A Pair of Bookends (A Pair of Bookends)

Welcome to our FIRST episode of A pair of bookends!
This month, we have chosen to wax lyrical about the incredible new novel To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara. In this episode we talk about our thoughts on the book, meeting Hanya and a whole host of bookish things.

Books mentioned:
To Paradise
A Little Life
The People in the trees, All by Hanya Yanagihara
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller
1984 by George Orwell
Vox by Christina Dalcher
The Power by Naomi Alderman
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Tin Man by Sarah Winman

Other recommendations:
The High Low Podcast
This is going to hurt- BBC Iplayer
The Lost Daughter- Netflix

Boyf Pick-
The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next.

Please do subscribe to us to be sure you never miss an episode and we would love it if you could rate and review the podcast to ensure other bookends can find us.

Welcome back Bookends! In this minisode of A Pair of Bookends we will be discussing all things Women's Prize. From our thoughts on the longlist, the books we are most excited for to our own shortlist picks. Come join us for a natter about our favourite literary prize!

Books mentioned:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Unsettled Ground by Clare Fuller
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
A Door Behind a Door by Yelena Moskovich
What a Shame by Abigail Bergstrom
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Flamingo by Rachel Elliot
Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Careless by Kirsty Capes
This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Podcasts Mentioned:
Book Off!
Literary Friction

People and Publishers mentioned:
@savidgereads
@meg.in.a.book
@supposedlyfun
@skyartsbookclub
@serenbooks
@influxpress
@tandemcollectiveuk

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next. Please do subscribe to us to be sure you never miss an episode and we would love it if you could rate and review the podcast to ensure other bookends can find us. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back Bookends! This month's book club episode features the captivating debut novel from Julia Armfield. We discuss this literary horror about love, loss and grief. We also answer your questions, dive into our current reads and recommend some gems we've been enjoying recently.

Books & Authors mentioned:
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller
Milkman by Anna Burns
The Promise by Damon Galgut
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
The Doloriad by Missouri Williams
Thinner by Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
Pet Semetary by Stephen King
The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Life of Pi by Yan Martel
Magma by Thora Hjorlefsdottir
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
The Missing Word by Concita De Gregorio
Sally Rooney

Boyf Picks: Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Crawford

TV, Music and Film:
Succession- HBO
The Fly- David Cronenberg
Fleabag- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
The Babadook- Jennifer Kent
The Shape Of Water- Guillermo Del Toro
The Center Will Not Hold- Netflix
This Is Us- Amazon
The Sinner- Netflix

People & Publishers Mentioned:
@savidgereads
@meg.in.a.book
@supposedlyfun
@montanabookco
@tandemcollectiveuk
@bettyandthebooks

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

Welcome back Bookends! Join us for our not so mini-minisode and explore the books that shaped us. We delve into our childhood faves, those angsty teenage picks and our ultimate recommendations.

Sponsor: @deargreenreads.gifts https://deargreenreads.co.uk/

Books and Authors Mentioned:

This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Harry Potter Series
The Love Songs of W.E.B Dubois by Honoree Fenonne Jeffers
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Narnia Series by C.S Lewis
Elmer by David McKee
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Alun Ahlburg
Baby Love, Love, Frankie ,Girls in love series, Midnight, Clean Break, Lola Rose by Jaqueline Wilson
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult
My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
Happy Fat by Sofie Hagan
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
The Stand by Stephen King
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Our Wives under the Sea and Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
On Beauty and White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Queenie by Candice Carty Williams
The places I’ve cried in public by Holly Bourne
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

Author Shoutouts:
Meg Mason, Katherine Heiny, Bernadine Evaristo, Kate Elizabeth Russell, Meg Nolan, Douglas Stuart, Tayari Jones, Elif Shafak, Sally Rooney, Nora Ephron

Media Mentions:
Everything is Copy documentary - Nora Ephron
When Harry Met Sally
I May Destroy You
It’s a Sin
Boiling Point
Literary Friction podcast
The High Low Podcast
Pandoras Books Box Subscription
@meg.in.a.book

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

Welcome back Bookends! This month's book club episode features Vladimir, the exciting new debut novel from Julia May Jonas. Our deep dive includes chat on complex female protagonists, sexual fantasies, power dynamics and dark academia. As usual, we give you our cultural recommendations and books we'd recommend as companion reads to Vladimir.

Books & Authors mentioned:
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
10 Minutes 38 Seconds by Elif Shafak
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

@meg.in.a.book- Meg Picks
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
Life as a Unicorn: A journey from shame to pride and everything inbetween by Amrou Al-Kadhi

Cultural Recommendations:
Bridgerton Season 2- Netflix
Vigil- BBC Iplayer
Pop Fiction Women Podcast- Conversations with friends (novel) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5W1KPabWPs3YwQ3ed1hj49
This is Us - Amazon Prime

We hope you love these book club episodes as much as we love making them. Please do rate, review and subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts! Give us a follow on Instagram @apairofbookendspod or email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com if you'd like to suggest future reads.

Welcome back Bookends!
Hope you're excited for the FIRST in our brand new series 'Top Of Your TBR' where we invite the people we admire to give four of their stand-out book recommendations for us to read and discuss! Our first ever feature on the podcast is none other than the Writer and Broadcaster, the one & only - Pandora Sykes.
Pandora is the author of 'How do we know we're doing it right?' an essay collection about the anxieties of modern life, her journalism has been published by Elle, Vogue, GQ and the Sunday Times and she was the co-creator and co-host of the chart-topping pop culture podcast 'The High Low' alongside her pod-wife Dolly Alderton. As we have mentioned them so much already on the podcast, it was only right that she was our go-to guest. We hope you enjoy!

To buy Pandora's debut essay collection:
https://uk.bookshop.org/books/how-do-we-know-we-re-doing-it-right-and-other-thoughts-on-modern-life/9781786091000

To subscribe to Pandora's Books subscription:
https://www.pandorasbooks.co.uk/

Books & Authors mentioned:

One Day by David Nicholls
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) by Philippa Perry
Strong Female Lead by Arwa Mahdawi
Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
Ella Risbridger
Nora Ephron
Dolly Alderton
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Meg Mason
Why I No Longer Write Poems by Diana Anphimiadi

Other mentions:
Sycorax Collective- https://sycoraxcollective.weebly.com/
Somewhere to Belong Archive- https://www.somewheretobelong.co.uk/

Follow us @apairofbookendspod to see updates on our Book Club episodes & future guest updates!

Welcome Back Bookends and Happy Pride Month!

We have a treat in store for you this episode. Not only are we chatting about the outstanding Heartstopper books by Alice Oseman and its’ gorgeous Netflix adaptation but we also have a very special guest! Joining us this month is the incomparable author and playwright Emma Hinds. So enjoy our chat this month, in which we talk about the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation in literature past and present, our fave Pride TV and Film recommendations and shout about our favourite LGBTQIA+ authors and books.

Sponsored by @deargreenreads , the perfect place for all your bookish needs.

Authors and Books:

Alice Oseman:
Heartstopper 1-4
Solitaire
Winter
Nick and Charlie
Loveless
Radio Silence

Weird Fucks by Lynne Tillman
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston
One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston
The Colour Purple- Alice Walker
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit- Jeanette Winterson
Call Me by Your Name - Andre Aciman
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
You Exist Too Much- Zaina Arafat
Kirsty Logan
Daisy Johnson
Bridget Collins
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

TV and Media Mentions:
Looking- HBO
Netflix:
It’s a Sin
Sex Education
Atypical
AJ and the Queen
American Horror story
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Queer Eye
Sex Education
Shadow Hunters
Pose

Everything I Know about Love- BBC

Alice’s Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/aliceoseman

Support Emma’s work:

https://www.patreon.com/EmmaLouiseWrites

https://instagram.com/elphreads?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Additional People & Places:
@humphreads
Queer Lit bookshop - https://www.queerlit.co.uk/

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

Welcome back bookends!
We've been away on our jollies but are back to bring you our July book club episode with the thrilling new debut Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman- thank you to Europa Editions for our gifted copies, you can buy the book here: https://www.europaeditions.co.uk/book/9781787703858/acts-of-service.

Books & cultural recommendations mentioned:
Writers and lovers by Lily King
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Leave the world behind by Rumaan Alam
The Stand by Stephen King
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The book of form and emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Creatures of passage by Morowa Yejide
The sentence by Louise Erdrich
The love affairs of Nathaniel P by Adele Waldman
In at the deep end by Kate Davies
Insatiable by Daisy Buchanan
Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Fargo - Netflix
The Dropout - Hulu / Disney +
Misfits by Michaela Coel

Guardian Article mentioned: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/22/acts-of-service-by-lillian-fishman-review-a-sex-masterpiece

We hope you love this episode as much as we loved recording it. Stay tuned for an exciting upcoming guest! Follow us @apairofbookendspod or feel free to email any recommendations over on apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Welcome back bookends! Our second episode in our 'Top of your TBR' series is with the wonderful and incredibly charming Maggie Shipstead.
On this episode we discuss her epic novel 'Great Circle' and our love for her latest short story collection 'You Have A Friend in 10A', we talk through her recommendations for your TBR, why writers love to read about writers as characters, where we draw the line with unlikeable characters and whether Great Circle is going to be adapted (yes Hannah always asks the important Q's)...

You can find Maggie and her work at: https://www.maggieshipstead.com/ or you can follow her on Instagram @shipstead.
Link to buy Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/great-circle-the-soaring-and-emotional-novel-shortlisted-for-the-booker-prize-2021-and-longlisted-for-the-women-s-prize-2022/9780857526809
Link to buy You Have A Friend in 10A - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/you-have-a-friend-in-10a-by-the-2022-women-s-fiction-prize-and-2021-booker-prize-shortlisted-author-of-great-circle/9780857526823

Books mentioned:
Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes
Monogamy by Sue Miller
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
One Day by David Nicholls
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

Top of your TBR recommendations:
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P by Adele Waldman

Cultural Recommendations:
Literary Friction Podcast // Elif Batuman Ep- https://soundcloud.com/literaryfriction/literary-friction-special-elif-batuman
Hulu- Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons
Top Gun: Maverick
Apple TV- The Staircase
Netflix- Death on the staircase
Disney + - The Dropout
Apple TV- WeCrashed

We hope all these recommendations keep you going until our next ep! Please do rate & review us as this helps to boost us in the charts and if you're not already following please head over to our Instagram @apairofbookendspod for more of our recommendations and rambles. Until next time, Hannah & Lyd x

Welcome back bookends to another book club episode! This month's book club pick is Common Decency- the second novel by the immensely talented author and poet Susannah Dickey who we were thrilled to spend an hour chatting to! We recorded via zoom with some occasional internet issues so we apologise for any audio that may have been affected.
Trigger Warning: conversations on grief.
Aswell as a deep dive into the mind of Susannah and the worlds of her books we chatted about unhinged novels, chaotic females, the mother/daughter relationship, grief, affairs and killing fish... IYKYK.

To stay up to date with Susannah and what she's up to next you can follow her here: https://twitter.com/susannahdickey?lang=en

To buy 'Common Decency': https://uk.bookshop.org/books/common-decency-a-dark-intimate-novel-of-love-grief-and-obsession/9780857526885
To buy 'Tennis Lessons': https://uk.bookshop.org/books/tennis-lessons/9781784165055

Books & Authors mentioned:
The wings of the dove by Henry James
Long Live The Post Horn! by Vigdis Hjorth
NW by Zadie Smith
How to be both by Ali Smith
Rachel Cusk
Lorrie Moore
Mieko Kawakami
Sayaka Murata

Cultural Recs from Susannah:
Love & Anarchy - Netflix
Hold me closer by Britney Spears and Elton John -https://open.spotify.com/track/72yP0DUlWPyH8P7IoxskwN?autoplay=true

Please do rate, review & subscribe to the podcast and do give us a follow on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and Tik Tok @apairofbookends

Stay tuned for two upcoming author features! x

Hey bookends!
Welcome back to another book club episode, this month's book club pick is The Life Of The Mind by Christine Smallwood, an incredible debut novel that explores miscarriage, female friendship, loss and faith and how these things interlink. We are thrilled to have Christine on the podcast and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did- please note the conversation does include talk of miscarriage which may be triggering for some listeners.

Thank you to Europa Editions for our gifted copies and for making this conversation possible.
To follow Christine & her work: https://twitter.com/xtinesmallwood, https://christinesmallwood.space/

To buy the book: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-life-of-the-mind-sharp-and-funny-daily-mail/9781787704268

Books & Authors mentioned:
Shirley Hazzard
Dorthe Nors
Deborah Levy- Things I Don't Want To Know, The Cost of Living, Real Estate
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Shyness and dignity by Dag Solstad

Other cultural recommendations:
The Worst Person In The World (Film) - Amazon Prime
You Must Remember This (Podcast) - http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/


Please do rate/review/subcribe as it means other book lovers can find us! Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod, on Twitter @apairofbookends and Tik Tok 'A Pair Of Bookends'

See you next time!

Welcome back bookends! Our third episode in our Top Of Your TBR series features the wonderful Claire Fuller and my goodness, does she have some excellent book recs for you! We absolutely loved reading her four choices and we hope you do too.

Books mentioned:
New Animal by Ella Baxter
Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

Top Of Your TBR recommendations:
Snegurochka by Judith Heneghan
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

You can follow Claire on Instagram @writerclairefuller and follow her amazing bookish hashtag #clairesbooksatbreakfast for even more of her wonderful recommendations!

Buy Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/unsettled-ground-winner-of-the-costa-novel-award-2021/9780241457443
Pre-Order The Memory Of Animals: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-memory-of-animals-from-the-costa-novel-winning-author-of-unsettled-ground/9780241614822

Please do rate & review the podcast if you have time as we would LOVE to reach more listeners. Give us a follow on Instagram @apairofbookendspod, Tik Tok 'A Pair Of Bookends' and Twitter @apairofbookends. Thank you so much for listening, Han & Lyd x

Hey bookends! We are thrilled to introduce our latest guest in our 'Top Of Your TBR' series, the author of the incredible dystopian novel 'Dreamland'. This is the longest conversation we've done so far but Rosa was truly the most warm and generous guest and we really hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Books & Authors mentioned:
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Z For Zachariah by Robert C.O'Brien
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Garth Greenwell
The Jane Austen Book Club & Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Howard's End by E.M Forster
Sally Rooney
Bonjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Doris Lessing
The Ice People by Maggie Gee

Top Of Your TBR recommendations:
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith

Other recommendations:
Book bodega - @bookbodega (Based in Ramsgate, can order online)
The Bear- Disney +
Euphoria- HBO
Feel Good - Netflix
In My Skin - BBC Iplayer

You can follow Rosa @rosarankingee on Instagram and Twitter, and you can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram, @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Order Dreamland: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/dreamland-an-evening-standard-best-new-book-of-2021-9781471193842/9781471193842

We hope you enjoy getting stuck into this juicy list of recommendations and if you haven't already read Rosa's novel, please do order via the link above- you won't regret it! Please do rate/review/subscribe as it helps us to reach new listeners. See you next time, Han and Lyd x

Hey Bookends! We are thrilled to be bringing you our October book club episode where we chat to the absolute powerhouse that is Kamila Shamsie, about her latest novel 'Best Of Friends', which we cannot recommend enough. We spoke about childhood friendship, our standpoints on dog-earing book pages, class division and politics in Pakistan and London, the concept of 'girl-fear' and much more. It was a really insightful conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Books mentioned:
Best Of Friends by Kamila Shamsie
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Assembly by Natasha Brown
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
How To Read Now by Elaine Castillo

TV recommendations:
A League Of Their Own - Amazon Prime
Good Girls - Netflix

Buy 'Best of Friends': https://uk.bookshop.org/books/best-of-friends-from-the-winner-of-the-women-s-prize-for-fiction/9781526647702
Buy Kamila's previous novel 'Home Fire': https://uk.bookshop.org/books/home-fire-winner-of-the-women-s-prize-for-fiction-2018/9781408886793

Tickets for Kamila's event in Cambridge: https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/events/kamila-shamsie-best-of-friends/
Tickets to see Kamila at Hay Festival: https://www.hayfestival.com/p-19718-kamila-shamsie-extra-event.aspx
Book How To Academy event with Kamila: https://howtoacademy.com/events/an-evening-with-kamila-shamsie/

Please do rate, review & subscribe, or share with a bookish pal so we can reach more listeners. Give us a follow @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Stay tuned for more amazing guests! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back bookends! Our November book club pick is the incredible, weird and wonderful debut novel Isaac and the Egg. We were so pleased to have Bobby Palmer (Freelance Journalist and author of Isaac and the Egg) on to chat about his work, 80's pop culture references, men's mental health and much, much more. He is every bit as funny and brilliant as his book, we hope you love this conversation.

To buy Isaac and the Egg: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/isaac-and-the-egg-an-original-story-of-love-loss-and-finding-hope-in-the-unexpected/9781472285508

To listen to the audiobook: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Isaac-and-the-Egg-Audiobook/B09KHBWKNW?source_code=M2M14DFT1BkSH082015011R&&ipRedirectOverride=true&overrideBaseCountry=true&gclid=Cj0KCQiA37KbBhDgARIsAIzce14l68Xf44szN2IhKbWwu6uf92uJP_GpCVh3VVFeRDpJlFnogTrPYhIaArEeEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

To follow Bobby Palmer: https://www.instagram.com/thebobpalmer/?hl=en

Books & authors mentioned:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
George Saunders
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Max Porter
Patrick Ness
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Cultural recommendations:
The Bear - Disney Plus
Boiling Point- Netflix

Don't forget to rate, review & subscribe, please do share us with all your bookish pals too! Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok, we'd love to hear from you! Thanks so much for listening x

Hey Bookends! We are back this week with another instalment in our 'Top of your TBR' series and this time we are joined by the warm, funny and generous Cherie Jones- who is the phenomenal writer of the Women's Prize shortlisted novel 'How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House' and she's bringing you an incredible list of recommendations!
In this episode, we chat through her four chosen book titles to add to your TBR piles, her experiences as a debut author, the impact of Carribean folklore, who she draws inspiration from and so much more, you are in for a treat!

Cherie's Top of your TBR picks:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd-Banwo
Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris: Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry by Leanne Shapton
What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J.A.Chancy

Other books & authors mentioned:
Happening by Annie Ernaux
The Hills Were Joyful Together by Roger Mais
Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Dare
The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
Summer Lightening and other stories by Olive Senior
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Banana Bottom by Claude McKay
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs

To buy Cherie's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/how-the-one-armed-sister-sweeps-her-house/9781472268792

Follow Cherie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheriejoneswrites/?hl=en

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more bookends! Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and on Twitter and Tik Tok @apairofbookends, we love hearing from you. Until next time, Han & Lyd x

Welcome back bookends to our FINAL Book Club episode of the year! We were joined by the beautiful person & author that is, Meg Howrey, to chat about her novel, They're Going To Love You. We couldn't wait to dive in and chat about this book, it's set in New York during the AIDS crisis and follows Carlisle, a young woman training to be a professional ballet dancer, torn between her professional and personal lives, navigating messy family dynamics, love affairs and betrayals and devastating losses, this is a book you don't want to miss out on.

To buy Meg's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/they-re-going-to-love-you/9781526655820
To follow Meg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meghowrey/?hl=en-gb
To follow Meg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/meghowrey/
Vogue Essay: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57afb3d3ff7c50648d9808f5/t/57b36c4de4fcb59cf487d53f/1471376463545/Vogue+Essay.pdf

Books & Authors mentioned:
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Mandy Kahn - Poet
Sybille Bedford
Iris Murdoch
Virginia Woolf
E.M Forster
Ford Madox Ford
William Somerset Maugham
Zadie Smith
Yiyun Li
Ruth Ozeki
Miriam Toews
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

Other recommendations:
It's A Sin- Netflix
Tar - Movie
The Walk-In - ITV Hub
This Is Us- Amazon Prime

We hope you enjoy the episode! Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more bookends, you can also follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. For publicity enquiries, please email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com. Han and Lyd x

Welcome to our FINAL episode of the year - the Christmas Special! We stripped this one right back to our OG episodes, just the two of us, rambling about our fave festive books, food, TV & more, it's pure festive fun and we hope you love it!

Christmas Films mentioned:
Single All The Way - Netflix
Love Actually
Home Alone 2
Elf
Die Hard (debatable)

Other recommendations:
The Shining by Stephen King
One Day In December by Josie Silver
Sliding Doors
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The Night Before Christmas - Poem by Clement Clarke Moore

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps other bookends to reach us. Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.
Merry Christmas Bookends, thank you for joining us on this wild ride that has been our first year in podcasting, without you this wouldn't be possible. x

WE'RE BACK BOOKENDS! Happy new year!
We are so excited to be bringing you the first in our new 'Debut Spotlight' series, each episode we will be in conversation with a debut author, chatting about their debut journey, putting their book on your radar and as always getting their recommendations.
This episode is with Rosie Andrews, author of The Leviathan which is out in paperback now, you can order here: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-leviathan-a-beguiling-tale-of-superstition-myth-and-murder-from-a-major-new-voice-in-historical-fiction-9781526637369/9781526637369

We chat about not getting your first book published, sibling relationships, what makes a terrifying story and much more. To follow Rosie for updates on her and her work: https://twitter.com/rosieandrews22

If you enjoy our conversation, please share with a bookish pal and rate, review & subscribe!

You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok for all upcoming pod news!

Books & Authors discussed:
The North Shore by Ben Tufnell
Dissolution by CJ Sansom
Tolkien
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Paradise Lost by John Milton
"Oh, whistle, and i'll come to you, my lad" by M.R. James
Edgar Allan Poe
The Hollow Sea by Annie Kirby
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Fyneshade by Kate Griffin

Other recommendations:
Happy Valley - BBC Iplayer
Susan Cooper- The dark is rising: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvp7

Until next time bookends, happy reading!

Happy belated new year bookends! We're back with a minisode, a real recommendation extravaganza.
We talk through our Top 5 books of last year, the 2023 releases we're excited about, the adaptations we're looking forward to, why we should have an adaptation series (all in favour say aye!) and much, much more.
We will be bringing lots more of these minisodes to you this year alongside lots more author interviews and debut author highlights! Email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com if you have any recs or authors you'd like us to have on.
Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok!
Please do rate, review, subscribe & share so we can reach more of you lovely bookends xxx

Books spoken about:
Touching the void by Joe Simpson
Love and Virtue by Diana Reid
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
Our Wives under the sea by Julia Armfield
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
Making A Scene by Constance Wu
Misfits by Michaela Coel
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
You've Got A Friend In 10A by Maggie Shipstead
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee
The Doloriad by Missouri Williams
Leave the world behind by Rumaan Alam
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
The Memory Of Animals by Claire Fuller (out April 2023)
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (out Feb 2023)
Yellowface by R.F Kuang (out May 2023)
Babel by R.F Kuang
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (out May 2023)
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan (out June 2023)
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
Fourteen Days: An Unauthorised Gathering (out May 2023)
Weyward by Emilia Hart (out Feb 2023)
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey (out 17th of Jan)

Other recs:
Touching The Void (documentary) - Netflix
Michaela Coel - MacTaggart Lecture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odusP8gmqsg
I May Destroy You - BBC Iplayer
Schitt's Creek - Netflix
House of Books and Friends - Manchester bookshop

Episodes referred to:
To Paradise- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-to-paradise-by-hanya-yanagihara/id1616736675?i=1000555641262
Our Wives under the sea - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-our-wives-under-the-sea-by-julia-armfield/id1616736675?i=1000559068779
Interview with Maggie Shipstead - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-of-your-tbr-with-maggie-shipstead/id1616736675?i=1000574613704

Welcome back bookends to our first book club episode of 2023! Our January book club pick is the powerhouse short story collection 'Send Nudes', for this episode we were joined by the author of the book, the insanely talented Saba Sams. We talk about the messiness of humans, the joy of getting our worst impulses down on the page and why a vagina smelling like prawn cocktail crisps is potentially the greatest line ever written?!
We loved this conversation and we hope you do too, as always it's full of recommendations, please do check those about below! Rate, review & subscribe if you enjoy the podcast as it helps us to reach new bookends. Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Tik Tok and Twitter.

To buy Send Nudes, out now in paperback: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/send-nudes-by-the-winner-of-the-bbc-national-short-story-award-2022-9781526621795/9781526621795
To follow Saba & her work: https://www.instagram.com/saba_sams/?hl=en

Books & Authors mentioned:
Summer of my amazing luck by Miriam Toews
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
Jhumpa Lahiri
Salvage the bones by Jesmyn Ward
Young Skins by Colin Barrett
Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton

Other Recs:
I May Destroy You - BBC Iplayer
Fish Tank (2009 Movie)
Wasp (2003 Short Film)
The White Lotus (HBO / Now TV)
The Bear (Disney +)

Welcome back bookends to our second episode in our Debut Spotlight series with author Victoria MacKenzie and her debut novel 'For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain' which was published on the 19th of January by Bloomsbury.
Trigger warning: Mention of child/infant loss, talk of death/grief.
We speak about Victoria's experience of not getting her first book published, how she started out as a poet and how the stories of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe came to be the heroines of her debut novel. This was such a fascinating conversation and for two gals that haven't been so eager to read much historical fiction, we absolutely gobbled up this book and loved hearing all about Victoria's writing process and research.

To order Victoria's book:
https://uk.bookshop.org/books/for-thy-great-pain-have-mercy-on-my-little-pain-9781526647887/9781526647887
To follow Victoria:
https://twitter.com/forthygreatpain?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

As always, we have recommendations for you from the episode:

Books-
The Pharmacist by Rachelle Atalla
Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
The book of Margery Kempe
The Red Bird Sings by Aiofe Fitzpatrick
Orpheus Builds A Girl by Heather Parry
Music-
Pompeii by Cate Le Bon
TV-
The Wire

If you enjoy the podcast please do rate/review/subscribe as it helps us to reach other bookends! Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. If you want to get in contact with us you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com
Until next time, happy reading! x

Welcome back Bookends to our next instalment in our Debut Spotlight series, this time with author Eleanor Shearer who we are sure her debut 'River Sing Me Home' will be a future classic. Drawing on some of her own family history and a huge amount of research, River sing me home is a book about one woman escaping her plantation to search for her five children.

Aswell as finding out about Eleanor's debut journey, we chat about the incredible places and people she visited during her research for the novel, how she wanted to move away from the more traumatic narratives around slavery, why song and music were so integral to this novel and much more. This was such an insightful conversation and we were so thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Eleanor, please do go buy her book as we promise it's a memorable and moving story that will undoubtedly receive much deserved hype.

To buy River Sing Me Home: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/river-sing-me-home-a-powerful-luminous-and-redemptive-novel-of-a-mother-s-search-for-her-children/9781472291363

To keep up to date with Eleanor's work, follow her @eleanorbshearer on Instagram and Twitter.

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts and give us a follow @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Books spoken about during the episode:

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy
Small Island by Andrea Levy
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
To Shoot Hard Labour: The Life and Times of Samuel Smith by Fernando Carol Smith
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler
Clytemnestra by Constanta Casati
The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer
The Revels by Stacey Thomas
28 Questions by Indyana Schneider

Thanks for listening and see you next time!

Welcome back bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series where we are in conversation with the wonderful Imogen Crimp, author of the incredible debut 'A Very Nice Girl' which we both loved!

We find out why Imogen made the leap from training to be an opera singer to publishing her debut novel, deep dive into power, money, desire and self-worth and how powerful her writing is of an actor inhabiting their character's mind. We highly recommend any performers out there give this one a listen as I'm sure a lot of what we discuss will really resonate and I hope up-and-coming debut authors also find solace in hearing how natural the ebbs and flows of a creative career are.

To buy Imogen's book (out in paperback Feb 9th):
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/a-very-nice-girl-imogen-crimp/7041517?ean=9781526628916

Imogen isn't on social media but you can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. You can also email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com, book recs are always welcome! If you enjoy the episode, please don't forget to rate/review & subscribe as it helps to reach other bookends.


Books mentioned:
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
Voyage in the dark by Jean Rhys
Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery

Thanks so much for listening, happy reading x

Happy Monday Bookends! Welcome back to the latest episode in our Debut Spotlight series, this time we are in conversation with the Carribean Author and Poet Kevin Jared Hosein, author of upcoming debut international novel 'Hungry Ghosts' (publishing on 16th of Feb with Bloomsbury).
It was such a delight to chat to Kevin about his incredible novel which explores class, grief, loss, religion, morality and so much more, we cannot recommend it enough!
Aswell as deep diving into his book we talk about Kevin's experience of breaking into international publishing, the historical issues of class, culture and religion in Trinidad and Tobago, how being a Biology teacher inspires his writing style and more, we hope you enjoy!

To buy Kevin's book:
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/hungry-ghosts-kevin-jared-hosein/7073687?ean=9781526644480

You can follow Kevin on Instagram @kjaredhosein

Tix for Kevin Jared Hosein and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo in conversation in Brixton - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/author-kevin-jared-hosein-discusses-hungry-ghosts-with-ayanna-lloyd-banwo-tickets-511543529467

Please don't forget to rate/review/subscribe as it helps us to reach other bookends and you can follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Books discussed:
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima
Sisters by Daisy Johnson
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Until next time, happy reading!

Welcome back Bookends to another Book Club episode! Our Feb book choice is the brilliantly unsettling Are You Happy Now, a book that will give you whiplash for all its twists and turns! An incredible dystopia about the mental health crisis and millenial life. We were joined by author Hanna Jameson and we had a great time chatting to her about the book, fan fiction communities, curating playlists for novels and the all important trio- capitalism, grief and sex. We hope you enjoy!

If you enjoy this episode please don't forget to rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts and you can give us a follow @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Buy Hanna's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/are-you-happy-now-the-newest-novel-from-the-author-of-the-last-for-fans-of-emily-john-st-mandel-sally-rooney-and-patricia-lo-hanna-jameson/7007775?ean=9780241515075

Follow Hanna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannajamesonwrites/?hl=en

Books & Authors discussed on this episode:
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Karen Thompson Walker
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Ocean Vuong
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Other recs:
The Leftovers (HBO/ Now TV)

Until next time, happy reading! x

Welcome back Bookends to our latest instalment in our Debut Spotlight series! This week we were joined by writer Nicole Flattery to chat about her upcoming novel 'Nothing Special', we loved chatting to Nicole about how she didn't fully kick off her writing career until her late twenties and how odd it is that we view women's success against a timeline. Aswell as deep diving into her brilliant book, we discussed the moral ambiguity of Andy Warhol, how reading plays can transform the way you view dialogue, mother/daughter dynamics and much more. Nothing Special will be published on the 2nd of March by Bloomsbury. We hope you enjoy the episode!

If you do, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us massively and allows us to grow as a podcast. You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Nicole's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/nothing-special-nicole-flattery/7111402?ean=9781526612120

Follow Nicole: https://www.instagram.com/flattern16/?hl=en

Books & Authors discussed in the episode:
Lynne Tillman
All the lovers in the night by Mieko Kawakami
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Lonely City by Olivia Laing
The Copenhagen trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
Fierce Attachments by Vivian Gornick
Gwendoline Riley
The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
Close to home by Michael Magee
I am homeless if this is not my home: A novel by Lorrie Moore
Who will run the frog hospital? by Lorrie Moore
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
Send Nudes by Saba Sams

Other culture recs:
Dopesick (Disney +)
The Lost Daughter (Netflix)
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons by Sam Steiner (play)
Bad Gays Podcast, Andy Warhol episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/special-episode-andy-warhol-with-sholem-krishtalka/id1455620224?i=1000442525395
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0wG9NjCC8Mr6NNzslgpQyO

Welcome back Bookends to our latest episode in our Debut Spotlight series, this episode is with Swedish Sami journalist and author Ann-Helen Laestadius to discuss her best-selling debut adult novel 'Stolen', published in the UK in January after a huge bout of success in Sweden in 2021.

TW: This conversation includes discussion of animal abuse and mental illness which some listeners may find distressing.

Aswell as discussing the novel, we talked about Sami communities, culture and identity, men's mental health, the brutality and violence inflicted on reindeer herders, climate change and adapting this epic novel for Netflix (which will be released in 2024!). We so loved chatting to Ann-Helen and her book is beyond beautiful and powerful and it's so important that this book reaches a huge readership so the communities affected have their voices heard.
To buy the book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/stolen-ann-helen-laestadius/7290732?ean=9781526659989

To follow Ann-Helen: https://www.instagram.com/annhelenlaestadius/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/AHLaestadius

Books & Authors discussed on the episode:
Lycka Till by Malin Stehn
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Silvia Avallone

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other bookends! You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Until next time, happy reading! x

Hello to all you fabulous Bookends! We are so delighted to be bringing you a Bonus Book Club episode this month, where we are in conversation with the incredible Man Booker Prize longlisted author Sophie Mackintosh with her latest novel, the Women's Prize long-listed 'Cursed Bread'. We chatted to Sophie about her experiences with rejection, how a historical poisoning in rural France inspired her latest book and why intimacy and desire are some of our favourite themes ever! We hope you enjoy this chat and if you do, as always, please do give us a rate, review and subscribe as it helps us to reach other Bookends!

To buy Cursed Bread: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/cursed-bread-sophie-mackintosh/7079548?ean=9780241539613

Give Sophie a follow: https://www.instagram.com/sophmackintosh/?hl=en / https://twitter.com/fairfairisles?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Books & Authors discussed:

My Husband by Maud Ventura
Barbara Cummings
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
Owlish by Dorothy Tse
End of Nightwork by Aidan Cottrell- Boyce

Other cultural bits discussed:
The Banshees of Inisherin
Dogville
Listen to Sunday Salon podcast ep with Sophie Mackintosh: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sophie-mackintosh/id1449117087?i=1000437232007

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod or on Twitter and Tik Tok @apairofbookends. Thank you so much for listening, until next time- happy reading!

Welcome back Bookends to the latest instalment in our Debut Spotlight series, where we shine the spotlight on some of the freshest, most exciting new authors to put on your radar. Back in January we recorded an episode with the wonderful Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow to discuss her incredible debut novel 'All The Little Bird-Hearts' which we both completely adored. Aswell as talking through her journey into being published, we discuss the importance of neurodiverse representation in a neurotypical world, why Italian folklore features so heavily in the book, mother/daughter dynamics and much, much more, we were also thrilled to find that Viktoria has the most wonderful list of recommendations for us. If you enjoyed the episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other listeners. All the little Bird-Hearts is out now and published by Tinder Press.

To buy Viktoria's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/all-the-little-bird-hearts-viktoria-lloyd-barlow/6927344?ean=9781472288004
To read Viktoria's Granta essay: https://granta.com/these-stolen-twins/

You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. If you'd like us to feature any authors or you have book reccs/ ideas for future episodes, we would love to hear them, you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com!

Books & Authors discussed:
The Pumpkin Eater by Penelope Mortimer
Patricia Highsmith
Edith Wharton
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Road Through The Wall by Shirley Jackson
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
Mrs March by Virginia Feito
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Hey Bookends! It's our favourite time of year and we are here to bring you a 'minisode' of all of our thoughts on this year's Women's Prize For Fiction Longlist, we are always so excited for the release of this list and this year was no different! Apologies in advance for how sweary we are, we were very excited and borderline delirious after recording two pods in one day... but if deep diving into the women's prize isn't necessarily your thing, we also talk about rats in bow-ties, Hannah discovers how to say the word awry and Lydia announces her retirement from the podcast to start a new career as an embalmer.

Thank you as always for your support, if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other bookends! If you'd like to follow us you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Women's Prize 2023 Longlist
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
Pod by Laline Paull
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

Other books & bits discussed:
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
They're Going To Love You by Meg Howrey
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hossein
@bookbodega
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, happy reading! x

Hey bookends! We're so delighted to bring you our March Book Club episode, in conversation with the force of nature that is Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, author of the magical, breathtaking new novel 'Dazzling' which we hope you can join us in reading!
We discuss her inspiration for Dazzling, why Wildfire was the obvious choice of publisher for her, the state of the economy and how that impacts the art that we create, Igbo culture and so much more, it was a truly illuminating conversation and potentially the most we've laughed whilst recording! If you enjoy this episode please don't forget to rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other listeners.
TW: Whilst this episode is mostly fun and light-hearted, we must give our listeners the heads up that this conversation includes mention of rape & miscarriage, if these things affect you we understand that you may want to give this episode a miss, but please pick up Chikodili's book all the same which doesn't explore these topics.

Buy Dazzling: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/dazzling-the-bewitching-nigerian-debut-unlike-anything-you-ve-read-before-chikodili-emelumadu/6776601?ean=9781472289643

Follow Chikodili:
Twitter- https://twitter.com/chemelumadu?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

If you'd like to follow us, please do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok, if you have any book recs or authors you wish to connect us with, you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Books & Authors mentioned:
The Red Bird Sings by Aiofe Fitzpatrick
God's Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu
The Bottled Leopard by Chukwuemeka Ike
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Maame by Jessica George
What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie
Weyward by Emilia Hart
The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent

Thank you so much for listening, until next time, happy reading! x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, where we shine the light on the freshest new authors and their work. For this episode, we were joined by the wonderful Costanza Casati, author of one of our favourite reads this year, the powerhouse myth retelling- 'Clytemnestra'.
We discuss the importance of keeping these stories alive for future generations, why it was important to Costanza to represent female rage and desire through Clytemnestra and were spoiled by her extensive list of book reccs, which are always welcome here!
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other listeners. You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Clytemnestra (what are you waiting for?!) : https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/clytemnestra-the-spellbinding-retelling-of-greek-mythology-s-greatest-heroine-costanza-casati/7153728?ean=9780241554746

You can follow Costanza: https://www.instagram.com/costanzacasati/?hl=en and https://twitter.com/costanzacasati?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Books & Authors mentioned:
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
Fleabag- The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Elif Shafak
Sarah Moss
Madeline Miller
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
Animal by Lisa Taddeo
Gillian Flynn
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Talking At Night by Claire Daverley
Sally Rooney
One Day by David Nicholls
Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelumadu
Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler

Other mentions (plays):
The Odyssey
Agamemnon by Aeschylus
The Trojan Women by Euripedes

See you next time! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends! Today's episode is a joyous one, we had Meg Clothier on to chat to us about her brilliant new book 'The Book of Eve', an exciting and magical exploration of women and power and the forces of religion and beyond. We loved it and highly recommend you get yourselves a copy! It's out now and published by Wildfire.
Aswell as chatting about the book, we discuss the overlap between self and fiction, how Meg's constant desire to smell things around her evokes a sensory experience for her readers, patriarchal systems within the church and so much more, it's a riveting conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

To buy The Book of Eve: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-book-of-eve-a-spellbinding-tale-of-magic-and-mystery-meg-clothier/6871031?ean=9781472276087
To follow Meg: https://twitter.com/meg_clothier
To pre-order Meg and her father Jonny Clothier's joint book: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/THE-COUNTRYMANS-HANDBOOK-by-MEG-CLOTHIER-JONNY/9781788168694

Listen to 'Relatively' podcast episode with Meg and Chris Clothier: https://www.relativelypodcast.com/episodes/22

You can also follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok, as always please do get in touch with any of your book reccs via any of our socials or you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Books & Authors mentioned in this ep:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel
Nuns and Nunneries in Renaissance Florence by Sharon T. Strocchia


Marina Warner
Jilly Cooper
My Wild and Sleepless Nights by Clover Stroud

Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series where we shine the light on the freshest new authors and their work. For this episode we were joined by Julia Boggio who is the author of the sizzling romance of the season 'Shooters' and the co-host of the Two Lit Chicks podcast.

As Julia was a professional photographer herself for 15 years, there's little she doesn't know about the biz and she was unafraid to share the gossip on the world of wedding photography and how that helped form her fantastic new novel, we also found out her experiences with self-publishing, her experience of ageism in the publishing industry and how she single-handedly created the coolest marketing campaign for her book (which you can find via her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliaboggio/?hl=en)

TW: Whilst this is mostly a light-hearted episode, there is discussion of mental health and mention of infertility, if you find these themes triggering we understand if you want to give this episode a miss. However, please support Julia in other ways you can.

To buy Shooters: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHOOTERS-sizzling-romantic-photographers-Photographers/dp/1739215117/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1680471827&sr=8-1

To listen to Julia's podcast, we were particular fans of the Bonnie Garmus episode: https://www.twolitchicks.org/episodes/a-conversation-with-bonnie-garmus

To support more of Julia's work: https://juliaboggio.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more listeners! If you'd like to give us a follow, we love hearing from you!
Instagram: @apairofbookendspod
Twitter & Tik Tok: @apairofbookends

Books & Authors mentioned in the episode:
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Benidorm, actually by Jo Lyons
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E Schwab

Other recs:
Dolly Parton's America Podcast: https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42KqcT/

Thanks so much for listening, until next time - happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome Bookends to our April Book Club episode! This month we're inviting you to delve into 'The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa', a tragicomic coming-of-age tale of Andy Africa, a Nigerian teenager who amidst debating theories of anifuturism and mathematics takes a fascination in blonde, white women. Set amidst a backdrop of political and social unrest and a complex family life, this smart and funny novel showcases contemporary African life, the ramifications of colonialism, Western culture and what it means to grow up in a turbulent environment.

For this episode, we chatted to Stephen Buoro, the brilliant mind behind this powerful debut. We talk about how Stephen wrote half of his novel on his Blackberry and how that formed the pacing of the book, what it means to feel betrayed in relationships when it comes to race and class, friendship, sexual awakenings and the tragedy of his fantastic 'avocado toast' scene.
Stephen's book is out in the UK on the 13th of April and the US on the 18th.

If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners!

To buy Stephen's book (UK):
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-five-sorrowful-mysteries-of-andy-africa-stephen-buoro/7198691?ean=9781526637994

Books & Authors discussed in the episode:
Brutes by Dizz Tate
Mister, Mister by Guy Gunaratne
Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham

If you'd like to follow us you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.
Thank you so much for listening! Han & Lyd x

Welcome Bookends to a very exciting bonus episode in collaboration with The Rathbones Folio Prize 2023, we were joined by all three of this year's winners of the prize: Margo Jefferson, Michelle de Kretser and Victoria Adukwei Bulley. It was truly an honour to chat to these three incredible women about their winning books and learning more about their process, their inspirations and their feelings about winning the prize. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Buy Constructing A Nervous System: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/constructing-a-nervous-system-a-memoir-margo-jefferson/6745611?ean=9781783785568

Buy Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/scary-monsters-michelle-de-kretser/6320985?ean=9781838953973

Buy Quiet by Victoria Adukwei Bulley: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/quiet-victoria-adukwei-bulley/6754129?ean=9780571370337
To follow Victoria: https://www.instagram.com/victoriaadukweibulley/?hl=en

If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more listeners! You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok!

Books & other recommendations mentioned throughout:
Michaela Coel in conversation with Louis Theroux - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/11-michaela-coel/id1508985962?i=1000500762509
The Good Immigrant (edited) by Nikesh Shukla
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
The Sovereignty of Quiet by Kevin Quashie
Sula by Toni Morrison

Welcome back Bookends to Season 2 of our Debut Spotlight series where we shine the light on the freshest new authors and their work, we recorded this back at the start of April and are thrilled to bring you this conversation with the incredible best-selling debut author of 'Collected Works', Lydia Sandgren.

Aswell as deep diving into this wonderful tome of a novel, we chat about the characters that feel like friends, parenting and gender disparities, how being a psychologist informs her writing and so much more, we hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

To buy Collected Works: A Novel - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/collected-works-a-novel-lydia-sandgren/7433747?ean=9781782277989

To follow Lydia - https://www.instagram.com/lydiasandgren/?hl=en-gb

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach other Bookends! If you'd like to give us a follow you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Thanks so much for listening, Han & Lyd x

Books mentioned during episode:
My Struggle (series of six autobiographical novels) by Karl Ove Knausgård
Diaries 1918-1939 by Thomas Mann
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann

Welcome back Bookends to Season 2 in our Debut Spotlight series, for today's episode we were joined by Natasha Calder, author of the brilliant and eerie 'Whether Violent or Natural' which was published by Bloomsbury in the UK yesterday! We chatted to Natasha about her experiences from her first book 'The Offset' which she co-authored with friend Emma Szewczak to writing solo for her debut novel. Aswell as deep diving into her writing processes for this book, we chatted unreliable narrators, the joy of not knowing the reveal behind a magic trick and Lydia's obsession with Pedro Pascal... it's a lot. We hope you enjoy!

To buy 'Whether Violent or Natural': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/whether-violent-or-natural-natasha-calder/7251105?ean=9781526653680
To buy 'The Offset': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-offset-calder-szewczak/6048924?ean=9780857669186

You can follow Natasha's upcoming work here: https://natashacalder.com/

Books discussed during the episode:
Alone on the wall by Alex Honnold and David Roberts
Building Stories by Chris WareTouching the void by Joe Simpson





Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong
How To Gut A Fish by Sheila Armstrong
Temper by Phoebe Walker
Dryland by Sara Jaffe
Other cultural recs mentioned:
Finding Michael (Disney +)
Free Solo (Disney +)
Boiling Point (Netflix)
The Sparks Brothers (Doc)

Thank you so much for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners. You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

TW: This episode contains discussion around themes of infant & pregnancy loss/ stillbirth and grief.

Welcome back Bookends! Today we have a powerful & important minisode for you, we were joined by American poet, artist and filmmaker Tiannah Malika (also known as Spike Tee) to chat about her debut collection 'Gray Skies Turned To Sonshine', a book of art and poetry exploring her experiences of stillbirth and grief.
Aswell as listening to some extracts of Tiannah's work we chat about why these topics are still taboo, the importance of community in grief, creating art for change and the experience of turning her pain into her beautiful poetry. We absolutely loved chatting with Tiannah and we hope you enjoy sharing in her wonderful energy as much as we did.

To buy Tiannah's collection: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skies-Turned-Sonshine-Tiannah-Malika/dp/B0BV49GCTC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LBAFIEVOKY1O&keywords=gray+skies+turned+to+sonshine&qid=1684449154&sprefix=gray+skies+turned+to+sonshi%2Caps%2C442&sr=8-1

To follow Tiannah: https://www.instagram.com/lovetiannah/

As always please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners and if you'd like to give us a follow you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Until next time, happy reading!

Welcome back Bookends to our May Book Club episode! Today we chat about the first in an exciting new Queer crime series 'Scorched Grace' by the incredible Margot Douaihy.
Unfortunately for this episode, Lydia was in the midst of an illness so was unable to record so Hannah was a singular bookend but was joined by Margot to chat all about her fantastic, compelling debut, the inspiration behind it, her upbringing as a Maronite Catholic and how that informed her writing, Queerness, complex characters and can we get information on the TV/Film adaptation?! Find out more by giving this episode a listen and if you enjoy please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners!

To buy Scorched Grace: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/scorched-grace-margot-douaihy/7406432?ean=9781805335085
To follow Margot: https://www.instagram.com/neonmargot/?hl=en
To follow us: https://www.instagram.com/apairofbookendspod/

Books & authors recommended during the episode:
My Sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Marcie R. Rendon
Kelly J. Ford
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Crosby

Until next time, happy reading!

Welcome back Bookends to our BONUS episode where Hannah chats to the brilliant Balli Kaur Jaswal about her latest novel 'Now You See Us', a moving, funny and insightful book about the lives of three Fillipina domestic workers who group together after their friend is wrongfully accused of murdering their employer.
We chatted about the disturbing realities of domestic workers in Singapore, privilege, the power of social media and so much more, we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

Buy Now You See Us (UK listeners): https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/now-you-see-us-balli-kaur-jaswal/7139575?ean=9780008433741

Buy Now You See Us (US listeners): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/now-you-see-us-balli-kaur-jaswal/1141619783?ean=9780063161603

Follow Balli: https://www.instagram.com/ballijaswal/?hl=en

Books discussed:
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more listeners. You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Thank you so much for listening! x

Welcome back Bookends to the second season in our Debut Spotlight series, for this episode Hannah was joined by screenwriter and novelist Senta Rich to chat about her debut novel 'Hotel 21'- a story of a kleptomaniac hotel cleaner who moves from hotel to hotel as soon as anything gets personal, her need to steal being the driving force to escape dealing with past traumas but at her 21st hotel, her life starts to change in unexpected ways leaving her wondering whether she can continue the path she's on.

We chatted about the differences between her experiences writing a TV show and her experience writing a novel, the inspiration for her characters, mother/daughter dynamics and so much more. It was such a great conversation and we hope you enjoy it too! If you do enjoy please rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts. You can also follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok!

Hotel 21 is published by Bloomsbury and available to buy now in all bookshops.

To buy Hotel 21: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/hotel-21-senta-rich/7241567?ean=9781526650498

To keep up with Senta and her work:
https://sentarich.com/

Books discussed:
I'm A Fan by Sheena Patel


Thanks so much for listening! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, for this episode we were joined by debut author Sarah Jost to chat about 'One Last Chance', the unconventional, life-affirming love story you'll be staying up all night to finish.
TW: This conversation includes discussion around cancer and loss.
Aswell as chatting about her experiences in writing her debut, we also chatted to Sarah about her experience working in schools and how that feeds into her character study, what it's like to write in her second language, time travel and so much more, it was a real pleasure to have Sarah on and we hope you love this conversation and her book as much as we did!

As always, if you enjoyed this episode we'd love it if you could rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners. If you'd like to give us a follow you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Sarah's book (UK): https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/one-last-chance-sarah-jost/6174685?ean=9780349431536

To buy Sarah's book (US): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-first-chances-sarah-jost/1141663365

To follow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahjost_writes/
https://twitter.com/swissSarahUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Books & other recs in this episode:
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane
Respire Encore (song) by Clara Luciani
Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day
How To Fail (Podcast)
Best Friend Therapy (Podcast)

If you wish to email us with suggestions for future episodes, you can do so at apairofbookendspod@gmail.com. Thanks so much for listening, Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to our latest offering in our Debut Spotlight series where today we have a thriller! We were joined by the lovely Ruth Kelly, journalist and author of 'The Villa', a gripping and unsettling thriller set on a reality TV show.
We chatted about Ruth's own experiences working on a reality show, the kinds of thrillers she enjoys reading & watching, mental health and why it still feels such a relevant topic and so much more, we hope you enjoy this episode.
If you do please don't forget to rate, review & subscribe to help us reach more listeners! You can also follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy 'The Villa': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-villa-ruth-kelly/7334577?ean=9781035001286
To follow Ruth: https://www.instagram.com/ruthywriter/?hl=en-gb

Books, Authors & other recs mentioned on this episode:
The Hike by Lucy Clarke
Harlan Coben
Unreal: A Criticial History of Reality TV (podcast) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0c5w0zm
Upstaged (BBC Three)
Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

This is BIG guys! We had the incredible Booker-shortlisted author, literary icon Brandon Taylor on the pod to chat about his latest novel 'The Late Americans', which was our June Book Club pick.
We loved this novel so so much and cannot rave about it enough, if you haven't read it yet, links are below to order your copy, please do join us in reading it!
In this episode we discuss the body & autonomy, Class and the complexities that brings up for working class artists and Brandon gives us yet another reason to love Curtis Sittenfeld!
If you enjoy this episode please don't forget to rate, review & subscribe and if you want to give us a follow you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Brandon's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-late-americans-brandon-taylor/7301654?ean=9781787334434

To follow Brandon: https://www.instagram.com/brandonlgtaylor/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/blgtylr?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Books & Recs mentioned in the episode:
The Guest by Emma Cline
When We Were Nearly Young by Mavis Gallant: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1960/10/15/when-we-were-nearly-young
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Thanks so much for listening, please share with your bookish pals, your support means the world. Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to a Bonus Books episode where we chat to author and award-winning arts critic Chloë Ashby about her latest novel 'Second Self', we chat about Art, her writing style, the choice to have or to not have children, positive heterosexual relationships and much more. We loved chatting to her and hope you take away as much as we did from this conversation! As always if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners, you can also follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy 'Second Self': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/second-self-chloe-ashby/7351706?ean=9781398703032
To buy 'Wet Paint': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/wet-paint-a-blistering-story-stylist-chloe-ashby/7277891?ean=9781398703001
To follow Chloë & her work: https://www.chloeashby.com/, https://www.instagram.com/chloelashby/?hl=en & https://twitter.com/chloelashby

Upcoming events with Chloë :
11th July- https://www.waterstones.com/events/chloe-ashby-in-conversation-with-rhiannon-lucy-cosslett/london-crouch-end

12th July - https://www.waterstones.com/events/gower-st-presents-jenny-mustard-and-chlo-ashby-in-conversation-with-bethany-rutter/london-gower-street

13th July - https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events/chloe-ashby-and-stephanie-bishop-in-conversation-with-tess-little/

Books discussed:
Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin
Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life & sudden death by Laura Cumming
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
Okay Days by Jenny Mustard

Thanks so much for listening! If you want to get in touch with us with book recs, author interviews or anything else, you can do so at apairofbookendspod@gmail.com, Han & Lyd x

It's a BONUS bonus episode because we have the incredible Caroline O'Donoghue with us for today's episode chatting all about her wonderful new novel The Rachel Incident!
Aswell as doing a deep dive into what can only be classed as one of the best books of the year, we chat about 'And just like that', how Caroline personally made Mumford and Sons happen(...), representation in books and so much more, it was such a joy to have Caroline on the pod and we hope you all enjoy it as much as we do.
If you do enjoy, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps our little pod massively!

Books & Authors discussed:
Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue
Scenes Of A Graphic Nature by Caroline O'Donoghue

To buy The Rachel Incident: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-rachel-incident-caroline-o-donoghue/4920877?ean=9780349013558

To follow Caroline: https://www.instagram.com/czaronline/?hl=en

Listen to Sentimental Garbage Pod! Here's some of Hannah's FAVE episodes:

https://shows.acast.com/sentimentalgarbage/episodes/the-nora-ephron-christmas-spectacular-with-ella-risbridger
https://play.acast.com/s/sentimentalgarbage/sentimentalinthecity1-sex-thecity-seasonone
https://play.acast.com/s/sentimentalgarbage/reality-tv-with-pandora-sykes
https://shows.acast.com/sentimentalgarbage/episodes/girlbossing-with-otegha-uwagba
https://shows.acast.com/sentimentalgarbage/episodes/the-rachel-incident-with-dolly-alderto
https://shows.acast.com/sentimentalgarbage/episodes/luckybyjackiecollinswithjessieburton

You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter, Tik Tok & Threads.
Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to an impromptu minisode! We had an interview fall through last minute and thought what a wonderful time to bring you back an OG episode which we know lots of you have been missing!
We talk about Lydia's little secret, the men she's making herself available for cough Hozier, Jeremy Allen White cough, the all important Barbenheimer debate & lots more. Let us know for future minisodes if there's anything you want us to cover, you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

To follow us:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/apairofbookendspod/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/apairofbookends
Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@apairofbookends
We are also on Threads @apairofbookendspod

Books discussed:
The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis
Priest by Sierra Simone
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
I'm A Fan by Sheena Patel
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Really Good Actually by Monica Heisey
My Husband by Maud Ventura
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record Of BTS by BTS and Myeongseok Kang

Other recs:
Kierra Lewis on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kierralewis75?lang=en
Forza Horizon 5 (Game)
Unknown/Nth by Hozier (Song)
Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon Prime)

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series! For today's episode we were joined by debut novelist Mikki Brammer to chat about her beautiful novel 'The Collected Regrets of Clover' which is out now & published by Viking (UK).
We discuss why it's important to have more open conversations about death and grief, why New York was the perfect setting for her novel, the gorgeous characters we fell in love with and as always, lots of excellent recommendations.
To buy 'The Collected Regrets of Clover':
UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-collected-regrets-of-clover-an-uplifting-story-about-living-a-full-beautiful-life-mikki-brammer/7369892?ean=9780241588420
US: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-collected-regrets-of-clover-mikki-brammer/1141976587

If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more listeners. You can give us a follow @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and Threads and @apairofbookends on Twitter & Tik Tok.

To follow Mikki - https://www.instagram.com/mikkibrammer/

Books & other recs discussed:
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Past Lives (Film- A24)

Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! For our July Book Club episode we were joined by the brilliant Megan Nolan, all the way from NYC! We of course deep dived into her latest novel Ordinary Human Failings, chatted about her experience with the publication of her debut novel during COVID, why pro-lifers need to read her new book, her interest in journalism and so much more, we hope you love this one and as always please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you.
TW: Our conversation contains mention of abortion, death and violence.

Books & Other Recs discussed:
Malady of the Mind: Schizophrenia and the Path to Prevention by Jeffrey a Lieberman
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Somebody's Husband, Somebody's Son by Gordon Burn
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
We All Go Into The Dark by Francisco Garcia

Boy A - Channel 4
Killed Podcast - https://killedstories.com/
Dekalog - TV

To buy Megan's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ordinary-human-failings-megan-nolan/7299107?ean=9781787332508
To follow Megan: https://www.instagram.com/mmegannolan/?hl=en

To follow us: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! Welcome back to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, for this episode we were joined by the incredible Emily Habeck to discuss our firm favourite read of the year 'Shark Heart'. We talk about her journey from the world of Theatre to novel writing, her research process of Great White Sharks and the wonderful help she received from Marine Biologist Greg Skomal, the protagonists that we will never forget and so much more. We hope you love this episode as much as we did! If you did please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you!

You can also follow us: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

To buy Shark Heart, published by Quercus: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/shark-heart-a-love-story-emily-habeck/7422751?ean=9781529432213

To follow Emily & her work: https://www.instagram.com/emily.habeck/
https://www.emilyhabeck.com/

Books & Other Recs mentioned:
You Can Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Shadows-Tracking-Great-White/dp/006309083X
Out There: Stories by Kate Folk
The Sopranos - TV
The Bear - TV

Thank you so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another Bonus books episode where we were joined by the powerhouse that is Daisy Buchanan! A journalist, novelist and host of a number of brilliant podcast series including the fan favourite 'You're Booked', we were delighted to have Bookend royalty on the podcast and her recommendations are certainly not in short supply!

TW: This conversation includes mention of difficult topics such as sexual assault and cancer which may be triggering for some, listen with care.

Aswell as deep diving into her brilliant new novel, we discuss online/offline identities, bodies and autonomy, sisterhood and so much more, we hope you love this episode as much as we do!

To buy Daisy's latest book 'Limelight' from House of Books and Friends:
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/limelight-daisy-buchanan/6403461?aid=9407&ean=9781408725597

To buy 'Insatiable':
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/insatiable-a-frank-funny-account-of-21st-century-lust-independent-daisy-buchanan/4938039?ean=9780751580198

To buy 'Careering':
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/careering-daisy-buchanan/4958437?ean=9780751580235

To follow Daisy:
https://www.instagram.com/thedaisybee/

Listen to You're Booked:
https://play.acast.com/s/booked

To follow us:
https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Books, Authors & Other Recs mentioned:
Yellowface by R.F Kuang
The 52 Seductions by Betty Herbert
I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear by Sean DeLear
Push Off from Here: Nine Essential Truths to Get You Through Sobriety (and Everything Else) by Laura McKowen
We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen
Barbara Pym
Nora Ephron
The Other Side Of The Story by Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes & Nina Stibbe on 'Book Off!': https://play.acast.com/s/bookoff/marian-keyes-and-nina-stibbe-id-like-to-live-in-a-cave-cover
Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan
Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
Polo by Jilly Cooper
Luster by Raven Leilani
Insatiable by Daisy Buchanan
Idol by Louise O'Neill
The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Succession (TV- HBO)
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
The Electricity of Every Living Thing: A Woman’s Walk in the Wild to Find Her Way Home by Katherine May
Joanna Scanlan on Bryony Gordon's Mad World Podcast : https://open.spotify.com/episode/4KbSp5A3DowlW5EVYCqhan
Katherine May & Pico Iyer on The Half Known Life: https://soundcloud.com/5x15/pico-iyer-and-katherine-may-on-the-half-known-life-finding-paradise-in-a-divided-world
The Watermelon Woman (Movie- currently showing on Prime)
The List by Yomi Adegoke

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series where we shine the light on the freshest authors and their work! For today's episode we were joined by debut novelist of 'I Will Greet The Sun Again', the incredible Khashayar J. Khabushani.
We discuss his highly contested debut, how he can read multiple books at once, why basketball means so much to him, why his mother is such a huge inspiration and so much more, we hope you enjoy this conversation and we hope it encourages you to read his beautiful book so you can fall in love like we did. As always, if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!

To buy 'I Will Greet The Sun Again': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/i-will-greet-the-sun-again-khashayar-j-khabushani/7310803?ean=9780241514733

To follow us: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Books mentioned:
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Then the War and Selected Poems, 2007–2020 by Carl Phillips
Savage Tongues by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Chain Gang All Stars: A Novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah


Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse



Thank you so much for listening & until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! Welcome to our Season finale episode where we chatted to Australian novelist Eliza Henry-Jones about her latest novel Salt & Skin, which was released in Australia and New Zealand last year and was recently released in the UK & U.S.

Aswell as deep diving into her beautiful genre-bending novel, we discuss how her professional experience of trauma and grief counselling influenced her writing of these topics, climate change, morally ambiguous characters and so much more, it was such a treat to gain insight into her writing process and to have such a thought-provoking conversation, we really hope you enjoy this one! As always please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you!

We are now officially on break and will resume uploading on the 15th of September.

To buy Salt and Skin (UK):
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/salt-and-skin-eliza-henry-jones/7422492?ean=9781914613364

(US): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/salt-and-skin-eliza-henry-jones/1143139560?ean=9781914613364

(AUS & NZ): https://www.booktopia.com.au/salt-and-skin-eliza-henry-jones/book/9781761152955.html

To follow Eliza: https://www.instagram.com/elizahenryjones/?hl=en

Books discussed:
Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick
Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Thanks so much for listening and for all your support this year, we're so so grateful.
To follow us:
https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

WE'RE BACK BOOKENDS! For the first episode in our new season, we were joined by none other than Anne Enright, a Booker Prize-winning author, no less!
Aswell as deep diving into her latest novel, we chat about sibling dynamics, mothers and daughters, social media and so much more, it was an absolute JOY to chat to the Irish powerhouse herself and we hope you love this conversation as much as we did.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you!

To buy The Wren, The Wren: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-wren-the-wren-anne-enright/7376786?ean=9781787334601

Books discussed:
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Actress by Anne Enright

Irish Poets, as recommended by Anne:
Michael Longley
Seamus Heaney
Jessica Traynor
Jane Clarke
Leontia Flynn
Sinéad Morrissey
Victoria Kennefick
Leanne O'Sullivan

Follow us for more: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod
Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series! For this episode we were joined by Gabriella Braun, the Director of Working Well to chat about her debut non-fiction book 'All That We Are'. We speak about toxic work cultures, how she took psycho-analysis out of therapy rooms and into workspaces and how we can better equip ourselves in our working lives, it was such an insightful and enlightening conversation and we hope you get as much from it as we did.

To buy 'All That We Are': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/all-that-we-are-uncovering-the-hidden-truths-behind-our-behaviour-at-work-gabriella-braun/4957828?ean=9780349427300

To connect with Gabriella:
Website- https://www.gabriellabraun.co.uk/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/BraunGabriella
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellabraun/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.workingwell.cc/

If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more listeners! If you want to reach out to us you can do so apairofbookendspod@gmail.com, @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Books recommended:
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa


The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry

Thanks so much for listening, happy reading! Han & Lyd xr

Welcome back Bookends to another Bonus Books episode, for this episode we were joined by crime and thriller author Victoria Selman. Aswell as deep diving into Victoria's latest book 'All The Little Liars', we discuss how true crime has become such a cultural phenomenon, her writing process, toxic teenage female friendships and so much more. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

To buy Victoria's books:
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/all-the-little-liars-victoria-selman/7333997?ean=9781529430349
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/truly-darkly-deeply-an-unsettling-thriller-with-a-shocking-twist-victoria-selman/6399508?ean=9781529420685

To follow Victoria & her work:
Twitter - @VictoriaSelman
Instagram- @Victoriaselmanauthor
http://www.victoriaselmanauthor.com/
Listen to her podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crime-time-fm/id1556906895
https://open.spotify.com/show/3nRtWe8ZnnbwKETkJQgXGj

You can get in contact with us at apairofbookendspod@gmail.com, @apairofbookendspod on Instagram or @apairofbookends on Twitter/X and Tik Tok.
https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Books & Other Recs mentioned:
The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Girls by Emma Cline
Snapped - Now TV
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Catastrophe - Netflix

Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you. Thank you so much for listening, Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! We're back with our BONUS episode of September, this time joined by the much-loved YA and Contemporary fiction author Holly Bourne to chat about her latest YA book 'You Could Be So Pretty'! We discuss beauty standards, modern society, internet culture, body image, safeguarding in books, sensitivity readers and so much more. It was such an empowering and thought-provoking conversation that we hope you all enjoy!
As always, if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you.
You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Holly's books:
You Could Be So Pretty
The Places I've Cried In Public

To follow Holly and her work:
Instagram
Holly's website

Books & other recs discussed:
I'm a fan by Sheena Patel
Weirdos Book Club Podcast- I'm a fan Ft Nish Kumar: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/im-a-fan-by-sheena-patel-with-nish-kumar/id1699406650?i=1000625500266
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne
The Places I've Cried In Public by Holly Bourne
Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein
Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

For future episodes or book recs you can reach us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com
Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to the finale of Season 2 of our Debut Spotlight series, where we shine the spotlight on the freshest authors and their work! For this episode we were joined by the brilliant Australian author of 'Sad Girl Novel', Pip Finkemeyer. We discuss why we love a sad girl novel, the beauty and intensity of female friendship, her positive debut publishing experience and so much more! We hope you enjoy this conversation and as always, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you.

To follow us:
https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

To buy Pip's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/sad-girl-novel-pip-finkemeyer/7438218?ean=9781399723534

To follow Pip and her work:
https://www.instagram.com/pipfink/

Books & other recs discussed in this ep:
Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
Shameless Podcast
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Breaking Bad - Netflix
Girls - Now TV
Only Murders In The Building - Disney +
The Modern by Anna Kate Blair









The diaries of Helen Garner

Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome Bookends to our October Bonus episode where Hannah was joined by the international best-selling author Victoria Hislop to chat all about her latest novel 'The Figurine'

Unfortunately Lydia was ill for this episode but Hannah had a wonderful conversation with Victoria about her passion for Greek culture, her immersive research process, the ways in which Emily Brontë influences her writing and so much more. As always if you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!

To buy Victoria's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-figurine-the-brand-new-novel-from-the-no-1-sunday-times-bestselling-author-of-the-island-victoria-hislop/7498481?ean=9781472263933

To follow Victoria and her work: https://www.victoriahislop.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vichislop/?hl=en-gb

To follow/contact us:
https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Books & other recs discussed:
Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen Powell
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Oppenheimer
Boiling Point - BBC Iplayer

Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another Book Club episode, for October we chose Land of Milk and Honey, the second novel from Booker Prize long-listed author C.Pam Zhang. For this episode we were thrilled to be joined by the author herself to chat all about the world of her novel. Our conversation covered food, class, climate change, family and how lots of these things play into one another, it was such a thought-provoking conversation & we can't wait to hear what you think!
As always, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you.

To get in touch please do email us at apairofbookendspod@gmail.com or you can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok!

Books & other recommendations discussed:
I'm a fan by Sheena Patel
Pilgrim Bell: Poems by Kaveh Akbar
Home Body by Rupi Kaur
C.Pam Zhang for Esquire on grief & her Grandmother's cooking: https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/a45123237/c-pam-zhang-taste-of-her-care/
Women Talking - Amazon Prime
Mobility: A Novel by Lydia Kiesling
Smoking Goat (Restaurant, Shoreditch)
Ahsoka (Disney +)

To buy Land of Milk and Honey: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/land-of-milk-and-honey-c-pam-zhang/7419911?ean=9781529153668
To follow Pam: https://www.instagram.com/cpamzhang/?hl=en-gb

Thank you so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends! We are back with the first episode in our THIRD season of Debut Spotlight - where we bring you the freshest debut authors and their work.
For this episode we were joined by author and curator Celina Baljeet Basra, to discuss her upcoming novel 'Happy'.
We talk about the inspiration for her young, ambitious protagonist, the importance of sharing stories of migrant workers & their working conditions, the unusual structure of her novel and the space she curates for herself to write in, amongst much more!
We hope you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you.

To pre-order 'Happy' (UK listeners): https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/happy-celina-baljeet-basra/7357029?ean=9781035405886

To follow Celina: https://www.instagram.com/celinabasra/?hl=en

If you wish to follow us, you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok.

Books & other recommendations discussed:
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk


Do You Remember Being Born?: A Novel by Sean Michaels
Delhi-6 (Movie)
Masakali by Mohit Chauhan (song from Delhi-6)
Uski Roti (Movie)
https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/17312 - Dough by Video Artist Mika Rottenberg

Do get in touch with us with any of your own recommendations, we love hearing them! apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Welcome Bookends to an incredibly special episode in collaboration with the 2023 Forward Prizes for Poetry. For this episode, Hannah was joined by winner of Best Collection, Jason Allen-Paisant.

We talk about his experience of winning the prize, the inspiration behind his award-winning collection, how he felt connected to Shakespeare's Othello and so much more. It was a really interesting and thought-provoking conversation and such an honour to hear Jason read his work aloud, we hope you enjoy!

To buy Jason's collection 'Self-Portrait as Othello': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/self-portrait-as-othello-jason-allen-paisant/7398755?ean=9781800173101

To buy his previous collection 'Thinking with Trees': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/thinking-with-trees-jason-allen-paisant/5070456?ean=9781800171138

To pre-order his upcoming book 'Engagements with Aimé Césaire': https://global.oup.com/academic/product/engagements-with-aim-csaire-9780192867223?cc=gb&lang=en&

To follow Jason & his work: https://www.instagram.com/jallenpaisant/, https://www.jasonallenpaisant.com/

Books discussed:
Bad Diaspora Poems by Momtaza Mehri
A Change in the Air by Jane Clarke
Never Was by H. Gareth Gavin

If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter & Tik Tok, or get in touch with us via email apairofbookendspod@gmail.com
Thanks so much for listening, until next time, happy reading! x

Welcome Bookends, it's been a while! We've got a fabulous November Bonus Books special for you today and as Hannah is already feeling festive, we've got something festive up our sleeves (yes that includes gifts)! Hannah was joined by author B.K Borison to discuss her romance series 'Lovelight Farms' which is out now and published by Pan Macmillan.
In line with the release of this episode, Pan Macmillan have very kindly offered to send one of our lucky listeners the full series, head to our socials to find out how you can win! https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

It was a joy to be joined by B.K Borison- we discuss why her book is compared to Gilmore Girls, how social media has enhanced her author experience, those steamy sex scenes and so much more, we really hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

To buy 'Lovelight Farms': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/lovelight-farms-the-feel-good-friends-to-lovers-romcom-sensation-b-k-borison/7413673?ean=9781035028856

To follow B.K Borison: https://www.instagram.com/authorbkborison/?hl=en

Books & Authors mentioned:
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
A Risk Worth Taking by Jessica Joyce
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Kennedy Ryan
Emily Henry
Ali Hazelwood
The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese
Wreck The Halls by Tessa Bailey
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Please do rate, review & subscribe if you enjoyed this episode so we can reach more of you! Thank you so much for listening, happy reading x

Welcome Bookends to our December Bonus Books Special with the brilliant author & journalist Sarra Manning. Here to chat about her latest novel 'The Man Of Her Dreams', we deep-dive into all things rom-com, what makes them good, what makes them bad and what is it like to write the sex scenes? Aswell as this, Hannah invites Sarra into a festive quick-fire round where we find out what Sarra really thinks of Richard Curtis films, what her favourite festive read is and which Pride and Prejudice adaptation she thinks is best. All of this and more in today's ep!

To buy The Man of Her Dreams: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-man-of-her-dreams-the-brilliant-new-rom-com-from-the-author-of-london-with-love-sarra-manning/7438105?ean=9781399707831

To follow Sarra: https://www.instagram.com/sarra_manning/?hl=en

To follow us or drop us an email: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

As always, if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!

Books & Other mentions:

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Love Actually - Now TV
The Holiday - Netflix
Pride and Prejudice (1995) - BBC Iplayer

Thanks so much for listening, until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to a very exciting episode in collaboration with the 2023 Polari Prize. For today's episode Hannah was joined by writer Julia Armfield to discuss her award-winning debut novel 'Our Wives Under The Sea' which our OG Bookends will remember was our second ever Book Club pick! To read more about this year's Polari Prize: https://www.polarisalon.com/copy-of-polari-prize-1

Aswell as discussing her Polari prize win, we chat about the ways in which Julia has been inspired by Stephen King, the parallels she has found between horror and romance and how a place in her novel represents the horror of bureaucracy!
In today's episode we also feature some questions from some of our wonderful listeners who you can follow below:
Emma Hinds (author of The Knowing, out Jan 2024) - https://www.instagram.com/elphreads
Meg (Book Blogger- https://www.instagram.com/meg.in.a.book/?hl=en-gb)
Georgia (Book Blogger- https://www.instagram.com/georgiadoesbooks/)
Alice (Book Blogger- https://www.instagram.com/mostardentlyalice/?hl=en)

To buy Our Wives Under The Sea: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/our-wives-under-the-sea-julia-armfield/6454886?ean=9781529017250
To pre-order Private Rites: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/private-rites-julia-armfield/7593552?ean=9780008608033
To follow Julia: https://www.instagram.com/juliakarmfield/

Books/ Authors/ Other media discussed:
K2: Triumph and Tragedy by Jim Curran
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Stand by Stephen King
It by Stephen King
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Misery by Stephen King
Danse Macabre by Stephen King
Sarah Waters
Portrait of a lady on fire - Netflix
My Summer of Love by Helen Cross
Sugar Rush - Channel 4
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts! You can follow us @apairofbookendspod on instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. Thanks so much for listening, until next time, happy reading! x

Merry Christmas Bookends! What a gorgeous way to end 2023 with our finale - the Christmas special of dreams with the brilliant Saphire from Book Bodega! As always if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it massively helps us to reach more of you.

We chat through our top books of the year, what 2024 books should be on your pre-order lists and the bookish ghosts of our past, present and future, all of this and more in today's episode...

To get the full list of the books spoken about in today's episode please visit: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/a-pair-of-bookends-guest-episode

Follow Book Bodega: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/bookbodega, https://www.instagram.com/bookbodega/?hl=en

Listen to Novel Thoughts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/novel-thoughts/id1721722638

To follow us: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod

Thanks so much for listening, for reasons beyond our control Lydia was unable to record the Christmas special but we both wish you a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year, we'll see you for more in 2024 but until then, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Happy new year Bookends! Our first Book Club episode of the year is dedicated to The Knowing by friend of the pod Emma Hinds, it was only right that we brought Emma back to chat all about her debut novel, how she kept going in the face of rejections, why it's important to represent disabled characters in the way she did, the feminist issues she feels particularly passionate about writing and so much more.
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you and if you'd like to give us a follow on socials or contact us, you can do so here: Get in touch!

Buy Tickets for 'The Knowing' Book Launch @ Queer Lit, Manchester
To buy 'The Knowing': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-knowing-emma-hinds/7565411?ean=9781915798138
To follow Emma: Instagram & Twitter
To follow Mya (Illustrator of The Knowing): Instagram

Books & Authors discussed on this episode:
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
The Wager by David Grann
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë


The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Sarah Waters
Pat Barker
Kirsty Logan
Julia Armfield
The Matrix by Lauren Groff
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca


Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami/ Translation by Allison Markin Powell


Morgan is my name by Sophie Keetch
Circe by Madeline Miller
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight


A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing by Hilary Mantel

Thank you so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to a new Debut Spotlight episode, this time we were joined by the incredible Kate Brody, author of 'Rabbit Hole' which is out in the UK TODAY! (Our lucky U.S listeners have had it a couple of weeks already!)
Aswell as hearing about the journey in having her debut novel published, we chat about sister dynamics, grief and so much more... Hannah of course also asked how a debut novelist ended up with an endorsement from actor Mila Kunis?!
We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did, as always please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts!
If you want to follow us you can do so via this link: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod
To follow Kate: Instagram & Twitter/ X

To buy 'Rabbit Hole' and to see all other recommendations discussed today: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/kate-brody-episode?

Other recs discussed:
Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Yours For The Taking by Gabrielle Korn

If you wish to get in touch with recommendations, feedback or for interview requests please email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com, we love to hear from you! Thanks so much for listening & until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to an exciting January minisode where we were joined by the brilliant, award-winning documentary filmmaker Emma Goude. We discuss how she turned her experiences with psychosis into her memoir My Beautiful Psychosis, the importance of having a support system in place and her time working at the BBC. If you wish to follow more of Emma and her work you can do so here.

To check out Emma's book and other books/authors we discussed on today's episode: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/emma-goude-episode?
Other recommendations mentioned:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/if-i-ruled-the-world-by-gillian-burke/id1715887715

If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you! If you wish to follow us you can do so here.

Thanks so much for listening and until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

The woman of the hour, the book of the moment! On today's show we bring you the incredible Madeleine Gray, author of GREEN DOT- whose publishing journey is unlike anything we've heard before. We chat about why we love an affair narrative, why she wanted to write about working in retail, the representation of positive father/daughter dynamics and so much more. It was a DELIGHT to chat to Madeleine and we hope you love this episode as much as we did!

If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more listeners and means the absolute world.
You can follow us on all social platforms: https://linktr.ee/apairofbookendspod or get in touch with us via email apairofbookendspod@gmail.com


You can also follow Madeleine: here

Book tix for upcoming events with Madeleine: https://www.waterstones.com/events/in-conversation-with-madeleine-gray/manchester-deansgate
https://www.waterstones.com/events/madeleine-gray-in-conversation-with-pandora-sykes-at-waterstones-piccadilly/london-piccadilly
https://www.book-ish.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-madeleine-gray/

To buy the books discussed on today's episode including Green Dot (published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and out in the UK tomorrow!) : https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/madeleine-gray-episode?
Other recommendations mentioned:

My Education by Susan Choi
A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing by Jessie Tu
Dress Rehearsals by Madison Godfrey
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/the-evil-mistress-trope-is-tired-i-empathise-with-the-other-woman-20230921-p5e6i2.html
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/21/madeleine-gray-a-shop-can-be-your-castle-adventures-in-the-retail-train
Deadloch (Prime)

Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! Welcome to the FIRST in our brand new series: the monthly culture round-up where we chat about all of the recommendations we've been enjoying over the last month and boy are you in for a treat today!

As always if you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us massively and if you have any recommendations you want to get in touch with please do send them us via DM on Instagram, Twitter or Tik Tok. You can also email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Currently Reading:
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Piglet by Lottie Hazell

Lydia's Picks:
Saltburn (Amazon Prime)
The New York Times Book Review Podcast
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Society of the snow (Netflix)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Netflix)

Hannah's Picks:
Good Grief (Netflix)
Paul Mescal on Chicken Shop Date
My Husband by Maud Ventura
Sentimental Garbage Podcast - Robbie Williams with Dolly Alderton
Blue Lights (BBC)

Other mentions:
Dan Levy on How to Fail
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Hot Ones
Amelia Dimoldenberg on The Louis Theroux podcast
Paul Mescal on The Louis Theroux podcast
Money Heist (Netflix)
Yellowjackets (Paramount +/ Amazon Prime)
Robbie Williams Docuseries (Netflix)
Everything is Content podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-7-mob-wife-winter-reboot-fatigue-and-poor-things/id1719284496?i=1000642162941
Strangers by Taichi Yamada
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Keiran Goddard
Hourglass by Keiran Goddard
Nuclear Family by Kate Davies
In at the deep end by Kate Davies
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes


Thanks so much for listening! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, where we shine the light on the freshest authors and their work. Today we bring you an episode with the wonderful Sarah Marsh, author of 'A Sign of Her Own' which is out now and published by Tinder Press.
We chat about the importance of community for Deaf people, Sarah's research process (including bringing Alexander Graham Bell back to life!), the writers that have inspired her and so much more!

If you enjoy this episode, please do rate review & subscribe as it helps us more than you can imagine! You can now also gain an exclusive extra monthly episode amongst other benefits for less than the price of a cup of coffee by supporting us on Patreon. If you want to follow us you can do so @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter or Tik Tok or email us with your book recs and feedback at apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Podcast Transcript: https://freepodcasttranscription.com/transcription/e808b8c3edd2d7f1a7b651aec5cd1010567dadec.srt

To buy 'A Sign of Her Own': https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9781035401611
To follow Sarah: https://twitter.com/SarahCMarsh
Book tix for Sarah's upcoming event: https://www.favershamliteraryfestival.org/index.php/purls/2024-events-url/2024-main-events-table/sarah-marsh-and-lesley-mcdowell

Books & authors discussed:
Pod by Laline Paull
Sebastian Barry
Marilynne Robinson
True Biz by Sara Novic
The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus
Chattering: Stories by Louise Stern
Ismael and His Sisters by Louise Stern

Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

For today's Bonus Books we were joined by Australian Author Katherine Brabon, whose latest novel Body Friend completely blew us away.
We chat about her experiences of living with chronic pain, what it was like to transfer that onto the page, creating characters that personified the inner struggle of choosing to rest and so much more, this was such a great conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

If you like what we do and want to support our work & gain exclusive content for less than £3 a month, follow us on Patreon.
Please do rate, review & subscribe on your preferred podcast platform, it means the world!
To follow us: Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy Body Friend (UK): https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9781761152597
To follow Katherine: https://www.instagram.com/katherinebrabon/

Books, authors & other recs mentioned on today's episode:
The Long Form by Kate Briggs
A Shining by Jon Fosse
Natalia Ginzburg
Helen Garner
Gerald Murnane
Alexis Wright
In Plaster poem by Sylvia Plath
Sally Rooney
Rachel Cusk
W.G. Sebald
Septology by Jon Fosse
Aliss At The Fire by Jon Fosse
Killers of the flower moon (Movie)

Thank you so much for listening. Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back to the latest episode in our Debut Spotlight series, for this episode we were joined by the wonderful Miranda Pountney, author of 'How to be somebody else'.
We chat about the impact Tessa Hadley had on her road to publication, what living in New York is really like, affairs (obviously!) and so much more, we hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

If you have time please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!
Follow us on Patreon, Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

To buy 'How to be somebody else': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-be-somebody-else-miranda-pountney/7496635?aid=13480&ean=9781787332102

To follow Miranda: https://www.instagram.com/mirandapountney

Books & other recommendations disccused on this episode:
In the cut by Susanna Moore
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Here is New York by E.B White
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti

Miranda's Recommendation:
https://www.instagram.com/heyemmet/?hl=en

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading x

It's monthly culture round-up time, yay! On today's episode aswell as giving our recommendations for the month, we chat all about the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist, the BAFTAs and what we're excited for in the coming month!

Apologies for Hannah's echo-ey sound on this one, we've done our best to rectify on the edit!

If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! You can also follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok or you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com
For extra exclusive content head on over to our Patreon!

Currently reading:
Unearthing by Kyo Maclear

Lydia's picks:
One Day (Netflix)
Texas Hold'Em - Beyoncé
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
https://www.youtube.com/@SavidgeReads
Nyad (Netflix)

Hannah's picks:
One Day (Netflix)
Texas Hold'Em - Beyoncé
Booker Prize podcast on Sally Rooney's Normal People: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/why-sally-rooneys-normal-people-is-more-than-just-a/id720041386?i=1000643759310
All of Us Strangers

Other mentions:
For the full list of books mentioned in today's episode visit: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/february-monthly-culture-round-up
https://www.instagram.com/archivist_reader
Da'vine Joy Randolph BAFTA acceptance speech-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXR5i6Tq3tE
Samantha Morton BAFTA acceptance speech-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRWsuuZTRLM
The High Low Podcast on Unconscious Bias: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/womens-unconscious-bias-towards-other-women-kim-kardashians/id1211338187?i=1000401176120
Marriage Story (Netflix)
Sky Arts Book Club

What we're excited for in March:
Oscars
Alice & Jack (Channel 4)
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Paper Names by Susie Luo
Small Hours by Bobby Palmer

Thanks so much for listening, Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends, we apologise for the delay on this one but after some difficult news last week we needed to postpone editing.
Here is our Feb Book Club episode with the astounding debut author Leo Vardiashvili, his book Hard by a Great Forest has been endorsed by the likes of literary legend Khaled Hosseini and was swept up by Bloomsbury in an overnight pre-empt and we cannot emphasise enough how much we loved it.
On this episode we discuss Leo's experiences as a refugee and how that informed his novel, Georgian hospitality, the hysterical true story of Zoo animals storming the streets of his home town and so much more. Please do rate, review & subscribe if you enjoy this episode, it helps us hugely!

If you wish to buy Leo's book (you should!): https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9781526659828
To follow Leo: Goodreads & Twitter
For more exclusive content from us please head on over to our Patreon
You can also follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Leo's upcoming events:
https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-events/2024/march-21/memories-of-flight-fictionalising-georgias-2008-war-with-russia
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-leo-vardiashvili-tickets-779317618977

Books discussed on this episode:
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome to our March Book Club episode where today our episode coincides with the release of the breathtaking memoir Unearthing by Kyo Maclear. We were so thrilled to be joined by Kyo to chat all about her book, we discuss the DNA test that changed her life, her evolving relationship with her mother, finding an appreciation for nature and how that helped her through the grieving process and so much more. This was such a wonderful conversation and we really hope you get as much from it as we did! Please do rate, review & subscribe if you can as it helps us reach more of you!
To gain extra exclusive content from us, follow our Patreon
You can also give us a follow via Instagram, Twitter or Tik Tok or email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

To grab your own copy of Unearthing, you can buy it here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9781911590958
To follow Kyo: via Instagram

Books & authors mentioned on the episode:
Wrong Norma by Anne Carson
Maurice Sendak
John Berger
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Kyo's recommendation:
My Brilliant Friend (TV adaptation) - Now TV

Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Hey Bookends! Apologies for the lack of episode last week, it's been a hectic month so we had a week off but are back with the latest instalment in our Debut Spotlight series! For this episode we chatted to the brilliant Ursula Villarreal-Moura, author of debut novel Like Happiness and the flash fiction collection Math for the self-crippling.

We chat about how she kept the faith in her novel after it went out on submission 3 times before being picked up, writing power dynamics in relationships, why she rereads books and so much more. As Ursula is a professor aswell as a writer, her recommendations were truly top tier in this! 

We hope you enjoy & please do rate, review & subscribe to the pod to show your support, it means the world. To get extra exclusive content you can sign up to our Patreon for less than £3! 
You can follow us on Instagram,Twitter and Tik Tok
To contact Ursula and keep updated on her work you can find her here.

Books & Authors mentioned in this episode: 
Confessions by Kanae Minato
When The Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
What Remains at the End by Alexandra Ford
Roberto Bolaño
The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark
Robinson by Muriel Spark
Sigrid Nunez
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H
There There by Tommy Orange
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends! With lots going on in the background we were unable to record our episode for last week so we hope you'll forgive us for missing a week. The new installment in our Debut Spotlight series is with the incredible writer/performer Roxy Dunn, whose debut novel 'As Young As This' publishes tomorrow with Penguin Fig Tree.

For this episode we discuss the life of a creative, rejection, fertility and so much more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!
For exclusive content from us sign up to our Patreon for less than £3 a month!
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok.

To buy 'As Young As This': https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9780241632697
You can follow Roxy on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Books & other recs mentioned: 
As Young As This by Roxy Dunn
Big Sexy Lunch by Roxy Dunn
Clowning by Roxy Dunn
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
The Panic Years by Nell Frizzell
The Panic Years podcast
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Lucy By The Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney 
Margaret Drabble
American Fiction (Film)- adapted from Erasure by Percival Everett
One Day - Netflix
Poor Things- Disney +

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to a bumper monthly culture round-up to make up for the delay, unfortunately Lydia was unable to record so Hannah was joined by friend of the pod and author of The Knowing, Emma Hinds. Aswell as our recommendations for March we discuss the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, those Emily Henry casting theories and the iconic Cowboy Carter album. 

Currently reading: 
Emma- Meet Me at the Surface by Jodie Matthews
Hannah- The Voyageur by Paul Carlucci

Emma's Recs
Hozier- Unheard EP
American Fiction - Amazon Prime
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
Eleanor Among The Saints by Rachel Mann
@aljazeeraenglish

Hannah's Recs
Jamie Dornan on Desert Island Discs
Poor Things- Disney + 
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Mr Bates vs The Post Office - ITVX
Matrescence by Lucy Jones

Link to Emma's upcoming event: Coming Out of the Cage: A Queer Genre Panel at Waterstones Piccadilly
Follow Emma: https://www.instagram.com/elphreads/

Other mentions: 
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
The Bear - Disney +
Shameless Podcast
Ian Wright on Desert Island Discs
Kinds of Kindness Trailer - New Yorgos Lanthimos & Emma Stone movie
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! Link to our bookshop page to buy the books mentioned today, support us and local bookshops. Follow us on Patreon for more exclusive content. You can also follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok.
Thanks so much for listening & happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, for today's episode we were joined by author of 'Sparks of Bright Matter' which is published by Eriu in the UK & Ireland tomorrow! We chat to Leeanne about her literary influences, creativity and motherhood, her research process for the book and so much more! Let us know if you enjoy this episode by leaving us a rating or a review wherever you get your podcasts.

To buy the book: Sparks of Bright Matter (11th April)
To follow Leeanne: Instagram
To listen to Leeanne's podcast: Into The Mythic - Ancient Irish Stories for Modern Times

Books mentioned: 
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett
1984 by George Orwell
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
Matrescence by Lucy Jones
Colours of London: A History by Peter Ackroyd
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Missing Persons, Or My Grandmother's Secrets by Clair Wills
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

For more exclusive content follow us on Patreon for less than £3 a month
You can also follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok
Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to another episode in our Debut Spotlight series, for this episode we were joined by author of The Voyageur which is out tomorrow & published by Swift Press. 
We spoke to Paul about the real people that inspired his novel, why he thinks it's important to write bodily functions, not shying away from brutality and violence in his writing and more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! 
For more exclusive content please head to our Patreon and if you'd like to follow us you can do so here: https://www.instagram.com/apairofbookendspod/ https://twitter.com/apairofbookends & https://www.tiktok.com/@apairofbookends

To buy Paul's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9781800753150
You can also follow Paul on Goodreads


Books & other recs mentioned: 
For our full online shop click here
The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh
By Gaslight by Steven Price
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
The Book Review podcast: Looking Back at 50 Years of Stephen King
Tennis Lessons by Susannah Dickey
Common Decency by Susannah Dickey
Sparrow by James Hynes
The Guest by Emma Cline
The Girls by Emma Cline

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading. Han & Lyd x

Welcome back Bookends to the FINALE of Season 3 in our Debut Spotlight series, can you believe it?! For this episode we thought who better than Georgina Moore, her debut novel The Garnett Girls is a Sunday Times bestseller and not only that but Georgina is also an award-winning book publicist who has worked with prolific authors such as Maggie O'Farrell! We chat about what it's like working on both sides of the industry, why the Isle of Wight is such a special place to her, writing older female characters and so much more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you!
Please note: this episode contains discussion around alcoholism. 

Buy your copy of The Garnett Girls here.
You can follow Georgina on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok
If you want to give us a follow you can do so via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok or you can email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

Books mentioned in this episode: 
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Careless by Kirsty Capes
Girls by Kirsty Capes
Behind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller

Thanks so much for listening and until next time, happy reading! Han & Lyd x

Welcome to our April Book Club episode where Hannah spoke to bestselling thriller author Harriet Tyce about her latest novel, our book pick for April 'A Lesson in Cruelty'. We spoke about her journey from barrister to author, representation of criminals, why she chooses to explore alcoholism in her writing and much more, we also get a sneaky insight into what Harriet is working on next! If you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! 

To buy A Lesson in Cruelty and for the full list of books & authors mentioned in today's episode click here.
You can follow Harriet via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok
If you'd like to follow us you can do so via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading x

For today's episode we were joined by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth to chat all about her latest novel Darling Girls (as always, spoiler free!)
We talk about her research into foster care, her infamous plot twists, how she writes a book every year and more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you. 

To buy Sally's book 'Darling Girls', click here.
You can also follow Sally on  Instagram  and to find out more about her work you can head to her website.
You can follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok.

Books, authors & other recs mentioned in this episode: 
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Liane Moriarty
Jane Harper
Emily Giffin
Dr Death - Amazon Prime 

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading! 

Welcome back Bookends to the first in the 4th season of our Debut Spotlight series, for today's episode Hannah was in conversation with author Nathan Newman! Aswell as deep diving into their debut novel 'How to leave the house', we chat about their experience of being mentored by Zadie Smith, adapting their novel for TV and life lived online. If you enjoy this ep, please do rate, review & subscribe so I can reach more of you!

Buy How To Leave The House here (out tomorrow)
Follow Nathan on Instagram
You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Books & other recs mentioned on this ep: 
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
Grand Union by Zadie Smith
Sons and Lovers by D.H Lawrence
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H Lawrence
Baby Reindeer- Netflix 

For the full list of recs mentioned in all episodes click here
Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! x

For today's episode in the Debut Spotlight series, I was joined by author Alan Murrin to chat all about his upcoming novel 'The Coast Road' which is out in the UK tomorrow (Bloomsbury).
You can order your copy of The Coast Road here.
We chat about our favourite Irish phrases, writing complicated women, that Gillian Anderson endorsement and much more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so I can reach more of you! You can also follow me @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and Tik Tok. 

Book tix for Alan's upcoming event: https://allevents.in/london/alan-murrin-lucy-caldwell-and-sarah-crossan-at-waterstones-tcr/10000884067929977

Books & other mentions on this episode: 
A Case of Knives by Candia McWilliam
What to look for in Winter by Candia McWilliam
William Trevor
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín
The Green Road by Anne Enright
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Landscapers - Now TV
Critics at Large- The New Yorker podcast

To buy any of the books mentioned today click here

Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading! 

Some podcast updates & an exciting announcement! 
Go follow over on Patreon to support us, it's been a v weird time and I hope you'll stay with me on this journey. Big love x

For our May Book Club episode we were joined by Women's Prize long-listed author Kirsty Capes, to chat about her new novel Girls, out tomorrow! 
We chat about sisterhood, art, mental health, grief and so much more and 'Girls' is a devastating and remarkable book that we couldn't recommend enough. 
You can follow Kirsty via Instagram or Twitter
If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you! Follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok



This is Lydia's final episode on the pod, we couldn't have ever predicted the podcast to take off in the way it has & we've worked on so many incredible interviews together like this one and if you want to keep up with Lydia's book chat you can find her via https://www.youtube.com/@LydiaLostthePlot


Books & other recs mentioned in this episode: 
Careless by Kirsty Capes
My Sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Little Miss Sunshine- Disney +
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Lady Bird - Netflix
The Florida Project
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Women Talking - Prime
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Penance by Eliza Clark


Thanks so much for listening & for your support! See you next week, Hannah x

For today's episode Hannah and Ericka had a completely feral two hours of laughing and talking rubbish and somehow Hannah has managed to edit together an episode! 
We chat about mothers and daughters, autism, death and grief and so much more, we hope you enjoy! Please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps us to reach more of you. You can follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok
For extra content head on over to Patreon

Buy yourselves a copy of Goodbye Birdie Greenwing and Dog Days and once you have send either myself or Ericka a DM and Ericka will be sending out hand-crocheted ghosts to 'haunt your TBR' 
You can follow Ericka via Instagram & Twitter 
For more of her books and dog chat head to her website

Books & other mentions in today's episode:
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Essential Help for your nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes
Joined up writing podcast with Ericka Waller
https://www.writing.ie/interviews/the-difficult-second-novel-goodbye-birdie-greenwing-by-ericka-waller/
The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
One Day - Netflix
The Last Murder at The End of the World by Stuart Turton
The Devil and The Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Hold Back The Night by Jessica Moor
Young Women by Jessica Moor
How we named the stars by Andres N. Ordorica
Leave no trace by Jo Callaghan
In the blink of an eye by Jo Callaghan

For all books mentioned in episodes and to support indie bookshops, head here
Thanks so much for listening! See you next week for a bonus episode! 

Bobby Palmer is back on the pod! Back in November 2022, we chatted to Bobby about his debut novel Isaac and the Egg and had an absolute blast so it was only right to bring him back to chat about his second book Small Hours (out now)
We chat about how his relationship with nature has evolved, writing about a memory loss condition, masculinity, writing his third book and all the book reccs your heart could desire! 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you. 
Follow on Instagram @apairofbookendspod, Twitter @apairofbookends and Tik Tok  @apairofbookends
Follow on Patreon for more content: https://www.patreon.com/APairofBookends

Follow Bobby via Instagram
Bobby's Small Hours Spotify playlist
For new episodes of Book Chat with Bobby and Pandora, head to Pandora's Substack https://pandorasykes.substack.com/
Charity mentioned: https://foxproject.org.uk/

Books, authors & other reccs mentioned in this episode:
Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
You are Here by David Nicholls
Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak
Max Porter
George Saunders
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
One Day by David Nicholls
Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr.Seuss
West by Carys Davies
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/8-bridget-joness-diary-and-high-fidelity/id1657017360?i=1000622998970
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Erasure by Percival Everett
James by Percival Everett
The Trees by Percival Everett
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
The Terror (Amazon Prime)
The Bear (Disney +)
Another Round (Amazon Prime)

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading!

For today's episode I deep dived into the world of Romantasy with social media sensation Carissa Broadbent. We chat about why this genre is so successful, her writing process, what readers have to look forward to with the rest of the series and lots more! If you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so I can reach more of you! 

The Serpent and the Wings of Night and it's sequel The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King are available now everywhere (UK folk, the sequel is out tomorrow so go pre-order!)

You can follow Carissa via Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter
You can also follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Books & other recs mentioned: 
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Castlevania - Netflix
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J.Maas
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

For books discussed on each episode, head to: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/apairofbookendspod

Thanks so much for listening & until next time, happy reading!

For today's episode Hannah was joined by Irish author Sarah Gilmartin, to chat all about her latest novel Service (Pushkin Press, out now in paperback)
Please be aware this episode contains reference to SA & statistics of SA cases
We chat about what it was like to write from the perspective of a man accused of sexual assault, her experience of working in restaurants, how the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre helped shape the writing of the case in the book and more. It was such an insightful conversation and the book is in Hannah's top reads of the year! 
If you enjoyed this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!
You can follow Sarah via https://twitter.com/sarahgilmartin_
You can email us via apairofbookendspod@gmail.com or follow us Instagram, Twitter  & Tik Tok
For more exclusive content with Hannah and friend of the pod Emma Hinds, head to https://www.patreon.com/APairofBookends

Books & other mentions on the pod:
Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin
Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong
Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell
Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell
Openings by Lucy Caldwell
Blue Lights- BBC Iplayer

Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading!

To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week 2024, Hannah interviewed one of her local indie bookshops Serenity Booksellers. We chat about how Kelly and her partner Chris turned their bookshop dreams into a reality, what exciting things they have coming up, why it's important to support our indies and a HUGE list of book recommendations! 
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you. 
You can find Serenity Booksellers via their website (subscribe to their mailing list to be in with a chance of winning a £100 voucher for their store) or via Instagram or Facebook.
If you're unable to make it in store and wish to support them, the below book recs are linked to Serenity Booksellers bookshop.org page.
For more on Independent Bookshop Week visit https://www.booksaremybag.com/

Books, indie bookshops & other mentions in this episode: 
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
Want by Gillian Anderson
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe
October, October by Katya Balen
Ghostlines by Katya Balen
James by Percival Everett
Hard By A Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili
Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten
The Many by Wyl Menmuir
The Draw of The Sea by Wyl Menmuir
The Heart of The Woods by Wyl Menmuir
Small Hours by Bobby Palmer
The Castle (1997 movie, on Amazon Prime)
Simply Books, Bramhall
Dark Peak Books & Gifts, Glossop
Booka Bookshop, Oswestry
Truman Books, Leeds
Wife by Charlotte Mendelson
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Homecoming by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Breath by Tim Winton
Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan
Wanting by Richard Flanagan
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria Mackenzie
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne by Freya North
Other Women by Emma Flint
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
Stand Up Guy by Nina Kaye
Baby Reindeer- Netflix 
Sparrow by James Hynes

Thanks so much for listening, until next time happy reading! 

For today's very exciting bonus episode Hannah was joined by the Women's Prize longlisted author of 'The Most Fun We Ever Had' Claire Lombardo to chat all about her new novel 'Same As It Ever Was' (out now in the US, published by Doubleday! UK folk you can pre-order!)
We chat about her favourite family saga novels, writing 'nice' men & complicated women, her debut novel's upcoming adaptation and so much more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe to boost us in the charts!
You can follow Claire via Instagram or Twitter
For more exclusive content & for less than £3 a month, join us on Patreon, you can also follow us via Instagram, Twitter & Tik Tok

Books mentioned in today's episode: 
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Brother Of The More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido

Thanks so much for listening! If you want to get in touch you can do so via apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

On today's episode Hannah was joined by author and literary translator Sam Taylor to discuss his latest novel The Two Loves of Sophie Strom, which is out now and published by Faber!
We discuss how the book went from being a Sci-fi novel when he first started writing 14 years ago to becoming a historical novel about Nazi Berlin, the differences between working as a translator and a novelist, how falling in love influenced his novel and loads more. If you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe so we can reach more of you!
You can follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Book, authors & other recs mentioned on this episode:
Prague Fatale by Phillip Kerr
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
HHhH by Laurent Binet
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/18/sam-taylor-the-two-loves-of-sophie-strom-novel-translating-a-book-is-like-x-raying-it-you-get-a-deep-tissue-read
George R.R. Martin
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
The Guest by Emma Cline
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

If you'd like to get in touch please email via apairofbookendspod@gmail.com
Thanks so much for listening! Until next time, happy reading!

For today's episode Hannah was joined by the prolific Italian author & screenwriter, Ilaria Bernardini to chat about her novel 'We Will Be Forest' (Known in Italy as: 'Faremo Foresta')
Ilaria was incredibly generous in sharing her experiences in this episode, most of which were huge inspirations for this book. We also discussed the differences between her work as a screenwriter and as a novelist, father/daughter dynamics, adapting this novel into a film and lots more. If you enjoy this episode, please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to reach more of you!
You can follow Ilaria via Instagram or via Twitter
You can follow us via Instagram, Twitter & Tik Tok

Books & other recs mentioned in this episode: 
The Dreamers by Gilbert Adair
https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-the-dreamers-2004-online (movie adaptation by Bernardo Bertolucci)
Yellowface by Rebecca F.Kuang
Kramer vs. Kramer (movie)
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Dolore Non Esiste by Ilaria Bernardini
C'mon C'mon (movie)

For episode requests or interview pitches please contact us via apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

For today's episode Hannah was joined by Louise Candlish, a household name in the crime/thriller genre. 
Hannah and Louise deep dive into Louise's latest book 'Our Holiday' (spoiler free!), we also speak about the real second home crisis that inspired the book, how the TV adaptation process is going, her literary influences and lots more! 
Follow Louise via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to put us on other people's radar, you can also support the pod by subscribing via Patreon for less than £3 a month
Follow us via: Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Books, authors & other mentions on this episode:
The Orange House by Isabelle Broom
First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks
The White Lotus- Now TV
Agatha Christie
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
A Man in Full - Netflix
Patricia Highsmith
Barbara Vine
Ruth Rendell
Lisa Jewell
Erin Kelly
Harriet Tyce
Inside No.9 - BBC Iplayer
Tales of the Unexpected - Now TV
The Sweeney- ITVX