Book Who's Talking

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!

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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 [email protected]

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!

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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 [email protected]

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!

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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 [email protected]

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.

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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 [email protected]

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!

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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 [email protected]

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!