Episodios
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This week we take a look at Small Hours, the highly-anticipated second novel from British writer Bobby Palmer whose debut Isaac and the Egg is already being touted as a contemporary classic.
Also this week, Saph read Turbulence by David Szalay and Joseph read The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Rachel who really enjoyed The Watchers by A.M. Shine and is looking for more scary reads. Joseph recommended just about anything by Shirley Jackson and Blood Child And Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler, and Saph recommended The Troop by Nick Cutter and The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
The Boy and the Dog by Hase Seishu
The Guest Cat by Takashe Hiraide
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Enchantment by Katherine May
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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This week we’re deep diving into the brilliant Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, a novel about Victorian asylums, family secrets, and the tragedy of being yourself.
Also this week, Saph read 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell, Joseph read Day by Michael Cunningham, and Michelle read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Skye who loved Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews and is looking for something with a similarly lyrical first-person style. Joseph recommends Second Self by Chloe Ashby, Saph recommends Tangerine by Christine Mangan, and Michelle recommends Normal People by Sally Rooney.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024 on this week’s episode we talk about active female representation in contemporary fiction and recommend some of our favourite books that absolutely smash the Bechdel Test
Boulder by Eva Baltasar
Jungle House by Julianne Pachico
Matrix by Lauren Groff
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Also this week, Joseph read On Reading, Writing, and Living with Books by Pushkin Press/The London Library, and Saph read The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mollie who reads a lot of contemporary fiction set in the present day and would like to read more books set in different time periods. Joseph recommends The Dutch House by Anne Patchett, and Saph recommends Hurdy Gurdy by Christopher Wilson and The Glutton by A K Blakemore.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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Join us this week as we chat about a glut of great new fiction and non-fiction releases for March, plus we reveal our top picks from the new Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction long list.
March 2024 New Releases
The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Clear by Carys Davies
Who Owns the Moon? by A.C. Grayling
The Rising Down: Lives in a Sussex Landscape by Alexandra Harris
Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Long List - Our Picks
Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines by Lisa Evangelista
Intervals by Marianne Brooker
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
How To Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mike who normally enjoys cosy crime, but is looking for something a bit more heartfelt. Joseph recommends Things Can Only Get Better by David M. Barnett, and Saph recommends Skippy Dies by Paul Murray and just about anything by Fredrik Backman.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Shadowlands: A Journey Through Lost Britain by Matthew Green
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk
Eileen: The Making of George Orwell by Sylvia Topp
Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles
A Good Read Podcast (BBC Radio 4)
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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Join us this week as we give our empathy muscles a workout and chat about six of the best contemporary memoirs we’ve read recently.
Saph recommends This Is Not A Pity Memoir by Abbi Morgan, Taking Sides: A Memoir About Love, War, and Changing the World by Sherine Tadros, and The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen. Joseph recommends Stay True by Hua Hsu, In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, and Also A Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me by Ada Calhoun.
Also this week, Joseph read The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine and Saph read The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Sara who loved The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré and is looking for similar books. Joseph recommends Half A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Saph recommends The Seven Moons of Mali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
War Stories by Jeremy Bowen
Boy Friends by Michael Pedersen
Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day
Platonic: How Understanding Your Attachment Style Can Help You Make and Keep Friends by Marisa G Franco
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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Ahoy! Join us for our first ever author spotlight in which we dive into the award-winning novels of American author Rebecca Makkai. Makkai’s work tackles subjects as diverse as the trauma of the 1980’s AIDS crisis and the enduring legacy of the #MeToo movement, to the secrets and scandals of a mysterious artists’ colony and the modern-day politics of conversion therapy.
I Have Some Questions For You
The Great Believers
The Hundred Year House
The Borrower
Also this week Joseph read The End We Start From by Megan Hunter and Saph read Society of Snow by Pablo Vierci. The Novel Thoughts team also talk about Charlie Kaufman’s forthcoming adaptation of Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Kelly who likes a good crime novel and is looking for recommendation for her next five-star read. Joseph recommends The It Girl by Ruth Ware and Saph recommends Night Boat To Tangier by Kevin Barry.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Harpy by Megan Hunter
Stillicide by Cynan Jones
They by Kay Dick
To The Friend Who Did Not Save My Life by Hervé Guibert
The Farewell Symphony by Edmund White
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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It’s Donna Tartt appreciation week! Michelle joins us for our deep dive into The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt’s brilliant, award-winning novel about art, drugs, loss, and not always getting what you want.
Also this week Joseph read Death Valley by Melissa Broder and Duty Free Art by Hito Steyerl, Michelle read A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister and Fire and Blood by George R R Martin, and Saph read Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin and Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Edward who is looking for a great (auto)biography. Joseph recommends Girl In A Band by Kim Gordon. Saph recommends Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and Take Away by Angela Hui. Michelle recommends Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys by Viv Albertine, Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse by Laura Hillenbrand, and Educated by Tara Westover.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Secret History and The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Whores of Yore Twitter account
e-flux
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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This week Sapphire and Joseph deep dive into two new brilliant fiction releases: debut novel Piglet by British writer Lottie Hazell and The Vulnerables, the ninth novel from American writer Sigrid Nunez.
Also this week Sapphire read Jillian by Halle Butler and Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth. Joseph read Minor Detail by Adania Shibli and The Coming Bad Days by Sarah Bernstein.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Saniya who really enjoyed Elif Batuman’s Either/Or and is looking for more great campus novels. Joseph recommends The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood and White Noise by Don DeLillo. Sapphire recommends My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and The Nix by Nathan Hill.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Writer’s Prize 2024 Shortlist
The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli)
Boy Swallows Universe
How Do You Live? By Genzaburo Yoshino
The New Me by Halle Butler
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.
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On this week's episode we're chatting about the best short books to start your year. Read this week: Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner, The Employees by Olga Ravn, Come Closer by Sara Gran, Bewilderment by Richard Powers, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.
Saph’s short books: Ti Amo by Hanne Orstavik, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann, Helpmeet by Nabeen Ruthnum, and A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck. Joseph’s short books: Happening by Annie Ernaux, Assembly by Natasha Brown, Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, Ice by Anna Kavan, Open Throat by Henry Hoke, and The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Patricia who is looking for historical fiction similar to The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. Joseph recommends Secrecy by Rupert Thomson and Sapphire recommends Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, Still Life by Sarah Winman, and The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Isabel Waidner and Diarmuid Hester (LRB Podcast)
Consumed Future Spewed Up As Present by Lea Guldditte Hestelund
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Happy New Year! Michelle is back with a hot take on Tom Hanks’s charisma. Read this week: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan and Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adeji-Brenyah, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Speedboat by Renata Adler, The Maid by Nita Prowse, Better Left Unsaid by Tufayel Ahmed.
This week’s deep dive book is the best-selling Good Material by Dolly Alderton, ‘this generation’s Nora Ephron’.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Aimée who is looking for light hearted reads, but not Bill Bryson. Sapphire recommends The Dog of the North by Elizabeth Mckenzie, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld and Where’d you go Bernadette? by Maria Semple. Michelle recommends The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Joseph recommends Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
‘You’ve Got Mail’
‘The Shop Around The Corner’
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
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Sapphire and Joseph talk about the new releases they can’t wait to read in 2024. Sapphire is looking forward to reading Sandwich by Catherine Newman, Nuclear Family by Kate Davies, and Small Hours by Bobby Palmer. Joseph wants to read Parade by Rachel Cusk, Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie, Your Utopia by Bora Chung, and Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Sapphire and Joseph talk about their reading habits, how they track what they read, and how they manage to read so many books.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Peter who enjoyed Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and is looking for novels with a similar sensibility. Sapphire recommends The Fish by Joanne Stubbs, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, and the Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Joseph recommends The Unconsoled and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Do You Remember Being Born? By Sean Michaels, Jungle House by Julianne Pachico, and The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Saving Agnes by Rachel Cusk
‘The Stuntman’ by Rachel Cusk
The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola
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Read this week: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeseyer, Wellness by Nathan Hill, and Ghost Music by An Yu.
2023 favs: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes, The Glutton by A K Blakemore, Julia by Sandra Newman, Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Dying of Politeness (A Memoir) by Geena Davis, The Darkness
Manifesto: Why The World Needs The Night by Johan Eklöf, North Woods by Daniel Mason.
Christmas reads: The End of Alice by A.M. Homes, Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis, The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. Blackouts by Justin Torres, Closer by Dennis Cooper, I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai.
Recommendations: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay, Chavs by Owen Jones, The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis.
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Sapphire, Michelle and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including Sean Michaels’ sensitive existential comedy Do You Remember Being Born?, Clementine Ford’s inspiring feminist manifesto Fight Like A Girl, Nathan Hill’s portrait of marital dysfunction Wellness, and Julian Fellowes’ historical drama The Gilded Age.
This week’s deep dive book is the best-selling bookclub favourite Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Leigh who enjoyed Bliss Montage by Ling Ma and is looking for other quirky and interesting short story collections. Sapphire recommends Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, Objects of Desire by Clare Sestanovich, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez, Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson, Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood, Send Nudes by Saba Sams, and 19 Claws and a Black Bird by Augustina Bazterrica. Michelle recommends Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. Joseph recommends Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Severance by Ling Ma
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
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Sapphire, Michelle and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including the thought-provoking The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry, the international bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent from Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, the atmospheric novella Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Jessica Moore), and Blue Sisters, the highly anticipated second novel by Coco Mellors.
This week’s deep dive book is the critically-acclaimed grim dark epic Babel by R. F. Kuang.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Cathy who is looking for engaging detective fiction similar to her favourite, Agatha Christie. Sapphire recommends The Maid and The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, An Expert In Murder by Nicola Upson, The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, The Appeal by Janice Hallett, and The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett. Michelle recommends Whose Body? By Dorothy L Sayers, Footsteps In The Dark by Georgette Heyer, Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi, and Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. Joseph recommends The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo.
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah by Benjamin Zephaniah
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
How to Raise a Viking by Helen Russell
The Novel Thoughts team also pay tribute to poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah. Rest in power.
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Michelle, Sapphire and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including the true crime podcasts Crime Junkie, Morbid, and Small Town Dicks, as well as the new TV series The Curse starring Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder, and the classic 80s creature feature Gremlins.
This week’s deep dive book is Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty by Emma Dabiri, a radical, deeply personal and empowering essay that points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies.
Emma Dabiri is an Irish-Nigerian academic, author and broadcaster. Her books include the Sunday Times bestseller What White People Can Do Next and Don’t Touch My Hair.
This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Jane who has ADHD and is looking for a recommendation that will hold her attention. Michelle recommends Underland by Robert MacFarlane. Joseph recommends This Is The Place To Be by Lara Pawson. Sapphire recommends Antarctica by Claire Keegan, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom, Modern Times by Cathy Sweeney, The Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser, and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.
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Sapphire, Joseph, and Michelle chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including Paul Lynch’s Booker Prize-winning novel Prophet Song, Alison Rumfitt’s gutchurning new release Brainwyrms, and Down The Drain, the hotly anticipated memoir from model and actress Julia Fox.
This week’s deep dive book is the million copy bestseller A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
For this episode, listener recommendation request comes from Dan who is looking to branch out into the fantasy genre after enjoying The Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin. Joseph recommends The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, the first book in Jemsin’s ‘Inheritance Trilogy’. Sapphire recommends The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang, and Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky. Michelle recommends The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, the first book in Maas’ four book ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, and Temeraire (aka His Majesty’s Dragon) by Naomi Novik, the first book in Novik’s nine book ‘Temeraire’ series.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
‘Hanya’s Boys’ - an essay by Andrea LongChu about A Little Life and Hanya Yanagihara’s other novels
SFGateway website - browse all the titles in the SF Masterworks series
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What to expect on the Novel Thoughts podcast
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