Curious Readers

As we bid farewell to Summer Break, we take questions from our listeners in a special post bag episode - and of course, we can’t help but make some recommendations along the way. And don’t worry, normal service will be resumed on 11 September when return to the mics for a deep dive into Ann Patchett's latest novel, Whistler.Recent ReadsThe Calamity Club by Kathryn StocktonPost Bag QuestionsClaude.aiOur Wives Under the Sea by Julia ArmfieldMy Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John HarrisonLost Lambs by Madeline CashAn Apprenticeship, or The Book Of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector The Hypocrite by Jo HamyaThe Life of M by Rachel CuskAudition, by Katie KitamuraEnter Ghost by Isabella Hammad@apairofbookendspodMaus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art SpiegelmanThe Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave GibbonsPersepolis by Marjane SatrapiAlison by Lizzie StewartThe Wreck by Lizzie StewartDucks by Kate BeatonFrom Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie CampbellBlack Hole by Charles BurnsThe Property by Rutu ModanSomething Will Happen, You’ll See by Christos IkonomouLittle Infamies by Panos KarnezisGreekling by Kostya TsolakisThe Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson Circe by Madeline MillerSong of Achilles by Madeline MillerStone Blind by Natalie HaynesHot Milk by Deborah LevyWhat We’re Reading NextWhistler by Ann PatchettCurious 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.

How many times have Amanda and Joseph joined the ‘Just One Book’ Deception Society? Too many to count. This week they are talking about the joy of browsing and the bookshops they love visiting across the UK. Plus, as always they’ll be chatting about what they’ve been reading recently and the titles they're hoping to pick up next.  Recent ReadsI Want You To Be Happy by Jem CalderService by John TottenhamBookshops and browsingSweet Valley High series by Francine PascalThe Book of Lost Tales (Volume 2) by J R R TolkienPersephone Books, Bath and London @persephonebooksIf The Boot Fits by Rebekah WeatherspoonCharco Press @charcopressDaunt Books, Marleybone or Cheapside @dauntbookspubBookmongers, Brixton @bookmongersbrixtonHarbour Books, Whitstable @harbourbooksA Passage North by Anuk ArudpragasamIn The Distance by Hernan DiazLondon Review of Books Bookshop, London @londonreviewofbooksJudd Books, London @juddbooksBook Bar, London @bookbarukHatchards, St Pancras @hatchstpancrasBrick Lane Bookshop, London @bricklanebookshopPages of Hackney, London @pagesofhackneyThe Margate Bookshop, Margate @themargatebookshopLittle Green Bookshop, Herne Bay @thegreenbookshopMichael’s Bookshop, Ramsgate @michaelsbookshopramsgatePlunder Books, Ramsgate @plunderbooksHeffers, Cambridge @heffers_cambridgeBody in the Bookshop, Cambridge @bodiesinthebookshopMurder and Mayhem, Hay on Wye @murder_and_mayhemRichard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye @richardboothsbookshopWhat We’re Reading NextThe Calamity Club by Kathryn StocktonThe Disappearing Act by Maria StepanovaAlso mentionedCurious 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 as they set out to excavate Land, Maggie O’Farrell’s latest historical novel and family drama which is set in 1860s Ireland, a decade after the Great Famine. Plus, as always they chat about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. Bookish NewsChildren’s Booker PrizeFrank Cottrell-Boyce @frank_cottrellboyceWide Sargasso Sea by Jean RhysThe Bookshop by Penelope FitzgeraldBeast in View by Maragert MillarMrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth TaylorGreat Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood@herrealtakeRecent ReadsThe Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucetHer Majesty’s Royal Coven series by Juno Dawson @junodawsonParallel Lives: A Love Story from a Lost Continent by Iain PearsSelected Books of Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficialThe Vanishing Act of Esme LennoxInstructions for a HeatwaveThis Must Be the Place Hamnet The Marriage Portrait LandWhat We’re Reading NextThe Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan @theodysseymovieCrossing The Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily WilsonI Want You To Be Happy by Jem CalderCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph as they go through the looking glass into the fascinating (and anxiety inducing) world of artificial intelligence - and recommending some fiction and non-fiction picks about Large Language Models, bots, and the machines learning to live like us. Plus, as always they'll be chatting about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. Bookish NewsLambda Literary Awards @lambdaliteraryNova Scotia House by Charlie Porter Black Panther Woman by Mary Frances Phillips @maryfrancisphillips The Lilac People by Milo Todd @todd_miloVirago Modern Classics @viragopressFrost In May by Antonia White Peking Picnic by Ann BridgeRecent ReadsThe Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthorSoft Core by Brittany Newell @frottage_industryGood Girl by Aria Aber @aria.aberThe Spare Room by Helen GarnerHow to End a Story by Helen GarnerSmall Rain by Garth Greenwell @ggreenwellThe Ghost in the ManuscriptOlga Tokarczuk @tokarczuk_olgaMartin Scorcese @martinscorceseKane Parsons @kanepixelsJosh Johnson @joshjohnsoncomedyField Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kandasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.yThe New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates @laura_bates_Meditations for the Anxious Mind @meditationsfortheanxiousmindHow to Talk to AI (and How Not To) by Jamie Bartlett @jamiejbartlettAnnie Bot by Sierra Greer @sierra_greer_writerMachines Like Me by Ian McEwanThe Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory DoctorowWhat We’re Reading NextWhistler by Ann Patchett @annpatchettCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the height of Prize Season, Amanda and Joseph are back with a bumper episode asking what all the hullabaloo is about - how are prizes judged and awarded, and are the winners worth our time? Plus, they talk about Amanda’s recent trip to the Women’s Prize ceremony, and as always, what they’ve been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. Bookish NewsHay FestivalCareless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams @sarahww_Women’s PrizeWomen’s Prize Live and other eventsRivals on Disney+Felicity Blunt @thebluntofficeLaura WadeKatherine Parkinson @parkinson.katherineField Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kadasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.yRapture by Emily Maguire @emilymaguirewriterThese Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany @salmaelwardanyThe Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucetThe Correspondent by Virgina Evans @virginia.l.evansDominion by Addie E. Kitchens @addie_citchensThe Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1Recent ReadsAir by Christian KrachtEurotrash by Christian KrachtImperium by Christian KrachtYou With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate @christinapplegatePrizes and Prize-Worthy RecommendationsThe Nobel Prize for LiteratureThe Pulitzer Prize for FictionThe Booker PrizeNational Book Award Milkman by Anna Burns‘The Hemingway Veto’ and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest HemingwayThe Riders In The Chariot by Patrick WhiteThe Tree of Man by Patrick WhiteThe Rabbit Hutch by Tess GuntyMartyr by Kaveh Akbar @kavehakbar.kavehakbarMoon Tiger by Penelope LivelyTrust by Hernan DiazWhat We’re Reading NextThe Beautiful Ones by Prince and Dan Piepenbring The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthorAlso mentionedCurious 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.