Better Words

We were lucky enough to record this episode together in a studio at Vanishing Point Records in Chesterfield. 

We kick off with a wrap-up of our reading stats for the year: how many books and pages, the moods and re-reads.

*Accessed through our work/from the publisher

2024 debut book:

Caitlin: The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage*

Michelle: Confessions by Catherine Airey*

Non-fiction:

Michelle: John and Paul: A Love story ...

In this episode, Caitlin gives you dozens of recommendations for brilliant Aussie rom-coms. While Michelle chats briefly about Paul McCartney's new book, Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run.

For your convenience, here's everything else we mentioned in this episode:

• Man on the Run (upcoming Amazon documentary)
• Wings Deluxe Collection on vinyl (also available to stream on Spotify)
• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• That...

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• The secret skill of book signings
• Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake*
• Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh*
• The Americans (TV series)
• The Buccaneers (TV series)

*Accessed through our work/from the publisher

But for your convenience, here's everything we mentioned in this episode:

• Lucy Worsley (British historian and author) – we didn't mention but you can listen to her brilliant BBC podcast Lady Killers
• Ka...

In this episode, we're discussing The Names by Florence Knapp. Unlike review episodes, book club chats will include some spoilers (although we'll still try to keep things vague).

About the book:

It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband intends her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the boy after him. But faced with ...

In this episode, we're chatting about seasonal reading: what we're looking for and what it means to us. Then we share some recommendations for the summer ahead in the Southern Hemisphere and autumn vibes for our Northern Hemisphere pals. Enjoy!

For your convenience, here's everything we mentioned in this episode:

• Australia's Top 100 books countdown
• Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Hottest 100...

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• Michelle's birthday trip to The Lake District and our excitement for the bookish girl autumn Maisie Peters is teasing with her new single
• Caitlin's brief thoughts on The Life of a Showgirl
• Kalynn Bayron's supernatural twist on Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein (which Michelle hasn't read)
• An update on Michelle's journey through watching Supernatural
• Second-chance dual timeline rom-com Love Ov...

In this episode, we're discussing Rytual by Chloe Elisabeth Wilson. Unlike review episodes, book club chats will include some spoilers (although we'll still try to keep things vague).

About the book:

Marnie Sellick is adrift when she lands a job at the coveted, mysterious beauty brand rytuał cosmetica.

The enigmatic founder and CEO, Luna Peters, takes a liking to Marnie, and as the two grow closer Marnie becomes intoxicated by the li...

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• Rewitched and Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Newsreader (TV series)

But for your convenience, here's everything we mentioned in this episode:

• Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)
• Charmed (TV series)
• Mhairi McFarlane books
• Beth O'Leary books
• Markus Zusak's 20th anniversary posts on Instagram
• Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
• Twilight by Stephanie Meye...

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• Behind the scenes of setting up a new bookshop
• Seeing The Thursday Murder Club in the cinema
• Our thoughts on the movie as an adaptation (yes, there are some spoilers here)

But for your convenience, here's everything we mentioned in this episode:

• The Rest is Entertainment podcast (specifically, the episode 'Noel Clarke Loses to The Guardian' from August 26)
• Richard Osman on the film...

Oh, hello! We're back and trying a new format. In short: we burnt out and lost the love for making the podcast (although we loved speaking to authors).

While we've not been recording podcasts, we have been sharing monthly recommendations on Substack. You can take a look (and subscribe!) here.

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• Watching some classic 2000s TV and the joy of not binging
• A preview of books we're excited for comin...

Welcome to our favourite episode: the yearly wrap! We're sharing our reading stats, 2024 goals and the books, TV, film and audio we loved in 2024.

Make sure you're also following us on Substack. On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to – and we try to keep these separate from regular episode recommendations. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old ...

Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire and her debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, is inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. Jennie is from a mill-working family, but as the first of the generation born after the mills closed, she went to university and built a career in the corporate world. In 2020 she left and began to write. She is now a writer and part-time Waterstones bookseller and lives in the S...

Emma Grey is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach. She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope, which has gone on to win hearts around the world. In the US, it was selected as a featured title for the Book of...

Pip Drysdale writes ‘sexy-cool’ thrillers with a dash of witty humour. She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and London, and lives on a steady diet of coffee, dreams, and literature. Her books — The Sunday Girl, The Strangers We Know, The Paris Affair and The Next Girl — have been bestsellers. She currently lives in Sydney and we're chatting about The Close Up.

Our interview begins at  15.00

...

Melanie Cheng is a writer and general practitioner. She was born in Adelaide, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut collection of short stories, Australia Day, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2016 and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction in 2018. Room for a Stranger, her highly acclaimed first novel, was published in 2019. Today we're discussing her new ...

Steph Tisdell is a rising star of the comedy scene in Australia. Her acting credits include Class of ’07, Total Control, Bump and Netflix Original Love is in the Air, while her writing credits include Fisk, Bump and Rosehaven. Steph lives in Meanjin with her pet parrots, Parky and Eddie. Today we're delighted to discuss her first novel, The Skin I'm In.

*There is a lot of swearing in this ep*

Our interview begins at  27.00

We've...

Kate Young is a writer and cook. Her award-winning Little Library Cookbooks feature food inspired by beloved works of literature. After a sunny Australian childhood, spent indoors reading books, she moved to London, which suited her much better. She now lives in a converted mill in a Gloucestershire town. Today we're discussing her debut novel, a queer rom-com called Experienced.

Our interview begins at  30.00

We've got a S...

Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin man, who grew up on the Far South Coast of New South Wales as part of a large and proud Aboriginal family. Gary was always writing as a child, and continued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study at film school. Gary has experience working in youth work, Aboriginal health, child protection, the disability sector (including experience working in the youth justice system) and the film indust...

Anna Zoe Quirke is a queer and autistic author and librarian from the North of England. She currently lives in Manchester with her partner, Rachael, and their very angry tortoise, Sheldon. They’re at their happiest writing stories about queer and neurodivergent people finding and claiming their place in the world, exploring the literary wonders of the UK, or making a big ol’ mess in the kitchen baking things for their loved ones. S...