Episodes
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Women's Prize winners.
We reveal our best books of 2024 so far. Our favourite reads are:
THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes
HOME READING SERVICE by Fabio Morábito translated by Curtis Bauer
NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Hannah Ritchie
THUNDERHEAD by Miranda Darling
REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong
THE SQUARE OF SEVENS by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Follow us!
Instagram: @mr_annie and @abailliekaras
Email: [email protected]
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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A special episode! Anna chats with author Kemper Donovan about his new crime novel THE BUSY BODY, the first in the Ghostwriter series.
A contemporary murder mystery told in the spirit of the Golden Age by the host of the All About Agatha podcast, THE BUSY BODY has been described as Veep meets Agatha Christie and a 'witty and highly entertaining mystery' (Sophie Hannah). Dorothy Gibson, failed presidential candidate aka That Woman, invites her ghostwriter to Maine to pen her memoir, but the dream assignment comes unstuck when a woman is murdered next door.
We loved this one and can't wait for the next in the series, LOOSE LIPS!
Kemper recommends the work of Agatha Christie and Tana French and the podcasts The Swinging Christies and Shedunnit.
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Instagram: @abailliekaras and @allaboutagatha
Facebook: Books On The Go and All About Agatha
X: Kemper Donovan
Email: [email protected]
Credits:
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Missing episodes?
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize winner and the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist.
Our book of the week is Thunderhead by Miranda Darling. A black comedy, set in suburbia, about one woman's struggle to be free, it has been described as a 'feminist triumph and homage to Virginia Woolf' (Australian Book Review). We love a short novel and this is a gem.
Coming up: The Busy Body with author Kemper Donovan.
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Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Email: [email protected]
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie find some book recommendations to read along with Taylor Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department.
Our book of the week is Question 7 by Richard Flanagan. This memoir encompasses H. G. Wells, nuclear physics and the atomic bomb and ends in Tasmania, Australia. Memories, encounters and fictional vignettes are woven together into a beautiful tapestry that show how words don't suffice. The title references Chekhov and gives a hint of the absurd. Much to discuss!
Coming up: Thunderhead by Miranda Darling.
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Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Books On The Go
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize shortlist.
Our book of the week is Butter by Asako Yuzuki translated by Polly Barton. Described as 'a novel of food and murder' this follows Riko, a journalist, who investigates serial killer Manako Kajii. Kajii allegedly seduced rich men with her cooking before killing them, and she encourages Riko to cook and appreciate food. Inspired by a true story, this has been a cult Japanese best-seller.
Coming up: Question 7 by Richard Flanagan.
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Facebook: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize Shortlist.
We reveal our favourite recent crime reads. Our recommendations are:
The Many Lies of Veronica Hawkins by Kristina Perez Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tutti translated by Ekin Oklap To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey The Fugitives by Jamal Mahjoub Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan Coming up: Question 7 by Richard Flanagan Follow us! Email: [email protected] Facebook: Books On The Go Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz -
A special episode: we chat with author Jenny Hollander about her debut crime novel EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD.
Charlie Colbert is an editor at a major magazine and engaged to a publishing heir. But she witnessed a tragedy at her elite journalism school and lied to the police 9 years ago. Now a classmate is making a film about the events, which threatens the life Charlie has built. This is a gripping, twisty thriller described as 'a delicious crime debut' (Red) and 'knife-sharp' (Woman's Own) and is a USA Today Bestseller.
Jenny recommends the authors Lisa Jewel, Sarah Sheppard, Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth and the podcast Unreal.
Coming up: our crime reading recommendations.
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Email: [email protected]
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist, including Anna Funder's Wifedom.
Our book of the week is THE VULNERABLES by Sigrid Nunez. This is the third in a loose trilogy after THE FRIEND and WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH. A writer, a college drop-out and a talking parrot share an apartment in New York during the Covid pandemic. This is subtler than the first two books but we loved the mix of story and Nunez's reflections on life and writing.
Coming up: our Crime reading recommendations.
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Facebook: Books On The Go
Email: booksonthegopodcast @ gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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It's the Shawn and Anna Book Club!
Our first book is Home Reading Service by Fabio Morábito translated by Curtis Bauer. Eduardo is sentenced to a year of community service reading aloud to the elderly and disabled. Set in Mexico, this novel is witty and poignant. It even inspired us to discuss poetry! And the fine line between whacky and eccentric.
Also mentioned:
Shawn's Bite Sized Book Chat with Stu aka Winston's Dad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PubR7KrANvE&t=40s
Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai translated by Polly Barton
Book Club Review Podcast
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Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @shawnthebookmaniac
Youtube: Anna Baillie-Karas and Shawn the Book Maniac
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie reveal our book recommendations for the holiday season.
Our favourite holiday reads this year are:
THE CLUB by Ellery Lloyd
NOW YOU SEE US by Balli Kaur Jaswal
WEST HEART KILL by Dann McDorman
FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong
THE LIBRARIANIST by Patrick deWitt
ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld
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Email: booksonthegopodcast @ gmail.com
Facebook: Books On The Go
Instagram: @ abailliekaras and @ mr_annie
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the Booker Prize 2023 winner, PROPHET SONG by Paul Lynch.
We reveal the best books we read in 2023. In no particular order, they are:
Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
Girl in a Pink Dress by Kylie Needham
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
Loot by Tania James
Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Coming up: our Holiday Reading recommendations
Follow us!
Instagram: @ abailliekaras and @ mr_annie
Email: booksonthegopodcast @ gmail.com
Facebook: Books On The Go
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Anna and Annie discuss authors' concerns about Spotify streaming books and highlights from the 2024 Adelaide Writers Week lineup.
Our book of the week is Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé. Sandgren has been described as "Sweden's Sally Rooney" (The Times). Collected Works is a thought-provoking, intellectual novel set in Gothenburg. At the heart of it is the mystery of the disappearance of Martin's wife, Cecilia. Anna loved it but Annie would have preferred more Cecilia and less Martin!
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Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @ abailliekaras and @ mr_annie
Facebook: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Special guest Shawn Mooney of Shawn the Book Maniac joins Anna for Book Club!
We discuss TRUE BIZ by Sara Nović and Y/N by Esther Yi. These books have taken us down rabbit holes of deaf culture (True Biz) and super fandom (Y/N). Two interesting and thought-provoking reads!
Shawn recommends the interview with Esther Yi on Jaylen's The Bar and the Bookcase podcast.
We're currently reading:
GIBBONS OR ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER by James Morrison (and see the book launch on Shawn's channel)
SMALL WORLDS by Caleb Azumah Nelson
LEOPOLDSTADT by Tom Stoppard
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Books On The Go
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @shawnthebookmaniac
YouTube: Shawn the Book Maniac
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2023 Booker Prize Shortlist and the authors taking action over the generative AI use of their work.
Our book of the week is WIFEDOM: MRS ORWELL'S INVISIBLE LIFE by Anna Funder. An innovative biography of Eileen Orwell by the Miles Franklin and Samuel Johnson prize winner, it has been described as a masterpiece and we think would make a great book club book.
Coming up: Book Club with Shawn Mooney
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Facebook: Books On The Go
Instagram: @ abailliekaras and @ mr_annie
Email: [email protected]
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Amanda discuss the Nero Book Awards which will commence in 2024.
Our book of the week is CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS by Shankari Chandran. A layered story about a nursing home in Sydney whose residents have traumatic memories of the civil war in Sri Lanka, this won the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Coming up: WIFEDOM by Anna Funder.
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @ abailliekaras and @ vibrant_lives_podcast
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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A special episode: Anna chats with Shawn Mooney of Shawn the Book Maniac.
We recommend three books and each choose one to read for our next episode: the Anna and Shawn book club!
Books discussed:
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
True Biz by Sara Nović
Y/N by Esther Yi
Loop Tracks by Sue Orr
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder
The Recent East by Thomas Grattan
Coming up: Chai Time in Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: [a] abailliekaras and [a] shawnthebookmaniac
Youtube: Books On The Go and Shawn the Book Maniac
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss a recent study on reading to young children.
We wrap up Women in Translation month. The books we read (or Annie did at least!) and recommend are:
Slime: A Natural History by Susanne Wedlich translated by Ayca Turkoglu
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd
What You're Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama translated by Alison Watts
Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé
My Devotion by Julia Kerninon translated by Alison Anderson
Sleepless by Marie Darrieussecq translated by Penny Hueston
Coming up: Chai Time in the Cinnamon Gardens and Wifedom
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Books On The Go
Instragram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Annie discuss the 2023 Booker Prize Longlist.
Our book of the week is The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor. A novel about friends and lovers set in Iowa City, it is both intimate and explores wider issues in contemporary life and art. Taylor was short-listed for the Booker Prize for Real Life and won the Story Prize for his collection Filthy Animals. The Late Americans is an instant national bestseller and was a Most Anticipated Book of the year by Vogue, Elle, Oprah Daily, the Washington Post, Buzzfeed and Vulture.
Coming up: Chai Time in Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran.
Follow us!
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Books On The Go
Litsy: @abailliekaras
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Amanda discuss Elizabeth Gilbert pulling her novel The Snow Forest from publication because of its Russia theme.
Our book of the week is This Other Eden by Paul Harding. Based on a true story, an island community of castaways and misfits is disrupted when a well-meaning but racist preacher enters their lives. It has biblical feels yet resonates today. Described as 'a harrowing tale of paradise lost' (New York Times) and 'sure to be a stand-out of 2023' (Los Angeles Times), since we recorded this episode it has been long-listed for the Booker Prize.
Coming up: The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor.
Follow us:
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @vibrant_lives_podcast
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Books On The Go
Litsy: @abailliekaras
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Anna and Amanda discuss the Women's Prize winner Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.
Our book of the week is The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland. This tells the true story of Rudolf Vrba who escaped from Auschwitz with Fred Wetzler and their attempt to tell Jewish leaders the truth about the Final Solution and prevent more deaths. A Sunday Times Best-Seller and shortlisted for the 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, we could not put this down.
Coming up: This Other Eden by Paul Harding.
Follow us!
Facebook: Books On The Go
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @vibrant_lives_podcast
Twitter: @abailliekaras
Litsy: @abailliekaras
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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