Curious Readers

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.

Join Amanda and Joseph for this week’s episode as they delve into the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, remember Agatha Christie and talk about their favourite mysteries. This time, they really try to be spoiler free!  

Bookish News

International Booker Prize shortlist short flims 

Helen DeWitt and Windham Campbell Literary Award

Recent Reads

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm (Sam Hughes)

The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart @lizzy_stewart

Alison by Lizzy Stewart

The Novels of Agatha Christie and Golden Age Detective Fiction

Snow Upon the Desert by Agatha Christie

Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Death On The Nile by Agatha Christie

Evil Under The Sun by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Akroyd by Agatha Christie

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup

V is for Venom by Kathryn Harkup

The Knox Decalogue

S.S. Van Dine’s Commandments

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty

Our Favourite Mysteries

In the Woods (The Dublin Murder Squad series) by Tana French @tanafrenchwrites

The Trees by Percival Everett

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett @r.jackson.bennett

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett @janice.hallett

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Whitstable Pearl by Julie Wassmer

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

‘Only Murders in the Building’

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg

The Girl in the Maze by R K Jackson @randal.jackson1

The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai @rebeccamakkai

What We’re Reading Next 

Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag

The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day @yeah_okday

Prairie Oyster by Sophie Robinson @sophiepoetry

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 Joseph and Amanda as they discuss the reads they are most looking forward to this Spring, plus a few more updates from prize season. We also introduce a new segment – DNF corner, where we talk about the books we couldn’t wait to put down. 

Bookish News

Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist

International Booker Prize shortlist

Recent Reads

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin

The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

The Winner by Teddy Wayne

Companion Piece by Ali Smith 

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang

Top Ten Reads for Spring

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Land by Maggie O’Farrell

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Kin by Tayari Jones

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

Devotions by Lucy Caldwell

Openings by Lucy Caldwell

If We Cannot Go At The Speed Of Light by Kim Cho-yeop, translated by Anton Hur

Transcription by Ben Lerner

Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner

My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy

You With The Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

Famesick by Lena Dunham

‘Too Much’ by Lena Dunham

‘Girls’ by Lena Dunham

Your Presence Is A Danger To Your Life by Samar Yazbek, translated by Leri Price

Second Hand Time by Svetlana Alexivich

London Falling: Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Tell Noone by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Ghost Stories: A Memoir by Siri Hustvedt

Mother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati Roy

One Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson

DNF Corner 

My Friends by Frederick Backman

Britt-Marie Was Here by Frederick Backman

Workhorse by Caroline Palmer

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 for their next deep dive into Wendy Erskine’s debut novel, The Benefactors, a polyphonic story about a sexual assault and the lengths that three mothers will go to to keep their sons from being held accountable. Along the way, they discuss the latest prize news, with the Carol Shields Prize longlist topping the episode.

(0:49) Bookish News

(1:52) Carol Shields Prize for Fiction longlist

(5:12) Recent Reads

(5:18) The Brittle Age by Donatella Di Pietrantonio

(11:13) The Only Story by Julian Barnes

(14:07) Deep Dive into The Benefactors

The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine

Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine

Dance Move by Wendy Erskine

Close to Home by Michael Magee

Magnolia, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 

(51:27) What We’re Reading Next

(51:33) Waiting For The Fear by Oguz Atay

(52:04) The Door by Magda Szabo

(52:58) Indignity by Lea Ypi

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.

This week, join Amanda and Joseph for one of their most personally revealing episodes yet, as they discuss the books that made them: the teenage obsessions, the gateway reads, and the unforgettable titles, passages and writers that made us the readers they are today.

(1:20) Bookish News

(1:40) The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist

(2:49) Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps @lucy.emma13

(3:10) The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1

(4:32) The International Booker Prize Longlist

(5:36) The Nights Are QuietIn Iran by Shida Bazyar

(5:59) Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur

(6:28) Taiwan Travelogue Yáng Shuāng-zǐ

(8:08) Recent Reads

(8:17) Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert @sophiegilbertwrites

(12:52) The Missing Ink by Philip Hensher @philiphensher

(17:43) The Books That Made Us

(23:16) The Odyssey by Homer (various translations including Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson)

(24:27) O’ Brother, Where Art Thou directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen

(24:54) 'Penelope' by Carol Ann Duffy

(28:43) The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

(32:48) Elidor by Alan Garner

(32:53) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman 

(34:58) The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan

(36:56) The Continuous Life: Poems by Mark Strand

(40:16) The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

(41:25) The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter

(46:34) Gilead by Marilyn Robinson

(49:38) A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam

(53:55) In the Distance by Hernan Diaz

(54:36) What We’re Reading Next

(55:00) No Friend of This House by Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynesauthor

(55:12) One Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson

(56:07) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

(56:43) EveryDay Is For The Thief by Teju Cole @_tejucole

Also mentioned

Tate Modern, Nigerian Modernism (on until 16 April 2026)

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.

This week, Joseph and Amanda tackle romance. But this is romance with a twist, no tropes or formulas, just good writing that even the most hard-hearted cynic can enjoy. And before that, as Prize season is upon us, they dish the latest on prestigious longlists, and top and tail the episode with current and future reads. 

(0:52) Bookish news

(1:03) The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction

(2:52) Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi 

(4:03) Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage by Deepa Paul @storiesbydeepa

(4:29) The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet

(6:04) Mother Mary Comes to Me a memoir by Arundhati Roy @arundatiroyauthor

(6:17) International Booker Prize

(6:45) The National Book Critics Circle Awards (NBCC)

(7:16) Dublin Literary Award

(7:56) What I Know About You by Eric Chacour @ericchacour

(8:09) The Creation of Half-Broken People by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu 

(8:37) Live Fast by Brigitte Giroud

(9:13) Recent Reads 

(9:21) Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn

(14:19) Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash @madelinecash

(17:45) Romance for Cynics

(19:15) Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

(19:29) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

(24:09) Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid @rachelreidwrites

(25:38) Emma & Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

(26:30) Persuasion by Jane Austen

(26:56) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

(27:09) Villette by Charlotte Bronte

(29:03) The books of Lily King @lilykingbooks

(29:23) Minor Black Figures & The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor @brandonlgtaylor

(29:23) Memorial: A Novel by Bryan Washington

(30:05) Normal People by Sally Rooney @sallyrooneyofficial

(30:37) You Are Here by David Nicholls @davidnichollswriter

(31:17) Happy All The Time by Laurie Colwin

(35:46) Reasons To Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe @ninastibbe 

(39:17) Crush by Ada Calhoun @adacalhoun

(42:58) Good Material by Dolly Alderton @dollyalderton

(47:13) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller @madeline.e.miller

(47:47) The Disenchantment by Celia Bell 

(48:22) The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti 

(49:24) Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason @meg_mason_writer

(50:26) Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey @monicaheisey

(51:50) You, Again by Kate Goldbeck @kategoldbeck

(52:25) Heartburn by Nora Ephron

(53:15) What We’re Reading Next 

(53:26) Midnight Is Not In Everyone’s Reach by António Lobo Antunes @antonio.lobo.antunes

(54:16) White Spines: Confessions of a Book Collector by Nicholas Royle @nicholasroyle

(55:15) Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones @tayari

(55:21) Kin by Tayari Jones

(55:47) My Friends by Frederik Backman @frederickbackman

(56:00) The Winner by Teddy Wayne

The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine @wednesdaywerskin

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

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

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

This week, Joseph and Amanda talk about some of their favourite short story collections - ranging from canonical gems to new voices - plus, as always, they talk about what they’ve been reading recently and discuss what they’re excited to read next. 

(1:24) Bookish news

(2:20) Birchbark Books

(2:27) Inkwell Books

(2:40) Red Balloon Books

(2:56) Excelsior Bay Books / Milkweed Books / Black Garnet Books

(3:08) Shop Minneapolis bookshops from anywhere at Bookstore.org and libro.fm

(4:31) Standwithminnesota.com

(5:36) The TS Eliot Prize

(6:03) Wellwater by Karen Solie 

(7:17) Recent Reads 

(7:27) Buckeye by Patrick Ryan @patrickryanyc

(12:40) A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell

(17:14) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

(18:17) Short Story Collections

(18:26) Joseph's Short Story Quiz

(25:38) Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny @katherineheiny

(30:59) Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

(34:32) Mslexia

(34:45) Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packer @zzpacker56

(40:42) In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

(46:37) The Latehomecomer: Essential Stories by Mavis Gallant

(51:18) Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed by Margaret Atwood and others @therealmargaretatwood

(52:21) Stories of Place:///zinc.level.blindfold edited by Niamh McAnally @niamh_mcanally

(53:00) The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda @matsudaoko

(56:40) You Glow in the Dark by Liliana Colanzi @lilianacolanzi, translated by Chris Andrews 

(58:06) Selected stories by Nikolai Gogol

(59:19) Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn

(59:59) What We’re Reading Next 

(1:00:13) I’m Glad My Mother Died by Jennette McCurdy @jennettemccurdy

(1:00:50) Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

(1:01:19) Palaver by Bryan Washington @bry.washing

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

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

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

This week, Amanda and Joseph go into the trenches with Daniel Kraus’s repulsively propulsive Angel Down. They also discuss what they’ve been reading recently, including the new Ian McEwan novel and a slew of non-fiction, as well as what they’re looking forward to picking up next. 

(2:40) Bookish news

(2:44) Storygraph (@josephjdance and @itsmoleyreads)

(3:47) Faversham Literary Festival, 20 February to 1 March, 2026

(4:44) Chocolat and Vianne by Joanne Harris 

(5:41) Recent reads 

(6:00) Books, A Manifesto: Or, How To Build A Library by Ian Patterson

(7:19) Trees In Winter by Richard Shimell (richardshimell.co.uk)

(8:21) Hiroshima by John Hersey 

(10:33) What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

(14:05) Deep Dive - Angel Down

(14:45) The Shape of Water by Daniel Kraus

(14:53) Trollhunters by Daniel Kraus

(15:04) The Monster Variations by Daniel Kraus

(15:27) Rotters and Scowler by Daniel Kraus

(15:46) The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus

(15:57) Whale Fall by Daniel Kraus

(19:13) Angel Down by Daniel Kraus @krausauthor

(23:49) Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman

(24:04) Zone by Mathias Enard 

(24:18) Septology by Jon Fosse

(38:56) 1917, directed by Sam Mendes

(38:59) All’s Quiet on the Western Front (2022), directed by Edward Berger

(41:39) In Memoriam by Alice Winn

(57:33) Final thoughts

(59:38) What We’re Reading Next

(59:44) A High Wind In Jamaica. Or The Innocent Voyage by Richard Hughes

(1:00:59) The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda

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.

Happy New Year! Start the year with Amanda and Joseph as they talk about their reading intentions for 2026. 

(2:09) Bookish News

(2:36) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (directed by Emerald Fennell)

(2:46) Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (directed by Chloe Zhao)

(2:59) Die My Love by Ariana Harwicz (directed by Lynne Ramsey)

(3:34) Train Dreams by Dennis Johnson (directed by Clint Bentley)

(3:51) A Pair of Bookends podcast 

(7:15) What We’ve Been Reading 

(7:19) Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

(8:22) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

(13:51) Reading Resolutions

(23:28) The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

(24:39) Independent People by Halldór Laxness

(25:05) Death’s End by Cixin Liu

(26:29) Farewell Fountain Street by Selçuk Altun

(26:42) Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü

(26:54) Journey To The Edge of Life by Tezer Özlü

(27:00) Snow by Orhan Pamuk 

(28:17) My Clavicle and Other Major Misalignments by Marta Sanz

(31:12) Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guinn

(31:21) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

(31:45) Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk

(33:51) Katabasis by RF Kuang

(34:06) The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

(34:14) The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

(35:14) On The Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle

(37:05) Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

(45:17) Rougon-Macquart Cycle by Emile Zola

(46:26) The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

(50:31) What We’re Reading Next

(50:44) Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

(52:27) Money by Emile Zola

(53:20) Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 

Also Mentioned

Whitstable Silent Book Club @silentbookclubwhitstable

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.