An Australian story of the tender, eager lives of greyhounds and their owners in Tenderfoot by Australian author Toni Jordan. Dark academia in Yellowface author R.F. Kuang’s new fantasy novel, Katabasis. Sport, miracles, and the Amish, in Ron Rindo’s Life, and Death, and Giants.

BOOKS 

Toni Jordan, Tenderfoot, Hachette 

R.F. Kuang, Katabasis, Harper Voyager 

Ron Rindo, Life, and Death, and Giants, Pan Macmillan 

GUESTS 

Seth Robinson, writer, producer, and lecturer at the University of Melbourne. He is also co-hosting a new podcast with Tony Birch – Unfolded – in which writers take apart short stories to see what makes them work. 

Michael McGirr, writer, reviewer, and mission director at Caritas Australia. His own books include Ideas to Save Your Life, Books that Saved my Life, and The Story of a Road 

MICHAEL'S TOP 100 LIST

• Patriot by Alexei Navalny.  
• This is Happiness by Niall Williams 
• Apeirogon by Colum McCann 
• King by Jonathan Eig 
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 
• Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright 
• Emily Wilson’s Translation of the Odyssey 
• The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton 
• Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung 
• The Fig Tree by Arnold Zable

SETH'S TOP 100 LIST

• Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 
• The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 
• Educated, Tara Westover 
• Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton 
• Less, Andrew Sean Greer 
• The Overstory, Richard Powers 
• Still Life, Sarah Winman  
• The Passage (Trilogy), Justin Cronin 
• Station 11, Emily St John Mandel 
• James, Percival Everett  

OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip
• Gillian Mears, Foal's Bread
• Kim Scott, That Deadman Dance
• Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time
• Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• Tony Birch, Pictures of You
• Behrouz Boochani, No Friend but the Mountains
• Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
• Lucia Berlin, A Manual for Cleaning Women

CREDITS

• Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
• Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
• Sound engineer, Roi Huberman
• Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown