We are rounding off this series of episodes today with a bang: Jenny and Sarah read Chris' favourite books! They discuss Wicked by Gregory Maguire and Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon. Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Voice message Books mentioned Unwell Women by Elinor CleghornBirds of America by Lorrie MooreI Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie MooreHow to Breathe Underwater by Julie OrringerInto Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Somebody's Daughter by Ashley...

Always our most popular episode of the year, our mid-year favourite books! Jenny, Chris and Sarah get together to share their top reads of the year so far. Books mentioned Surviving Autocracy by Masha GessenBriefly, A Delicious Life by Nell StevensThe Perfect Golden Circle by Ben MyersBlack Butterflies by Priscilla MorrisCursed Bread by Sophie MackintoshThe Prestige by Christopher PriestThe Night Circus  by Erin MorgensternHappening  by Annie ErnauxThe North Water by Ian McGuireMoby Dick...

Alice is back, so we're going classic Bookcast Club with a chatty catch up episode. Alice and Jenny chat marathons, engagements, 'A Little Life' play, what we've been reading, TBRs, and books for cleansing the palette. Enjoy! Books mentioned The No Show by Beth O'LearyThe Man Who Died Twice by Richard OsmanThe Flat Share by Beth O'LearyDear Dolly by Dolly AldertonEverything I Know About Love by Dolly AldertonStation Eleven by Emily St. John MandelMalibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins ReidSeven...

It's Women's Prize for Fiction day! But who was our winner? Chris and Jenny discuss the six shortlised books, share their predictions and their own personal winner. Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Voice message 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, monthly bonus episodes, tailored book recommendations and books in the post.  You can now try our bonus tier FREE for...

We welcome back Belle to the podcast today! She and Sarah get together to discuss the Stella shortlist in all of its glory. Contact The Bookcast Club Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Voice message Stuff mentioned Bookcast Club episode on the Stella Prize [#88 All the Longlists: Stella Prize, Women's Prize, and the Carol Shields Prize with Shawn the Book Maniac]Women's Prize for Fiction Stella Prize  Books mentioned  How to support The Bookcast Club Support the podcast on...

We welcome the delightful Lauren from Lauren and the Books to the podcast today. She and Sarah chat about what they're currently reading, and chat about a different type of book: cookbooks! High-quality, vegetarian-friendly cookbooks can be hard to find, so they talk through some of the ones that they have returned to again and again, their all-time favourites, and some that they've loved in the past. We hope you enjoy the episode, and as always, if there is something you'd like us to...

It's a book club episode! Sarah and Chris are discussing their thoughts on Pod by Laline Paull, one of the books longlisted for the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction.  Have you read Pod, or is there a book you'd like us to read and discuss? Let us know! Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Voice message 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, monthly bonus episodes,...

We are in your ears today recommending memoirs! Chris and Sarah welcome Belle to the podcast, a friend of Sarah's and a patreon of the pod. They chat what they think a memoir is, why they like to read them, and make some recommendations. Chris also reveals his real and controversial opinions about UK currency. Hope you enjoy the episode! PS the eagle-eared listener may notice that Sarah claimed in this episode that she had not read Happening, when last episode it was something she was...

It is well and truly prize season, with three literary prizes for women and non-binary writers dropping their longlists this week. We welcome back Shawn Mooney (aka Shawn the Book Maniac) to talk with Sarah and Jenny about the longlists for the Stella Prize (Aus), the Women's Prize (UK), and the new North American prize for women and non-binary writers, the Carol Shields Prize. We hope you enjoy the episode! *Correction: The Carol Shields prize money is actually 150, 000 USD! Shawn's...

This episode was a special request from a listener. Sarah and Jenny discuss their experiences with grief and recommend some reads, we promise it's not completely depressing! That being said we do discuss cancer, miscarriage, suicide, sudden death and more, so if you find these topics upsetting then please do give this episode a miss. We've bookmarked where we start talking books if you would like to skip our personal experiences. We hope you enjoy the episode and if you've got any other...

We are delighted to welcome Russell from Ink and Paper Blog to the podcast today! He chats to Chris about his love for historical fiction, and they make some recommendations of some of their favourites. Enjoy the episode!  Want more Russell? Russell's YouTube channel [@inkandpaperblog] Instagram: @inkandpaperblog Twitter: @inkpaperblog Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Books mentioned Hester by Laurie Lico AlbaneseThe Incarnations by Susan BarkerBurial Rites by...

Jenny and Chris share which books they're eagerly awaiting in 2023. Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Books mentioned   Her Majesty's Royal Coven By Juno DawsonLegends and lattes by Travis BaldryThe Devil House by John DarniellThe North Water by Ian MaguireNow She is Witch by Kirsty LoganBirnam Wood by Eleanor Catton How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady HendrixA Spell of Good Things by Ayobami AdebayoDeath of a Bookseller by Alice SlaterThe Shadow Casket by Chris...

We're back! Chris, Jenny, and Sarah are coming at you today to discuss their favourite reads of 2022. Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Books mentioned  The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller Into the Woods by Tana French All the Acorns on the Forest Floor by Kim HooperThe Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Riverside series by Ellen Kushner [with audiobooks directed by Neil Gaiman]On Writing by Stephen KingNew Animal by Ella BaxterThe Last Days by Ali...

Chris, Alice and Jenny chat about Jenny's favourite books We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. This is our last episode of the year! We'll be back in 2023 so please do send us over any episode ideas you may have. Have a great festive season, we hope it involves lots of great books! Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Support The Bookcast Club You can support the podcast on Patreon. Our tiers start at £2 a...

In our penultimate episode of the year, Chris and Alice talk through their reading plans for autumn and winter this year, and reflect on how the year has gone for them reading-wise. As mentioned at the end of the episode, we are going to be planning our 2023 episodes soon, so if you have any episode ideas or requests, let us know! Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Stuff we mentioned Subterranean PressTills Bookshop in Edinburgh, UK Books mentioned The Hunting...

Chris and Jenny share some spooky reads for your Halloween weekend. Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice message Stuff we mentioned Horror Special with Jordaline Reads episodeStorygraph Recommends episodeBooks mentioned 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, monthly bonus episodes, tailored book recommendations and books in the post.  If you would like to make a one-off...

We are delighted to welcome back podcast favourites Kieran (KD Books) and Sarah (Freshly Read Books) to review the Booker shortlist. They discuss their thoughts on each of the shortlisted books with Sarah, and the three of them try to predict what the winner will be. Buckle up and hope you enjoy! Reviews of tangentially-related novels and popular hair dryers included free of charge in this one. Want more of Kieran? Youtube | Instagram [@kdbooks] Want more of Freshly? Youtube | Instagram...

For the first time ever, all four of us get together to record an episode! This is a special Q&A episode, where we answer questions sent in by the listeners over social media from the past few weeks. We really liked doing this episode, so if you would like us to make it a regular thing, please let us know! The questions we answered are listed below, as well as any people or podcasts we mentioned in our answers.  Get in touch Twitter | Instagram | Website | Voice...

It's a book club episode! Sarah, Chris, and Alice get together to discuss Hanya Yanagihara's controversial novel, A Little Life. Chris and Alice have both read this before and loved it, and Sarah has read it for the first time. Will she agree with their thoughts on the book? The majority of this episode is spoiler-free, but there is a spoiler section in the latter half. You can use the chapter markers to skip around and avoid the spoilers if you haven't read it. [If your podcast app doesn't...

Sarah and Chris go back to one of their favourite topics, fantasy novels! They discuss what they've been reading in the past year since their last fantasy episode, and make some more recommendations, as your TBR is no doubt lacking in recommendations at this point. They also discuss some books about Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses and the Booker longlist and Chris' plans to read or not read it.  As mentioned in the episode, we are planning to record a Q&A episode in September! If you...

Sarah and Alice discuss their love for books with a strong sense of place and make some recommendations. They also talk about Sarah's progress in the Booker longlist, and Sarah tries to convince Alice to read The Little Friend. As mentioned in the end of the episode, we are planning to record a Q&A episode in September! If you have a question for any or all of us (Chris, Sarah, Jenny, or Alice), please send us an email or message us on social media! Get in touch Twitter | Instagram |...

Today we are delighted to welcome Kate from The Book Club Review podcast to the Bookcast Club. She and Sarah both run book clubs, and they talk through what book clubs mean to them, what makes a good book club book, and make some recommendations for your book club. Links to Book Club Review podcast, and all the books and other things we talked about, can be found below. Thanks for listening! The Book Club Review podcast Book Club Review website Book Club Review episode #109 [Best Book Club...

Always one of our favourite episodes to record, Jenny, Alice and Chris share their mid-year favourites! From vampires to courgettes, which books have we enjoyed the most in the first half of 2022? Books mentioned Love Marriage by Monica Ali The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller The Year of Miracles: Recipes About Love + Grief + Growing Things by Ella Risbridger Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn The Song of...

Today's episode features a wonderful special guest, Sarah Freshly from the Youtube channel Freshly Read Books. She talks to Sarah (continuing the tradition on this podcast of having as many people called Sarah as possible) about the books in her life that have meant the most to her. A big thank you to Sarah for coming on the pod, and if you're not familiar with her channel already, check it out! Links to Sarah Freshly Freshly Read Books on Youtube One of Sarah's TBR Tackle...

It's a book club episode! We asked you to pick a Women's Prize shortlisted book for us and you chose The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. You'll be pleased to hear we have differing opinions and we agreed it made for a great book club read. We also share our current and recent reads. Books mentioned The Sentence by Louise Erdrich Cultish by Amanda Montell Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin We the Drowned by Carsten Jensen Bi: Notes for a Bisexual...