking forward to reading next. (0:32) Book News(1:12) Lone Wolf by Adam Weymouth(4:50) Gresham College Lecture Series 2025-2026(5:24) Booker Prize shortlist (5:56) The Booker Prize 2025(9:33) The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller(20:00) The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai(27:26) The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits(28:09) All Fours by Miranda July(35:05) Endling by Maria Reva(35:22) Amanda’s Sarah Jessica Parker impression(36:25) Audition by Katie Kitamura(42:20) Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga(43:03) Flashlight by Susan Choi(43:07) Trust Exercise by Susan Choi(49:35) Flesh by David Szalay (57:05) What We’re Reading Next (57:15) 11.22.63 by Stephen King(57:30) Antidote by Karen Russell (58:40) Taipei by Tao Lin(59:23) Heart the Lover by Lily King Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creeps, chills, and carefully crafted dread - join Joseph and Amanda for this week’s episode as they recommend a stack of mood-heavy reads for spooky season. Plus, Team CR talks László Krasznahorkai - this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature - and as always they discuss what they’ve been reading lately and what they’re looking forward to picking up next. (0:44) Book News(0:51) Nobel Prize for Literature (1:46) Louisiana Channel(2:52) Sátántangó by Lászlo Krasznahorkai(5:41) Rivals by Jilly Cooper(7:00) Current Reads(7:04) Objects of Desire by Neil Blackmore(10:43) Fair Play by Louise Hegarty (13:48)  Spooky Season Reading(15:06)  Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica(17:55) Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfeld(19:01) The Echoes by Evie Wyld(19:28) Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda(19:51) Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab(20:27) Our Share of the Night by Mariana Enriquez (21:36) Pet Sematary by Stephen King(22:55) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving(24:04) Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn(25:04) The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston(27:22) Earthlings by Sayaka Murata(27:36) Beloved by Toni Morrison(28:25)  Ghost stories by MR James, Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft(29:44) Come Closer by Sara Gran (Joseph’s Pick #1)(34:23) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (Amanda’s Pick #1)(39:04) The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, tr. by Audrey Harris and Matthew Gleeson (Joseph Pick #2)(44:21) Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Amanda’s Pick #2)(46:24) Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka(49:32) Spooky Books Recommended to Amanda(49:44) Sinead Hanna @sineadhannacraic(50:14)  The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell(50:29) Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker (51:06) Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison(51:42) Spooky Books Recommended to Joseph(51:52) A Game In Yellow by Hailey Piper(52:42) Ashley @coffeeandcuentos(52:59) Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, ed. Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.(52:32) Talking Scared Podcast with Neil McRobert(53:47) Rekt by Alex Gonzalez(54:33) What We’re Reading Next (55:03) Greyhound by Joanna Pocock(55:41) Big Kiss, Bye-Bye by Claire-Louise Bennett(55:57) What A Time To Be Alive by Jenny Mustard Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just in time for Banned Books Week (5-11 October), Joseph and Amanda talk about literary censorship and recommend the samizdat titles they think are worth exploring. They also chat about this year's Booker Prize Shortlist which was announced on 23 September and run through their picks from the Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist, one of the UK's biggest literary prizes for non-fiction. Plus, as always, they talk about what they've been reading recently and what they're excited to pick up next. Book News(1:22) The Booker Prize(7:16) The Baillie Gifford PrizeCurrent Reads(11:16) I Am Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol(15:44) Ask Me How It Works by Deepa Paul(16:19) Authority: Essays On Being Right by Andrea Long ChuBanned Books(21:08) Banned Books Week, 5-11 October 2025(22:57) PEN America(27:28) Index on Censorship: 100 Banned Novels(27:44) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (29:07) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (29:16) Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (31:37) The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Amanda’s Pick #1)(35:17) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Joseph’s Pick #1)(39:16) Deenie by Judy Blume (Amanda’s Pick #2)(42:17) Judy Blume Forever(45:35) July’s People by Nadine Gordimer (Joseph’s Pick #2)(49:50) This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson (Amanda’s Pick #3)(54:42) A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Joseph’s Pick #3)What We’re Reading Next(58:01) The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits(58:03) The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai(58:09) Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth(58:40) Transcription by Ben Lerner(59:19) The Renovation by Kenan OrhanCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode Joseph and Amanda launch into Atmosphere with an in-depth discussion of the queer-coded astronaut love story by Taylor Jenkins Reid. They also take a look at the recently announced fiction and non-fiction longlists from the National Book Award, plus share what they’ve been reading lately and the titles they’re looking forward to picking up next.  Book NewsThe Book Club Review podcastA Pair Of Bookends podcast National Book AwardsMargate BookieCheltenham Literary FestivalCurrent ReadsFarewell Fountain Street by Selçuk Altun, translated by Mel Kenne and Nilgün DunganMaggie; or, a Man and A Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie YeeDying for Sex, HBOMaurice and Maralyn by Sophie ElmhirstDeep Dive Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReidForever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins ReidAfter I Do by Taylor Jenkins ReidMaybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins ReidOne True Love by Taylor Jenkins ReidThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins ReidDaisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins ReidMalibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins ReidCarrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins ReidWhat We’re Reading NextPriest Daddy by Patricia LockwoodNo One Is Talking About This by Patricia LockwoodWill There Ever Be Another You by Patricia LockwoodNightcrawler by Leila MottleyThe Girls That Grew Big by Leila Mottley Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode Joseph and Amanda step into the world of sci-fi and speculative fiction and chart a course through some of their favourite fictional forays into evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, deep space exploration, and the perils of the Oort Cloud. They also discuss the latest news from the Hugo Awards, talk about what they’ve been reading recently, and as always, run through the titles they’re looking forward to picking up next. Book News(2:18) The Hugo Awards(3:32) The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Best Novel 2025)(4:20) The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Best Novella 2025)(5:30) Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll (Best Related Work 2025)Current Reads(6:56) The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny by Laura Bates(9:50) Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen(10:02) Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates(12:04) Annie Bot by Sierra Greer(12:19) Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab(14:02) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. SchwabSpeculative Fiction & Sci-Fi Recommendations(19:14) Amanda’s Sci-Fi story(21:25) Sexism in Sci-Fi(21:51) The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley(23:56) Steering The Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin(24:53) Speculative vs Science Fiction(25:48) In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood(25:59) The Handmaid’s Tale / The MaddAddam Triology by Margaret Atwood(26:25) The Water Cure / Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh(27:23) In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (Amanda’s Pick #1)(30:33) Voyager Golden Record(30:40) Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield(31:14) Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang(31:45) Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler (Joseph’s Pick #1)(34:26) The Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley by Robert Sheckley (Joseph’s Pick #1)(35:48) Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera (Joseph’s Pick #1)(37:02) The Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Amanda’s Pick #2)(41:20) To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (Joseph’s Pick #2)(44:10) Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Amanda’s Pick #3)(47:56) Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Joseph’s Pick #3) What We’re Reading Next(51:34) Fair Play by Louise Hegarty(51:51) Bone Horn by Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain(52:04) Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller(52:19) House of Day, House of Night by Olga TokarczukCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, we respond to our listeners with all our deepest, darkest DNF secrets: why we do it, when we do it, and how we feel when it happens. We also talk about the books we’ve read recently as well as the backlist titles and new releases we hope