Curious Readers

As the nights draw in, Joseph and Amanda look forward to all the autumn releases they hope to get through before December. Along the way, they meander through prize news, current reads and discover circular themes about the Epic of Gilgamesh, pianos and Dickens – and that’s all before they get to the mimmoths.

Bookish News

A Tale of Two Cities, a Marlowe Theatre Production

The Hugo Awards

The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow @alix.e.harrow

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar @amalelmohtar

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone @max.gladstone

A Wizard Of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. LeGuin and Fred Fordham

Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirlees

A Drop Of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett @r.jackson.bennett

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Current Reads

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak @shafakelif

Land by Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial

Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason @meg_mason_writer

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

Autumn Preview

Ply by Hernan Diaz

Trust by Hernan Diaz

American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee @lee_minjin

End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor @naomiklein @astraamoura

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson @jennyjacksonpineapple

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

The Wedding People by Alison Espach @alison.espach

The Strangers by Naomi Alderman @naomi_alderman

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver @barbara.kingsolver

Minihorror by Barbi Marković translated by Jen Calleja @barbimarkovich @jencalleja_

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte @tonytula

Off The Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones @stephengrahamjones

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham-Jones

Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage @simonarmitage_official

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus @bonnie_garmus_author

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Stations by Louise Kennedy @louisekennedywriter

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Furious, Disney Plus

Widow’s Bay on Apple TV

Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot (also know as Abra in Canada)

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura

On The Calculation of Volume - Volume V by Solvej Balle

The Pen: A Human History by Simon Garfield

The Missing Ink: How Handwriting Made Us Who We Are by Philip Hensher

The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Alan

Hudson by Hernán Ronsino, translated by Mallory Craig-Kuhn

Fruit Fly by Josh Silver

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lancaster

Capital by John Lancaster

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph and Amanda are back from summer break with a bumper episode deep diving into Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Whistler. They also take some time to cogitate over the Booker Prize long list, as well as catch up on what they've been reading recently and the titles they hope to pick up next.

Bookish News

The Imagination Library @imaginationlibraryuk

Booker Prize Longlist and Predictions

The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis

Switzy by Emma Cline @emmanancycline

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman @makenna_good

The End of Everything by M. John Harrison @m_john_harrison

The Disappearers by Marlon James @marlonjameswriter

Black Bag by Luke Kennard @lukekekennnard

The Renovation by Kenan Orhan

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry @poorsasquatch

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @liztroutauthor

John of John by Douglas Stuart @douglas_stuart

All Them Dogs by Djamel White @djamelwhitewriter

The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams @missouriwilliams

What We’ve Been Reading

Frost in May by Antonia White

Novel on Yellow Notepaper by Stevie Smith

Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge

The Caravners by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani

The Hyena’s Daughter by Jupiter Jones @jupiterjones

It Will Come Back To You by Sigird Nunez

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney @sallyrooney6

Selected Books of Ann Patchett

Parnassus Books @paranassusbooks

The Patron Saint of Liars

Taft

The Magician’s Assistant 

Bel Canto

Run

State of Wonder

The Dutch House

Tom Lake

Whistler

What We’re Reading Next

Astronaut! by Oana Aristide 

My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova @egana_djabbarly

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we bid farewell to Summer Break, we take questions from our listeners in a special post bag episode - and of course, we can’t help but make some recommendations along the way. And don’t worry, normal service will be resumed on 11 September when return to the mics for a deep dive into Ann Patchett's latest novel, Whistler.

Recent Reads

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton

Post Bag Questions

Claude.ai

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley 

The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison

Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash

An Apprenticeship, or The Book Of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector 

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector 

The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya

The Life of M by Rachel Cusk

Audition, by Katie Kitamura

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

@apairofbookendspod

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman

The Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Alison by Lizzie Stewart

The Wreck by Lizzie Stewart

Ducks by Kate Beaton

From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

Black Hole by Charles Burns

The Property by Rutu Modan

Something Will Happen, You’ll See by Christos Ikonomou

Little Infamies by Panos Karnezis

Greekling by Kostya Tsolakis

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson 

Circe by Madeline Miller

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

What We’re Reading Next

Whistler by Ann Patchett

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How many times have Amanda and Joseph joined the ‘Just One Book’ Deception Society? Too many to count. This week they are talking about the joy of browsing and the bookshops they love visiting across the UK. Plus, as always they’ll be chatting about what they’ve been reading recently and the titles they're hoping to pick up next.  

Recent Reads

I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder

Service by John Tottenham

Bookshops and browsing

Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal

The Book of Lost Tales (Volume 2) by J R R Tolkien

Persephone Books, Bath and London @persephonebooks

If The Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Charco Press @charcopress

Daunt Books, Marleybone or Cheapside @dauntbookspub

Bookmongers, Brixton @bookmongersbrixton

Harbour Books, Whitstable @harbourbooks

A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam

In The Distance by Hernan Diaz

London Review of Books Bookshop, London @londonreviewofbooks

Judd Books, London @juddbooks

Book Bar, London @bookbaruk

Hatchards, St Pancras @hatchstpancras

Brick Lane Bookshop, London @bricklanebookshop

Pages of Hackney, London @pagesofhackney

The Margate Bookshop, Margate @themargatebookshop

Little Green Bookshop, Herne Bay @thegreenbookshop

Michael’s Bookshop, Ramsgate @michaelsbookshopramsgate

Plunder Books, Ramsgate @plunderbooks

Heffers, Cambridge @heffers_cambridge

Body in the Bookshop, Cambridge @bodiesinthebookshop

Murder and Mayhem, Hay on Wye @murder_and_mayhem

Richard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye @richardboothsbookshop

What We’re Reading Next

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton

The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova

Also mentioned

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph as they set out to excavate Land, Maggie O’Farrell’s latest historical novel and family drama which is set in 1860s Ireland, a decade after the Great Famine. Plus, as always they chat about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. 

Bookish News

Children’s Booker Prize

Frank Cottrell-Boyce @frank_cottrellboyce

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

Beast in View by Maragert Millar

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood

@herrealtake

Recent Reads

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series by Juno Dawson @junodawson

Parallel Lives: A Love Story from a Lost Continent by Iain Pears

Selected Books of Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Instructions for a Heatwave

This Must Be the Place 

Hamnet 

The Marriage Portrait 

Land

What We’re Reading Next

The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan @theodysseymovie

Crossing The Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily Wilson

I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph as they go through the looking glass into the fascinating (and anxiety inducing) world of artificial intelligence - and recommending some fiction and non-fiction picks about Large Language Models, bots, and the machines learning to live like us. Plus, as always they'll be chatting about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. 

Bookish News

Lambda Literary Awards @lambdaliterary

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter 

Black Panther Woman by Mary Frances Phillips @maryfrancisphillips 

The Lilac People by Milo Todd @todd_milo

Virago Modern Classics @viragopress

Frost In May by Antonia White 

Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge

Recent Reads

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthor

Soft Core by Brittany Newell @frottage_industry

Good Girl by Aria Aber @aria.aber

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

How to End a Story by Helen Garner

Small Rain by Garth Greenwell @ggreenwell

The Ghost in the Manuscript

Olga Tokarczuk @tokarczuk_olga

Martin Scorcese @martinscorcese

Kane Parsons @kanepixels

Josh Johnson @joshjohnsoncomedy

Field Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kandasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y

The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates @laura_bates_

Meditations for the Anxious Mind @meditationsfortheanxiousmind

How to Talk to AI (and How Not To) by Jamie Bartlett @jamiejbartlett

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer @sierra_greer_writer

Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow

What We’re Reading Next

Whistler by Ann Patchett @annpatchett

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the height of Prize Season, Amanda and Joseph are back with a bumper episode asking what all the hullabaloo is about - how are prizes judged and awarded, and are the winners worth our time? Plus, they talk about Amanda’s recent trip to the Women’s Prize ceremony, and as always, what they’ve been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. 

Bookish News

Hay Festival

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams @sarahww_

Women’s Prize

Women’s Prize Live and other events

Rivals on Disney+

Felicity Blunt @thebluntoffice

Laura Wade

Katherine Parkinson @parkinson.katherine

Field Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kadasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y

Rapture by Emily Maguire @emilymaguirewriter

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany @salmaelwardany

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet

The Correspondent by Virgina Evans @virginia.l.evans

Dominion by Addie E. Kitchens @addie_citchens

The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1

Recent Reads

Air by Christian Kracht

Eurotrash by Christian Kracht

Imperium by Christian Kracht

You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate @christinapplegate

Prizes and Prize-Worthy Recommendations

The Nobel Prize for Literature

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Booker Prize

National Book Award 

Milkman by Anna Burns

‘The Hemingway Veto’ and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

The Riders In The Chariot by Patrick White

The Tree of Man by Patrick White

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

Martyr by Kaveh Akbar @kavehakbar.kavehakbar

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

Trust by Hernan Diaz

What We’re Reading Next

The Beautiful Ones by Prince and Dan Piepenbring 

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthor

Also mentioned

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where have the last six months gone? Join Amanda and Joseph as they check in on the reading goals they set themselves in January. Find out if they’ve stuck to their promises, or if they’ve bombed out on their reading resolutions. Plus, they talk about more prize news, and as always, what they’ve been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next. 

Bookish News

Hay Festival

Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi (translated by Lin King)

John of John by Douglas Stuart @douglas_stuart

Ruth Ozeki @ozekiland

Carol Shields Prize for Fiction

Canon by Lee Lai @_leelai

Hellions by Julia Elliott @jelliottic6

A Guardian and A Thief by Megha Majumdar @megha.maj

Women’s Prize

The Booker Prize

Recent Reads

Famesick by Lena Dunham @lenadunham

May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry @poorsasquatch

Stone Fruit by Rebecca Perry

Our Mid-Year Reading Goals

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan @patrickryanyc

The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine @wednesdaywerskin

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke @caroclaireburke

The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart @lizzy_stewart

Prairie Oyster by Sophoe Robinson @sophiepoetry

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe @praddenkeefe

Dominion by Addie E. Kitchens @addie_citchens

The Correspondent by Virgina Evans @virginia.l.evans

Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash @madelinecash

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Guardian’s ‘100 Best Novels of All Time’

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

Ordinary People by Haldor Laxness

Death’s End by Cixin Liu

Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert @sophiegilbertwrites

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollan @michael.pollan

You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate @christinapplegate

Indignity by Leah Ypi

Winter In The Blood by James Welch

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones @stephengrahamjones

The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day @yeah_okday

The Sleep Thief by Ibtisam Azem @ibitisam.azem

Charco Press 2026 Fiction Bundle @charcopress

Die, My Love by Ariana Harwicz @arianaharwiczw

Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly 

Angel Down by Daniel Kraus @kraus_author

Kin by Tayari Jones @tayari

Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn

On The Calculation of Volume series by Solvej Balle

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Practice by Rosalind Brown

Land by Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthor

Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason

Exit Party by Emily St John Mandel @emilystjohnmandel

What We’re Reading Next

John of John by Douglas Stuart

The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin

Also mentioned

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It seems everyone is talking about Yesteryear, and now Joseph and Amanda are too. Join them for their latest deep dive into the most hotly anticipated debut of the year, and hear about what they've been reading recently and which books they hope to pick up next.

Bookish News

The Hay Festival

Hayplayer

Recent Reads

Cannon by Lee Lai @_leelai

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans @virginia.l.evans

Dominion by Addie E Citchens @addie_citchens

Deep Dive

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin (adapted for screen by Bryan Forbes)

Trad Wife by Sarah Langan @sarahlangan

Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer @saratogaishere

The Trad Wife by Carrie Hughes @carriehughesbooks

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke @caroclaireburke

Diabolical Lies podcast

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn @thegillianflynn

What We’re Reading Next

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer @eleanorbshearer

Kingfisher by Rozie King

The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1

Prairie Oyster by Sophie Robinson @sophiepoetry

Also mentioned

Ramsgate Literary Festival @ The Book Hotel, Ramsgate

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph for this week’s episode as they delve into the best that nature writing has to offer. Plus, as always, they talk about their current reads and what they're looking forward to picking up next, as well as the latest from the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist.

Bookish News

Women’s Prize shortlist

Recent Reads

Pearl Oyster by Sophie Robinson @sophiepoetry 

London Falling, by Patrick Radden Keefe @praddenkeefe

Tilt by Emma Pattee

Nature Writing

Helm by Sarah Hall

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

The Overstory by Richard Powers

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollan @michael.pollan

Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt @lyandahaupt

Walden by Henry David Thoreau 

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald @emerillon

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton @chloedaltonuk

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @robinwallkimmerer

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong

Soundings: Journeys In The Company of Whales by Doreen Cunningham @doreenwriting

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Wintering by Katherine May @katherinemay_

Intertidal: A Coast And Marsh Diary by Yuvan Aves @a_naturalists_column

The Peregrine by J.A. Baker 

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd 

Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane @robertmacfarlane

Dart by Alice Oswald

What We’re Reading Next 

California Gold by Jodie Chapman @jodiechapman

The Italian Girl by Iris Murdoch

The Bell by Iris Murdoch

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

Also mentioned

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.