Curious Readers

As the nights draw in, Joseph and Amanda look forward to all the autumn releases they hope to get through before December. Along the way, they meander through prize news, current reads and discover circular themes about the Epic of Gilgamesh, pianos and Dickens – and that’s all before they get to the mimmoths.

Bookish News

A Tale of Two Cities, a Marlowe Theatre Production
The Hugo Awards
The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow @alix.e.harrow
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar @amalelmohtar
This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone @max.gladstone
A Wizard Of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. LeGuin and Fred Fordham
Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirlees
A Drop Of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett @r.jackson.bennett
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Current Reads
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak @shafakelif
Land by Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial
Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason @meg_mason_writer
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

Autumn Preview
Ply by Hernan Diaz
Trust by Hernan Diaz
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee @lee_minjin
End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor @naomiklein @astraamoura
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson @jennyjacksonpineapple
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
The Wedding People by Alison Espach @alison.espach
The Strangers by Naomi Alderman @naomi_alderman
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Partita by Barbara Kingsolver @barbara.kingsolver
Minihorror by Barbi Marković translated by Jen Calleja @barbimarkovich @jencalleja_
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte @tonytula
Off The Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones @stephengrahamjones
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham-Jones
Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage @simonarmitage_official
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus @bonnie_garmus_author
Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus
Stations by Louise Kennedy @louisekennedywriter
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Furious, Disney Plus
Widow’s Bay on Apple TV
Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot (also know as Abra in Canada)
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama
Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura
On The Calculation of Volume - Volume V by Solvej Balle
The Pen: A Human History by Simon Garfield
The Missing Ink: How Handwriting Made Us Who We Are by Philip Hensher
The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Alan
Hudson by Hernán Ronsino, translated by Mallory Craig-Kuhn
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
Look What You Made Me Do by John Lancaster
Capital by John Lancaster

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes
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Joseph and Amanda are back from summer break with a bumper episode deep diving into Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Whistler. They also take some time to cogitate over the Booker Prize long list, as well as catch up on what they've been reading recently and the titles they hope to pick up next.

Bookish News
The Imagination Library @imaginationlibraryuk

Booker Prize Longlist and Predictions
The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
Switzy by Emma Cline @emmanancycline
Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman @makenna_good
The End of Everything by M. John Harrison @m_john_harrison
The Disappearers by Marlon James @marlonjameswriter
Black Bag by Luke Kennard @lukekekennnard
The Renovation by Kenan Orhan
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry @poorsasquatch
The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @liztroutauthor
John of John by Douglas Stuart @douglas_stuart
All Them Dogs by Djamel White @djamelwhitewriter
The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams @missouriwilliams

What We’ve Been Reading
Frost in May by Antonia White
Novel on Yellow Notepaper by Stevie Smith
Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge
The Caravners by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani
The Hyena’s Daughter by Jupiter Jones @jupiterjones
It Will Come Back To You by Sigird Nunez
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney @sallyrooney6

Selected Books of Ann Patchett
Parnassus Books @paranassusbooks
The Patron Saint of Liars
Taft
The Magician’s Assistant
Bel Canto
Run
State of Wonder
The Dutch House
Tom Lake
Whistler

What We’re Reading Next
Astronaut! by Oana Aristide
My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova @egana_djabbarly

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we bid farewell to Summer Break, we take questions from our listeners in a special post bag episode - and of course, we can’t help but make some recommendations along the way. And don’t worry, normal service will be resumed on 11 September when return to the mics for a deep dive into Ann Patchett's latest novel, Whistler.

Recent Reads
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton

Post Bag Questions
Claude.ai
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
An Apprenticeship, or The Book Of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector
The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
The Life of M by Rachel Cusk
Audition, by Katie Kitamura
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
@apairofbookendspod
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
The Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Alison by Lizzie Stewart
The Wreck by Lizzie Stewart
Ducks by Kate Beaton
From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
Black Hole by Charles Burns
The Property by Rutu Modan
Something Will Happen, You’ll See by Christos Ikonomou
Little Infamies by Panos Karnezis
Greekling by Kostya Tsolakis
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
Circe by Madeline Miller
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

What We’re Reading Next
Whistler by Ann Patchett

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio

Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How many times have Amanda and Joseph joined the ‘Just One Book’ Deception Society? Too many to count. This week they are talking about the joy of browsing and the bookshops they love visiting across the UK. Plus, as always they’ll be chatting about what they’ve been reading recently and the titles they're hoping to pick up next.

Recent Reads
I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder
Service by John Tottenham

Bookshops and browsing
Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal
The Book of Lost Tales (Volume 2) by J R R Tolkien
Persephone Books, Bath and London @persephonebooks
If The Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Charco Press @charcopress
Daunt Books, Marleybone or Cheapside @dauntbookspub
Bookmongers, Brixton @bookmongersbrixton
Harbour Books, Whitstable @harbourbooks
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
In The Distance by Hernan Diaz
London Review of Books Bookshop, London @londonreviewofbooks
Judd Books, London @juddbooks
Book Bar, London @bookbaruk
Hatchards, St Pancras @hatchstpancras
Brick Lane Bookshop, London @bricklanebookshop
Pages of Hackney, London @pagesofhackney
The Margate Bookshop, Margate @themargatebookshop
Little Green Bookshop, Herne Bay @thegreenbookshop
Michael’s Bookshop, Ramsgate @michaelsbookshopramsgate
Plunder Books, Ramsgate @plunderbooks
Heffers, Cambridge @heffers_cambridge
Body in the Bookshop, Cambridge @bodiesinthebookshop
Murder and Mayhem, Hay on Wye @murder_and_mayhem
Richard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye @richardboothsbookshop

What We’re Reading Next
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton
The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova

Also mentioned
Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio
Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Amanda and Joseph as they set out to excavate Land, Maggie O’Farrell’s latest historical novel and family drama which is set in 1860s Ireland, a decade after the Great Famine. Plus, as always they chat about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next.

Bookish News

Children’s Booker Prize
Frank Cottrell-Boyce @frank_cottrellboyce
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Beast in View by Maragert Millar
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood
@herrealtake

Recent Reads

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series by Juno Dawson @junodawson
Parallel Lives: A Love Story from a Lost Continent by Iain Pears

Selected Books of Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Instructions for a Heatwave
This Must Be the Place
Hamnet
The Marriage Portrait
Land

What We’re Reading Next

The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan @theodysseymovie
Crossing The Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily Wilson
I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder

Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.