to explore in the coming weeks. Book News(2:31) The Sealey Challenge(4:25) The Wild Iris by Louise Glück(4:48) Midden Witch by Fiona Benson(5:16) Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems by William Carlos Williams(6:02) That Broke Into Shining Crystals by Richard Scott / What The Earth Seemed To Say by Marie Howe / Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith(6:44) So I Got To Thinking podcastCurrent Reads(11:11) Child Of My Heart by Alice McDermot(14:19) The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai(18:15) Anastasia Krupnik by Lois LowryDNFs (23:43) Middlemarch by George Eliot(26:43) Let The Great World Spin by Column McCann(27:17) Apeirogon by Column McCann(27:48) Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar(30:28) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami(30:58) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold(35:39) Twist by Colum McCann(39:23) Neuromancer by William Gibson(40:06) Butter by Asako Yuzuki(43:25) Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart(44:48) The Little Friend by Donna Tartt(46:38) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara(54:06) This Other Eden by Paul Hardy(55:02) Rouge / All’s Well / Bunny by Mona Awad(56:17) The Ishiguro Effect(59:06) Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee(59:28) I Gave You Eyes And You Looked Towards Darkness by Irène Sola What We’re Reading Next(1:01:03) We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad(1:01:37) Sympathy Tower Tokyo by Rie Qudan (1:02:11) Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar: A Novel by Katie YeesCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s bumper episode we cover the Booker Prize longlist before exploring some of our favourite fiction and non-fiction about art. We ask why books featuring artists seem to be so perennially popular and what is it about the artist’s life that keeps us coming back for more.Book NewsThe Booker Prize Long List Love Forms by Claire Adam The South by Tash AwUniversality by Natasha BrownOne Boat by Jonathan BuckleyFlashlight by Susan ChoiThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiAudition by Katie KitamuraThe Rest of Our Lives by Ben MarkovitsThe Land in Winter by Andrew MillerEndling by Maria RevaFlesh by David SzalaySeascraper by Benjamin WoodMisinterpretation by Ledia XhogaOrbital by Samantha HarveyCurrent ReadsMargo’s Got Money Trouble by Rufi ThorpeThe Night Always Comes by Willy VlautinBooks About Art The Original by Nell StevensThe Artist by Lucy Steeds A Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaNightbitch by Rachel YoderWhat I Loved by Siri HustvedtBlue Ruin by Hari KunzruBiography of X by Catherine LaceyA Month in Siena by Hisham MatarMy Friends by Hisham MatarThe Return by Hisham MatarAlison by Lizzy StewartDaybook: The Journal of an Artist by Anne TruittTurn by Anne TruittProspect by Anne TruittWet Paint by Chloe AshbyThe Goldfinch by Donna TarttGirl With A Pearl Earring by Tracey ChevalierThe Art Forger by Barbara ShapiroMy Struggle by Karl Ove KnausgårdWild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue PrideauxNinth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gaskill‘Olympia’ and ‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergère’ by Edouard Manetannetruitt.orgThe Whitney Museum of American ArtThe Courtauld Institute of Art Jon Harvey, artist What We’re Reading NextThe Compound by Aisling RawleNeuromancer by William GibsonModeration by Elaine CastilloAmerica Is Not The Heart by Elaine CastilloFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Book NewsThe Hugo AwardsGalle Literary Festival, 22-25 January 2026Edinburgh International Book Festival, 9-24 August 2025 Current readsFree Play: Improvisation in Life & Art by Stephen NachmanovitchOn Elizabeth Bishop by Colm TóibinThe Names by Florence KnappAtmosphere by Taylor Jenkins-ReidDeep Dive into Kristin Hannah Firefly Lane The NightingaleThe Winter GardenThe Four WindsThe Women  The Things They Carried by Tim O’BrienWhat We’re Reading NextThe Sunflower Boys by Sam WachmanKatabasis by R.F. KuangLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us this week as we delve into our favourite memoirs and recommend some bizarre stories of fame, feuds, cults, and figure skating. Of course, we also share the latest book news, current reads and what we plan to read next.Book NewsClose to Home by Michael MageeSay Nothing by Patrick Radden KeefeCurrent readsA Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon by Mizuki TsujimuraLonely Castle In The Mirror by Mizuki TsujimuraMemoirs I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdyIn The Dream House by Carmen Maria MachadoCrying In H Mart by Michelle ZaunerAftermath by Rachel CuskDying of Politeness by Geena DavisBossy Pants by Tina FeyHomesick: A Memoir by Jennifer Croft The Extinction Of Irena Rey by Jennifer CroftFlights by Olga TolkaczukThe Books Of Jacob by Olga TolkaczukInto The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley KeoughThe Woman In Me by Britney SpearsDaisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins ReidThe Salt Path by Raynor WinnA Million Little Pieces by James FreyThe Museum Of Lost And Fragile Things by Suzanne JoinsonThe Sound Of Gravel by Ruth WarinerEducated by Tara WestoverStay True by Hua HsuFierce Attachments by Vivian Gornick Knife by Salman RushdieThe Best Minds by Jonathan RosenQuietly Hostile by Samantha IrbyThis Is The Place To Be by Lara PawsonWhat we’re reading nextThe Coin by Yasmin ZaherThe Echoes by Evie Wyld Days Of Light by Megan HunterTheory & Practice by Michelle de KretserOrlanda by Jacqueline HarpmanI Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline HarpmanAlso mentioned The Harrison Chambers Of DistinctionCool People Reading PodcastFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who says queer lit is just for June? In our latest episode we talk about some queer titles and authors that we'd recommend reading all year round. Plus, we walk through some queer literary milestones and of course chat about what we've been reading recently and what we're looking forward to picking up next.Book NewsThe Hypocrite by Jo HamyaWinter Animals by Ashani LewisRevolutionary Acts: Love & Brotherhood In Black Gay Britain by Jason OkundayeFood For The Dead by Charlotte Shevchenko KnightCurrent readsThe Coin by Yasmin ZaherThe Story Of A Heart by Dr. Rachel ClarkQueer literatureGiovanni’s Room by James Baldwin Joseph And His Friend by Bayard Taylor The Picture Of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde The Well Of Loneliness by Radclyffe HallDeath In Venice by Thomas Mann The City And The Pillar by Gore Vidal The Price Of Salt by Patricia Highsmith ‘Carol’ by Todd Haynes Sister Outsider by Audre LordeLoving Her by Ann Shockley Detransition, Baby by Torrey PetersStag Dance by Torrey PetersTell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt Song Of Achilles by Madeline MillerA Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaWho’s Afraid Of Gender? by Judith ButlerGreta & Valdin by Rebecca K. ReillyA Boy's Own Story by Edmund White Love Me Tender / PlayBoy by Constance Debré The End Of Eddy by Edouard Louis Love In Exile by Shon FayeGirlhood / Abandon Me: Memoirs by Melissa FebosA Short History Of Trans Misogyny by Jules Gill-PetersonThe Best Of Me by David SedarisThis Book Is Gay by Juno DawsonNothing Ever Just Disappears: Seven Hidden Histories by Diarmuid HesterOur Pride picksThe Lost Past Of Billy McQueen by Neil AlexanderValencia by Michelle TeaOur Wives Under The Sea by Julia ArmfieldTiepolo Blue by James CahillAnd The Band Played On by Randy ShiltsNevada by Imogen BinnieWhat We’re Reading NextThe Wax Child by Olga RavnThe Employees by Olga RavnHelm by Sarah Hall Close To Home by Michael MageeThe Names by Florence Knapp Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodesCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James at Fish Island Studio (@fishislandstudio)Register as an organ donor at organdonation.nhs.uk (UK) and donatelife.net (US) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is about the perennial conundrum that faces every reader at this time of year - what to read at the beach? We talk about which genres are best suited for reading al fresco and give you our favourite holiday read recommendations. Of course, we also share our latest book news, current reads and what we plan to read next.Book NewsThe Mars Room by Rachel KushnerQuestion 7 by Richard Flanagan Albion by Anna HopeFair Play by Louise HegartyPetals Of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong’o Current readsThe Husbands by Holly GramazioWild Boar by Hannah LutzBeach readsThe Bee Sting by Paul MurrayAriadne by Jennifer SaintElektra by Jennifer SaintStone Blind by Natalie HaynesCirce by Madeline MillerSong Of Achilles by Madeline MillerWhere The Crawdads Sing by Delia OwensThe Trio by Johanna Hedman The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller The Overstory by Richard PowersThe Guest by Emma ClineThe Girls by Emma Cline The Swimmer by John CheeverWalking On The Ceiling by Ayşegül Savaş Summer by Edith WhartonLast Resort by Andrew LipsteinMy Brilliant Friend by Elena FerranteBrutes by Dizz TateSpent by Alison Bechdel  Fun Home by Alison BechdelDykes to Watch Out For by Alison BechdelYou Killed Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi Sunset by Jessie Cave Girlfriends by Holly Bourne What we’re reading nextA Marriage At Sea by Sophie ElmhurstNecessary Fictions by Eloghosa OsundeLonely Crowds by Stephanie WambuguAlso mentioned@BeesBookShareThe Garden Gate Project MargateLouisiana Channel by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek in DenmarkThe Hay PlayerHay FestivalsOpen Water by Chris KentisFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodesCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James at Fish Island Studio (@fishislandstudio) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is one of deep dives, this time into Audition by Katie Kitamura, an ambiguous and destablising read that packs a lot into very few pages. We also share some recent book and literary prize news and talk about what’s on our TBRs.Books:Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (translated by Deepa Bhasthi)  The Book Of Sand by Geetanjali ShreeKairos by Jenny ErpenbeckThe Vegetarian by Han KangSmall Boat by Vicent Delacroix (translated by Helen Stevenson)Clear by Carys Davies (Winner of the Ondaatje Prize 2025)The Adversary by Michael Crummey (Winner of the Dublin Literary Award 2025)Red Milk by SjónCareless People by Sarah Wynn-WilliamsAudition / Gone To The Forest / The Longshot / A Separation / Intimacies by Katie Kitamura My Tender Matador by Pedro LemebelThe Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe Also mentioned: Teatime Book Club, @Teatime.picturesRosemary’s Baby by Roman PolanskiSuspiria by Dario Agento (with a 2013 remake by Luca Guadagnino)Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is all about our favourite reads by Korean and Korean-American authors, including books about sulky giant octopuses, sinkhole tourism, empathy bypasses, diasporic depression, simulated marriages, and tearful encounters with gochujang. And as always, we discuss recent reads and what’s next on our TBRs.Recent readsIn Search Of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (tr. Terence Kilmartin)Sweat by Emma HealyThe Meteorites: Encounters With Outer Space And Deep Time by Helen GordonKorean books and authors Crying In H Mart by Michelle ZaunerSea Change by Gina ChungThe Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun (tr. Lizze Buehler)Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric KimThe Hive And The Honey by Paul Yoon The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-Ryeong (tr. The KoLab)Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn (tr. Sandy Joosun Lee)Black Girl From Pyongyang: In Search Of My Identity by Monica MaciasUp nextThe Women by Kristin HannahThe Husbands by Holly GramazioAtmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins ReidMy Friends by Frederik BackmanKakigori Summer by Emily ItamiEndling by Maria RevaAlso mentioned @angelazbaoSnow Piercer, Parasite by Bong Joon HoLibro FMFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is a BIG one. Or at least, one in which we talk about big things, namely big books and why – or why not – we find them intimidating. And as always, we discuss recent reads and what’s next on our TBRs.Recent readsOn The Calculation Of Volume (Volume I) by Solvej Balle Confessions by Catherine AireyBig Book Fear The Book of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Middlemarch by George Eliot – narrated by Juliet StevensonThe Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor DostoevskyA Suitable Boy by Vikram SethLost Illusions and Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac2666 by Roberto BolañoIn Search Of Lost Time by Marcel Proust Pachinko by Min Jin LeeThe Eighth Life by Nino HaratischvilliDhalgren by Samuel R. DelanyReader, Come Home: The Reading Brain In A Digital World by Maryanne Wolf11.22.63 by Stephen KingAngle Of Repose by Wallace StegnerLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtrySecondhand Time: The Last Of The Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich Shantaram by Gregory David RobertsThe Luminaries by Eleanor CattonA Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaThe Goldfinch / The Secret History / The Little Friend by Donna TarttCherry by Nico WalkerThe Name Of The Wind by Patrick RothfussFuture ReadsDays Of Light by Megan HunterThe Silence Factory by Bridget CollinsWild Ground by Emily UsherAlso mentioned The Ondaatje Prize 2025 shortlist Chatsworth HouseThe Storygraph The Book Club Review Podcast PatreonFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode is a brief encounter with short contemporary classics and the lilliputian tomes under 200 pages we recommend if you’re looking for something to get you out of a reading slump. We also talk book news, what we’ve been reading recently, and the titles we’re looking forward to picking up in May. Recent readsMinistry Of Time by Kaliane BradleyPlayworld by Adam RossEx-Wife by Ursula ParrottShort classicsFair Play by Tove JanssonThe True Deceiver by Tove JanssonLucy by Jamaica KincaidSuch A Fun Age by Kiley ReidThe Fifth Child by Doris Lessing Ben, In The World by Doris LessingWe Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver The Tenth Man by Graham GreeneWhat we’re reading nextSoft Core by Brittany NewellDeep Cuts by Holly BrickleyThe Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean VuongLet Me Tell You by Paul GriffithsLet Me Go On by Paul GriffithsAlso mentioned @LadiesLitSquadDisney+ Dying for SexDolly Alderton and Netflix’s Adaptation of Pride & PrejudiceCan You Ever Forgive Me DuneA Complete UnknownWellness by Nathan HillLong Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-AknerFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode we dive deep into Rejection – not the emotion – the novel in stories by Tony Tulathimutte. We also discuss things we’ve read and want to read in April and revisit the Women’s Prize nominations now that they have been shortlisted.Our deep dive Rejection by Tony TulathimuttePrivate Citizens by Tony TulathimutteRecent readsThe Iliad by Homer and translated by Emily WilsonThe Odyssey by HomerHype Machine: Inside the Cult of Crypto by Joshua OliverI Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline HarpmanGreen Dot by Madeline Gray  Women’s prize shortlist Good Girl by Aria AberAll Fours by Miranda JulyThe Persians by Sanam MahloudjiTell Me Everything by Elizabeth StroutThe Safekeep by Yael Van Der WoudenFundamentally by Nussaibah Younis What we’re looking forward to in April  Twist by Column McCannTilt by Emma PatteeThe Colony by Annika NorlinAudition by Katie KitamuraNotes to John by Joan Didion Also mentioned The Coach and Horses Pub Quiz, WhitstableThe Book Lovers’ Pub QuizThe BookClub Review PodcastAdolescence on NetflixLet the Great World Spin by Column McCannApeirogon by Column McCannIntimacies by Katie KitamuraBlue Nights by Joan Didion Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode we catch up on what we’ve been reading, share our thoughts on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, and talk about some of the April releases we’re looking forward to picking up soon. Recent readsCarnality by Lina Wolf, tr. by Frank PerryHurricane Season by Fernanda MelchorThe Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas The Women’s Prize for Fiction LonglistGood Girl by Aria AberThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleySomewhere Else by Jenni DaichesAmma by Saraid de SilvaCrooked Seeds by Karen JenningsAll Fours by Miranda JulyThe Dream Hotel by Laila LalamiThe Persians by Sanam MahloudjiDream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieNesting by Roisín O'DonnellA Little Trickerie by Rosanna PikeBirding by Rose RuaneThe Artist by Lucy SteedsTell Me Everything by Elizabeth StroutThe Safekeep by Yael van der WoudenFundamentally by Nussaibah YounisOur ContendersColored Television by Danzy SennaOrbital by Samantha Harvey There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif ShafakGliff by Ali Smith  The Echoes by Evie WyldeIt Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over by Anne de MarckenExcited to Read in AprilRoom on the Sea by Andre AcimanGirl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie GilbertOpen, Heaven by Seán HewittAlso mentionedThe Stella PrizeThe Carol Shields Prize for FictionFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join either side of the Atlantic as we dive into our favourite London/New York novels. It’s an episode full of stiff upper lips, demonic possessions, sociopaths, bedsits, alcoholic dollmakers, sassy parrots, and white asparagus. Plus we talk about our must visit NY-LON bookshops and reading spots, and we look ahead to new releases set in and around the Big Smoke and the Big Apple we can’t wait to read. Recent readsUniversality by Natasha BrownHunchback by Saou Ichikawa (translated by Polly Barton)Stories of Place:///zinc.level.blindfold edited by Niamh McAnallyOur Favourite NY-LON NovelsLong Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-AknerThe Lonely Londoners by Sam SelvonThe Vulnerables by Sigird NunezLook At Me by Anita BrooknerBig Swiss by Jen BeaginThere Are More Things by Yara Rodrigues FowlerNY-LON Books We're Excited to Read in 2025Confessions by Catherine AireyWake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay MacCleod ChapmanLorne by Susan MorrisonCursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson CrouchAn Opinionated Guide to Literary London by John CleggAlso mentionedThe Strand BookstoreBooks Are MagicCodexThe London LibraryHousmans BookshopJohn Sandoe BooksJudd Books Daunt BooksFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we deep dive into Liz Moore’s viral woodland thriller The God of the Woods - and we have opinions. We also talk about the new releases we’re looking forward to reading in March. Recent readsThe Future by Catherine Leroux (translated by Susan Ouriou)Rejection by Tony TulathimutteYou Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue (translated by Natasha Wimmer)March 2025 releasesThe Horse by Willy Vlautin Show Don’t Tell and Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld Universality by Natasha BrownFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.