Cool People Reading

Acclaimed restaurant owner, chef and author Ben Shewry, best known for his innovative approach to modern Australian cuisine and commitment to sustainability at his Melbourne restaurant Attica, joins Steph to talk about his love of books.

How on earth does Ben find time to read? And what's his perfect snack to accompany a book?

What did he do when he came face-to-face with Anthony Bourdain’s former assistant, after he bagged Kitchen Confidential in his own memoir?

And will Ben ever dare to skateboard with his long time friend Tony Hawk?

Plus which rock and roll front man's memoir could Ben not get past page one of?

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Is there a cool person you’d like to hear on our podcast? Let us know in the comments!

Follow us on socials:

@benshewry⁠
@stephanieshouseofbooks⁠

Today’s reading list:
​Uses for Obsession by Ben Shewry
​Care and Feeding by Laurie Woolever
​Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
​The Darkest White by Eric Blehm
​The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
​The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
​Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
​A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Adern
​A Lick of Fireweed by Erik Jensen
​The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

One of Australia’s most in demand media and digital personalities and host of Tell Me More, Olivia Molly Rogers, joins Steph from @Stephanie's House of Books for a chat.
Ever read your book in the shower? Perhaps while putting on makeup? Liv shares her clever reading hacks to get more in her day, the prolific author she has read 11 titles by this year, and how embracing her inner bookworm has helped her connect to her authentic self.
And will Liv finally convince Steph to move over to a Kindle...?
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Is there a cool person you’d like to hear on our podcast? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us on socials:
@Oliviamollyrogers
@Stephanieshouseofbooks
Presented by  —your go-to spot for free e-books.
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Today’s reading list:
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
The Girls by Lisa Jewell
Figuring Out Thirty by Bridget Hustwaite
Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
None of this is True by Lisa Jewell
Unbreakable by Jelena Dokic
Fearless by Jelena Dokic
It’s on me by Sara Kuburic
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Mothering on Our Own: 30 Stories of Love, Hope and Navigating Single Motherhood by Rachel Maksimovic
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
Bunny by Mona Awad
The Dry by Jane Harper
Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Former Sydney Swans footballer and author of 2025's unhinged footy novel Pissants, Brandon Jack, joins Steph from @Stephanie's House of Books for a chat.
How did being an AFL player prepare Brandon for being an author? What hurts more - being critiqued by your editor or letting down your coach? And will Brandon actually reveal WHO the embittered fringe players from Pissants are based on?
Plus, Brandon shares his hot tips for perfecting your writing craft and we ask the big questions, like can you change the colour of track changes in Word?
Brandon Jack is an Australian author, journalist, musician and former Sydney Swans AFL player.
After retiring from football in 2017, he published his memoir 28 in 2021 and in 2025 released his debut novel Pissants, a chaotic and hilarious behind-the-scenes look into what actually goes on in a professional football club.
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Is there a cool person you’d like to hear on our podcast? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us on socials:
⁠@brandonjackk⁠
⁠@stephanieshouseofbooks⁠
Presented by  ⁠Obooko ⁠—your go-to spot for free e-books.
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Today’s reading list:
​28 by Brandon Jack
Pissants by Brandon Jack
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders
Tenth of December by George Saunders
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Dusk by Robbie Arnott
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

Queen of tech-noir, author Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins Steph from @stephanieshouseofbooks for a chat.
Find out what happened when law-abiding Ashley stepped into the dark web for the first time, what current true crime she's obsessed with, and how she single handedly re-defined an entire sub-genre of thriller.
Plus, how hitting rock bottom with chronic fatigue actually helped Ashley find the thing she was really meant to do.
Ashley Kalagian Blunt is the Sydney-based author of Dark Mode, Cold Truth and How to Be Australian. Her books explore how modern technology makes us vulnerable , and have inspired a new generation of thrillers about internet-based crime. Her new Audible Original, Like, Follow, Die, is out now, with the print and ebook editions coming in March 2026.
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Is there a cool person you’d like to hear on our podcast? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us on socials:
@stephanieshouseofbooks
@akalagianblunt
Presented by Obooko—your go-to spot for free e-books.
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Today’s reading list:
​My Name is Revenge by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
​Dark Mode by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
​Like Follow Die by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
​Cold Truth by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
​How to be Australian by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
​And Then the Darkness: The disappearance of Peter Falconio and the trials of Joanne Lees by Sue Williams
​The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey
​The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
​The Secret History by Donna Tartt
​Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
​Cure by Katherine Brabon

I'm Steph from ⁠⁠@Stephanieshouseofbooks⁠⁠ and it's our season finale!
I'm joined today by @literature_lad who has brought a small suitcase of Australian fiction to share with us.
Join us as we chat about some of our favourite moments from this season, reflect on Steph's latest favourite book Reservoir Bitches, and manifest the celebs we want to visit the pod next season.
Also, Zack announces there will be a Cool People Reading in real life book club, but stay tuned, because we need to work out the details first.
Thanks so much for listening to Season One! I hope you've loved it. See you in Season Two!
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Is there a cool person you’d like to hear on our podcast? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us on socials:
⁠⁠@stephanieshouseofbooks⁠⁠
@literature_lad
Presented by ⁠⁠Obooko⁠⁠—your go-to spot for free e-books.
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Today’s reading list:
Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda
Animal by Lisa Taddeo
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng
The Burrow by Melanie Cheng
Diving Falling by Kylie Mirmohamadi
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
Australian Gospel by Lech Blaine
Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
Colony by Annika Norlin
The Thrill of It by Mandy Beaumont
The Furies by Mandy Beaumont
An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life by Paul Dalla Rosa
Limber Lost by Robbie Arnott
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
The White Girl by Tony Birch
Women and Children by Tony Birch
Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson