Sarah and Chris discuss this year's Booker Longlist and their progress with it at this early stage. They also discuss what they've been reading recently and what they've read in the past year fantasy-wise.  PS: Unbelievably, what Sarah was saying was true - in 1977, the chair of judges, Philip Larkin, threatened to jump out of a window if Paul Scott’s Staying On didn’t win the Booker! Get in touch Instagram | TikTok | Voice message | Substack | Patreon (Some of the) Books mentioned Booker Prize longlist (longlist here)Demon Copperhead by Barbara KingsolverVictory City by Salmon RushdieThe Luminaries and Birnham Wood by Eleanor CattonSnap by Belinda Bauer Piranesi by Susanna ClarkeBlack Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James Not My Father's Son by Alan CummingThe Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava ReidKushiel's Dart and Cassiel's Servant by  Jacqueline Carey Tom Lake by Ann PatchettThe Rabbit Hutch by Tess GuntyThe Raven Cycle series and the Dreamers trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb The World of Riverside trilogy by Ellen Kushner The Betrayals and The Binding by Bridget CollinsThe Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The Reindeer People by Megan Lindholm [aka Robin Hobb] Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke The King's Peace  by Jo Walton Other stuff mentioned Lauren's video on cleaning with Sweepy (Cleaning and Tidying my Flat Using a Cleaning App | Lauren and the Book)Podside Picnic podcast Support The Bookcast Club You can support the podcast on Patreon. Our tiers start at £2 a month. Rewards include early access to the podcast, 'close friends' feed on Instagram, monthly bonus episodes, tailored book recommendations and books in the post.  You can now try our bonus tier FREE for 7 days. If you would like to make a one-off donation you can do so on Ko-fi.  A free way to show your support is to mention us on social media, rate us on Spotify or review us on Apple Podcasts. Newsletter Sign up to our monthly newsletter on Substack for more book recommendations, reviews, new releases, podcast recommendations and the latest podcast news.  Come and chat to us in the comments. Support the show Support the show