Books On The Go
Books On The Go is a book podcast where the hosts talk about their book of the week. Each episode they share their thoughts on a particular book, what they enjoyed or found interesting, and why you might want to read it too. The show is designed for readers to follow along, picking up the same book and joining the discussion. With a relaxed, friendly tone, it's a great companion for anyone looking for book recommendations.
Episodes
The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
Anna and Geoff discuss THE PALM HOUSE by Gwendoline Riley. Set in London, it centres on friends Laura and Putnam, both journalists facing a changing work landscape. It is longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. We enjoyed this book, especially the spare writing. It got us talking: How important is plot? Is this a comic novel? Geoff's alternative title for the book. We also pick our next
Summer Holiday Reading Recommendations
A special episode: Anna and Geoff are joined by Kate Slotover of the Book Club Review Podcast, on location in London. We discuss our top holiday reading recommendations. Our picks: FAMESICK by Lena Dunham THE PALACE PAPERS by Tina Brown ENOUGH SAID by Alan Bennett SLOUGH HOUSE by Mick Herron WAITING ON A FRIEND by Natalie Adler LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION by Ben Lerner PARADISO by Michele
Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser
Anna and Geoff discuss the Dublin Literary Award winner, Gliff by Ali Smith. Our book of the week is HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser. Lispector was the Ukrainian-Brazilian novelist writing from the 1940s to 1970s who is widely referenced and is having a moment on BookTube and BookTok. She was compared with Virginia Woolf and Cubist artists. A short book (80
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Anna and Geoff react to the 2026 Women's Prize winners: Virginia Evans' THE CORRESPONDENT for Fiction, which prompts Geoff to recommend 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, and Lyse Doucet's THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL for Non-Fiction. Our book of the week is JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart, the Booker Prize-winning author of SHUGGIE BAIN. Set in the remote Scottish Hebrides among a weaving community, this sto
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Stella Prize winner, CANNON by Lee Lai and the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction shortlist. We also react to the Guardian list of 100 best books of all time. Is there a difference between your 10 favourite novels and your top 10 best books of all time? Our book of the week is LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe. This is Keefe's latest book, after his w
Transcription by Ben Lerner
Anna and Geoff react to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner, ANGEL DOWN by Daniel Kraus, a World War 1 novel written in one sentence. We also discuss Dwight Garner's New York Times article about the lack of book critics and our views on book influencers and reviews that make news, such as the Harper's review of To Paradise by Hana Yanagihara. Our book of the week is TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lern
Lázár by Nelio Biedermann translated by Jamie Bulloch
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist. Is it more commercial than usual? Our book of the week is LÁZÁR by Nelio Biedermann translated by Jamie Bulloch. This sweeping historical novel about the aristocratic von Lázár family during the 20th century from the Austro Hungarian empire through to Russian occupation is a buzzy debut which has received much praise. Patti
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
Anna and Geoff discuss the news that Helen deWitt has turned down the Windham Campbell prize. Are authors expected to do too much publicity? Our book of the week is PEDRO PÁRAMO by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford. 'Wuthering Heights located in Mexico written by Kafka' gives a hint - this book is a trip. It broke Anna's brain but Geoff found it richly rewarding once you get
Heart The Lover by Lily King
Anna and Annie discuss the 2026 Booker International Shortlist. Our book of the week is HEART THE LOVER by Lily King. This buzzy novel follows three friends at university and into adulthood. A follow up from King's best-seller WRITERS AND LOVERS, it is an instant New York Times best-seller and is long-listed for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction (shortlist to be announced on 22 April). It's a
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
Anna and Annie discuss the news that Hachette has pulled the book SHY GIRL by Mia Ballard from publication after concerns it was written by AI. Our book of the week is A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar. This follow-up to her novel A Burning is set in near-future, dystopian Kolkata. A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF is full of ethical dilemmas, flawed characters and memorable food scenes - a good
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 International Booker Prize longlist. We're intrigued by Women Without Men: A novel of Modern Iran by Shahrnush Parsipur translated by Faridoun Farrokh and The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar translated by Ruth Martin. Our book of the week is SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood. This short novel about a man who works as a shanker on a foggy beach and a film-ma
Departures by Julian Barnes
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, including Flashlight, The Correspondent and Audition. Some of the other long-listed books feature writers as characters, which gets us talking about turn-offs in novels. Our book of the week is DEPARTURE(S) by Julian Barnes. This is the final book by the Booker Prize-winning author. It is a novel about a couple who reunite late
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Anna and Geoff discuss the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week 2026 amid the controversy after the Adelaide Festival Board disinvited Palestinian-Australian writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fatteh. Among the authors who withdrew from Writers' Week was Richard Flanagan, who wrote this article (sorry for the paywall). Director Louise Adler resigned with this letter to the Guardian. Since we recorded thi
Best Books of 2025
It's our best books of the year episode! Anna, Amanda and Annie reveal our favourite reads of 2025: Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden The Time of the Child by Niall Williams The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink translated by Charlotte Collins A Guardian and a Thief by Megan Majhumdar Eurotrash by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles Dr
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Anna and Geoff discuss their reaction to the 2025 Booker Prize winner, FLESH by David Szalay, and the winner of the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction, Australian author Helen Garner for her collection of diaries HOW TO END A STORY. Our book of the week is CREATION LAKE by Rachel Kushner. Her follow-up novel after the Booker-shortlisted Mars Room, this centres on Sadie Smith, an undercover
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Anna and Geoff discuss their Booker Prize winner predictions. We haven't read enough of the shortlist to know who will win, but Geoff is tipping THE LAND IN WINTER (a DNF for Anna). Our book of the week is FLASHLIGHT by Susan Choi. This is Choi's follow-up novel after winning the National Book Award for TRUST EXERCISE. It is a sweeping family saga set in America, Japan and Korea. Shortlisted fo
Seed with Bri Lee
Annie was lucky enough to catch Bri Lee on her book tour for her second novel, Seed. Set in Antarctica, Seed follows two scientists, Mitch and Frances, as they spend a month at the seed vault that they have been creating and protecting. But as strange things keep happening to the facility, culminating in their helicopter failing to pick them up, they both have to grapple with their life choices an
I Make Envy On Your Disco with Eric Schnall
A special episode: Anna chats with author and Tony-award winning Broadway producer Eric Schnall about his debut novel I MAKE ENVY ON YOUR DISCO. Sam Singer flies to Berlin for an art gallery opening, needing a break from his partner in New York. He meets enigmatic hotel receptionist Magda and ex-pat Jeremy, goes clubbing, and discovers the 2000s nostalgia for East and West Berlin. Named a GQ Ed
Endling by Maria Reva
Anna and Annie discuss the settlement offer by Anthropic to pay $1.5bn to settle a book piracy lawsuit and the 2025 National Book Awards fiction longlist. Our book of the week is ENDLING by Maria Reva. Yeva is a snail conservationist in Ukraine who becomes caught up in Nastia and Sol's scheme to disrupt the romance tour industry. A heist ensues but everything changes when Russia invades Ukraine
A Woman Talks to Her Tongue with Alison Gorman
A special episode: Anna chats with award-winning poet Alison Gorman about her debut poetry collection A WOMAN TALKS TO HER TONGUE. These poems examine family secrets, silences and women's voices. Beautiful and assured, we loved this book. Alison joins us fresh from her sold-out launch in Sydney to discuss the moving themes from the collection and other favourite poets, including Judith Beverid
Flesh by David Szalay
Anna and Geoff discuss Sally Rooney pledging royalties to Palestine Action and the Library of South Australia being second on the list of the world's most beautiful libraries. Our book of the week is FLESH, the new novel by David Szalay which has been long-listed for the 2025 Booker Prize. It tells the story of Istvan, a Hungarian British man, in an episodic structure using key points in his l
Comfort Reading Recommendations for 2025
Anna and Annie discuss the 2025 Booker Prize Longlist. We have many comfort reading recommendations! Here are some of the books discussed: DEAD GIRL GONE by Gareth and Louise Ward THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB series and WE SOLVE MURDERS by Richard Osman IN SPITE OF YOU by Patrick Lenton CONSIDER YOURSELF KISSED by Jessica Stanley THE WEDDING FORECAST by Nina Kenwood FINE WEATHER, JEEVES by P
Perfection by Vincent Latronico translated by Sophie Hughes
Anna and Geoff discuss PERFECTION by Vincent Latronico translated by Sophie Hughes. PERFECTION is a short novel about Tom and Anna, digital nomads living in Berlin. A re-telling of the cult classic 1960s novel The Things by Georges Perec, it examines a couple who have built a stylish life but find themselves disilusioned. Perfection was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker International Prize. Sli
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin
Anna and Geoff discuss THE DIRECTOR by best-selling author of MEASURING THE WORLD and TYLL Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin. THE DIRECTOR tells the story of cinema director G. W. Pabst, who in the 1930s fled Nazi Germany for Hollywood and then returned to make films for the German Reich. This novel explores Pabst's moral dilemma and the place of art in a dictatorship. Described as '
Our Top 10 Books of the Year So Far
Anna and Annie discuss our 10 best books of 2025 so far. Books mentioned: A LITTLE TRICKERIE by Rosanna Pike THE NAMES by Florence Knapp THE HUSBANDS by Holly Gramazio DREAM COUNT by Chimananda Ngoze Adiche SMALL RAIN by Garth Greenwell STINKBUG by Sinéad Stubbins PATRIOT by Alexei Navalny translated by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel I MAKE ENVY ON YOUR DISCO by Eric Schnall MY F
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2025 Women's Prize winners and the new Data Bill regulating (or not) AI and creative work. Our book of the week is THE EMPUSIUM: A HEALTH RESORT HORROR STORY by Olga Tokarczuk translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Tokarczuk is the Nobel Prize lauereate author of FLIGHTS and DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD. Her latest novel is inspired by Thomas Mann's THE MAGIC M
The Names by Florence Knapp
Anna and Annie discuss the 2025 Women's Prize and try to predict the winner. Since we recorded this the winner has been announced: The Safe Keep by Yael Van Der Wouden. (Annie was right!) And Annie wraps up recent Australian book award news including the Stella Prize winner Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser and the Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist. Our book of the week is THE N
Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
Anna and Annie discuss the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, JAMES by Percival Everett. Our book of the week is SMALL RAIN by Garth Greenwell. A poet is admitted to hospital with severe pain. Bedridden, he reflects on his relationships, music and poetry and the small details of life. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Anna and Annie discuss the cookbook controversy between Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats and Brooke Bellamy of Bake with Brooki and ask whether it is possible to copyright a recipe. Our book of the week is FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis. Shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction, this debut novel centres on Nadia, a UN worker who travels to Iraq to rescue ISIS brides. A serious top
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
Anna and Annie discuss the 2025 Women's Prize Shortlist. Our book of the week is MEMORIAL DAYS by Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of HORSE. This is a moving and honest memoir of Brooks' time grieving her late husband Tony Horwitz and also a portrait of their marriage. Partly set on a remote island off the coast of Tasmania, it is our final Australian book for #AussieApril. C
Sea Green with Pink Shorts Press
A special episode! Anna is joined by Emily Hart and Margot Lloyd, founders of Pink Shorts Press. We discuss the exciting launch of this new publisher and the 2025 Stella Prize shortlist. Our book of the week is SEA GREEN by Barbara Hanrahan, re-issued by Pink Shorts Press this year with an introduction by Laura Elizabeth Woollett. This semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of Virginia, a
Somebody Down There Likes Me by Robert Lukins
Anna and Annie discuss the 2025 Stella Prize longlist and some upcoming book-to-screen adaptations: THE LEOPARD, SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE, FOURTH WING and THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO. Our book of the week is SOMEBODY DOWN THERE LIKES ME by Robert Lukins. A dysfunctional family comes together in Connecticut when the parents announce they have lost everything. This will appeal to SUCCESSIO
The Season by Helen Garner
Anna and Annie discuss the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist for fiction, including WOO WOO by Ella Baxter and HIGHWAY 13 by Fiona McFarlane. Our book of the week is THE SEASON by Helen Garner. This is a memoir of a year Garner spent following her grandson's club football team. It explores masculinity, the sense of community at the local club and being a grandmother. As always with Ga
The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Geoff and Anna discuss THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD by Fyodor Dostoevsky translated by David McDuff. This is a fictionalised account of the four years Dostoevsky spent in a Siberian prison camp after he was arrested for taking part in a political conspiracy. Sold as a novel but with the feel of a documentary, it contains fascinating details and joins a collection of Russian prison memoirs. Other boo
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky translated by Ronald Meyer
Anna and Geoff discuss WHITE NIGHTS by Fyodor Dostoevsky translated by Ronald Meyer. A man meets a woman on the street in St Petersburg and falls in love in this short story. It has become a Tik Tok sensation in recent months and Penguin has commissioned a new audiobook to be read by Bridgerton's Luke Thompson. Dostoevsky was in his romantic, millennial era when he wrote this (notably, befo
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
A special episode: Anna chats with Kate Slotover of the Book Club Review podcast. Our book of the week is THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION by Beth Brower. Recommended by our friend Shawn Mooney of Shawn Breathes Books, we enjoyed this novel set in Victorian London about a young woman returning to claim her inheritance. Light and witty, these books have been compared with Jane Austen and P
Ep 284: Patriot by Alexei Navalny with special guest John Wood
A special episode: Anna is joined by author and U-Go founder John Wood. We discuss our reactions to the 2025 Women's Prize Longlist. Our book of the week is PATRIOT by Alexei Navalny translated by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel. This is Navalny's autobiography detailing his rise to be a Russian opposition leader, but is also a prison diary following his arrest in January 2021. He died in pr
Ep 283: Eurotrash by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles
Anna and Geoff react to the 2025 Booker International Longlist. Our book of the week is EUROTRASH by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles. A middle-aged man goes on a dubious road trip through Switzerland with his 80-year old mother, recently discharged from a mental institution. Blackly comic and written as autofiction, this was the Financial Times Best Translated Book of 2024 and a Time
Ep 282: The Husbands with Holly Gramazio
A special episode: Anna chats with author Holly Gramazio about her debut novel THE HUSBANDS. When Lauren returns to her flat in London one night, she finds a husband called Michael: the only problem is, she isn't married. It turns out that her attic is producing an endless supply of husbands. An instant New York Times best-seller, we loved this genre-bending comedy. Holly talks about her ins
Ep 281: Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Anna and Geoff review OUR EVENINGS the new novel by Booker Prize-winning author Alan Hollinghurst. Dave Win is a Burmese-British actor reminiscing about his life, growing up as a gay man in the 1960s through to 2019. We loved the exact and beautiful prose but found it slow. The blurb also suggests a tension between Dave and bully Giles whereas the story is more of a (fictional) memoir of Dave and
Ep 280: City of Destruction with Vaseem Khan
A special episode: Anna speaks with author Vaseem Khan about his new crime novel CITY OF DESTRUCTION. This is the fifth in the Malabar House series set in 1950s Bombay after Partition. Persis Wadia is India's first female police detective and is sent to work in Malabar House. In CITY OF DESTRUCTION, a gunman attempts to assassinate the Defence Minister at a political rally and Persis shoots him d
Ep 279: Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
Anna and Annie discuss the success of Rebecca Yarros's new book ONYX STORM, the third in the Emperyean series. Annie gives her views about why they have been huge best-sellers and the popularity of romantasy. Our book of the week is DISAPPOINT ME by Nicola Dinan. This buzzy new novel by the author of BELLIES centres around Max, a 30 year-old trans woman who starts dating Vincent but is unsure
Ep 278: Loose Lips with Kemper Donovan
A special episode! Anna chats with USA Today best-selling author Kemper Donovan about his new novel LOOSE LIPS, the second in the Ghostwriter series after the best-selling THE BUSY BODY (see ep 265). Kemper hosts the All About Agatha podcast and his crime novels bring the Golden Age of murder mysteries into a contemporary setting. LOOSE LIPS finds our ghost-writer on a literary cruise hosted by p
Ep 277: Book Recommendations with Anthony Nocera
A special episode : Anna chats with author Anthony Nocera. We discuss Anthony's brilliant essay WEDNESDAY BANG in the current issue of SPLINTER and his upcoming plays: Log Boy, My Hair is Thinning and Someone Like You. Anthony's book recommendations: NOSTALGIA HAS RUINED MY LIFE by Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle THE GUEST by Emma Cline AN EXCITING AND VIVID INNER LIFE by Paul Dalla Rosa Follow us!
Ep 276: Best Books of 2024
Anna, Annie and Amanda reveal our favourite reads of 2024! Books discussed: MAGIC PILL by Johann Hari ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD by Patrick Bringley THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes THIS STRANGE AND EVENTFUL HISTORY by Claire Messud RAPTURE by Emily Maguire WOO WOO by Ella Baxter THE GENTLEMAN FROM PERU by André Aciman JUICE by Tim Winton (Annie recommends the audiobook) INTERMEZZO
Ep 275: Australian Literature with Farrin Foster
A special episode: we chat with Farrin Foster about new literary journal SPLINTER and emerging Australian authors. We talk about authors who are also musicians, autofiction and taking a book of poetry in your bag for waiting times. Farrin recommends the work of: Seamus Lonergan – KT Major Olivia De Zilva ROCK FLIGHT by Hasib Hourani Dom Guerrera Rapture by Emily Maguire Coming up: Our B
Ep 274: Comfort Reading Recommendations
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Booker Prize winner ORBITAL by Samantha Harvey. Our comfort reading recommendations are: ARGYLLE by Elly Conway WE SOLVE MURDERS by Richard Osman LOOSE LIPS by Kemper Donovan THE SPY COAST by Tess Gerritsen THE ROM COMMERS by Katherine Center THE WEDDING FORECAST by Nina Kenwood WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama translated by Al
Ep 273: James by Percival Everett
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Goldsmiths Prize winner, Parade by Rachel Cusk, and ghostwriters in crime writing. Our book of the week is JAMES by Percival Everett. This re-telling of Huckleberry Finn has been an instant New York Times best-seller, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and National Book award and described as 'genius' (The Atlantic). Coming up: our comfort reading recommendations. F
Ep 272: All Fours by Miranda July
Anna and Annie discuss AI in publishing. Our book of the week is ALL FOURS by award-winning author and artist Miranda July. Described as July's 'peri-menopause novel', ALL FOURS tells the story of a woman who escapes married life and creates a space for herself. A finalist for the 2024 National Book Award and instant New York Times bestseller, it's funny, frank and causing a stir amongst book c
Ep 271: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Booker Prize Shortlist. Our book of the week is INTERMEZZO by award-winning author Sally Rooney. Intermezzo is a novel about two brothers who deal with grief, family and relationships. Intimate and poignant, it's been an instant New York Times bestseller, shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Book of the Year and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the
Ep 270: The Valley with Chris Hammer
A special episode! Anna chats with author Chris Hammer about his new crime novel THE VALLEY, the fourth in the Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic series. Chris' award-winning debut SCRUBLANDS was an instant bestseller and is now a TV series. THE VALLEY is his seventh novel and follows detectives Nell and Ivan as they investigate a murder in rural Australia and the victim's connections with logging, pol
Ep 269: Book Club recommendations with Kate Slotover
A special episode! Kate Slotover from the Book Club Review Podcast joins Anna to discuss what makes a good book club book and our top recommendations. We tried to keep it to three each, and failed. Our best book club books are: STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood ALL FOURS by Miranda July JAMES by Percival Everett WIFEDOM by Anna Funder FRUIT OF THE DEAD by Rachel Lyon HOW I WON A
Ep 268: Woo Woo by Ella Baxter
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Booker Prize Longlist. Our book of the week is WOO WOO by Ella Baxter. The latest novel from the award-winning author of New Animal, this tells the story of Sabine, an artist about to open her exhibition. She faces the pressure of the show and the terror of being stalked. Both disturbing and funny, Baxter's writing is strong, visceral and on point. We loved this
Ep 267: The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
Anna and Annie discuss the Booker Prize 2024 Longlist. Our book of the week is THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes. We loved this Irish novel about four eccentric sisters each grappling with their dysfunctional family in different ways. Gripping, humane and funny, we highly recommend this one. Coming up: WOO WOO by Ella Baxter. Follow us: Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @ abailli
Ep 266: Best Books of the Year So Far
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Women's Prize winners. We reveal our best books of 2024 so far. Our favourite reads are: THE ALTERNATIVES by Caoilinn Hughes HOME READING SERVICE by Fabio Morábito translated by Curtis Bauer NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Hannah Ritchie THUNDERHEAD by Miranda Darling REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong THE SQUARE OF SEVENS by Laura Shepherd-Robinson Follow us! Insta
Ep 265: The Busy Body with Kemper Donovan
A special episode! Anna chats with author Kemper Donovan about his new crime novel THE BUSY BODY, the first in the Ghostwriter series. A contemporary murder mystery told in the spirit of the Golden Age by the host of the All About Agatha podcast, THE BUSY BODY has been described as Veep meets Agatha Christie and a 'witty and highly entertaining mystery' (Sophie Hannah). Dorothy Gibson, failed pr
Ep 264: Thunderhead by Miranda Darling
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize winner and the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist. Our book of the week is Thunderhead by Miranda Darling. A black comedy, set in suburbia, about one woman's struggle to be free, it has been described as a 'feminist triumph and homage to Virginia Woolf' (Australian Book Review). We love a short novel and this is a gem. Coming up: The Busy Body with
Ep 263: Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
Anna and Annie find some book recommendations to read along with Taylor Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department. Our book of the week is Question 7 by Richard Flanagan. This memoir encompasses H. G. Wells, nuclear physics and the atomic bomb and ends in Tasmania, Australia. Memories, encounters and fictional vignettes are woven together into a beautiful tapestry that show how words don'
Ep 262: Butter by Asako Yuzuki translated by Polly Barton
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize shortlist. Our book of the week is Butter by Asako Yuzuki translated by Polly Barton. Described as 'a novel of food and murder' this follows Riko, a journalist, who investigates serial killer Manako Kajii. Kajii allegedly seduced rich men with her cooking before killing them, and she encourages Riko to cook and appreciate food. Inspired by a true sto
Ep 261: Crime Book Recommendations
Anna and Annie discuss the 2024 Stella Prize Shortlist. We reveal our favourite recent crime reads. Our recommendations are: The Many Lies of Veronica Hawkins by Kristina Perez Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tutti translated by Ekin Oklap To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey The Fugitives by Jamal Mahjoub Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Holla
Ep 260: Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead with Jenny Hollander
A special episode: we chat with author Jenny Hollander about her debut crime novel EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD. Charlie Colbert is an editor at a major magazine and engaged to a publishing heir. But she witnessed a tragedy at her elite journalism school and lied to the police 9 years ago. Now a classmate is making a film about the events, which threatens the life Charlie has built. This
Ep 259: The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
Anna and Annie discuss the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist, including Anna Funder's Wifedom. Our book of the week is THE VULNERABLES by Sigrid Nunez. This is the third in a loose trilogy after THE FRIEND and WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH. A writer, a college drop-out and a talking parrot share an apartment in New York during the Covid pandemic. This is subtler than the first two bo
Ep 258: Home Reading Service with Shawn Mooney
It's the Shawn and Anna Book Club! Our first book is Home Reading Service by Fabio Morábito translated by Curtis Bauer. Eduardo is sentenced to a year of community service reading aloud to the elderly and disabled. Set in Mexico, this novel is witty and poignant. It even inspired us to discuss poetry! And the fine line between whacky and eccentric. Also mentioned: Shawn's Bite Sized Book Chat
Ep 257: Holiday Reading Recommendations
Anna and Annie reveal our book recommendations for the holiday season. Our favourite holiday reads this year are: THE CLUB by Ellery Lloyd NOW YOU SEE US by Balli Kaur Jaswal WEST HEART KILL by Dann McDorman FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong THE LIBRARIANIST by Patrick deWitt ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld Follow us! Email: booksonthegopodcast @ gmail.com Facebook: Books On The Go Instagram:
Ep 256: Best Books of 2023
Anna and Annie discuss the Booker Prize 2023 winner, PROPHET SONG by Paul Lynch. We reveal the best books we read in 2023. In no particular order, they are: Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton Girl in a Pink Dress by Kylie Needham The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison The Fraud by
Ep 255: Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé
Anna and Annie discuss authors' concerns about Spotify streaming books and highlights from the 2024 Adelaide Writers Week lineup. Our book of the week is Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren translated by Agnes Broomé. Sandgren has been described as "Sweden's Sally Rooney" (The Times). Collected Works is a thought-provoking, intellectual novel set in Gothenburg. At the heart of it is the mystery
Ep 254: True Biz and Y/N Book Club with Shawn Mooney
Special guest Shawn Mooney of Shawn the Book Maniac joins Anna for Book Club! We discuss TRUE BIZ by Sara Nović and Y/N by Esther Yi. These books have taken us down rabbit holes of deaf culture (True Biz) and super fandom (Y/N). Two interesting and thought-provoking reads! Shawn recommends the interview with Esther Yi on Jaylen's The Bar and the Bookcase podcast. We're currently reading: GIBBONS
Ep 253: Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Anna and Annie discuss the 2023 Booker Prize Shortlist and the authors taking action over the generative AI use of their work. Our book of the week is WIFEDOM: MRS ORWELL'S INVISIBLE LIFE by Anna Funder. An innovative biography of Eileen Orwell by the Miles Franklin and Samuel Johnson prize winner, it has been described as a masterpiece and we think would make a great book club book. Coming up:
Ep 252: Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Anna and Amanda discuss the Nero Book Awards which will commence in 2024. Our book of the week is CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS by Shankari Chandran. A layered story about a nursing home in Sydney whose residents have traumatic memories of the civil war in Sri Lanka, this won the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Coming up: WIFEDOM by Anna Funder. Follow us! Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.c
Ep 251: Book Club with Shawn Mooney
A special episode: Anna chats with Shawn Mooney of Shawn the Book Maniac. We recommend three books and each choose one to read for our next episode: the Anna and Shawn book club! Books discussed: The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard True Biz by Sara Nović Y/N by Esther Yi Loop Tracks by Sue Orr Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder The Recent East by Thomas Grattan Coming up:
Ep 250: Women in Translation Recommendations
Anna and Annie discuss a recent study on reading to young children. We wrap up Women in Translation month. The books we read (or Annie did at least!) and recommend are: Slime: A Natural History by Susanne Wedlich translated by Ayca Turkoglu Heaven by Mieko Kawakami translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd What You're Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama translated by Alison Watts Col
Ep 249: The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
Anna and Annie discuss the 2023 Booker Prize Longlist. Our book of the week is The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor. A novel about friends and lovers set in Iowa City, it is both intimate and explores wider issues in contemporary life and art. Taylor was short-listed for the Booker Prize for Real Life and won the Story Prize for his collection Filthy Animals. The Late Americans is an instant n
Ep 248: This Other Eden by Paul Harding
Anna and Amanda discuss Elizabeth Gilbert pulling her novel The Snow Forest from publication because of its Russia theme. Our book of the week is This Other Eden by Paul Harding. Based on a true story, an island community of castaways and misfits is disrupted when a well-meaning but racist preacher enters their lives. It has biblical feels yet resonates today. Described as 'a harrowing tale of
Ep 247: The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland
Anna and Amanda discuss the Women's Prize winner Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Our book of the week is The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland. This tells the true story of Rudolf Vrba who escaped from Auschwitz with Fred Wetzler and their attempt to tell Jewish leaders the truth about the Final Solution and prevent more deaths. A
Ep 246: Sadvertising with Ennis Ćehić
A special episode: Anna chats with author Ennis Ćehić about his debut collection of short stories, Sadvertising. Ćehić is based in Melbourne and Sarajevo and writes about displacement, creativity and existentialism. The stories in Sadvertising are set in the advertising world and explore the tension between art and capitalism. Satirical and very funny, with elements of meta-fiction and the sur
Ep 245: The Half Brother with Christine Keighery
A special episode: Anna chats with author Christine Keighery about her new novel The Half Brother. Christine Keighery has written over 35 novels for children and young adults (as Chrissie Perry). The Half Brother is her first novel for adults. It's a psychological suspense story about a family, secrets and coercive control. Described as "sinister, suspenseful and tightly written, with an ending
Ep 244:The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
Anna and Amanda discuss The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard. This novel set in Japan and Hong Kong in 1947 explores the colonial era with a forbidden love story at its centre. Described as "the last masterpiece of a vanished age of civility" (Wall Street Journal) it won the 2003 Miles Franklin Award and the National Book Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize. We also rec
Ep 243: Girl in a Pink Dress with Kylie Needham
A special episode: Anna chats with author Kylie Needham about her debut novel, Girl In A Pink Dress. Girl in a Pink Dress centres on Frances, an artist in her 40s who is invited to her former lover's exhibition opening in Sydney. A beautiful, spare novel that explores the idea of two artists living together and female rage, against the backdrop of the Australian landscape. Described as "a quiet
Ep 242: The New Life by Tom Crewe
Anna and Annie discuss the Stella Prize shortlist (belatedly!) Our book of the week is The New Life by Tom Crewe. A brilliant debut novel about two marriages and sexual freedom in 1890s London, it evokes the time and place beautifully but feels modern and resonates today. It reminded us of Colm Tóibín, with "the spirit of Forster" (Washington Post). Coming up: The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
Ep 241: Women's Prize Shortlist
Anna, Annie and Amanda react to the 2023 Women's Prize Shortlist and give our winner predictions. And Annie has news! The shortlist is: Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris Pod by Laline Paull Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks Trespasses by Louise Kennedy The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Coming up: The New Life by Tom Crewe and The Great Fire by
