The Booklover Banter

Liv and Laura talk about books they've read recently and discuss the Women's Prize for fiction shortlist. Laura also candidly shares her love of handwriting - whether it be writing in her diary, or sending letters and postcards. Join us for a lovely chat.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Dunn
When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
All Fours by Miranda July
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
Fundamentally by Nissaibah Younis
The Good Mistress by Anne Tiernan
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Liv, Rach and Laura are back to chat about what they've read, all the new releases they are excited about, and other random bookish musings including a debate on the category of chick-lit - to be or not to be...
Books mentioned in this podcast:
The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler
33 Brugmann Place by Alice Austen
The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester
See How They Fall by Rachel Paris
Swept Away by Beth O'Leary
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Best, First and Last by Amy Matthews
Better Days by Claire Zorn
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey
Proof of my Innocence by Jonathan Coe
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue to Paris & The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
Hastings by Dick Frizzell
No Words for This by Ali Mau
38 Londres St by Philippe Sands
Luminous by Sylvia Park
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla Barnes
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Dream State by Eric Puchner
Wild Dark Shore & Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Three Wee Bookshops by Ruth Shaw
The Bookshop Detectives 2 by Gareth and Louise Ward
The Eights by Joanna Miller

Wahoo! We're back with Season 2 of Booklover Banter. In our first episode of 2025 the team discuss the newly released Ockham Longlist, what they've been reading over the summer and what they are looking forward to in the year to come. You'll want a notebook and pen (or notes on your phone) handy because we talk about A LOT of great books.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
The Mires by Tina Makereti
Delirious by Damien Wilkins
The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey
Unreel by Diana Wichtel
Feijoa by Kate Evans
In the Half Light of a Dying Day by CK Stead
Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud by Lee Murray
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Postcard by Anne Berest
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Pool by Hannah Tunnicliffe
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
The Secrets of Maiden Cove by Erin Palmisano
Sorrow Spring by Olivia Isaac Henry
One Dark Night by Hannah Richell
When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole by Geoff Parkes
Dog Man series by Dave Pilkey
Inkbound by Philippa Leathley
Ghostlines by Katya Balen
Crookhaven series by J J Arcanjo
Skandar series by A F Steadman
Novacene by James Lovelock
How to Feed the World by Vaclav Smil
The Serviceberry by Robyn Wall Kimmerer
The Abundant Garden by Niva and Yotam Kay
LifeStyled: Your Guide to a More Organised and Intentional Life by Shira Gill
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Katabasis by RF Kuang
Twist by Colum McCann
38 Londre St by Philippe Sands

This is a bumper episode where we reflect on the year that was 2024. Hear about our top ten bestsellers, our favourite books, the highlights, the challenges and the joys of being booksellers. There's laughing, there's screaming, there's Christmas lights and music and...well, cockroaches.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Place of Tides by James Rebanks
Table for Two by Amor Towles
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Dusk by Robbie Arnott
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Juice by Tim Winton
The Songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner
Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger
The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour/Jude Dobson
You Are Here and One Day by David Nicholls
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
James by Percival Everett
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Space Between by Lauren Keenan
Precipice by Robert Harris
All Fours by Miranda July
Days of Innocence and Wonder by Lucy Treloar
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Because All Fades by Freddie Giles
Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
Playground by Richard Powers
The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
17 Years Later by JP Pomare
Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Ruby Loud Mouse by Alice Pearce
Well Woman by Dr Frances Pitsilis
Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino
Lioness by Emily Perkins
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Runt by Craig Silvey
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Wild Dark Shore & Once there Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
The Postcard by Anne Berest
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Delirious by Damien Wilkins
The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
The Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Knowledge Gene by Lynne Kelly
The Horse by Timothy Winegard

Olivia chats with Rachel and Laura about her new book The Songbirds of Florence. Find out about her research, the editing process, why the title changed and plenty more...