The goodbye you can't miss! Michelle returns to the mic with Tara for a special, unfiltered conversation you won’t want to miss. From a sneak peek into her upcoming novel to never-before-told stories about starting Books & Beyond, this episode is part milestone, part behind-the-scenes tell-all.

They relive their very first author interview, reveal the moments that put the show on the map, and spill on their favorite guests. Plus, a candid look at how life, books, and the literary world have changed, from India to New Zealand.

If you’ve been here since the beginning, this one’s going to hit hard. If you’re new, this is where you start!

Books and Authors mentioned in this episode:

• GET OUT: The Gay Man’s Guide to Coming Out and Going Out - Aniruddha Mahale
• Why Men Rape - Tara Kaushal
• Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal - Ameer Shahul
• The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
• Delirious - Damien Wilkins
• See How They Fall - Rachel Paris
• Isobar Precinct - Angelique Kasmara
• Orbital - Samantha Harvey
• Brooklyn - Colm Toibin
• Ghachar Ghochar - Vivek Shanbhag
• The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis - Amitav Ghosh
• Beautiful Thing - Sonia Faleiro
• Two Good Girls - Sonia Faleiro
• Meow Meow - Srinath Rao
• Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women in Medicine - Kavitha Rao
• Daughters of the Sun - Ira Mukhoty
• The Secret of More: A Novel - Tejaswini Apte-Rahm
• The Blue Bar (Blue Mumbai Thrillers Book 1) - Damyanti Biswas
• 1950s Housewife: Marriage and Homemaking in the 1950s - Sheila Hardy
• The Most - Jessica Anthony

Michelle and Tara’s favorite episodes:

• 5.36 Vivek Shanbhag: Decoding Sakina’s Kiss, Ghachar Ghochar & Kannada Literature
• 2.9 Rheea Mukherjee: Exploring Unconventional Relationships and Lives Through Fiction
• 4.2 Amitav Ghosh: Highlighting The Reality Of Climate Change
• 1.12 Amrita Mahale: On Writing A Literary Love Story Set In Bombay
• 5.22 Chitra Divakaruni: Meet Phenomenal Indian Women Through Partition, Migration, and Mythology
• 4.17 Amitava Kumar: Decoding The Lives Of Writers
• 5.13 Damodar Mauzo: Chronicling Goan culture for over 50 years in Konkani
• 3.5 Sonia Faleiro: Uncovering Crime Against Women In Uttar Pradesh
• 5.27 Srinath Rao: Inside the Life of a Crime Reporter in Mumbai
• 3.13 Janaki Lenin: Bringing The Wildlife Into Every House Through Writing
• 4.3 Kavitha Rao: Chronicling The Lives Of India’s First Women Doctors
• 2.2 Ira Mukhoty: Reviving Forgotten Stories
• 5.24 Tejaswini Apte-Rahm: Time Travel to Bombay’s Silent Film Era
• 5.18 Bora Chung: Cursed Bunnies, Ghosts, and Dark Lore of South Korea

Movie mentioned in this episode:

• Don’t Worry Darling

‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.