Bookies' Favourite

This week, Lucy, Hannah, and Colin discuss Flashlight by Susan Choi — a sharp, layered story that shines a beam on identity, family, and the fragments that make up a life. The three of them unpack Choi’s lengthy tale.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (Faber) 📘

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts on Flashlight or your first impressions of The Rest of Our Lives!

This week, Colin, Lucy, and Hannah brave the chill as they discuss The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller — a historical novel set against a fierce blizzard and the frozen backdrop of political and personal turmoil.

Do they have a frosty opinion on this Booker-shortlisted story, or does it warm their hearts? Hannah also dives into another of her trademark “odd chapters”—you’ll have to listen to find out which one!

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape) 🔦

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts or theories to be featured in a future episode!

This week we dive into the first book on the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist: Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press). The novel is split into two distinct parts, exploring the life of an aging Broadway actress and her shifting relationships with those around her.

Our Bookie of the Week is @bobthebookerer on Instagram—make sure to also check out his YouTube channel for more bookish content!

📚 In This Episode

✨ Breaking down the dual structure of Audition
✨ Our classic “Rename the Novel” segment
🥐 Read It & Eat It: Aaron snacks on a croissant straight from the pages—see the pic on our Instagram!
✨ Listener reactions and book club thoughts

📅 Coming Up Next

Have you read other books by Katie Kitamura? We’d love to hear what you thought of them.

Next week: The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre) ❄️

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]
📖 Check out our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts to be featured in an upcoming episode!

The official Booker Prize 2025 shortlist is here—and honestly? We’re a little disappointed by the choices. Still, there’s plenty to dig into, and we’re excited to read and discuss each of the six books in the lead-up to the winner’s announcement.

Here’s the order we’ll be reading them in:
1️⃣ Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press)
2️⃣ The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)
3️⃣ Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape)
4️⃣ The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (Faber)
5️⃣ Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape)
6️⃣ The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton)

We also hear again from our guest Bookie, Ashlee (@afewofchifavoritethings) on Instagram.

📅 What’s Next

• Each week we’ll release a new review episode on one of the shortlisted books.

• Our Eden’s Shore chapter-by-chapter read-along will pause until the shortlist project is complete.

💬 Get Involved

Which shortlisted book are you most excited (or dreading) to read?
📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]

We’ll also be posting written reviews on Goodreads: ⁠Bookies’ Favourite Bookclub on Goodreads⁠.

Join us as we take on the Booker shortlist—six books in six weeks!

With the official Booker Prize 2025 shortlist announcement just one day away, we’re making our calls!

Lucy and Hannah—who’ve managed to read some of the longlisted titles—face off against Aaron and Colin (who haven’t read any) as we each put forward our six predicted books for the shortlist. Then, together, we try to settle on a final six we’d love to see announced.

📅 What’s Next

📖 Tomorrow – the official shortlist is revealed.
🎧 Later this week – we’ll be back with a shortlist reaction episode, setting out our full reading list.

From there, we’ll be reading and discussing all six shortlisted books before the winner is announced.

💬 Join the Conversation

Which books do you want to see on the shortlist?
📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]

Follow along as we make our way through the shortlist and build up to the winner!

Our chapter-by-chapter journey through Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan continues! In this episode, we tackle Part II, Chapter 3: Colony, where the story shifts with a time jump of several years. We dig into the ensemble cast of characters, the rising rebellion, and explore some striking similarities with Les Misérables.

🍗 Aaron’s Kitchen Chronicles

Food continues to play a role in the read-along! This week Aaron makes fried chicken (straight from the book’s pages), and we also chat about the intriguing mention of “spit cake.”

📅 Coming Up Next

Next episode: Part II, Chapter 4: Play 🎭
And remember—the series will end with a special interview with Oisín Fagan. Got a question you’d like us to put to him? Send it in!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]

Follow along and share your thoughts as we read through Eden’s Shore together!

We’re back with our chapter-by-chapter read-along of Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan! In this episode, we explore Part I, Chapter 2: Land, diving into its characters, themes, and hidden layers.

We’re once again joined by Emma from Real Life Ghost Stories, this time sharing some fascinating folklore about the Irish Púca. You can watch the original video we pulled audio from here: Emma on the Púca (TikTok).

🍸 Lucy’s Cocktail Corner

Lucy debuts her Eden’s Shore Special cocktail—perfect for sipping as you read along! Check out the recipe and images on our Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next episode: Part II, Chapter 3: Colony
And don’t forget—this read-along series will end with a special interview with Oisín Fagan himself. Got a question for him? Send it our way!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]

Read along with us each week and share your thoughts!

Welcome to our weekly chapter-by-chapter read-along of Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan!

In this first episode, Aaron & Lucy dive into Part I, Chapter 1: Sea, exploring its plots, characters, themes, references, and hidden easter eggs.

He hear from Emma of Real Life Ghost Stories, who lends her insight as we pull in some fascinating clips from their episode on Hy-Brasil—a mysterious phantom island off the Irish coast. You can listen to that full episode here: Hy-Brasil on Spotify.

We also hear from one of our listeners who’s reading along with us, sharing their thoughts on the opening chapter.

🍪 Aaron Bakes Eden’s Shore

Aaron kicks off a new segment where he bakes something inspired by each chapter! This week: Oatmeal Biscuits.
Want the recipe? Head over to our Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub.

📅 Coming Up

Next, we’ll continue the read-along with Chapter 2: Land.
We’ll also be taking in your reactions and preparing for an exclusive interview with Oisín Fagan at the end of the series.

👉 Got a question for Oisín, or your own thoughts on Eden’s Shore so far? Email or DM us and we’ll share them in a future episode!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 [email protected]

Follow along and read with us, chapter by chapter!

In this episode, we dig into Glorious Exploits—the witty, inventive, and widely celebrated debut that won your vote in our book club poll. Expect laughs, analysis, and plenty of admiration for Lennon’s bold storytelling.

We’re also joined by this week’s special guest Bookie, Mᴀɪʀᴇ́ᴀᴅ Hᴇᴀʀɴᴇ (@mairead.hearne), who shares her thoughts on why this book has captured so much attention.

📅 Coming Up Next

📖 Confessions by Catherine Airey – Full review episode coming soon.

🌊 Eden’s Shore Read-Along – Starting this Wednesday, we’re launching a special chapter-by-chapter series, unpacking Oisín Fagan’s dense and ambitious novel in detail. This will run every Wednesday, ending with an exclusive interview with the author himself.
👉 Have a question for Oisín Fagan? Send it in and we’ll put it to him in our chat!

🏆 Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist – Once the list is revealed in September, we’ll be reading and reviewing all six books in six weeks.

💬 Join the Conversation

We want to hear your thoughts on Glorious Exploits and what you’re most excited about in our upcoming series.

📸 @bookiesfavouritebookclub
📩 [email protected]

Follow along so you don’t miss the Eden’s Shore breakdown or our Booker Prize shortlist marathon!

The longlist is here—and Aaron and Hannah are diving straight in!

In this episode, they run through all 13 longlisted titles, sharing quick synopses of each book and discussing whether they hope to see them on the final shortlist.

📚 While we’re not reading the full longlist, Lucy will be making her way through as many titles as she can in her own time.

And don’t worry—we will be reading the full shortlist once it’s announced in September: six books in six weeks!

📅 What’s Coming Up Next

🏺 Glorious Exploits – Full review episode coming Monday
🌊 Eden’s Shore Read-Along – A chapter-by-chapter mini-series starts soon, featuring a special interview with the author, Oisín Fagan
🗣️ Confessions – Review episode coming in September, just ahead of the Booker shortlist announcement

💬 Join the Conversation

Which books are you rooting for on the shortlist? Let us know!

📸 bookiesfavouritebookclub
📩 [email protected]

Hit follow to stay updated on every episode leading up to the Booker shortlist announcement—and beyond!