A Pair of Bookends

For the latest instalment in our Debut Spotlight series, Hannah was joined by author Eden McKenzie-Goddard to discuss his debut novel Smallie. In this episode they delve into the Windrush scandal, how the Windrush generation were mistreated, the dehumanisation of immigrants & more. They also discuss his route into publishing, the impact of music on his writing and the music & literature Eden has been inspired by.
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Eden via Instagram or via emgoddard.net
Buy Smallie here.
Sign the Windrush legal aid petition here.

Books & other mentions in this episode:
Don't Alert The Stans podcast
Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Afrori Books
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
rum.gold
Elmiene
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Every Light in the House Burnin' by Andrea Levy

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

Happy Bank Hol! For a bonus bank holiday treat, I'm giving you this week's Books to Screen episode early. For this instalment, I was joined by the iconic author Hannah Beer to discuss and dissect all things Heated Rivalry and boy are we obsessed... 
In this episode we discuss all things from the incredible sex scenes to the parent/child relationships & their impact on each character, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as the perfect castings, how the book and TV adaptation are in conversation plus so much more. 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Hannah via Instagram, read her Substack here.
Buy I Make My Own Fun here (UK) and here (US)

Books & other mentions in this episode:
The Talented Mr.Ripley (1999)
Little Women (1994)
The Other Bennet Sister (BBC Iplayer)
Romeo & Juliet (1996)
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Enough Said (2013)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Boy Parts- Play
Wuthering Heights (2026)
Tell Me Lies (Disney +/Hulu)
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
Game Changer by Rachel Reid
Heated Rivalry (Crave/HBO Max/Sky)
Spare Parts Podcast- Jacob Tierney Episode
Tonsil Hockey Podcast
https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a69638125/heated-rivalry-sex-scenes-intimacy-coordinator-interview/
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
It's A Sin (Channel4)
Yellowjackets
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
I'll Believe in Anything- The Making of Heated Rivalry by Jacob Tierney

See you back at the cottage for season 2!
Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

This is a free preview of a paid episode: Listen in full here.

Full details on Children's Booker Prize 2027: thebookerprizes.com/the-childrens-booker-prize
Support Afrori Books: afroribooks.co.uk

You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Emma Hinds via Instagram

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For the latest episode in our Debut Spotlight series, Hannah was joined by author Rosie Storey to discuss her debut novel Dandelion is Dead (spoiler free!). In this episode they discuss loss, the sister dynamic, continuing to write in the face of rejection plus much more! 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Rosie via Instagram
You can buy Dandelion is Dead here (UK) & here (US)

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Black Bag by Luke Kennard
Motherfaker by Anna Brook-Mitchell
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories by Miranda July
All Fours by Miranda July
"Roy Spivey" by Miranda July
https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-writers-voice/david-sedaris-reads-roy-spivey-by-miranda-july
The Book of Other People- Edited by Zadie Smith

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For the latest instalment in our Books to Screen series, Hannah was joined by Australian author Katherine Brabon to discuss Shy by Max Porter and it's Netflix film adaptation Steve. In this episode they discuss perspective and the use of it in storytelling, Cillian Murphy & Jay Lycurgo's performances, Porter's experimental style plus lots more!
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Katherine via Instagram or via katherinebrabon.com
You can buy her novel Body Friend here (UK)
You can buy her latest novel Cure here (UK) or here (AUS)

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
Shy by Max Porter
Steve (2025)
Burning (2018)
Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami
Romeo & Juliet (1996)
My Brilliant Friend (2018)
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The New Boy (2023)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Our Secret History Episode
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
Hot Milk (2025)
The Quiet Girl (2022)
Foster by Claire Keegan
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Small Things Like These (2024)
Ripley (2024)
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid
Sense and Sensibility (2026)
The Odyssey (2026)
Frankenstein (2025)
Mary Shelley (2017)
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux
Simple Passion (2020)
The Death of Francis Bacon by Max Porter
All of This Unreal Time (2021)
All of This Unreal Time by Max Porter
My Husband by Maud Ventura

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For our April Book Club episode Hannah was joined by multi-million copy bestselling author Beth O'Leary to discuss her latest novel The Name Game. In this episode, Hannah and Beth discuss the importance of community, exploring addiction & anxiety in this novel, Beth's favourite romance authors plus lots more. 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Beth via Instagram & TikTok. 
You can buy The Name Game here (UK) & here (US)

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
In Love with Love by Ella Risbridger
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
The Flatshare (2022)
Dolly All The Time by Annabel Monaghan
Lia Louis

Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
One & Only by Maurene Goo
Swept Away by Beth O'Leary
The Switch by Beth O'Leary


Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For our latest instalment in our Books to Screen series, Hannah was joined by host of In My Good Books podcast, Susie Green to discuss one of the hottest films of 2026 and what can now be considered one of the most successful Books to Screen adaptations- Project Hail Mary. In this episode they discuss how the book and film compare, the parts of the book they missed in the adaptation, the scenes they loved in the film, the casting choices, beloved Rocky plus much more. 
You can follow Susie via Instagram: susiesbookreviews, Instagram: inmygoodbookspod
You can listen to In My Good Books via Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or via your preferred platform!)

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary (2026)
Misery (1990)
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
The Witches (1990)
Twilight (2008)
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Rivals S2
Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray
Presumed Innocent (2024)
True Detective (2014)
All The Colours of The Dark by Chris Whitaker
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Martian (2015)
Artemis by Andy Weir
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Bait (2026)

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For today's episode Hannah was joined by Booker Prize long-listed author of Pearl, Siân Hughes to discuss her latest novel No Such Thing As Monday. In this episode they discuss memory and how trauma affects it, the writing exercise that led to the protagonist of this novel, representing someone living in poverty, book recommendations and more. 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Siân via her books! Buy Pearl here. Buy No Such Thing As Monday here. 

Books & other mentions: 
The Missing by Siân Hughes
Books On The Walls Bookshop
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Boy with a Black Rooster by Stefanie vor Schulte

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For today's episode Hannah was joined by Author & Illustrator Lizzy Stewart to discuss her latest novel The Wreck. They also discuss her journey to becoming a graphic novelist, writing characters in their 40s, why she's drawn to exploring Class in her work, book recommendations and more!
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. 
You can follow Lizzy via  Instagram & Substack.
You can buy The Wreck here.
You can buy Alison here.
You can buy Walking Distance here. 

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Alison by Lizzy Stewart
Practice by Rosalind Brown
Sally Rooney
Meg Mason
The Years by Annie Ernaux
This is the Place to Be by Lara Pawson

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!

For our March Book Club episode Hannah spoke to Ela Lee about her second novel Minbak. In this episode they discuss the parts of South Korean history Ela wanted to explore for this novel, the research process, how 150,000 words were deleted prior to writing this book, mothers and daughters and so much more. For further reading and sources, head to the Afterword of Minbak where Ela has kindly provided the books and sources she used to write this novel. 
You can buy Minbak here. 
You can buy Jaded here. 
You can follow Ela via Instagram or Substack. 
You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok.

Books & other mentions in this episode: 
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Human Acts by Han Kang
Painkiller (Netflix)
Dopesick (BBC Iplayer)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us [email protected] or you can DM us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram. Until next time, happy reading!