The Booklover Banter

Liv and Laura talk about books they've read recently and discuss the Women's Prize for fiction shortlist. Laura also candidly shares her love of handwriting - whether it be writing in her diary, or sending letters and postcards. Join us for a lovely chat.

Books mentioned in this podcast:

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Dunn

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

All Fours by Miranda July

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden

Fundamentally by Nissaibah Younis

The Good Mistress by Anne Tiernan

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Liv, Rach and Laura are back to chat about what they've read, all the new releases they are excited about, and other random bookish musings including a debate on the category of chick-lit - to be or not to be...

Books mentioned in this podcast:

The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler

33 Brugmann Place by Alice Austen

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester

See How They Fall by Rachel Paris

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Best, First and Last by Amy Matthews

Better Days by Claire Zorn

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell

The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

Proof of my Innocence by Jonathan Coe

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue to Paris & The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

Hastings by Dick Frizzell

No Words for This by Ali Mau

38 Londres St by Philippe Sands

Luminous by Sylvia Park

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla Barnes

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Dream State by Eric Puchner

Wild Dark Shore & Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Three Wee Bookshops by Ruth Shaw

The Bookshop Detectives 2 by Gareth and Louise Ward

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Wahoo! We're back with Season 2 of Booklover Banter. In our first episode of 2025 the team discuss the newly released Ockham Longlist, what they've been reading over the summer and what they are looking forward to in the year to come. You'll want a notebook and pen (or notes on your phone) handy because we talk about A LOT of great books.

Books mentioned in this podcast:

The Mires by Tina Makereti

Delirious by Damien Wilkins

The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

Unreel by Diana Wichtel

Feijoa by Kate Evans

In the Half Light of a Dying Day by CK Stead

Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud by Lee Murray

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Postcard by Anne Berest

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

The Pool by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

The Secrets of Maiden Cove by Erin Palmisano

Sorrow Spring by Olivia Isaac Henry

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole by Geoff Parkes

Dog Man series by Dave Pilkey

Inkbound by Philippa Leathley

Ghostlines by Katya Balen

Crookhaven series by J J Arcanjo

Skandar series by A F Steadman

Novacene by James Lovelock

How to Feed the World by Vaclav Smil

The Serviceberry by Robyn Wall Kimmerer

The Abundant Garden by Niva and Yotam Kay

LifeStyled: Your Guide to a More Organised and Intentional Life by Shira Gill

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Katabasis by RF Kuang

Twist by Colum McCann

38 Londre St by Philippe Sands

This is a bumper episode where we reflect on the year that was 2024. Hear about our top ten bestsellers, our favourite books, the highlights, the challenges and the joys of being booksellers. There's laughing, there's screaming, there's Christmas lights and music and...well, cockroaches.

Books mentioned in this episode:

Place of Tides by James Rebanks

Table for Two by Amor Towles

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Dusk by Robbie Arnott

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Juice by Tim Winton

The Songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner

Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger

The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour/Jude Dobson

You Are Here and One Day by David Nicholls

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

James by Percival Everett

Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Space Between by Lauren Keenan

Precipice by Robert Harris

All Fours by Miranda July

Days of Innocence and Wonder by Lucy Treloar

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Because All Fades by Freddie Giles

Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst

Playground by Richard Powers

The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

17 Years Later by JP Pomare

Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Ruby Loud Mouse by Alice Pearce

Well Woman by Dr Frances Pitsilis

Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino

Lioness by Emily Perkins

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Runt by Craig Silvey

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Wild Dark Shore & Once there Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

The Postcard by Anne Berest

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Delirious by Damien Wilkins

The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

The Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Knowledge Gene by Lynne Kelly

The Horse by Timothy Winegard

Olivia chats with Rachel and Laura about her new book The Songbirds of Florence. Find out about her research, the editing process, why the title changed and plenty more...

Liv, Rach and Laura talk about books, books and more books: what they've read, what they are excited to read, book covers, book embargoes. Plus hear about what they've been watching, superstitions, pick-up lines and so much more...

Books mentioned in this podcast:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd

James by Percival Everett

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

The Sanatorium, The Retreat and The Wilds by Sarah Pearse

Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

Precipice by Robert Harris

Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino

A Very French Affair by Maria Hoyle

Entitlement and Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

Juice by Tim Winton

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Time of the Child by Niall Williams

The Alaska Sanders Affair by Joel Dicker

The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Runt and Honeybee by Craig Silvey

The Age of Enchantment: The Chronicles of Whetherwhy by Anna James

Holmes and Moriarty by Gareth Rubin

Films/TV series mentioned in this episode:

Emily in Paris

Maxton Hall

The Wild Robot

Runt

In this deeply personal and emotion-filled chat, Olivia talks with Ruth Shaw live on stage during the recent NZ Booksellers Conference held at the Crown Plaza in Auckland. They discuss what life is like being both an author and a bookseller and Ruth reveals what she is writing next plus plenty more.

Books by Ruth Shaw mentioned in this episode:

The Bookseller at the End of the World

Bookshop Dogs

Join us at the Booksellers Conference, the biggest event of the year for us booksellers. Come behind the scenes, meet some amazing people, and share in our joy as we chat about what it means to win NZ Bookshop of the Year 2024.

Rachel experiences a fan-girl moment as she sits down to interview one of her favourite authors, J.P. Pomare! Discover the ins and outs of writing crime fiction, including how to write the perfect twist, plus hear his fascinating insights into the state of bookselling in Australia and New Zealand, and so much more...this episode is PACKED with good stuff.

Books and authors mentioned in this podcast:

The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides)

We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Benjamin Stevenson (Fool Me Twice: Two Twisty Mysteries)

Tana French (The Searcher and The Hunter)

Michael Robotham

Val McDermid

Rachel Cusk

Denis Johnson (Train Dreams)

Robbie Arnott (Limberlost)

Diana Reid

Tim Winton (Juice)

The team are back! It's been a while but we are together again to talk about the day in the life of a bookseller. It's fair to say we do a bit of rambling, and laughing, and well, we have a good old banter. It is Booklover Banter after all!