Books On The Go

Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Goldsmiths Prize winner, Parade by Rachel Cusk, and ghostwriters in crime writing.

Our book of the week is JAMES by Percival Everett. This re-telling of Huckleberry Finn has been an instant New York Times best-seller, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and National Book award and described as 'genius' (The Atlantic).

Coming up: our comfort reading recommendations.

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Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie

Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss AI in publishing.

Our book of the week is ALL FOURS by award-winning author and artist Miranda July. Described as July's 'peri-menopause novel', ALL FOURS tells the story of a woman who escapes married life and creates a space for herself. A finalist for the 2024 National Book Award and instant New York Times bestseller, it's funny, frank and causing a stir amongst book clubs.

We recorded this before the US election but some of the themes will resonate.

Coming up: JAMES by Percival Everett.

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Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Booker Prize Shortlist.

Our book of the week is INTERMEZZO by award-winning author Sally Rooney. Intermezzo is a novel about two brothers who deal with grief, family and relationships. Intimate and poignant, it's been an instant New York Times bestseller, shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year. We discuss Sally Rooney's popularity, the backlash and what it says about women's fiction.

Coming up: ALL FOURS by Miranda July.

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Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

A special episode! Anna chats with author Chris Hammer about his new crime novel THE VALLEY, the fourth in the Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic series.

Chris' award-winning debut SCRUBLANDS was an instant bestseller and is now a TV series. THE VALLEY is his seventh novel and follows detectives Nell and Ivan as they investigate a murder in rural Australia and the victim's connections with logging, politics and an abandoned gold mine. We discuss why Chris has been compared to Shakespeare and how the Australian landscape inspires his stories.

Chris recommends books by Peter Temple and the TV show Slow Horses based on the books by Mick Herron.

Coming up: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

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Chris: https://chrishammerauthor.com/

Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

A special episode! Kate Slotover from the Book Club Review Podcast joins Anna to discuss what makes a good book club book and our top recommendations. We tried to keep it to three each, and failed.

Our best book club books are:

STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood

ALL FOURS by Miranda July

JAMES by Percival Everett

WIFEDOM by Anna Funder

FRUIT OF THE DEAD by Rachel Lyon

HOW I WON A NOBEL PRIZE by Julius Taranto

THE GARDEN AGAINST TIME by Oliva Laing

THE VASTER WILDS by Lauren Groff

THIS HOUSE OF GRIEF by Helen Garner

MONSTERS: WHAT DO WE DO WITH GREAT ART BY BAD PEOPLE? by Claire Dederer

JUST KIDS by Patti Smith

WEST by Carys Davies

Coming up: INTERMEZZO by Sally Rooney

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Email: [email protected]

Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Booker Prize Longlist.

Our book of the week is WOO WOO by Ella Baxter. The latest novel from the award-winning author of New Animal, this tells the story of Sabine, an artist about to open her exhibition. She faces the pressure of the show and the terror of being stalked. Both disturbing and funny, Baxter's writing is strong, visceral and on point. We loved this one!

Coming up:

James by Percival Everett

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Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss the Booker Prize 2024 Longlist.

Our book of the week is THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes. We loved this Irish novel about four eccentric sisters each grappling with their dysfunctional family in different ways. Gripping, humane and funny, we highly recommend this one.

Coming up: WOO WOO by Ella Baxter.

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Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Women's Prize winners.

We reveal our best books of 2024 so far. Our favourite reads are:

THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes

HOME READING SERVICE by Fabio Morábito translated by Curtis Bauer

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Hannah Ritchie

THUNDERHEAD by Miranda Darling

REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong

THE SQUARE OF SEVENS by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

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Email: [email protected]

Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

A special episode! Anna chats with author Kemper Donovan about his new crime novel THE BUSY BODY, the first in the Ghostwriter series.

A contemporary murder mystery told in the spirit of the Golden Age by the host of the All About Agatha podcast, THE BUSY BODY has been described as Veep meets Agatha Christie and a 'witty and highly entertaining mystery' (Sophie Hannah). Dorothy Gibson, failed presidential candidate aka That Woman, invites her ghostwriter to Maine to pen her memoir, but the dream assignment comes unstuck when a woman is murdered next door.

We loved this one and can't wait for the next in the series, LOOSE LIPS!

Kemper recommends the work of Agatha Christie and Tana French and the podcasts The Swinging Christies and Shedunnit.

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X: Kemper Donovan

Email: [email protected]

Credits:

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize winner and the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist.

Our book of the week is Thunderhead by Miranda Darling. A black comedy, set in suburbia, about one woman's struggle to be free, it has been described as a 'feminist triumph and homage to Virginia Woolf' (Australian Book Review). We love a short novel and this is a gem.

Coming up: The Busy Body with author Kemper Donovan.

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Email: [email protected]

Credits

Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz