Also this week, Saph read 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell, Joseph read Day by Michael Cunningham, and Michelle read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Skye who loved Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews and is looking for something with a similarly lyrical first-person style. Joseph recommends Second Self by Chloe Ashby, Saph recommends Tangerine by Christine Mangan, and Michelle recommends Normal People by Sally Rooney. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Also this week, Saph read Turbulence by David Szalay and Joseph read The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Rachel who really enjoyed The Watchers by A.M. Shine and is looking for more scary reads. Joseph recommended just about anything by Shirley Jackson and Blood Child And Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler, and Saph recommended The Troop by Nick Cutter and The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

The Boy and the Dog by Hase Seishu

The Guest Cat by Takashe Hiraide

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Enchantment by Katherine May 

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Boulder by Eva Baltasar

Jungle House by Julianne Pachico

Matrix by Lauren Groff

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

Also this week, Joseph read On Reading, Writing, and Living with Books by Pushkin Press/The London Library, and Saph read The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mollie who reads a lot of contemporary fiction set in the present day and would like to read more books set in different time periods. Joseph recommends The Dutch House by Anne Patchett, and Saph recommends Hurdy Gurdy by Christopher Wilson and The Glutton by A K Blakemore. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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March 2024 New Releases

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin

Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood

Clear by Carys Davies

Who Owns the Moon? by A.C. Grayling

The Rising Down: Lives in a Sussex Landscape by Alexandra Harris

Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Long List - Our Picks

Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines by Lisa Evangelista

Intervals by Marianne Brooker

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

How To Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair

Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mike who normally enjoys cosy crime, but is looking for something a bit more heartfelt. Joseph recommends Things Can Only Get Better by David M. Barnett, and Saph recommends Skippy Dies by Paul Murray and just about anything by Fredrik Backman.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Shadowlands: A Journey Through Lost Britain by Matthew Green

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

Flights by Olga Tokarczuk

Eileen: The Making of George Orwell by Sylvia Topp

Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles 

A Good Read Podcast (BBC Radio 4)

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Saph recommends This Is Not A Pity Memoir by Abbi Morgan, Taking Sides: A Memoir About Love, War, and Changing the World by Sherine Tadros, and The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen. Joseph recommends Stay True by Hua Hsu, In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, and Also A Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me by Ada Calhoun. 

Also this week, Joseph read The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine and Saph read The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Sara who loved The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré and is looking for similar books. Joseph recommends Half A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Saph recommends The Seven Moons of Mali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

War Stories by Jeremy Bowen

Boy Friends by Michael Pedersen

Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day 

Platonic: How Understanding Your Attachment Style Can Help You Make and Keep Friends by Marisa G Franco

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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I Have Some Questions For You 

The Great Believers 

The Hundred Year House

The Borrower 

Also this week Joseph read The End We Start From by Megan Hunter and Saph read Society of Snow by Pablo Vierci. The Novel Thoughts team also talk about Charlie Kaufman’s forthcoming adaptation of Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Kelly who likes a good crime novel and is looking for recommendation for her next five-star read. Joseph recommends The It Girl by Ruth Ware and Saph recommends Night Boat To Tangier by Kevin Barry. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Harpy by Megan Hunter

Stillicide by Cynan Jones

They by Kay Dick

To The Friend Who Did Not Save My Life by Hervé Guibert

The Farewell Symphony by Edmund White 

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Also this week Joseph read Death Valley by Melissa Broder and Duty Free Art by Hito Steyerl, Michelle read A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister and Fire and Blood by George R R Martin, and Saph read Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin and Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Edward who is looking for a great (auto)biography. Joseph recommends Girl In A Band by Kim Gordon. Saph recommends Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and Take Away by Angela Hui. Michelle recommends Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys by Viv Albertine, Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse by Laura Hillenbrand, and Educated by Tara Westover. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Secret History and The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Whores of Yore Twitter account

e-flux

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Also this week Sapphire read Jillian by Halle Butler and Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth. Joseph read Minor Detail by Adania Shibli and The Coming Bad Days by Sarah Bernstein. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Saniya who really enjoyed Elif Batuman’s Either/Or and is looking for more great campus novels. Joseph recommends The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood and White Noise by Don DeLillo. Sapphire recommends My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and The Nix by Nathan Hill. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Writer’s Prize 2024 Shortlist

The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) 

Boy Swallows Universe 

How Do You Live? By Genzaburo Yoshino

The New Me by Halle Butler

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Saph’s short books: Ti Amo by Hanne Orstavik, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann, Helpmeet by Nabeen Ruthnum, and A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck. Joseph’s short books: Happening by Annie Ernaux, Assembly by Natasha Brown, Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, Ice by Anna Kavan, Open Throat by Henry Hoke, and The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Patricia who is looking for historical fiction similar to The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. Joseph recommends Secrecy by Rupert Thomson and Sapphire recommends Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, Still Life by Sarah Winman, and The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Isabel Waidner and Diarmuid Hester (LRB Podcast)

Consumed Future Spewed Up As Present by Lea Guldditte Hestelund

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This week’s deep dive book is the best-selling Good Material by Dolly Alderton, ‘this generation’s Nora Ephron’. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Aimée who is looking for light hearted reads, but not Bill Bryson. Sapphire recommends The Dog of the North by Elizabeth Mckenzie, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld and Where’d you go Bernadette? by Maria Semple. Michelle recommends The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Joseph recommends Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly

‘You’ve Got Mail’

‘The Shop Around The Corner’

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

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Sapphire and Joseph talk about their reading habits, how they track what they read, and how they manage to read so many books. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Peter who enjoyed Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and is looking for novels with a similar sensibility. Sapphire recommends The Fish by Joanne Stubbs, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, and the Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Joseph recommends The Unconsoled and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Do You Remember Being Born? By Sean Michaels, Jungle House by Julianne Pachico, and The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Saving Agnes by Rachel Cusk

‘The Stuntman’ by Rachel Cusk

The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola

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2023 favs: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes, The Glutton by A K Blakemore, Julia by Sandra Newman, Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Dying of Politeness (A Memoir) by Geena Davis, The Darkness 

Manifesto: Why The World Needs The Night by Johan Eklöf, North Woods by Daniel Mason.

Christmas reads: The End of Alice by A.M. Homes, Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis, The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. Blackouts by Justin Torres, Closer by Dennis Cooper, I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. 

Recommendations: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay, Chavs by Owen Jones, The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis. 

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This week’s deep dive book is the best-selling bookclub favourite Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Leigh who enjoyed Bliss Montage by Ling Ma and is looking for other quirky and interesting short story collections. Sapphire recommends Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, Objects of Desire by Clare Sestanovich, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez, Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson, Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood, Send Nudes by Saba Sams, and 19 Claws and a Black Bird by Augustina Bazterrica. Michelle recommends Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. Joseph recommends Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Severance by Ling Ma

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

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This week’s deep dive book is the critically-acclaimed grim dark epic Babel by R. F. Kuang.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Cathy who is looking for engaging detective fiction similar to her favourite, Agatha Christie. Sapphire recommends The Maid and The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, An Expert In Murder by Nicola Upson, The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, The Appeal by Janice Hallett, and The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett. Michelle recommends Whose Body? By Dorothy L Sayers, Footsteps In The Dark by Georgette Heyer, Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi, and Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. Joseph recommends The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo.

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah by Benjamin Zephaniah

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

How to Raise a Viking by Helen Russell

The Novel Thoughts team also pay tribute to poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah. Rest in power.

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This week’s deep dive book is Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty by Emma Dabiri, a radical, deeply personal and empowering essay that points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies.

Emma Dabiri is an Irish-Nigerian academic, author and broadcaster. Her books include the Sunday Times bestseller What White People Can Do Next and Don’t Touch My Hair. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Jane who has ADHD and is looking for a recommendation that will hold her attention. Michelle recommends Underland by Robert MacFarlane. Joseph recommends This Is The Place To Be by Lara Pawson. Sapphire recommends Antarctica by Claire Keegan, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom, Modern Times by Cathy Sweeney, The Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser, and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

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This week’s deep dive book is the million copy bestseller A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. 

For this episode, listener recommendation request comes from Dan who is looking to branch out into the fantasy genre after enjoying The Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin. Joseph recommends The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, the first book in Jemsin’s ‘Inheritance Trilogy’. Sapphire recommends The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang, and Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky. Michelle recommends The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, the first book in Maas’ four book ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, and Temeraire (aka His Majesty’s Dragon) by Naomi Novik, the first book in Novik’s nine book ‘Temeraire’ series. 

Also mentioned in this episode: 

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt 

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

‘Hanya’s Boys’ - an essay by Andrea LongChu about A Little Life and Hanya Yanagihara’s other novels 

SFGateway website - browse all the titles in the SF Masterworks series

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