Curious Readers

Join Amanda and Joseph as they get graphic – about the best graphic novels they’ve read and the ones they are keen to add to their TBRs. Along the way, they talk about their recent reads and discuss the books they hope will close out their reading year. (0:47) Bookish News (5:41) National Book Award (6:00) The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine (6:45) One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (7:46) The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith(8:25) The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri (8:48) We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara(9:52) Recent Reads (9:56) 11.22.63 by Stephen King (15:20) Ultraluminous by Katherine Faw (21:12) Graphic Novels (25:35) Alison by Lizzy Stewart(26:19) Ducks by Kate Beaton (30:11) Sabrina by Nick Drnaso (30:17) Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls(30:57) The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings (36:59) Goodnight Pun Pun by Inio Asano (37:22) Sheets by Brenna Thummler (38:02) Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson (38:13) Blankets by Craig Thompson (45:05) Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez (49:15) Walk Me To the Corner by Anneli Furmark (53:34) Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast (54:13) Florrie: A Football Love Story by Anna Trench (54:46) Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto (55:53) Firefly by Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker(56:34) Walking Distance by Lizzy Stewart (57:12) The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco (58:02) This Beautiful, Ridiculous City by Kay Sohini (59:04) What We’re Reading Next (59:29) On The Calculation of Volume: Volumes II and III by Solvej Balle (1:00:28) The Silver Book by Olivia Laing(1:00:43) Books: A Manifesto, Or, How To Build A Library by Ian Patterson (1:01:11) The Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White Also mentioned The Liverpool Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum @harbourbooksCurious 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 another deep dive, this time into Heart the Lover, Lily King’s tale of first loves and lost opportunities. Plus, as always, they talk about their recent reads and discuss the titles they’re keen to pick up next. (1:23) Book News(1:23) The Booker Prize 2025(1:34) Flesh by David Szalay (2:09) The Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction(2:12) How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Helen Garner (2:45) The Goldsmith’s Prize(3:26) We Live Here Now by CD Rose(4:11) What We’re Reading Next (4:16) Big Kiss, Bye Bye by Claire Louise Bennett(7:46) Checkout 19 by Claire Lousie Bennett(8:28) Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley(14:26)  Deep Dive into Heart the Lover (15:44) The Pleasing Hour(15:49) The English Teacher(15:53) Father of the Rain(15:57) Euphoria (16:30) Writers & Lovers (18:04) Heart The Lover synopsis(25:17) Book Reporter Talks to: Lily King, Heart the Lover(29:07) The Aeneid by Virgil (29:12) “Some day we will remember even these our hardships” (Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit)(31:34) Ulysses by James Joyce(31:41) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald(32:14) Literary references in Heart The Lover(32:47) ‘The Dead’ by James Joyce(1:06:41) We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman(1:07:21) What we’re reading next(1:07:45) Independent People by Halldor Laxness(1:08:05) Ambrose Through The Tall Grass by Nathan Korn(1:09:01) The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez(1:09:43) Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryCurious 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 on this week’s episode as they discuss the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist and talk in depth about what worked and what didn’t work for them with each of the six nominated books. They also chat book news and have a look at some of the upcoming titles they’re looking forward to reading next. (0:32) Book News(1:12) Lone Wolf by Adam Weymouth(4:50) Gresham College Lecture Series 2025-2026(5:24) Booker Prize shortlist (5:56) The Booker Prize 2025(9:33) The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller(20:00) The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai(27:26) The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits(28:09) All Fours by Miranda July(35:05) Endling by Maria Reva(35:22) Amanda’s Sarah Jessica Parker impression(36:25) Audition by Katie Kitamura(42:20) Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga(43:03) Flashlight by Susan Choi(43:07) Trust Exercise by Susan Choi(49:35) Flesh by David Szalay (57:05) What We’re Reading Next (57:15) 11.22.63 by Stephen King(57:30) Antidote by Karen Russell (58:40) Taipei by Tao Lin(59:23) Heart the Lover by Lily King

Creeps, chills, and carefully crafted dread - join Joseph and Amanda for this week’s episode as they recommend a stack of mood-heavy reads for spooky season. Plus, Team CR talks László Krasznahorkai - this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature - and as always they discuss what they’ve been reading lately and what they’re looking forward to picking up next. (0:44) Book News(0:51) Nobel Prize for Literature (1:46) Louisiana Channel(2:52) Sátántangó by Lászlo Krasznahorkai(5:41) Rivals by Jilly Cooper(7:00) Current Reads(7:04) Objects of Desire by Neil Blackmore(10:43) Fair Play by Louise Hegarty (13:48)  Spooky Season Reading(15:06)  Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica(17:55) Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfeld(19:01) The Echoes by Evie Wyld(19:28) Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda(19:51) Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab(20:27) Our Share of the Night by Mariana Enriquez (21:36) Pet Sematary by Stephen King(22:55) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving(24:04) Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn(25:04) The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston(27:22) Earthlings by Sayaka Murata(27:36) Beloved by Toni Morrison(28:25)  Ghost stories by MR James, Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft(29:44) Come Closer by Sara Gran (Joseph’s Pick #1)(34:23) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (Amanda’s Pick #1)(39:04) The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, tr. by Audrey Harris and Matthew Gleeson (Joseph Pick #2)(44:21) Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Amanda’s Pick #2)(46:24) Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka(49:32) Spooky Books Recommended to Amanda(49:44) Sinead Hanna @sineadhannacraic(50:14)  The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell(50:29) Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker (51:06) Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison(51:42) Spooky Books Recommended to Joseph(51:52) A Game In Yellow by Hailey Piper(52:42) Ashley @coffeeandcuentos(52:59) Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, ed. Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.(52:32) Talking Scared Podcast with Neil McRobert(53:47) Rekt by Alex Gonzalez(54:33) What We’re Reading Next (55:03) Greyhound by Joanna Pocock(55:41) Big Kiss, Bye-Bye by Claire-Louise Bennett(55:57) What A Time To Be Alive by Jenny Mustard

Just in time for Banned Books Week (5-11 October), Joseph and Amanda talk about literary censorship and recommend the samizdat titles they think are worth exploring. They also chat about this year's Booker Prize Shortlist which was announced on 23 September and run through their picks from the Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist, one of the UK's biggest literary prizes for non-fiction. Plus, as always, they talk about what they've been reading recently and what they're excited to pick up next. Book News(1:22) The Booker Prize(7:16) The Baillie Gifford PrizeCurrent Reads(11:16) I Am Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol(15:44) Ask Me How It Works by Deepa Paul(16:19) Authority: Essays On Being Right by Andrea Long ChuBanned Books(21:08) Banned Books Week, 5-11 October 2025(22:57) PEN America(27:28) Index on Censorship: 100 Banned Novels(27:44) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (29:07) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (29:16) Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (31:37) The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Amanda’s Pick #1)(35:17) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Joseph’s Pick #1)(39:16) Deenie by Judy Blume (Amanda’s Pick #2)(42:17) Judy Blume Forever(45:35) July’s People by Nadine Gordimer (Joseph’s Pick #2)(49:50) This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson (Amanda’s Pick #3)(54:42) A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Joseph’s Pick #3)What We’re Reading Next(58:01) The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits(58:03) The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai(58:09) Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth(58:40) Transcription by Ben Lerner(59:19) The Renovation by Kenan OrhanCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes

In the latest episode Joseph and Amanda launch into Atmosphere with an in-depth discussion of the queer-coded astronaut love story by Taylor Jenkins Reid. They also take a look at the recently announced fiction and non-fiction longlists from the National Book Award, plus share what they’ve been reading lately and the titles they’re looking forward to picking up next.  Book NewsThe Book Club Review podcastA Pair Of Bookends podcast National Book AwardsMargate BookieCheltenham Literary FestivalCurrent ReadsFarewell Fountain Street by Selçuk Altun, translated by Mel Kenne and Nilgün DunganMaggie; or, a Man and A Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie YeeDying for Sex, HBOMaurice and Maralyn by Sophie ElmhirstDeep Dive Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReidForever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins ReidAfter I Do by Taylor Jenkins ReidMaybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins ReidOne True Love by Taylor Jenkins ReidThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins ReidDaisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins ReidMalibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins ReidCarrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins ReidWhat We’re Reading NextPriest Daddy by Patricia LockwoodNo One Is Talking About This by Patricia LockwoodWill There Ever Be Another You by Patricia LockwoodNightcrawler by Leila MottleyThe Girls That Grew Big by Leila Mottley Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes

In the latest episode Joseph and Amanda step into the world of sci-fi and speculative fiction and chart a course through some of their favourite fictional forays into evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, deep space exploration, and the perils of the Oort Cloud. They also discuss the latest news from the Hugo Awards, talk about what they’ve been reading recently, and as always, run through the titles they’re looking forward to picking up next. Book News(2:18) The Hugo Awards(3:32) The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Best Novel 2025)(4:20) The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Best Novella 2025)(5:30) Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll (Best Related Work 2025)Current Reads(6:56) The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny by Laura Bates(9:50) Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen(10:02) Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates(12:04) Annie Bot by Sierra Greer(12:19) Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab(14:02) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. SchwabSpeculative Fiction & Sci-Fi Recommendations(19:14) Amanda’s Sci-Fi story(21:25) Sexism in Sci-Fi(21:51) The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley(23:56) Steering The Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin(24:53) Speculative vs Science Fiction(25:48) In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood(25:59) The Handmaid’s Tale / The MaddAddam Triology by Margaret Atwood(26:25) The Water Cure / Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh(27:23) In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (Amanda’s Pick #1)(30:33) Voyager Golden Record(30:40) Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield(31:14) Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang(31:45) Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler (Joseph’s Pick #1)(34:26) The Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley by Robert Sheckley (Joseph’s Pick #1)(35:48) Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera (Joseph’s Pick #1)(37:02) The Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Amanda’s Pick #2)(41:20) To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (Joseph’s Pick #2)(44:10) Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Amanda’s Pick #3)(47:56) Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Joseph’s Pick #3) What We’re Reading Next(51:34) Fair Play by Louise Hegarty(51:51) Bone Horn by Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain(52:04) Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller(52:19) House of Day, House of Night by Olga TokarczukCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes

In this week’s episode, we respond to our listeners with all our deepest, darkest DNF secrets: why we do it, when we do it, and how we feel when it happens. We also talk about the books we’ve read recently as well as the backlist titles and new releases we hope to explore in the coming weeks. Book News(2:31) The Sealey Challenge(4:25) The Wild Iris by Louise Glück(4:48) Midden Witch by Fiona Benson(5:16) Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems by William Carlos Williams(6:02) That Broke Into Shining Crystals by Richard Scott / What The Earth Seemed To Say by Marie Howe / Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith(6:44) So I Got To Thinking podcastCurrent Reads(11:11) Child Of My Heart by Alice McDermot(14:19) The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai(18:15) Anastasia Krupnik by Lois LowryDNFs (23:43) Middlemarch by George Eliot(26:43) Let The Great World Spin by Column McCann(27:17) Apeirogon by Column McCann(27:48) Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar(30:28) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami(30:58) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold(35:39) Twist by Colum McCann(39:23) Neuromancer by William Gibson(40:06) Butter by Asako Yuzuki(43:25) Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart(44:48) The Little Friend by Donna Tartt(46:38) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara(54:06) This Other Eden by Paul Hardy(55:02) Rouge / All’s Well / Bunny by Mona Awad(56:17) The Ishiguro Effect(59:06) Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee(59:28) I Gave You Eyes And You Looked Towards Darkness by Irène Sola What We’re Reading Next(1:01:03) We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad(1:01:37) Sympathy Tower Tokyo by Rie Qudan (1:02:11) Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar: A Novel by Katie YeesCurious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast for more recommendations in between episodes