How would you survive the apocalypse? Would you need a talking pig?

This episode's pick: Set in the near future after a devastating pandemic, How High We Go in the Dark follows a series of interconnected characters as humanity tries to rebuild. From a theme park for terminally ill kids to a talking pig and space travel, the stories explore grief, resilience, and what it means to be human when the world keeps changing. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever read before!

This week’s guest - Kelly Rimmer is a bestselling Australian novelist, goat wrangler, and owner of Collins Booksellers Orange in regional NSW. She’s the author of The Midnight Estate as well as international hits The Things We Cannot Say, The Warsaw Orphan, and The German Wife. Her books have appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Todaybestseller lists.

In this episode, we cover:

Kelly’s green thumb and Rach’s murder of cacti

Robodogs

Books about pandemics and dystopian fiction

Passion projects - writing a book just for you

Anthea’s brief liaison with sci-fi (aka Hans Solo)

And of life theme parks

Goat-dogs

Authors reading from their own books

📚 Books Mentioned on the Pod

Z For Zachariah by Robert C O’Brien

Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence

Tomorrow When The War Began by John Marsden

Mad Mabel by

Sally Hepworth

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

A Mother’s Confession by Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai.

💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry?

Which way did the votes fall? You’ll have to listen in…

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – The Lucky Sisters releases this week and we intro our guest KELLY RIMMER04:00 – Judging Kelly’s bio - her latest release is THE MIDNIGHT ESTATE (Anthea raves)07:00 – Intro HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK and judging of Sequoia Nagamatsu’s bio10:00 – Kiss, Kill, or Marry verdict13:00 – Why Kelly loves this novel told in short stories16:00 – Anthea marries and chats her thoughts on sci-fi and the human experience18:00 – Rach is surprised by the interconnected stories23:00 – Do we like the world building?27:00 – Title chat - is it good?31:00 – Would we go to space?35:00 – Book recs40.00 - Where Kelly Reads/Book Clubs45 00 - What we’re reading next

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