It's that time of year again! (Well, almost … it's actually a bit early.) Collected here is a varied selection of 2025's 'What Are You Reading' book recommendations, nice and early so you can get your Christmas shopping started sooner rather than later!

Books and authors discussed in this episode:

From ep. 110

• Translations by Jumaana Abdu (Michelle See-Tho)
• The Profound Benefits of a Stint in Prison by Andrew Hamilton (Ashley)
• The Third Realm by Karl Ove Knausgård (James)

From ep. 111

• Everyone and Everything by Nadine Cohen (Ashley)
• My Dream Time by Ash Barty (James)

From ep. 112

• The Lady's Handbook to Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey (Ashley)

From ep. 113

• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Pip Drysdale)

From ep. 114

• Girl in a Pink Dress by Kylie Needham (Lynne Ainsworth)
• Clare Keegan (Lynne Ainsworth)
• The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (Lynne Ainsworth)
• We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer (James)
• Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra (James)
• Freedom by Lea Ypi (Ashley)

From ep. 115

• Anatomy of a Secret by Gerard McCann (Jay Martin)
• The Hollow Girl by Lyn Yeowart (Ashley)
• The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart (Ashley)
• Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Ashley)

From ep. 117

• The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler (Melenie Cheng)
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Oliver Ready (James)
• Bat Eater (and other names for Cora Zheng) by Kylie Lee Baker (Ashley)

From ep. 119

• My First Book by Honor Levy (Nathan Dunne)
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff (James)
• Luminous by Silvia Park (Ashley)

From ep. 120

• Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister (Michelle Prak)
• A Fortunate Life by AB Facey (Michelle Prak)
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (Michelle Prak)
• Universality by Natasha Brown (James)
• The Last Victim by Tracy Hall and Summer Land (Ashley)

From ep. 122

• Falling TJ Newman (James & Ashley)
• Drowning by TJ Newman (James & Ashley)
• Worst Case Scenario by TJ Newman (James & Ashley)

From ep. 123

• She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper (Matt Rogers)
• Orbital by Samantha Harvey (James)
• Legend of a Suicide by David Vann (James)

From ep. 124

• Outback Cop by Neale McShane and Evan McHugh (Ashley)

This episode

• Moderation by Elaine Castillo
• The Eyes are the Best Part by Monica Kim
• Molka by Monica Kim
• 'Salem's Lot and Cujo by Stephen King

Upcoming events

• James is teaching Setting & Landscape for Writers at the Woolshed on Saturday 21 March, 2026

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

In episode 124, urban ecologist and past guest Darryl Jones returns to discuss the power of nature to heal your brain and other topics from his latest book, (Be)Wilder, which delves into elephants in Thailand, bearded pigs in Borneo, and conservationist farmers in the Snowy Mountains.

Darryl also speaks about the recent brain surgery he underwent as treatment for Parkinson's, and the story of how the disease got its name.

Darryl Jones is a Professor of Ecology at Griffith University in Brisbane, where for over 30 years he has been investigating the many ways that people and wildlife interact. He is particularly interested in why some species have been so successful in urban landscapes while many others have not, and how best to deal with the ensuing conflicts. His books include Getting to Know the Birds in Your Neighbourhood, Feeding the Birds at Your Table and Curlews on Vulture Street, which we spoke to him about in J&A Stay at Home episode 67.

Find Darryl at Brisbane Writers Festival or any of his upcoming events.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Mark Cocker
• Enchantment by Birds by Russell McGregor
• Apeirogon by Colum McCann
• Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
• Outback Cop by Neale McShane and Evan McHugh

• Ashley is at the Mount Beauty Writers Festival on Saturday 18 October
• James is speaking with Christian White at Manly Library on Sunday 2 November
• Ashley is teaching crime writing at Gosford Library on Monday 10 November
• James is teaching Setting & Landscape for Writers at the Woolshed on Saturday 21 March, 2026

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

How do you write thirty-five novels in a decade and sell a million copies while doing it? Bestselling author Matt Rogers is here to share his secrets.

Matt began writing fiction at age six, then dropped out of university to pursue writing full time. He discusses the differences in traditional and self-publishing, how his obsession with philosophy has bled into his thriller writing, and why he believes quantity leads to quality.

Matt Rogers is the internationally bestselling author of the Dante Jacoby series. Matt began self-publishing at the age of 18, and in the following eight years he single-handedly wrote and marketed more than 35 thriller novels. His books have collectively sold over one million copies. 'The Forsaken' is his debut novel for Simon & Schuster.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Henry David Thoreau
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini
• Lee Child
• 'Things that aren't doing the thing' from Strangest Loop
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
• Denizen by James McKenzie Watson
• Orbital by Samantha Harvey
• Legend of a Suicide by David Vann

Upcoming events:

• James is speaking to Siang Lu, winner of the Miles Franklin Award and previous podcast guest at the State Library for SWF on October 2
• Ashley is at the Mount Beauty Writers Festival on Saturday 18 October
• Ashley is teaching crime writing at Gosford Library on Monday 10 November

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

In episode 122, Ashley asks fellow crime fiction fan and podcaster what it's like to find yourself as a fictional character in a new novel from one of your favourite authors.

Felix 'Flex' Shannon shares his experience of being fictionalised in the latest mystery novel from Sulari Gentill, Five Found Dead. Hear from Sulari in ep 121!

Felix Shannon is a radio presenter, producer, technician and educator. Together with Benjamin Herder, Felix hosts the crime and mystery fiction podcast Death of the Reader.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill
• After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill
• Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill
• Benjamin Stevenson
• When They Cry by Ryukishi07
• Denizen by James McKenzie Watson
• Kill Your Husbands by Jack Heath
• Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien
• The Scope of Permissibility by Zeynab Gamieldien
• All the Missing Children by Zahid Gamieldien (from ep 102)
• Falling TJ Newman
• Drowning by TJ Newman
• Worst Case Scenario by TJ Newman
• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• Chris Hammer

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is teaching a one-day narrative drive workshop for Writers at the Woolshed on Thursday 11 September and providing manuscript feedback sessions on Friday 12 September
• Ashley is doing one-on-one manuscript assessments for BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival on Saturday 13 September (only two spots available!)
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape at Writing NSW on Saturday 20 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Crafting Memoir for Queensland Writers Centre on Sunday 28 September
• James is speaking to Siang Lu, winner of the Miles Franklin Award and previous podcast guest at the State Library for SWF on October 2
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
• Ashley is at the Mount Beauty Writers Festival on Saturday 18 October

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

When bestselling author Sulari Gentill was diagnosed with stage four cancer, she decided to write the ending she wanted. In episode 121, she joins James and Ashley to discuss her seventeenth novel, Five Found Dead, which features a main character riding the Orient Express to celebrate his recent cancer recovery – and who ends up solving several murders along the way.

Sulari shares her own experience of riding the Orient Express and describes how her creativity and writing reminded her who she was at a time when her illness was reducing her sense of self to 'patient'.

Plus she shares an excellent story involving red carpets, international awards and to-die-for chocolate cake.

Published in English in Australia, the UK and the US, and in translation in more than a dozen territories, Sulari Gentill is the author of The Hero Trilogy and the multi-award-winning Rowland Sinclair Mysteries. The first book in this ten-book series was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the second won the Davitt Award. Her novel After She Wrote Him won the Ned Kelly Award. The Woman in the Library was a USA Today Bestseller, and The Mystery Writer won the 2025 Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her latest novel, Five Found Dead is out now in the US, UK and Australia.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Agatha Christie;
• Death of the Reader podcast;
• Kylie Ladd (from ep 92);
• The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan;
• Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park and State of Fear by Michael Crichton;
• Stephen King;
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Upcoming events:

• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape at Writing NSW on Saturday 20 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Crafting Memoir for Queensland Writers Centre on Sunday 28 September
• James is speaking to Siang Lu, winner of the Miles Franklin Award and previous podcast guest at the State Library for SWF on October 2
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
• Ashley is at the Mount Beauty Writers Festival on Saturday 18 October

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

In episode 120, bestselling author Michelle Prak discusses how she set her latest thriller against the backdrop of Australia's housing crisis and why she writes flawed, sometimes rash characters.

She also reflects on how growing up in a lower socio-economic home influenced her love of reading and her ambition to be a writer, and also how it delayed her efforts to make that dream happen.

Michelle Prak is a professional communicator with a thirty-year career in PR, social media, and politics. She lives in Adelaide and teaches communication subjects at the University of South Australia. Her bestselling debut thriller The Rush was published internationally in 2023. Barren Cape is her second novel.

• 'The habit of writing' by Michelle Prak for Sisters in Crime;
• Colin Thiele
• Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
• A Fortunate Life by AB Facey
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
• Universality by Natasha Brown
• The Last Victim by Tracy Hall and Summer Land

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is at the Mudgee Readers' Festival teaching narrative drive on Friday 15 August and speaking on Technology & The Future of Crime Fiction on Saturday 16 August
• Ashley is teaching a one-day narrative drive workshop for Writers at the Woolshed on Thursday 11 September and providing manuscript feedback sessions on Friday 12 September
• Ashley is doing one-on-one manuscript assessments for BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival on Saturday 13 September (only two spots available!)
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape at Writing NSW on Saturday 20 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Crafting Memoir for Queensland Writers Centre on Sunday 28 September
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

In episode 119, debut author Nathan Dunne joins us to discuss his memoir, When Nothing Feels Real, which shares the story of his onset of severe depersonalisation and his quest to find a diagnosis.

He shares the challenge of conveying his experience to those unfamiliar with the condition, his multi-year challenge to reach a proper diagnosis, and the long and uneven journey to recovery. We also discuss the community of fellow sufferers that supported him in the completion of his memoir.

Nathan Dunne was born in Brisbane and grew up in India. As a journalist and critic, he has contributed to many publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Guardian and Slate. He now lives in Sydney. His debut book is When Nothing Feels Real, a memoir about living with depersonalisation, a frequently misunderstood mental illness.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• My First Book by Honor Levy;
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff;
• Luminous by Silvia Park

Upcoming events

• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
• James is launching Matt Rogers' highly anticipated debut thriller 'The Forsaken' at Harry Hartog Mosman, Wednesday July 9

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

Ashley's brand new thriller Like, Follow, Die is out now as an audiobook exclusive from Audible! In episode 118, Ashley discusses the book's unique development and what it was like working with an ensemble cast of prominent Australian actors to bring her third book to life.

Like, Follow, Die is a "shattering and provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children." Learn more and listen to it here.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• John Sandford (narrated by Richard Ferrone)
• JP Pomare
• Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? by Pierre Novellie
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is part of the Sisters in Crime – Death in a Cold Climate panel, Friday 27 June, 7-10pm, South Melbourne
• Ashley will be doing an in-conversation in Meeniyan with Jacinta Dietrich, Saturday 28 June, 6.30-7.30pm
• Ashley is speaking at Bendigo Library, Monday 30 June, 1-2pm
• Ashley is teaching a multi-day memoir masterclass as part of the Writers at the Woolshed Winter Writing Retreat in the Southern Highlands, 13-18 July
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
• James is launching Matt Rogers' highly anticipated debut thriller 'The Forsaken' at Harry Hartog Mosman, Wednesday July 9

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

Award-winning author Melanie Cheng joins James and Ashley to discuss her writing practice, her pet rabbit, and The Burrow, her 'most personal book' and its many parallels to her own life.

She also shares her experience of writing toward her greatest fear, coming to terms with her cyclical writing process, and how teaching narrative to medical students can help increase communication between doctors and patients.

Melanie Cheng is a writer and general practitioner. She was born in Adelaide, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut collection of short stories, Australia Day, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2016 and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction in 2018. Room for a Stranger, her highly acclaimed first novel, was published in 2019. The Burrow was published in 2024, and has since been shortlisted for numerous major Australian prizes, including the Stella Prize, the Age Book of the Year and the Miles Franklin Award.

Read the Kill Your Darlings interview with Melanie discussed in this episode here.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• The Burrow by Franz Kafka
• Tender Is the Flesh by Augustina Batzerrica
• Helen Garner
• Maxine Beneba Clarke
• Tony Birch
• Alice Pung
• Hilton Koppe (from ep 70)
• The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
• Sanchana Venkatesh (from ep 75) and #MyYearWithAnneTyler
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Oliver Ready
• Bat Eater (and other names for Cora Zheng) by Kylie Lee Baker, recommended by @EmilyEatsPages
• Laura McClusky
• Riley James
• Jacinta Dietrich

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is part of the Sisters in Crime – Death in a Cold Climate panel, Friday 27 June, 7-10pm, South Melbourne
• Ashley will be doing an in-conversation in Meeniyan with Jacinta Dietrich, Saturday 28 June, 6.30-7.30pm
• Ashley is speaking at Bendigo Library, Monday 30 June, 1-2pm
• Ashley is teaching a multi-day memoir masterclass as part of the Writers at the Woolshed Winter Writing Retreat in the Southern Highlands, 13-18 July
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
• James is launching Matt Rogers' highly anticipated debut thriller 'The Forsaken' at Harry Hartog Mosman, Wednesday July 9

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. Plus check out Like, Follow, Die from Audible.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

If you missed hearing Ashley and James live in conversation at the launch of Cold Truth, we've got the full event recording for you here, complete with fake nazi invasions, terrifying cybercrime stats, and the satisfying crunch of James being forced to try genuine Manitoban dill pickle chips.

Thanks to local bookseller Roaring Stories for hosting this event!

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is teaching Online: Writing Crime for Faber, 8 weeks starting Tuesday 6 May
• Ashley is launching Jay Martin's debut novel at Better Read Than Dead on Sunday 18 May, 3pm
• Ashley is teaching a multi-day memoir masterclass as part of the Writers at the Woolshed Winter Writing Retreat in the Southern Highlands, 13-18 July
• Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop, Booktopia or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson