Reading Between Deadlines Podcast

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.

This episode's book: THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes is an historical novel inspired by the real-life Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. Set during the Great Depression, it follows a group of very different women who travel on horseback through the mountains to deliver books to isolated communities. It’s a story of friendship, courage, love and the power of books to change lives, which makes it the perfect choice for book people like us.

This episode’s guest is our fabulous friend, ex-librarian and bestselling author Tricia Stringer whose brand new book, THE PARADISE RESORT releases tomorrow and she’s touring the country, check out her events at the link below.

Visit Tricia's Website

In this episode, we cover:

Rereading book through the lens of the modern day

The plagiarism scandal surrounding this book

Whether titles should reflect book content

What’s easier to write - historical vs contemporary

Authors cloning themselves

And lots more.

💋 And, of course, we rate THE GIVER OF STARS: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.

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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Horton Hatches an Egg by Dr Suess

Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope

The Nurse books by Cherry Ames

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

Books by Victoria Holt

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Midwitch Cuckoos by John Wyndham

Eragon series by Christopher Paolini

Where the Wattle Blooms by Amy Andrews

The Extraordinary Life of Florence Stoker by Karen Brooks

🎧 Books Mentioned in this Ep

Unleashed - Video Podcast

Double A Chattery with Amanda Keller and Anita McGregor

The Secret World of Roald Dahl - Podcast

⏰ Timestamps

00.0 Welcome to RBD – Rachael and the smallest room in the house – and Tricia Stringer

2.28 Tricia and Jojo Moyes – a love story.

3.31 Anthea is keen to demonstrate her dominion over the Zoom machine with lame job titles… Tricia and Rachael discuss their work as ACTUAL librarians…

5.03 Tricia Stringer bio – ummm… are we supposed to name our husbands in our bio?? (Sorry Chris! )(Hemsworth..!)

7.17 Trish reads the Stars blurb. Olden days, books, horses and terrible weather. Anthea is going to love this – OR IS SHE?? (Yes. Of course she is.)

10.23 Jojo Moyes bio – Is 57 million even a real number?

14.13 Author scandal! Jojo v Kim – get off my horsey book mountain or I’ll see you in court!

16.14 Just checking – is the title a bit… dumb? Or is it super cool?

18.38 Rachael Johns new novel is QUEEN OF THE ROAD! No..? What is happening? Anthea gets confused and needs to take her fish oil.

21.19 Kiss, Kill, Marry – Trish hitches our horses up to a log cabin and invites us in for some moonshine. (Rach brought her own.)

25.28 The discussion goes deep into the night. We talk love and marriage, expectations, characterisation (and the need to use the long drop in the backyard.)

28.08 Tricia Stringer passes the bottle and gives her verdict.

29.38 Tricia’s chequered history pedalling sex books.. and Bennett Van Cleve. Gay? Bad at sex? In desperate need of Tricia’s sex book??

32.18 Jojo Moyes – writing contemporary and historical (which is, historically, much harder..) Tricia agrees. Game over. (or is it?)

36.23 Is the language in Giver of Stars accurate? (As an aside, if the Victorians wanted their swearing to be accurately included in modern fiction, they should have been better at it. So there.)

40.05 We ask Tricia the hard questions. Not maths, though – we’re not animals.

44.04 Tricia brings us a dangerous blend of Peter Rabbit, Lessons in Chemistry and Sparkling Cyanide. Delicious!

45.02 A touching scene in which three middle-age women try to remember things, like the names of authors…

48.16 Roald Dahl gets dark. Can we still enjoy the stories?

53.54 Tricia recommends – Amy Andrews and Karen Brooks! And we look at who’s next…

56.14 Bye!

👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love THE GIVER OF STARS?

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower and our October guest is Victoria Purman who is making us read Sandwich by Catherine Newman

November Books: 14th July - Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman28th July - The Husbands by Holly Gramazio with guest author Ali Lowe

PLEASE NOTE we won’t be recording episodes in December due to travel.

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

Hi Deadliners

We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines. Our whole purpose here is to read HYPED books and unpack whether we a) agree with the hype and b) can understand WHY this book has reached such heights. Today, we’re going back in time and reading one of THE most popular books of all time…

This episode’s pick: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a classic “gothic” novel about a young bride who marries a dashing older man after a very quick courting (can we even call it that?) and then returns to his to his grand English estate, Manderley, where she discovers that the shadow of his beautiful, glamorous (and very dead) first wife, Rebecca, is everywhere.

We hope you enjoy and lets us know what you think in the comments.

Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea

PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.

Subscribe now

In this episode, we cover:

Immersive reading and multiple copies of the same book.

Film and TV adaptations

Other amazing old novels.

The definition of a gothic novel

And LOADS more.

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

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⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Intro – Anthea claims older sister status – no-one believes her, including Rebecca – the mysterious wife of Maxim DeWinter.

2.07 Rachael introduces Rebecca. Anthea read Rebecca in the 80’s, and she remembers it better than her Google password. (is that even a thing?)

8.35 Anthea randomly does a ‘show and tell’ of gothic style novels she’s loved – Rach considers re-casting. She wishes she didn’t spend high school talking boys.

12.03 Anthea reads Daphne Du Maurier’s bio – Daphne is posh and once had a male alter ego.

14.44 Daphne shows off with over 700 000 ratings. And it turns out her book is quite long..

17.06 Kiss, Kill, Marry… Rachael and Anthea rate Rebecca… and Anthea expands on her verdict over tea and crumpets in the conservatory.

20.17 The beauty of a great last line, and the fight for a well seated climax!

20.47 Anthea offers Daphne Du Maurier a co-writing spot – and Rachael is struck by a wonderful idea..

22.27 Rachael feels Rebecca isn’t gothic enough (Mrs Danvers disagrees..)

25.50 Jane Eyre – gothic-core through the ages – young ladies, old guys and flammable houses.

27.18 Danvers – not the sort of person you’d invite over for tea (and keep her away from matches.)

28.05 Also – the new Mrs DeWinter needs to grow a pair. Seriously.

30.08 Tally ho! Murder is ok - if you’re posh.

31.37 Rebecca – gloomy and morally grey – but in a good way!

36.27 Rach wants more Daphne…!

37.59 Our next reads – The Giver of Stars

40.16 Rach and Anthea hint at GREAT THINGS in the New Year..!

40.53 Should Rach’s mum have called her Rebecca…?

42.52 Rach and Anthea discuss co-writing… and say goodbye!

👉 Watch the episode above and let us know your feelings about REBECCA.

Leave a comment

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Tricia Stringer about The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes

📅 In October, we’re diving into Booktok sensation, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower and chatting to Victoria Purman about Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

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

🛍️ Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

🙌 Get the t-shirt

Thanks for following. We love ya!

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.

This episode's book: Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction novella and the first in the Junkyard Cats series. Set in a world recovering from the war and the arrival of mysterious alien Bugs, it follows Shining Smith, who runs the junkyard left to her by her father. But Shining has secrets of her own, and when danger arrives at the junkyard, the life she’s built comes under threat.

This episode’s guest is our delightful friend, mum of five, talented author AND midwife, bestselling author Fiona McArthur. Her latest book The Featherwood Beekeeper is out September 15th.

Visit Fiona's Website

In this episode, we cover:

Reading outside our comfort zone

Bios - northern hemisphere vs southern hemisphere.

Audible originals

Bugs, monsters and tough heroines

Sprayed Edges - we’re not jealous at ALL!

Hey Readers, we’d love to know you’re opinion:

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

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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

Green Darkness by Anya Seton

Shogun and Noble House by James Clavell

Modesty Blaise by Peter O’Donnell

Dick Francis’s books

Mary Stuart’s books

James A Michener’s books

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

After You by Jojo Moyes

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton

The Takeover by TL Swan

Where the Wattle Blooms by Amy Andrews

The Soulwood series by Faith Hunter

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Rebecca Yarros’s dragon books.

⏰ Timestamps

1.0 – Intro Episode 16 Season 2 – What a line up!

2.10 – Ruby winners Rachael Johns and Fiona McArthur

5.48 Anthea considers having another baby #ababyineverybook

6.39 Junkyard Cats! (V popular with the midwife community)

8.07 Space-blurb. Nano, AI, marauding beetles…weird cats.

9.12 Faith Hunter bio. Under. Stated.

14.19 Time to Kiss, Kill, Marry – Anthea and Rach hit the hyperdrive button

18.59 Anthea blames technology. Again. (her Tesla rolls it’s AI’s)

23.34 Rachael admits she has a thing for monsters from Mars. (huh?)

25.12 The importance of reading outside of your genre.. from babies to vampires..

27.43 Fiona’s reading habits as a sweet young girl

31.47 What does Fiona McArthur know about having babies, anyway?!

33.50 In praise of Ambulance guys. (and girls) But also the hot one who came to Anthea’s mum’s house that time.. He was v professional. And much appreciated.

34.34 DNFing. Life is too short – and Fiona’s formidable reading regime

38.58 Fiona and writing long and short..

42.58 AA - Not what you think – a tip on a great read!

43.12 Fiona’s impressive male readership! (She breed’s ‘em – they read ‘em!)

45.04 Re-reads and must buys – and Dragons

46.47 Rebecca – Last night Anthea dreamt she went to Manderley again..

48.00 Bye!

👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love Junkyard Cats?

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and our September guest is Tricia Stringer who is making us read The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes

October Books: 14th July - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower28th July - Sandwich by Catherine Newman with guest author Victoria Purman

PLEASE NOTE we’ve made a few changes for the rest of the year.

You can view the list here!

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

Hi Deadliners

We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines. Our whole purpose here is to read HYPED books and unpack whether we a) agree with the hype and b) can understand WHY this book has reached such heights. Well, today we are chatting about a book that got a LOT of hype when it was announced last year and the BIG mystery was WHO were the two author behind the pseudonym Evelyn Clarke.

This episode’s pick: THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF by Evelyn Clarke is a locked room mystery set in the publishing world, written by best-selling authors V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke under a shared pseudonym. The story begins when six authors are invited to a remote island to complete the unfinished manuscript of a legendary novelist but when one of them dies, they all start to wonder who they can trust and whether there’s more at stake than their careers.

We hope you enjoy and lets us know what you think in the comments.

Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea

PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.

In this episode, we cover:

Rach’s love affair with a real Scottish Island.

Was the crime or publishing stuff stronger in this book?

Midlist authors!

Literary snobbery.

Convention or cliche?

Ponder which famous authors we’d like to collaborate.

Who would YOU like to collaborate? Let us know in the comments.

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

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⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Welcome to Rachael’s private tropical island (you may be wondering why she invited you here today…)

3.14 The blurb. (Would you risk life and limb for a weekend in a creepy house on a windswept Scottish island?) (Yes. Yes you would.)

4.39 When two authors become one. The hype surrounding two best selling authors who love each other very much and have a book baby. (Anthea wonders if she’ll ever be loved that much..) (PS look out for The Insta Detectives in January!!)

6.15 Victoria Schwab and Kat Clarke co-bio - more of a story, but hey, we’re not judging!

7.49 - Rach and Anthea do a weird switcheroo and keep almost giving away their feelings before the official rating.

10.10 - Rach tries to get factual but it’s such a new book there isn’t much to say. Although the pre-buzz guessing who the authors were was FUN!!

12.52 Kiss, Kill, Marry.. We rate The Ending Writes Itself

14.05 Anthea invokes the name of Agatha (also, funnily enough, her nickname when she was at primary school)

14.05 Rachael recalls her own trip to a (non-murdery) Scottish Island

16.26 The cast of characters. Victims, murderers… and not nearly enough heelund coos!

17.42 Rach has a (mid-list) identity crisis.

21.34 The crimey bit. Is it enough?

24.58 Anthea loves the classics, like Duran Duran, obviously – but also 1930’s murder mysteries..

26.43 What’s next for Evelyn Clarke – romance? Horror? Rural?

31.10 Who invited all these characters, anyway, and how much do we care?

36.38 The cost of living crisis comes to the Pod. (Anthea does the numbers and realises she’s essentially unemployed.)

40.22 Rach ‘ships’ her fave authors into writing collabs.

41.26 What are we reading next (interrupted by a long and boring story about Anthea forgetting the name of her local café. Spoiler alert. She had to look it up.)

43.48 Anthea and Rach sign off. Anthea is off on a cruise to Budapest, with Rachael’s Kobo.

👉 Watch the episode above and let us know your feelings about THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF!

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to to Fiona McArthur about Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter

📅 In September, we’re diving into Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and we’re chatting to Tricia Stringer about The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes.

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!

This episode's book: Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster is a delightful epistolary novel, first published in 1912 as a serialisation for Ladies Home Journal. At the time it was classified as a “college girl book” and is the story of hard-on-her luck Jerusha, who comes into a bit of luck with Mr Smith (who she nicknames Daddy Long Legs) decides to pay for her education.

This episode’s guest is fellow sandgroper Tamara Moss and New York Times Bestselling author of The Escape Game (co-written with Marissa Meyer) and also the Lintang series.

Check out Tamara's website

In this episode, we cover:

Favourite protagonists

Is this a problematic romance or a reflection of the time?

Dear Enemy - the sequel.

Third-act break-ups/black moments

We love epistolary novels but they can cause plot probs.

Writing letters - let us know in the comments whether you’re a letter writer

Leave a comment

💋 And, of course, we rate DADDY LONG LEGS: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.

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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

The Gentleman of Moscow by Amor Towles

Illuminae by Amy Kauffman and Jay Kristoff

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett

The Near Daphne Experience by Alison Reynolds

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

84 Charring Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Teen Power Inc series by Emily Rodda

Twilight series

Harry Potter series

Five Voices by Tamara Moss

⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Welcome to Daddy Land.. and to Tamara Moss!

2.10 Tamara’s bio – teaching, Asian Studies, New York Times Bestselling Author…

4.37 Rach probes Tamara’s origin story

5.15 In a win for Arachnophiles, we introduce today’s novel – Daddy Longlegs from 1912.. but is it… ok??

7.27 The blurb – an orphan and her mysterious eight legged sponsor.. (or something like that…)

8.00 Adaptations. Just how tall is Fred Astaire, anyway?

8.43 Jean Webster, a nice lady who wrote about nice ladies and their…daddies?

12.08 How did we read it? Ears? Eyes? Vibes?

13.38 Rach goes deep with Daddy facts

15.51 Kiss, Kill, Marry. It’s time!

18.51 Judy is Tamara’s favourite protagonist – and we can see why!

20.05 Writing romance in a series of one-sided letters to an older man

23.33 Addressing the Daddy in the room. (eww?)

27.55 Age gap love – like Anthea (Daddy) and Rach (Judy)..

29.43 Rach ponders the third act break up (the black moment..)

33.20 Remember that letter you sent to someone telling them about that time you were both in the same room together having a conversation you both already know about? Me neither.

36.19 We name some excellent epistolic novels…

39.21 Are Tamara and Rachael letter writers? Letter keepers?

47.42 The Gentleman of Moscow. Way more exciting than it sounds. Unless you think it sounds exciting, in which case, exactly as exciting as it sounds.

48.18 Marissa Meyer, Live Journal, co-writing and Daddy Longlegs!

Whoops we forgot to mention what’s coming next. It’s THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF and JUNKYARD CATS. Happy reading and listening.

👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love Daddy Long Legs?

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clark and our Augut guest is Fiona McArthur who is making us read Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter

September Books: 14th July - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier28th July - The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes with guest author Tricia Stringer

PLEASE NOTE we’ve made a few changes for the rest of the year.

You can view the list here!

🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch

Hi Deadliners

We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines. Our whole purpose here is to read HYPED books and unpack whether we a) agree with the hype and b) can understand WHY this book has reached such heights. Well, today we are chatting possible THE BIGGEST HYPED BOOK OF THE YEAR.

This episode’s pick: YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke is a very topical book about a “trad-wife” influencer who has many, many kids with her handsome farming husband, but surprise, surprise, her life is not as perfect as her posts would lead you to believe. This book has been called ‘satire’ and gave us a LOT to talk about.

We hope you enjoy and lets us know what you think in the comments.

Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea

PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.

Subscribe now

In this episode, we cover:

Whether blurbs affect how you enjoy/read a book.

Literary vs Commercial Fiction

What our writer friends thought of YESTERYEAR

“Tradwives” we follow and don’t

What we expect from twists

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

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⏰ Timestamps

1.0 Welcome to Rach, Anthea and Ghost Dog

1.51 Meet Yesteryear – the best time you can have darning your (probably organic) socks

3.36 We read the blurb for the first time and are kind of surprised #proffesional

6.16 How did we read the book? Rach listened and read – Anthea knitted hers then read it next to a kerosine lamp

7.56 Caro Claire Burke’s name is longer than her bio. (We get it. You’re totally legit.)

10.19 Book stats. Over 460 000 ratings on Goodreads, but most of them are probably Anne Hathaway

13.41 Kiss, Kill, Marry, Make sourdough

14.47 We discuss ratings – and Ghost Dog appears! (then disappears) (then appears..)

15.12 The ending. Shiz gets real. And weird

17.29 Low expectations – reading (and dating?) advice from Rach

18.19 Trad wives. Gluttons for punishment? Or attention?

21.59 Is Caleb a lazy dummy with a roving eye? Yes.

22.40 Natalie, kind of a dick, but also, NOT a time traveller

26.08 Shannon and Caleb, sitting in a tree…

27.14 Rach wants more from Yesteryear… cancellation, trad wives, kid’s privacy…

30.00 Twist discussion – time travel VS mental break

32.00 It’s not that we don’t like Natalie… but even NATALIE doesn’t like Natalie…

35.57 Clementine travels back from the future in a CAR! (remember those, Natalie?)

37.12 Natalie is still hard to please. And time travel actually seems more likely than this twist.

40.50 Natalie’s mum – a woman not afraid to pretend her husband is dead.

42.02 Is this literature because the ending sucked??

48.06 Rach and Anthea agree it was still a kiss. (but Anthea secretly wanted time-travel) (for the end of the novel, and just in general)

48.28 What novels are next?! (Anthea takes note!)

👉 Watch the episode above and let us know your feelings about YESTERYEAR!

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.

This episode's book: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is a bonkers alternate-history mystery where literary detective, Thursday Next, has to save Jane Eyre from a villain who is rewriting literature. A very bookish book!

This week’s guest is the delightful Kate Solly, who writes warm and feel-good cosy mystery. Her latest novel is The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-Up, and when Kate’s not writing, she’s wrangling six kids and doing crochet.

In this episode, we cover:

Audio books vs Print - some narratives suit one more than the other

Main characters - do we need to connect with them to love a story?

Rereading, DNFing and reading multiple books at once

Jasper’s literary influences (we speculate)

💋 And, of course, we rate THE EYRE AFFAIR: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.

📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelli Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson

The Bookshop Detectives by Gareth and Louise Ward

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan

Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan

Those Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns

Enid Blyton

Nancy Drew

Babysitters Club

⏰ Timestamps

0:00 – Anthea opens the show. Rach contributes by almost forgetting her own name.

1.31 - Anthea intros the charming, well-behaved and alarmingly fertile Kate Solly.

2.43 - Kate has chosen The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – one of her all-time favourites. She does suspect, however, that Jasper has never heard of Coco Chanel.

3.40 - Rach and Anthea judges Kate's bio, become wildly jealous of her book-wraooubg skills, and marvel at the fact she once crocheted Rach a Diet Coke can. Frankly, she's showing off.

4.48 - What’s that smell? We all share the disgusting things we’ve found in our cars way too late. Perhaps this podcast should come with a biohazard warning.

6.57 - Kates reads the blurb of her chosen book - a novel on Rach and Anthea’s radar for YEARS. Thank god Kate finally made us read it.

8.43 - Time to judge Jaspers bio - there are three to choose from. Rach thinks that is two bios too many!

10.40 - Today's pick is over twenty years old. Anthea was convinced it was from the '80s. Close enough.

12.05 - Rach shares the book stats and fun facts, including Jasper's 76 rejections... then completely forgets the most interesting fact. Luckily Kate came prepared.

14.44 - Anthea explains our ratings system and, in a shocking turn of events, tries to get Rach cancelled. Again.

15.07 - Anthea explains her rating. She suspects Jasper occasionally ignores his editors, wanted more "lore" (she's down with the kids), and craved a little more heart and a few higher stakes.

17.11 - Kate promises Jasper really hits his stride in the later books, and suddenly we're considering adding several more novels to the TBR.

19.45 - Rach feels it makes sense this was his debut as it reads like a first novel. But hey, everyone has to start somewhere and this is a pretty good start.

22.58 - Kate reveals her family are thoroughly obsessed with Mr Fforde and his affairs. We also discuss the politics of sharing Kindles and Kobos.

25.01 - Rach didn't quite click with Thursday Next and suspects she may be the least interesting person in her own book.

28.24 - Plot takes centre stage, character takes the back seat, and Douglas Adams is very much in the passenger seat.

29.16 - Magic is afoot - the one-star Goodreads review Rach wanted to read aloud has mysteriously disappeared.

30.43 - Time to interrogate Kate about her reading habits: rereading, DNFing, and other controversial behaviour.

34.20 - Book formats do matter and Kate gets sweaty over our auto buy author question.

36.58 - Cozy mysteries have officially gone mainstream, and Kate shares some of her favourites.

38.45 - The loneliness of being the only person who didn't fall head over heels for a wildly hyped book.

39.59 - Reading reviews is like picking scabs. Gross? Yes. But this might just be our fave bookish analogy ever.

42.21 - An ode to Toni Jordan. (As she deserves.)

43.18 - Which book reignited Kate's love of reading?

45 - We all adore The Faraway Tree. We absolutely do not want to meet Dame Slap.

46.03 - What we're reading next, including the book that seems to be in absolutely everyone's hands right now.

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and our July guest is Tamara Moss who is making us read Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster.

July Books: 14th July - The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clark28th July - Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter with guest author Fiona McArthur

Hi Deadliners

We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines. Honestly it might be our FAVOURITE episode yet. It’s a cracker, even if we DO say so ourselves.

This episode’s pick: THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi is a book that was self-published and then picked up by a major publisher after it basically went viral. It’s about an old dude who turns up mysteriously in the fiction town of Golden, then starts buying up portraits for half the town.

We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this hyped book.

Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea

PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.

In this episode, we cover:

Why authors love the question “what if?”

Word length and editing

Plot vs character

Religion in fiction

And we rewrite the ending.

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

⏰ Timestamps

000 – Intro – Rachael is a newsreader now.. and she’s been robbed..

2.24 – Rachael introduces Theo of Golden and reads the blurb. Anthea is already bored.

4.35 – Why we read Theo – International hype is REAL

5.50 Alan – 70 year old song writer who’s not Willie Nelson

6.42 – Should you write about stuff you see in a coffee shop? We’re about to find out..

7.19 – The bio you have when you don’t have a bio (is Alan a bit rock’n’ roll?)

9.40 – Rach goes Insta Detectives on Theo of Golden with interesting facts.. Anthea checks her watch..

12.16 Anthea is all about the rules.. Kiss, Kill, Marry…

13.38 – Shiz gets REEL. Anthea and Rach give their verdict.

15.21 – Rachael has gone completely crackers. Anthea tries to understand

16.58 – Nope, it’s no good – Rachael is crazily trying to justify her rating. Anthea is having a minor breakdown.

17.25 – A dead Theo wins Rach’s heart. Anthea passes out.

18.02 – Info dumping – Rachael’s new favourite. Anthea casts about for a new bestie…

19.02 - Rachael relishes Theo’s dumb AND boring secret baby trope. Anthea astral travels out of her office, to somewhere nice without any Theos.

20.12 – Anthea puts on her SURPRISED face on, and refuses to remove it.

21.25 – Rach decides she wouldn’t have finished it if she didn’t have to. Anthea wonders if she UNDERSTANDS THE RATINGS SYSTEM??!!!

21.45 – Rach admits she was PLODDING along with Theo. PUCKER UP BABY! (STILL a kiss?????????????)

22.18 – Anthea feels the phrase ‘this is boring’ is underused. (Not by her, obviously.)

22.38 – Dramatic death letter. It’s never too soon. (and stay away from windows.)

23.24 – Anthea expresses her disappointment in Rachael’s rating. Again. Seriously. We get it! (also Anthea goes global and kills it for her friend in Colorado)

26.07 – Anthea gently rants about the many, many, many problems with this novel. (Put the pen down, Grandad.)

27.05 – To the Theo of Golden Community. Well played. Well played, indeed.

28.18 – Rachael admits Theo WAS LONG AND BORING. Anthea rests her case. (mentally, you won’t hear that bit.)

28.37 – Ellen (the most exciting character Anthea barely remembers) is getting her own novel. Kill me now.

29.02 – No ticking clock on Theo’s death (it still wouldn’t have saved this novel, but it would have been nice to see him make the attempt)

29.19 – Christian messages. Too much? (Amen!)

32.30 – Tension please!! Pleeaase! Anthea and Rach agree Theo is boring. High 5!

33.20 – Sorry, but this book needed a good edit

34.50 - Old men and books. AB Facey. Owed Anthea’s great granddad money. Scandal!

37.14 - The cover - Anthea approves! Rachael approves! (it’s boring)

39.05 - Anthea threatens to sack Rachael. Realises Rach is the boss!! Settles to sentencing her to reading the sequel, about the boring Ellen.

41.32 – Rachael threatens Anthea with a Theo of Golden keepsake. Anthea feels physically ill..

42.29 – Readers Retreat! (Theo free zone!)

43.30 – We’re reading The Eyre Affair, Yesteryear and a bunch of other books which are possibly more exciting than Theo. (Sorry, Theo.) (Anthea is swiping LEFT) (But you still have a chance with Rach!)

45.00 BYE! (please don’t go around buying portraits and handing them out to people – it’s way less charming and life changing than you think.)

Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Kate Solly about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

📅 In July, we’re diving into possibly the MOST HYPED book of the year - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and we’re chatting to Tamara Moss about Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.

This episode's book: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell, is a story about two seemingly very unrelated women as they come to terms with new motherhood, love and hidden family secrets.

This week’s guest is Sara Foster is an internationally bestselling author known for her gripping psychological thrillers and emotionally rich storytelling. Originally from the UK and now based in Western Australia, Sara is one of our best writing friends and we can’t wait to hang out with her again on retreat later in the year. Most importantly she knows how to party and we were recently luck enough to attend her 50th 70s themed bday on a boat!

In this episode, we cover:

Maggie O’Farrell’s long, fabulous career (no, we’re not jealous)

Authors who write many different types of books

Themes of motherhood in fiction.

The tenses we like in fiction.

Simple but poignant premises

Sara’s reading tastes and recommendations

💋 And, of course, we rate THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.

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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep

The Book of Unnamed Midwives by Meg Elison

Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Anything by Lisa Jewell, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Liane Moriarty

Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The Hush by Sara Foster

You Don’t Know Me by Sara Foster

⏰ Timestamps

0:00 – Intro to our fabulousness (even if we do say so ourselves)

0:41 – Rach’s disappearing act and all the many luncheons.

2:23 – Introducing our fabulous guest - Sara Foster. She’s been prepping hard but still feels nervous, making Rach feel ALL powerful.

2:56 – The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell - Sara beautifully reads the blurb.

4:48 – Judging Sarah’s author bio. She has a PhD AND a very cute dog. We are officially in awe yet Anthea still gives her tips on how to improve it! Rach suggests Sarah write a memoir about the boozy, long-lunch era of publishing.

9:23 – Judging Maggie O’Farrell’s bio - Rach feels she’s a bit of a braggart, then boasts about her own thirty-something books. Sara talks about Maggie’s varied career (spoiler - she loves everything she’s written).

14:49 – Book facts, awards and Goodreads. Goodreads give it the tick of approval but now it’s our turn to Kiss, Kill or Marry. Every gets nervous and Rach no longer trusts her own opinion!

17:15 – Book discussion: Oh Lord, it’s another quiet novel. Lexi vs Elena timelines – which gal was the funnest? Anthea likens the book to eating All Bran.

22.00 - Rach needs a few things explained. She’s really pissed off about a baby with no-name, but aside from that she sounds rather obsessed.

25.12 - Oh Lord, Rach is waxing lyrical about quiet novels again, yet can’t explain what she loves so much about this book.

26.41 - Why on earth is Maggie so compelling? Rach admits she’s really nosey!

29.07 - Sara tells us why Maggie is a literary genius! Speculating on Maggie’s writing process.

33:14 – Whose story is this? (Lexi vs Elena vs Ted debate) Does Ted even HAVE a passport?? Anthea really gets nit-picky, but makes a good point.

39:46 – Time to ask Sarah all the hard questions. Eg. Who are her auto-buy authors?(Rach and Anthea offended not to feature)

40:49 – Sarah’s top book recommendation: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife – this is the fancy kind of shiz we’ve come to expect from Sara… We can’t believe neither of us have ever even heard of it.

42:50 – Trigger warnings debate – When do we need to know?

44:34 – Classic novel Sarah hasn’t read and overhyped books

49:33 – Sarah’s favourite of her own books and insight into the podcast adaptation of You Don’t Know Me.

52:10 – Reading reviews: do our authors look?

56:03 – What’s next??

👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love The Hand That First Held Mine?

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and our June guess is Kate Solly who is making us read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

July Books: 14th July - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke28th July - Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster with guest author Tamara Moss

Exciting NEWS - we’ve pretty much locked in all our books for the rest of the year! You can see them here!

Hi Deadliners

We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines.

This episode’s pick: HALF HIS AGE - a supposedly funny story about sex, power, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. The story is about Waldo, a teenaged girl who becomes obsessed with her teacher. It’s the debut novel by Jennette McCurdy, child star, now writer, filmmaker and more. Although this is her first novel, her memoir, GLAD MY MOM DIED, was a massive hit!

We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this hyped book.

Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea

PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.

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

⏰ Timestamps

0:05 — Welcome to the Pod!

1:18 — Rach entering witness protection to avoid socialising with Anthea (understandable!)

4:55 — We read Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy…but why?

6:05 — Hype – has it tricked us again?

8:00 — Blurb – a tale as old as time (or if not time, as old as that creepy Russian book..)

9:38 — Author bio – Fancy enough for ya?

11:50 — Goodreads – Rach gets forensic…

13:01 — So – how did it sell? Rach runs the figures – Anthea is impressed!

13:20 — Kiss, Kill, Marry! The rules…

14:15 — Judging, but in a nice way..

14:47 — Rach reports back on her time with Waldo and her creepy boyfriend

15:47 — Rach is over stories with older male love interests. (Ageist!) (and she says something about character growth..?)

16:11 — Is the older man plot too creepy to enjoy? (Anthea feels bad about Harrison Ford, but not THAT bad..)

18:02 — Does anything shock us anymore? Anthea can’t remember..

18:17 — Anthea and Rach discuss period sex/bloody penis play – hot or not? (NOT!!!)

19:31 — Anthea on kissing Waldo.. (not just after the bloody penis bit, obvs..)

21:52 — What makes a good book? Anthea is still confused.

24:43 — What makes a book successful? (no, really??!)

26:03 — Is Waldo SUPER mature? Or just really into menopause?

30:57 — Waldo – lumbered with a middle-aged man. #goals

32:55 — Family dinner with a rando kid – weird? Or massively cosy and appropriate?

35:06 — Is Jeanette ok? A tough childhood on the page.

41:42 — What’s coming next on the podcast (Anthea writes things down..) And we add Yesteryear to the menu…(Anthea thinks it’s about her..)

44:15 — Bye!

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Sara Foster about The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.

In June, we’re diving into Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and chatting to Kate Solly about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

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

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