Book Who's Talking

Hullo, Bookworms! For this Very Special Episode™, we read Beth O'Leary's chart-topping novel 'The Flat Share', a delicious and uplifting romantic comedy about friendship, love and the depressing realities of London real-estate. We are desperate to know if you would have gone to Sniff City. And the reason this episode is special is because it's our last one. We love you for reading along with us, and we're not crying there's just an EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF DUST IN OUR EYES. Thanks for listening and, as always, happy reading x --- We are still @bookwhostalking in all of the places, and we would love to chat to you.

Awrite, Bookworms? This month we read Shuggie Bain, the debut novel by Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart. It tells the story of the youngest of the three children, Shuggie, growing up with his alcoholic mother, Agnes, in the 1980s, in Thatcher-era post-industrial working-class Glasgow. We won't lie, this wiz’nae an easy read, it's pretty heartbreaking, but we're really glad we read it. And also, as you may be able to tell, we really enjoyed all of the Glasgow slang, even when we havnae a scooby (have no idea) what it means. Happy listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you're Buzzin about learning new words. We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

It's our first book for 2021, and we're kicking off with a graceful and poetic bang, by reading All Our Shimmering Skies, the second novel by Australian author Trent Dalton. Set in Darwin during World War II, the book follows Molly Hook, a gravedigger girl who is desperate to break a family curse that is slowly turning her heart to stone. This is a book full of adventure, optimism, and just a little bit of magic, and it properly captured us, Bookworms.  And hey! You could be one of the lucky first to invest in Laura's incredibly original movie idea! Very exciting stuff. Happy listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you would swipe right on our Tinder profiles? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com  

Happy Holidays, Bookworms! We're celebrating with our annual Christmas book, and this year Ben suggested we read The Hogfather, a Christmas adjacent Discworld novel by absolute legend Terry Pratchett. So light a candle, grab some pudding, and pop on your thematically appropriate headwear. Find out whether it's as good as Ben remembers, why Fiona isn't welcome at the library, and whether Laura is wrong about the Discworld being "sort of like a spaceship" (she is wrong). Happy reading! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you have seen that movie about the bee romance? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

Bookworms! It's your friends from Book Who's Talking, here with some summer reading recommendations (or Christmas present suggestions, your choice).   Give it a listen to hear *why* we recommend them, but here are the books for your easy reference:   LAURA Sex and Vanity - Kevin Kwan Honeybee - Craig Silvey JOSIE Piranesi - Susanna Clarke FIONA Your Own Kind of Girl - Clare Bowditch Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe BEN The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton Happy Summer Reading! 

After thoroughly enjoying our book last month, we decided to do a proper movie marathon, with TWO adaptations of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The 1940 Alfred Hitchcock movie (Best Picture winner, fancy), and the brand new Netflix film starring Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, and absolute unit Armie Hammer. We recommend, if not highly at least middlingly, BOTH of these movies. So come and hear what we loved, what we liked, and what we weren't so sure about (do you even sketch, mate). Happy Watching!

Last night we dreamt we went to Manderley again Bookworms, we thought it was high time we dove into a classic, and what could be more classic than Daphne Du Maurier's 1938 gothic thriller, Rebecca? A best seller that has spawned multiple movies and never, not once ever, been out of print. Classic like tea in the library at Manderley. Find out which characters we loved (hi, Frank), which characters we loved to hate (hello, Mr Favell) and who we would definitely save from a fire (good boy, Jasper). Happy listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you would wash your boss's underpants? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

This month we popped on our jerkins and sheepskin gloves, and relaxed on the second-best bed, to read Hamnet, the 2020 novel (and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction) by Maggie O'Farrell. Set in Stratford, England in the late 16th century, Hamnet imagines the emotional, domestic, and artistic repercussions after the world's most famous (though never named) playwright and his wife lose their only son, 11-year-old Hamnet, to the bubonic plague. Prepare the tissues, because this one will make you feel some things. But only in the best ways. We genuinely loved this one, Bookworms. Get reading.  --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you have ever heard of Macbet? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

After reading Iain Reid's debut novel I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, we jumped on Netflix to watch the new movie adaptation, written and directed by Charlie Kaufman.  And really, folks, what a movie. Find out what's the same, what's missing, which bits we fast-forwarded through, and whether anyone did the worm. **SPOILERS** (for the book and for the movie, and yes, they are very different spoilers)

This month we turned on all of the lights and made sure we locked the doors before reading I'm Thinking of Ending Things, the 2016 debut novel of Canadian writer Iain Reid. This psychological thriller slash horror fiction slash newly-adapted Netflix movie kept us on the edge of our seats, and had us asking questions like "how easy is it to lose a toenail" and "why are high schools so terrifying" and "did you hear that?" Happy Listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you you know how to do the worm! We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

Bookworms, it's time to pop on your camouflage onesie, feed your best friend, and settle down in front of some Christian call-in radio, because this month we read the much talked about (and somewhat confusing) Death in Her Hands, the latest novel by American author Ottessa Moshfegh. While on her daily walk with her dog in a secluded woods, a woman comes across a note, handwritten and carefully pinned to the ground by stones. “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.” And from there, things get weird.  Come and hear us chat about unreliable narrators, what we would Ask Jeeves, and whether dogs like lentils (they do not). Happy Listening! ----- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or how you've disposed of human remains? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

In this mini we welcome author Lili Wilkinson back to the podcast to talk about her brand new book, The Erasure Initiative. A spoiler-free chat about how Lili found the story, the challenges of writing it, and what we loved (spoilers: all of it). Also, why teenagers are the best, and why Laura's childhood fave Mia Thermopolis is a hero for us all.  Absolutely get and read this book (especially if you have any long bus rides coming up), and let us know what you think. And go find Lili on Twitter - @twitofalili

*** SPOILERS AHEAD*** Please only listen if you have watched the series, or if you really don't mind knowing everything that happens, including where the Penthouse magazine is hidden.  Even though only one of us has read the book (hi, Fiona), all four of us jumped on the Hello Sunshine train to watch the screen adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere, starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. This super binge-worthy series deals with lots of heavy subject matter, including racial discrimination, class and privilege, and also features our collective boyfriend Joshua Jackson in slightly-too-big white underpants. Just saying. So give it a watch, then give us a listen, find out how the show is (really quite) different to the book, and let us know what you think.  Happy watching!

This month we're shining our name tags and practicing our friendliest greetings so we can do justice to Convenience Store Woman, a short and snappy novel by Japanese author Sayaka Murata. The first of Sayaka's books to be translated into English, this is an odd sort of love story between a misunderstood woman, and the store that she understands perfectly.  Irasshaimase! Happy Listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you would eat that chocolate and mango thing! We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com  

This month we dusted off our deerstalkers and de-smudged our magnifying glasses, because it was time to figure out WHODUNNIT in Stuart Turton's super fun debut novel, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (or the The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if you have the US version). Described by the (quite clever actually) marketing department as “Gosford Park meets Inception, by way of Agatha Christie”, this super entertaining book kept us guessing, kept us interested, and kept us asking "wait, who is that person again?" Find out which character Laura has a crush on, how many times we can use the word "romp" in 35 minutes, and if we ever learned how to pronounce "Hercule Poirot". Happy Listening! --- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if you're now just a bit terrified of the word "rabbit"? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

Bookworms! Have you ever wondered what a real worm might sound like? Well, wonder no more, because this month we read The Animals In That Country by Laura Jean McKay. Set in Australia during a pandemic (yes, we agree, this was an interesting choice), this novel follows grandmother Jean as the country is swept by "Zoo Flu", a virus that leaves people able to understand the surprisingly complex and beautiful language of animals. But fair warning, we're very, very far from Dr Doolittle territory here. Challenging, heartbreaking and extremely timely, this is a book that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it. ----- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or if your dog's anus is chatty? We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

Last year we read Normal People by Sally Rooney, and now we're back to talk about the brand-new and much-hyped BBC / Hulu adaptation of the novel, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal. Spoilers, WE LOVED IT, and couldn't wait to talk about why and how this wonderful show hit us directly in all of our feelings.  Happy listening! 

Bookworms! Gather around the Zoom call to hear what we thought of this month's book, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Covering (or at least introducing) a heap of heavy topics, this book should be subtitled: "Discussion starter for book clubs". Come and find out what we thought this novel could have had less of, what we desperately wanted more off, and what we wish we were drinking. Happy Listening! ----- Tell us what you think about the book! Or the podcast! Or how you feel about fish wearing pants! We are @bookwhostalking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. And you can email us at bookwhostalking.podcast@gmail.com

Hey Bookworms! Are you finding yourself with a little extra time at home right now? Some time you might like to fill with READING perhaps? We've put together some recommendations for things to read while you're on your own - things to distract you, things to excite you, and things to make you laugh. Give it a listen, then come and chat to us on Facebook or Twitter and tell us what you'd recommend - @bookwhostalking. And here's the full list of books we talked about, in case you missed the details: Josie The Martian by Andy Weir, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, Anything by Jane Austen Fiona A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, The Belgariad Series by David Eddings, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, Zealot: A Book about Cults by Jo Thornely Ben The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, Captain America Volume 5 by Ed Brubaker Laura Me by Elton John, Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman, The Beach by Alex Garland

Hey, Bookworms! Can you believe it's still only April???? This month we're reading Such a Fun Age, the debut novel by American author Kiley Reid.  This book tells the story of a Emira, a young black woman who is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a white child, and the events that follow. This is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race, privilege and good intentions gone wrong. Get it read in time for our episode, out at the end of April. Happy Reading!