Dear RBD Listeners

January is a busy month for EVERYONE, so we decided instead of discussing a particular book this month, we’d ask each other the questions we usually ask our author guests instead.

Enjoy the list of recommendations and non-recommendations mentioned in this ep below.

Book that made you cry?

Anthea - doesn’t cry in books

Rach - Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson; Pack Up the Moon by Kristin Higgins; Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Book that got you into reading?

Rach - The Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin and late 90s chick-lit

Anthea - The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

How do you read?

Anthea - has a Kindle, loved print best but listens mostly to audiobooks these days (currently listening to Secrets by Judi Morison and Circe by Madeleine Miller.

Rach - recently bought a Kobo as is loving it ALMOST as much as print. Audiobooks while cleaning (currently listening to Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan)

What is the book that you wish you’d written?

Rach wishes she’d written The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.

Anthea wishes she’d written her bestselling novel The War Nurses earlier.

What is the book you recommend the most?

Rach - The Wedding People by Alison Espach, Sandwich by Catherine Newman, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley (and bonus mention of The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty.

Anthea - somehow we skipped her!?!

Where do you like to read?

Anthea - reading in bed early in the morning with a cup of tea

Rach - bed too but also on an aeroplane and especially on holiday.

What’s your fave book-to-screen adaptation?

Rach - Bridget Jones’ Diary and Gone Girl

Anthea - BBS Pride & Prejudice (Hello, Colin - Rach agrees), North & South.

Do you have snacks and/or drinks while you read?

Anthea - nice cup of tea; no snacks

Rach - Diet Coke or wine; no snacks

What’s the last book you recommended?

Rach - Sandwich and The Wedding People - already mentioned above

Anthea - The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (listen to our ep about it here)And a shout out to Lara in Denver!! and The Far Flung Life by ML Stedman

Do you reread books?

Anthea - as a rule no, but sometimes she does accidentally as she’s getting old and forgetful, but she does mention MM Kaye and her lovely British murder mysteries.

Rach - wants to reread more, including Three Little Truths by Eithne Shortall, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Are you embarrassed about a book you read?

Anthea - The White Hotel by DM Thomas - but you’ll have to listen to find out WHY!

Rach - not at all embarrassed now but might have been embarrassed once to admit she’d read a lot of M&B novels

Do you have a fave go-to cookbook?

Rach - Nagi’s books and Everybody Loves Cake

Anthea - Jamie Oliver’s and Nagi’s books

Do you DNF books?

Anthea - yes; she really wants to read The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins but just can’t get into it.

Rach - yes (quick mentions of Heart the Lover and Writers and Lovers by Lily King - Rach HAS read them both though)

What book do you wish Booktok would know about?

Anthea - The Drifter by herself (fair)

Rach - The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

What’s your fave book outside your genre?

Anthea - Lady of Hay and House of Echoes by Barbara Erskine

Rach - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

What’s your three desert island books?

Anthea - the Game of Thrones novels (um, Anthea, that’s FIVE)

Rach - The Paper Palace (AGAIN), Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.

What’s a classic book you’ve never read?

Rach - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Anthea - again, we seemed to skep this!

What are your three auto-buy authors?

Anthea - Rachael Treasure, Emily Henry, Beth O’Leary and Kim Wilkins (Anthea can’t count)

Rach - Marian Keyes, Fredrik Backman, Elin Hilderbrand and Liane Moriarty (yes, Rach can’t count either)

Do you read your own reviews?

Anthea - nope

Rach - yes, with caution

What book do you think is overhyped?

Rach - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Heart the Lover by Lily King

Anthea - never knows what is hyped ;)

What book do you want to read but haven’t read yet?

Anthea - anything by Jodi Piccoult (Rach raves about Plain Truth and Wish You were Here and Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan.

Rach - My Friends by Fredrik Backman and Ghost Cities by Siang Lu

What is your favourite book of the year so far?

Anthea - The Far Flung Life (already mentioned above)

Rach - The Last Encore by Rebecca Heath

What is your fave book you’ve written and why?

Anthea - The War Nurses, with special mention to The Drifter

Rach - Man Drought (if rural), The Patterson Girls (if general fiction), but Just One Wish if she really has to pick just one! Special mention to How to Mend a Broken Heart.

What are you currently writing/editing?

Anthea - editing The Palace of Lost Virtue

Rach - writing Someone Else’s Fortune and also The Number One Insta Detectives Agency with Mercedes Mercier

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

We’re launching a bonus episode a month for our paid subscribers!!

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Virtually Annie about CIRCE by Madeleine Miller.

In February, we’re diving into The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore and guest author Kayte Nunn will make us read My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

In March, we’re reading The Crash one of Freida McFadden’s ZILLION books and our guest author for the second episode will be John Purcell, who is making us read The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.

For what we’re up to after that, click here.

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

Thanks for following. We love ya!

Does A MAN CALLED OVE live up to the hype?

This episode's pick: A Man Called Ove follows Ove, a rigid and irritable man whose carefully ordered life is disrupted when new neighbours move in next door. As the story moves between present-day encounters and moments from Ove’s past, we begin to understand the experiences that shaped him, including his sad childhood and one great love. It’s a character-driven story about grief, love, and finding community.

This week’s guest - is our friend Sally Hepworth (It’s true - Rach even has her phone number). We met Sally in the early days of her writing career and have watched her soar from height to height. Sally has now written TEN novels, including her latest Mad Mabel, hit The New York Times Bestseller list multiple times, and had her novel The Family Next Door adapted for TV, with more projects in the works. She’s based in Melbourne with her family and, despite all her success, is still the same warm, down-to-earth, utterly lovely human we first met all those years ago.

In this episode, we cover:

How perimenopause wreaks havoc with writing.

Is this a quiet novel?

How specificity elevates a story.

How to write humour that isn’t cruel.

Is the setting important?

Differences between American and Australian readers

Sally’s reading loves and hates.

💋 And, of course, we rate A MAN CALLED OVE: Kiss, Kill, or Marry?

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

📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

The Hiding Place – Kate Mildenhall

Babysitters Club - Ann M. Martin

Anything by Enid Blyton

Tully – Paullina Simons

Anything by Marian Keyes

The Gambler – JP Pomare

The Names – Florence Knapp

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Red Belly Crossing - Candace Fox

⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Welcome to Sweden!

2.21 Intro Sally Hepworth and her mate, Mad Mabel!

4.00 Sally’s bio and her divorce dog.

5.58 Fredrik Backman – way funnier than his bio would suggest.

8.25 A Man Called Ove – a blurb put together with an Allen key and a

bit of swearing.

9.57 Good Reads – almost 1.2 million people can’t be wrong…

10.49 Kiss, Kill, Marry – (just make sure you have consent).

12.08 We suspect Sally has a crush on Ove.

16.52 Anthea makes a sporting analogy, (because she knows a tonne

about sport and is keen to share).

19.12 Hands off, Sally! Rachael loves Ove, too, and shares a beautiful

quote for all the handymen out there.

25.41 Sally talks about being funny, without actually being funny. Alanis

Morrisette would regard that as irony.

27.50 Sally recommends…

35.40 Reviews – the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

37.38 Backman scores a Did Not Finish review. Ikea closes its doors in

solidarity.

38.00 Sally confirms that Australian audiences are just BETTER. (Not

really, but we knew what she meant)

40.36 Rachael tricks Sally into giving us free writing advice. #masterclass

42.43 HOMEWORK.. Don’t pack up – the bell hasn’t gone yet…

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep (14th Jan) Rach And Anthea grill each other in the way they normally grill their guests.

Our first guest for the year is Virtually Annie (Jan 28th) - she’s making us reading Circe by Madeleine Miller and we hope you’ll read it to.

In February, we’re diving into The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore (Feb 14th) and guest author Kayte Nunn will make us read My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Feb 28th).

And here’s our list for the first half of 2026.

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

☕ If you’re loving the show, we’d be so grateful if you’d buy us a coffee (or a prosecco). It helps keep the pod fun, frequent, and free.

Does Persuasion stand the test of 208 years?

This episode’s pick: Persuasion by none other than Jane Austen, the patron saint of slow-burn and witty banter. We don’t know how many copies it’s sold but if people are still reading our books in a couple of centuries time, we’ll consider that a resounding success. Persuasion - the last novel our dear Jane ever finished - is a quiet story about love that refuses to die despite a whole cast of characters believing they know better!

In this episode, we cover:

Which authors will still be being read in 250 years.

How Jane should be ‘loving herself sick’ - term borrowed from friend of the pod Sophie Green.

A little constructive criticism for Jane.

How modern writing may have ruined us all.

One of the most romantic letters ever written!

