This week, Joseph and Amanda tackle romance. But this is romance with a twist, no tropes or formulas, just good writing that even the most hard-hearted cynic can enjoy. And before that, as Prize season is upon us, they dish the latest on prestigious longlists, and top and tail the episode with current and future reads.
(0:52) Bookish news
(1:03) The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
(2:52) Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi
(4:03) Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage by Deepa Paul @storiesbydeepa
(4:29) The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet
(6:04) Mother Mary Comes to Me a memoir by Arundhati Roy @arundatiroyauthor
(6:17) International Booker Prize
(6:45) The National Book Critics Circle Awards (NBCC)
(7:16) Dublin Literary Award
(7:56) What I Know About You by Eric Chacour @ericchacour
(8:09) The Creation of Half-Broken People by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
(8:37) Live Fast by Brigitte Giroud
(9:13) Recent Reads
(9:21) Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn
(14:19) Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash @madelinecash
(17:45) Romance for Cynics
(19:15) Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
(19:29) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
(24:09) Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid @rachelreidwrites
(25:38) Emma & Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
(26:30) Persuasion by Jane Austen
(26:56) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
(27:09) Villette by Charlotte Bronte
(29:03) The books of Lily King @lilykingbooks
(29:23) Minor Black Figures & The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor @brandonlgtaylor
(29:23) Memorial: A Novel by Bryan Washington
(30:05) Normal People by Sally Rooney @sallyrooneyofficial
(30:37) You Are Here by David Nicholls @davidnichollswriter
(31:17) Happy All The Time by Laurie Colwin
(35:46) Reasons To Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe @ninastibbe
(39:17) Crush by Ada Calhoun @adacalhoun
(42:58) Good Material by Dolly Alderton @dollyalderton
(47:13) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller @madeline.e.miller
(47:47) The Disenchantment by Celia Bell
(48:22) The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti
(49:24) Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason @meg_mason_writer
(50:26) Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey @monicaheisey
(51:50) You, Again by Kate Goldbeck @kategoldbeck
(52:25) Heartburn by Nora Ephron
(53:15) What We’re Reading Next
(53:26) Midnight Is Not In Everyone’s Reach by António Lobo Antunes @antonio.lobo.antunes
(54:16) White Spines: Confessions of a Book Collector by Nicholas Royle @nicholasroyle
(55:15) Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones @tayari
(55:21) Kin by Tayari Jones
(55:47) My Friends by Frederik Backman @frederickbackman
(56:00) The Winner by Teddy Wayne
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine @wednesdaywerskin
Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio
Follow us on Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes