Last year we welcomed New York Times bestselling author Natasha Lester for her first ever Adelaide author event! Listen to her conversation with Victoria Purman, where they discussed her latest book 'The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard'.

This month, Paula and Salma discuss The Reading List, the debut novel by Sara Nisha Adams. Tune in to hear what they thought about it plus some of their recent reads and upcoming releases. This book focuses on the love for libraries and intergenerational relationships!

TW: this podcast episode mentions suicide.

Books mentioned:

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

Life of Pi – Yann Martel

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austin

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

Beloved – Toni Morrison

A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt

None of This is True – Lisa Jewell

A Good Girls Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson

One Last Secret – Adele Parks

Leadership and the One Minute Manager – Kenneth H. Blanchard

Six Thinking Hats – Edward de Bono

In the Lives of Puppets – TJ Klune

Ripper – Shelley Burr

A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing – Jessie Tu

Honey Eater – Jessie Tu

Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid

Come and Get It – Kiley Reid

The Star on the Grave – Margolin Royal

Rebel Rising – Rebel Wilson

Last August, we had Alisha Aitken-Radburn visit Marion Libraries to discuss her new book 'The Villain Edit' with Ali Clarke. Alisha spoke in detail about her time in politics and then in reality TV on The Bachelor and the backlash she received after being portrayed as 'the villain'. Reality TV fan or not - this is definitely worth a listen!

It's here! Our favourite podcast of the year – our 2023 End of Year Wrap-Up! Find out what Paula and Salma enjoyed reading this year as well as what books have been popular amongst our borrowers! What was the most borrowed fiction and non-fiction book of 2023? Listen to find out!

Books they mention:

Six Thinking Hats - Bono Edward De

I'm glad my mum died – Jennette McCurdy

Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

Maame – Jessica George

Spare – Prince Harry

The Woman in Me – Britney Spears

Honeybee – Craig Silvey

The Institution – Helen Fields

Last Girl to Die – Helen Fields

Weyward – Emilia Hart

Storylines – Carrie Cox

Yellowface – RF Kuang

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner – Grace Tame

Atomic Habits – James Clear

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart - Holly Ringland

In the Lives of Puppets – TJ Klune

Storytellers - Leigh Sales

Any Ordinary Day – Leigh Sales

Boy Swallows Universe – Trent Dalton

Love Stories – Trent Dalton

Lola in the Sky – Trent Dalton

One Night Stand – Simon Taylor

Things No-one Tells You About Babies – Simon Taylor

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

The Rachel Incident – Caroline O'Donoghue

Something Bad Is Going to Happen – Jessie Stephens

Come and Get It – Kiley Reid

Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng

The Work – Bri Lee

The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams

Podcasts they mention:

Esther Perel – Where Do We Begin

For this month's pod, we're sharing a recording of bestselling authors Victoria Purman, Sean Williams and Tricia Stringer talking about their publishing journey with Cath Keneally and Sarah Martin from the popular Tsundoku podcast.

They talk about writing communities, agents, editors, contracts and all the other nitty-gritty details 📚 It's an interesting listen, even if you aren't looking to get into publishing!

For this month's episode, Paula welcomes long time listener, first time podcaster Salma to discuss 'Storylines' the third novel by Australian journalist and author, Carrie Cox.

Books they mention:

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

The Power of One – Bryce Courtenay

Jessica - Bryce Courtenay

Tandia - Bryce Courtenay

Normal People – Sally Rooney

The Bookbinder of Jericho – Pip Williams

Honeybee – Craig Silvey

Jasper Jones – Craig Silvey

Paradise – Patricia Wolf

I'm Glad My Mum Died – Jeanette McCurdy

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Yellowface – R F Kuang

Fairytale – Stephen King

Chai Time in Cinnamon Gardens - Shankari Chandran

Loot – Tania James

The Villain Edit – Alisha Aitken Radburn

Baby Does a Runner - Anita Rani

Good Indian Daughter - Ruhi Lee

Holy Cow - Sarah Macdonald

Articles they mention:

https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-booker-prize-2023-shortlist

https://www.mamamia.com.au/carrie-cox-storylines/

For this month's podcast we are excited to share with you Pip William's author talk with Ali Clarke recorded at the Marion Cultural Centre. In front of a full house, Pip spoke about her latest novel, 'The Bookbinder of Jericho', giving us insight into her inspiration, the research process and what's next, not only for her but for her international bestseller 'The Dictionary or Lost Words'. This is a great conversation and well worth the listen (or a second listen if you attended the event in person).

This month, Literary Anything veteran Paula returns to the pod to chat with Andrea about R.F. Kuang's bestseller 'Yellowface'. Tune in to hear their thoughts (there's a lot to discuss!!), plus what other books they're reading and a sad announcement from Andrea.

Books/Articles mentioned:

American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins

“The Beautiful Piece” in People who lunch, Sally Olds

My struggle series, Karl Ove Knausgaard

Vladimir, Julia May Jonas

“The Book of My Enemy”, Stephanie Convery in Overland, 218 Autumn 2015, link: https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-218/the-book-of-my-enemy/

The Anniversary, Stephanie Bishop

I’d Rather Not, Robert Skinner

Wifedom, Anna Funder

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

“Who is the Bad Art Friend”, Robert Kolker, New York Times, Oct 5 2021: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/magazine/dorland-v-larson.html

“A white poet, a Chinese name, and yellowface in "Best American Poetry": As "Yi-Fen Chou," a white writer toys with a racial history he obviously doesn't understand”, Paula Young Lee, Salon, September 8 2015. Link: https://www.salon.com/2015/09/08/a_white_poet_a_chinese_name_and_yellowface_in_best_american_poetry_as_yi_fen_chou_a_white_writer_toys_with_a_racial_history_he_obviously_doesnt_understand/

Listen to bestselling author Victoria Purman in conversation with author Mercedes Mercier discuss Victoria's new novel, “A Woman’s Work”.

For this month's episode, Andrea welcomes Griffen to the pod to talk about Emilia Hart's debut novel 'Weyward'. Was this the magical, historical read they were hoping for? Listen to find out plus, what other books they’ve enjoyed recently and some industry news.