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

⏰ Timestamps

00.0 Intro – Jane Austen – Happy Birthday - and thanks for Colin Firth!

2.49 Jane Austen - 250 years old and she’s still got it. (Kind of)

4.40 Long Careers, like Jane, Emily Henry, Trent Dalton and Tim Winton

5.48 Jane Austen – rom com queen

8.25 Persuasion blurb – like a regular blurb, only classier

9.07 Jane Austen’s bio – look, she’s dead, so she’s not been up to much recently.

12.24 Goodreads Ratings – more than an elegant sufficiency

14.28 Rach and Anthea rate Persuasion – Three, two, one – and curtsey to your partner

15.17 Rachael craps on Jane Austen’s grave (Anthea is all astonishment.)

20.00 Rachael teaches Jane Austen a thing or two about writing… (cheeky..)

22.51 Anthea defends Jane, offers constructive criticism (and considers asking for Colin Firth’s number..)

27.01 Rachael’s favourite line from Persuasion, other than THE END

28.18 Mary, kind of a dick – but also a feminist icon

30.27 Persuasion adaptation, with that chick who was dating Chris Martin

32.00 Jane Austen - a light, whimsical read

34.30 Frederick – Hot, or Not? (Rach says not!)

36.43 How to eat a pair of jeans, and other reviews

37.30 Persuading Rachael..

40.48 What’s next for RBD??

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Sally Hepworth about A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.

In January we will answer our own regular reading questions for the first episode and the second episode we’ll discus Circe by Madeline Miller with Virtually Annie - can’t wait!

In February, we’re diving into The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore and guest author Kayte Nunn will make us read My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Thanks for following.

Do all crime novel mysteries need to be resolved?

This episode's pick: In the Woods by Tana French, the award-winning, Celtic-mist-soaked psychological mystery that launched the Dublin Murder Squad. When a young girl is found murdered at an archaeological dig, detective Rob Ryan is forced back into the very woods where he once vanished as a child, an incident he has no memory of, except for his blood-soaked shoes. As Rob and his partner Cassie Maddox investigate, the line between past and present blurs. It’s atmospheric, character-driven, and the kind of book that makes you glance over your shoulder at every little noise.

This week’s guest - Dervla McTiernan is an internationally bestselling Irish-Australian crime writer and a great friend of ours. She’s the powerhouse behind the Cormac Reilly series, as well as the gripping standalones The Murder Rule and What Happened to Nina?. Her novels have topped bestseller lists around the world and earned shelves of awards, and we’re thrilled to have her with us.

In this episode, we cover:

Dervla being a superstar.

What Dervla loves about Tana French’s writing.

The expectations of a crime novel.

Unreliable narrators.

What makes a great villain.

Authors reading their own reviews

📚 Books Mentioned on the Pod

Tanya French – The Likeness

Tanya French – Secret Place

Tanya French – The Witch Elm

Stephen King – The Outsider

Stephen King – Lisey’s Story

Marian Keyes – This Charming Man

Rhys Bowen – The Royal Spyness Series

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

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

⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Welcome to Only Fans for Middle Aged Ladies in Glasses Cum-unity.

2.03 – Meet Dervla McTiernan – Just how many awards is it legal to win??

4.35 – Meet Tanya French – Into the Woods (not as many awards as Dervla..!)

6.45 – Anthea bans Dervla for all time – serves her right.

9.39 – Time to Kiss, Kill, Marry!

12.13 – Dervla’s favourite backhanded compliment (looking at you Lit-fic!)

13.44 – Rach tries to sort out Rob Ryan’s love life.

14.36 – What do you MEAN they don’t solve the crime??

18.43 – Just because people have been murdered, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.

20.40 – Is Rob Ryan a bit immature?

21.41 – Rosalyn – DO NOT DATE.

24.20 – Rob – unreliable narrator? Liar? MURDERERERER??

24.40 – Dervla sensationally admits to ripping off Steven King and Marian Keyes.

(we’ll never tell…)

29.43 – The joy of reading to your (disinterested) partner.

35.12 – Dervla recommends reading the back of the Cornflake box.

39.24 – Demon Copperhead. What a pile of crap!

40.34 – Brutal honesty – is the best policy. Sometimes.

41.34 – Reading reviews – fun for ALL the family!

42.20 – Dervla’s favourites.

45.02 – Dust off Persuasion – and drag out your piano forte! Jane Austen rides again.

Did ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK live up to the hype?

This episode’s pick: ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK - a million-copy bestseller, this sweeping novel follows childhood best friends Patch and Saint, torn apart when Patch is abducted. Trapped in darkness, Patch forms an intense connection with a girl he never sees, and when they escape, she vanishes. As Patch spends years searching for her, Saint is determined to uncover the truth of what happened. A powerful story of love, obsession, and the cost of finding answers.

In this episode, we cover:

Weird twists and character decisions

Themes of friendship, love, women’s rights

Stories that take place across decades

Sexual love vs friendship

Chris’s intricate plotting

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

⏰ Timestamps

. 00 – Welcome to Episode 21!!

1.00– Rach goes on tour and Anthea hits the bottle.

4.50 – Blurb time, so you can pretend you’ve read it at parties.

6.40 – Chris Whitaker – Here’s his bio – he sounds hot.

9.22 – Do we Kiss, Kill or Marry?

10.45 – Jimmy – What a dick. (note to self – do not marry).

12.10 – Plot timeline – long, but in a good way.

13.11 – What a great cast of characters.

16.11 – Does Patch throw his life away? Discuss.

16.54 – Patch and Grace 4 EVA.

18.05 – A secret love story.

20.00 – Just how did Chris write this thing?

20.43 – Did Patch care too much? The search for Grace.

21.43 – Facing execution is pretty noble…I guess?

25.16 – Rachael starts blubbing..!

27.39 – What are we reading next? Ohhh… really!? WOW! I’ll defo listen in to the next episode!

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Dervla McTiernan about In The Woods by Tana French. Then comes Persuasian by Queen Jane Austen, followed by A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman with author Sally Hepworth

In January we will answer our own regular reading questions for the first episode and the second episode we’ll discus Circe by Madeline Miller with Virtually Annie - can’t wait!

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

☕ We try to keep the podcast free and fun for everyone - but it does take time (and a lot of editing). If you’re loving the show, we’d be so grateful if you’d buy us a coffee (or a prosecco).

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

Did Butter live up to the hype?

This episode's pick: Butter by Asako Yuzuki is a Japanese literary sensation that’s an unusual blend of murder mystery and food writing. Inspired by a true crime case, it’s about women, food, desire, and manipulation. Did it win us over, or was it all sizzle and no steak (or…butter)?

In this episode, we cover:

How hype and translation shaped our expectations

Food writing: sensory delight or just too much butter?

The themes of feminism, appetite, and self-denial

What worked (and what didn’t) in the structure and pacing

The real-life case that inspired the story

Cultural context: Japanese gender expectations, food, and shame

Why we both found the ending half-baked

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

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: travel tales, hotel room hijinks, and book club catch-ups03:00 – Book reveal: Butter by Asako Yuzuki07:00 – Author bio: awards, accolades, and first English translation10:00 – Our Kiss, Kill, Marry ratings reveal14:00 – First impressions: love, food, and frustration20:00 – Food obsession or feminist statement?28:00 – Thoughts on setting, style, and Japanese cultural nuance37:00 – That turkey chapter and the world’s longest ending40:00 – Real-life inspiration: the “Konkatsu Killer” case44:00 – Ethics of writing fiction based on true crime48:00 – Final thoughts: what was the point (and why butter, not margarine)?

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Kelly Rimmer about How High You Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Then comes All The Colours of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker followed by In the Woods by Tana French with author Dervla McTiernan.

How far would you go back to save your child?

This episode's pick: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister—a Reese’s Book Club thriller where a mother sees her teenage son commit a murder… only to wake up the next day and realize she’s gone back in time. As each morning takes her further into the past, she pieces together secrets about her son, her husband, and herself. It’s a murder mystery, a time-travel puzzle, and a meditation on motherhood all rolled into one. But did the high-concept premise deliver?

This week’s guest:

Rebecca Heath —thriller author and laser chemist turned novelist, party wrangler, and dog lover. She’s the author of The Last Encore and three other adult novels (The Summer Party, The Dinner Party, The Wedding Party). She lives in Adelaide with her husband, three children, and border collie.

In this episode, we cover:

The Reese factor: hype, Lisa Jewell blurbs, and whether the book club pick lived up to expectations.

That hook: a mother watches her son stab a man—and then starts living time backwards.

The pacing problem: did the constant “one more day back” structure get repetitive, or was it clever plotting?

Time travel, fate, and suspension of disbelief—fantasy or crime?

Plot twists we didn’t see coming: missing babies, undercover cops, and suspiciously convenient husbands.

The emotional punch: how McAllister balanced high concept with heart.

Rebecca’s reading habits: auto-buy authors, DNFs, hype regrets, and books that made her cry (one of them was Rach’s latest - out soon!)

📚 Books Mentioned on the Pod

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

1984 by George Orwell

Rebecca’s auto-buy authors:

Liane Moriarty

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jane Harper

Gillian McAllistar

Lucy Foley

Every author Rebecca knows 😊

💋 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 – Intro: meet guest author Rebecca Heath04:00 – Setting up Wrong Place Wrong Time (and the Reese factor)08:00 – Gillian McAllister’s bio and book accolades11:00 – Kiss, Kill, or Marry verdict14:00 – Clever concept vs. pacing problems19:00 – Time travel, disbelief, and the “mum strength” theory24:00 – Plot Twists29:00 – Craft chat: avoiding clever-for-clever’s-sake32:00 – Rebecca’s reading life: DNFs, recommendations, hype regrets37:00 – Crying at Rachael Johns and TJR41:00 – What we’re reading next

Did Broken Country live up to the hype?

This episode's pick: Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall — a Reese’s Book Club favourite that’s been compared to The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing. It’s got love, loyalty, guilt, and a courtroom drama at its heart… but did it win us over?

In this episode, we cover:

Why this book caught our attention (and everyone else’s)

How hype and word-of-mouth shaped our expectations

Love triangles: satisfying tension or too much drama?

The role of setting, class, and family in driving the story

Our very different reactions to the main character

How tragedy and loyalty are woven through the narrative

The structure: past vs present, and how it builds suspense

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

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: travel tales, hotel room hijinks, and book club catch-ups03:00 – Book reveal: Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall05:00 – Why this pick + hype factor (Reese’s Book Club, bestseller lists)08:00 – Author bio + past works10:30 – Goodreads stats + ratings snapshot12:00 – Our Kiss, Kill, Marry ratings reveal14:00 – First impressions and what hooked us20:00 – Themes of loyalty, love, and loss28:00 – Thoughts on setting and style34:00 – Side characters that stood out37:00 – What other readers think: quickfire reviews40:00 – Would we read Claire’s next book?

Jungle fever or just fever dream?

This episode's pick: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett—a literary thriller set in the Amazon, complete with pharmaceutical intrigue, moral dilemmas, and one very unfortunate snake encounter. It’s lush, layered, and filled with anacondas, tarantulas, and questionable fertility science. But did it live up to the hype?

This week’s guest:

Pamela Cook —author, podcaster, and teacher. Pam writes contemporary women’s fiction that digs into relationships and psychology. She’s published six novels (traditionally and indie), hosts the Writes4Women podcast, and teaches through her business Wild Words. She also rides horses, wrangles dogs, and somehow finds time to keep her TBR stack alive.

In this episode, we cover:

Why State of Wonder felt both “plotty” and literary—and why that’s rare for Patchett.

The infamous anaconda boat scene (aka: the nightmare fuel we’ll never forget).

Fertility science, pharmaceutical greed, and the ethics of 73-year-olds having babies.

The big twist: Anders is alive (!), but was it too convenient?

The controversial ending—trauma sex, bark chewing, and possible surprise pregnancies.

The unanswered question: who’s the father of Dr. Svensson’s baby?

Desert Island picks, DNFs, hype regrets, and why Pam cries at Emily Henry.

📚 Books Mentioned on the Pod

Ann Patchett:

State of Wonder

Tom Lake

The Dutch House

Commonwealth

Bel Canto

Other fiction faves:

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Pam’s Auto-buy Authors:

Emily Henry

Hannah Richell

Ann Patchett

Taylor Jenkins Reid

💋 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 – Intro: meet Pamela Cook, our guest author04:00 – How State of Wonder came to be (and the Big Magic story)08:50 – Kiss, Kill, or Marry verdict13:00 – Fertility, pharma, and Patchett’s plot power18:00 – Anacondas, tarantulas, and nightmare fuel22:00 – The Anders twist—too neat or just right?25:00 – The controversial ending (trauma bonding or life affirmation?)28:00 – Who’s the father? Milton, Easter… frozen sperm??32:00 – Writing craft: seamless backstory, moral dilemmas, and jungle research37:00 – Pam’s DNF rules, hype regrets, and wish-I’d-written titles42:00 – Guilty pleasures, crying at Emily Henry, and auto-buy authors45:00 – What we’re reading next—and why no one’s going to the Amazon anytime soon