Curious Readers

Join Joseph and Amanda as they discuss the reads they are most looking forward to this Spring, plus a few more updates from prize season. We also introduce a new segment – DNF corner, where we talk about the books we couldn’t wait to put down. Bookish NewsWomen’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlistInternational Booker Prize shortlistRecent ReadsThe Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross BenjaminTyll by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross BenjaminThe Discomfort of Evening by Lucas RijneveldThe Winner by Teddy WayneCompanion Piece by Ali Smith Joan Is Okay by Weike WangTop Ten Reads for SpringYesteryear by Caro Claire BurkeLand by Maggie O’FarrellHamnet by Maggie O’FarrellKin by Tayari Jones The Vanishing Half by Britt BennettAmerican Marriage by Tayari JonesSilver Sparrow by Tayari JonesDevotions by Lucy CaldwellOpenings by Lucy CaldwellIf We Cannot Go At The Speed Of Light by Kim Cho-yeop, translated by Anton HurTranscription by Ben LernerLeaving the Atocha Station by Ben LernerMy Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah LevyYou With The Sad Eyes by Christina ApplegateFamesick by Lena Dunham‘Too Much’ by Lena Dunham‘Girls’ by Lena DunhamYour Presence Is A Danger To Your Life by Samar Yazbek, translated by Leri PriceSecond Hand Time by Svetlana AlexivichLondon Falling: Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden KeefeEmpire of Pain by Patrick Radden KeefeTell Noone by Patrick Radden Keefe Ghost Stories: A Memoir by Siri HustvedtMother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati RoyOne Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette WintersonDNF Corner My Friends by Frederick BackmanBritt-Marie Was Here by Frederick BackmanWorkhorse by Caroline Palmer Also mentionedCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

Join Amanda and Joseph for their next deep dive into Wendy Erskine’s debut novel, The Benefactors, a polyphonic story about a sexual assault and the lengths that three mothers will go to to keep their sons from being held accountable. Along the way, they discuss the latest prize news, with the Carol Shields Prize longlist topping the episode.Bookish NewsCarol Shields Prize for Fiction longlistRecent ReadsThe Brittle Age by Donatella Di PietrantonioThe books of Elena FerranteThe Only Story by Julian BarnesDeep DiveThe Benefactors by Wendy ErskineSweet Home by Wendy ErskineDance Move by Wendy ErskineClose to Home by Michael MageeMagnolia, written and directed by Paul Thomas AndersonThe Bee Sting by Paul Murray What We’re Reading NextWaiting For The Fear by Oguz AtayThe Door by Magda SzaboIndignity by Lea Ypi Also mentionedCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

This week, join Amanda and Joseph for one of their most personally revealing episodes yet, as they discuss the books that made them: the teenage obsessions, the gateway reads, and the unforgettable titles, passages and writers that made us the readers they are today.(1:20) Bookish News (1:40) The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist(2:49) Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps @lucy.emma13(3:10) The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1 (4:32) The International Booker Prize Longlist(5:36) The Nights Are QuietIn Iran by Shida Bazyar(5:59) Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur(6:28) Taiwan Travelogue Yáng Shuāng-zǐ(8:08) Recent Reads (8:17) Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert @sophiegilbertwrites(12:52) The Missing Ink by Philip Hensher @philiphensher(17:43) The Books That Made Us(23:16) The Odyssey by Homer (various translations including Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson)(24:27) O’ Brother, Where Art Thou directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen (24:54) 'Penelope' by Carol Ann Duffy(28:43) The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper(32:48) Elidor by Alan Garner(32:53) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (34:58) The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan(36:56) The Continuous Life: Poems by Mark Strand(40:16) The Colour Purple by Alice Walker(41:25) The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter(46:34) Gilead by Marilyn Robinson(49:38) A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam(53:55) In the Distance by Hernan Diaz(54:36) What We’re Reading Next(55:00) No Friend of This House by Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynesauthor(55:12) One Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson(56:07) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis(56:43) EveryDay Is For The Thief by Teju Cole @_tejucole Also mentionedTate Modern, Nigerian Modernism (on until 16 April 2026)Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

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 WayneThe Benefactors by Wendy Erskine @wednesdaywerskinCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

This week, Joseph and Amanda talk about some of their favourite short story collections - ranging from canonical gems to new voices - plus, as always, they talk about what they’ve been reading recently and discuss what they’re excited to read next. (1:24) Bookish news(2:20) Birchbark Books(2:27) Inkwell Books(2:40) Red Balloon Books(2:56) Excelsior Bay Books / Milkweed Books / Black Garnet Books(3:08) Shop Minneapolis bookshops from anywhere at Bookstore.org and libro.fm(4:31) Standwithminnesota.com(5:36) The TS Eliot Prize(6:03) Wellwater by Karen Solie (7:17) Recent Reads (7:27) Buckeye by Patrick Ryan @patrickryanyc(12:40) A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell(17:14) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh(18:17) Short Story Collections(18:26) Joseph's Short Story Quiz(25:38) Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny @katherineheiny(30:59) Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny(34:32) Mslexia(34:45) Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packer @zzpacker56(40:42) In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway(46:37) The Latehomecomer: Essential Stories by Mavis Gallant(51:18) Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed by Margaret Atwood and others @therealmargaretatwood(52:21) Stories of Place:///zinc.level.blindfold edited by Niamh McAnally @niamh_mcanally(53:00) The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda @matsudaoko(56:40) You Glow in the Dark by Liliana Colanzi @lilianacolanzi, translated by Chris Andrews (58:06) Selected stories by Nikolai Gogol(59:19) Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn(59:59) What We’re Reading Next (1:00:13) I’m Glad My Mother Died by Jennette McCurdy @jennettemccurdy(1:00:50) Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy(1:01:19) Palaver by Bryan Washington @bry.washingCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes

This week, Amanda and Joseph go into the trenches with Daniel Kraus’s repulsively propulsive Angel Down. They also discuss what they’ve been reading recently, including the new Ian McEwan novel and a slew of non-fiction, as well as what they’re looking forward to picking up next. (2:40) Bookish news(2:44) Storygraph (@josephjdance and @itsmoleyreads)(3:47) Faversham Literary Festival, 20 February to 1 March, 2026(4:44) Chocolat and Vianne by Joanne Harris (5:41) Recent reads (6:00) Books, A Manifesto: Or, How To Build A Library by Ian Patterson(7:19) Trees In Winter by Richard Shimell (richardshimell.co.uk)(8:21) Hiroshima by John Hersey (10:33) What We Can Know by Ian McEwan(14:05) Deep Dive - Angel Down(14:45) The Shape of Water by Daniel Kraus(14:53) Trollhunters by Daniel Kraus(15:04) The Monster Variations by Daniel Kraus(15:27) Rotters and Scowler by Daniel Kraus(15:46) The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus(15:57) Whale Fall by Daniel Kraus(19:13) Angel Down by Daniel Kraus @krausauthor(23:49) Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman(24:04) Zone by Mathias Enard (24:18) Septology by Jon Fosse(38:56) 1917, directed by Sam Mendes(38:59) All’s Quiet on the Western Front (2022), directed by Edward Berger(41:39) In Memoriam by Alice Winn(57:33) Final thoughts(59:38) What We’re Reading Next(59:44) A High Wind In Jamaica. Or The Innocent Voyage by Richard Hughes(1:00:59) The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes