Anna and Geoff discuss the challenges facing our local bookstores: rising taxes in the UK and a cyber-hacking event affecting a major distributor in Australia. We also take a look at the current front-runners for the Booker Prize. Our book of the week is debut novel ALL THEM DOGS by Djamel White. A gritty neo-noir story about Tony Ward who returns to Dublin and starts working for an enforcer in a local gang, it has been long listed for the 2026 Booker Prize. We talk about:

• What makes a good underworld crime thriller and what are some of the pitfalls for literary authors venturing into this area.
• Why this is not a gangland Heated Rivalry.
• When a book leaves you wanting more.

Coming up: TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout

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Anna and Geoff discuss THE PALM HOUSE by Gwendoline Riley. Set in London, it centres on friends Laura and Putnam, both journalists facing a changing work landscape. It is longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. We enjoyed this book, especially the spare writing. It got us talking:

• How important is plot?
• Is this a comic novel?
• Geoff's alternative title for the book.

We also pick our next reads from the Booker Prize Longlist. Other books mentioned: The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey Capture by Amanda Lohrey The Gate at The Stairs by Lorrie Moore Birds of America by Lorrie Moore Foster by Claire Keegan The Friend by Sigrid Nunez Coming up: All Them Dogs by Djamel White

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A special episode: Anna and Geoff are joined by Kate Slotover of the Book Club Review Podcast, on location in London. We discuss our top holiday reading recommendations. Our picks: FAMESICK by Lena Dunham THE PALACE PAPERS by Tina Brown ENOUGH SAID by Alan Bennett SLOUGH HOUSE by Mick Herron WAITING ON A FRIEND by Natalie Adler LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION by Ben Lerner PARADISO by Michele Masneri translated by Richard Village RECEIPTS FROM THE BOOKSHOP by Katie Clapham THE LINE OF BEAUTY by Alan Hollinghurst Also discussed: TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lerner VILLA COCO by Andrew Sean Greer THE SILVER BOOK by Olivia Laing SUNSTRUCK by William Hunter THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller EUROTRASH by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles EARTH 7 by Deb Olin Unferth Pressing questions:

• What makes a good holiday read?
• How many ghosts are too many?
• Is running a bookshop the dream job?

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Anna and Geoff discuss the Dublin Literary Award winner, Gliff by Ali Smith. Our book of the week is HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser. Lispector was the Ukrainian-Brazilian novelist writing from the 1940s to 1970s who is widely referenced and is having a moment on BookTube and BookTok. She was compared with Virginia Woolf and Cubist artists. A short book (80 pages) but not a quick read as we discovered. Geoff has an intriguing theory about the first section (spoiler alert). Anna found it too abstract and meta but maybe it all makes sense? Apologies for the audio quality, Anna's microphone was not working (we realised belatedly)! Coming up: our top holiday reads.

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Anna and Geoff react to the 2026 Women's Prize winners: Virginia Evans' THE CORRESPONDENT for Fiction, which prompts Geoff to recommend 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, and Lyse Doucet's THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL for Non-Fiction. Our book of the week is JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart, the Booker Prize-winning author of SHUGGIE BAIN. Set in the remote Scottish Hebrides among a weaving community, this story of John and his son Cal was an Oprah Book Club pick, a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and picked by many as a Most Anticipated Book of 2026. Is it more Brokeback Mountain or Greek tragedy, or something else? Coming up: HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser.

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Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Stella Prize winner, CANNON by Lee Lai and the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction shortlist. We also react to the Guardian list of 100 best books of all time. Is there a difference between your 10 favourite novels and your top 10 best books of all time? Our book of the week is LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe. This is Keefe's latest book, after his widely acclaimed EMPIRE OF PAIN. It explores the death of 19 year old Zac Brettler, who had been posing as a Russian oligarch's son and became entangled with the London underworld. LONDON FALLING was a Most Anticipated book of 2026 and is a New York Times Best Book of the Year So Far. There are twists and turns aplenty and much to discuss:

• Were the Met police incompetent or was there more to it?
• If your teenager has £850,000 in their bank account, is this a red flag?
• What did we think of the ending?

Coming up: JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart

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Anna and Geoff react to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner, ANGEL DOWN by Daniel Kraus, a World War 1 novel written in one sentence. We also discuss Dwight Garner's New York Times article about the lack of book critics and our views on book influencers and reviews that make news, such as the Harper's review of To Paradise by Hana Yanagihara. Our book of the week is TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lerner. This novel about a writer who writes an article about his mentor from his memory of their interview after dropping his phone in a sink tackles issues such as phone addiction, parenting and eating disorders. It was a Telegraph 'most anticipated book of 2026' and a New York Times 'book everyone will be talking about'. Recommended for book clubs. We had to ask:

• Why did he not put his phone in a bowl of rice?
• Is this a book about tech addiction?
• How does it differ from an Ian McEwan novel?
• How many unreliable narrators do we have here?

Read-alikes: AUDITION by Katie Kitamura LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION by Ben Lerner Coming up: LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist. Is it more commercial than usual? Our book of the week is LÁZÁR by Nelio Biedermann translated by Jamie Bulloch. This sweeping historical novel about the aristocratic von Lázár family during the 20th century from the Austro Hungarian empire through to Russian occupation is a buzzy debut which has received much praise. Patti Smith, Dua Lipa and Christian Kracht are fans. It prompted some questions:

• Is One Hundred years of Solitude a good comparison?
• What is the meaning of the translucent skin and gothic forest?
• Can you spot the modern literature references (Anna missed most of them!)

Here are some read-alikes if you enjoyed Lázár:

• Held by Anne Michaels
• Beddebrooks by Thomas Mann
• The Director by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin
• The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth translated by Michael Hofmann

Coming up: TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lerner

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Anna and Geoff discuss the news that Helen deWitt has turned down the Windham Campbell prize. Are authors expected to do too much publicity? Our book of the week is PEDRO PÁRAMO by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford. 'Wuthering Heights located in Mexico written by Kafka' gives a hint - this book is a trip. It broke Anna's brain but Geoff found it richly rewarding once you get into it. Pedro Páramo inspired a generation of Hispanic writers including Gabriel Garcia Márquez and is considered a classic. It's now a Netflix film - but is it too faithful to the book? We needed the Wikipedia plot summary for this one. Read-alikes THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez A SUNNY PLACE FOR SHADY PEOPLE by Mariana Enriquez translated by Megan McDowell HURRICANE SEASON by Fernanda Melchor translated by Sophie Hughes Coming up: LÁZÁR by Nelio Biedermann translated by Jamie Bulloch

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Anna and Annie discuss the 2026 Booker International Shortlist. Our book of the week is HEART THE LOVER by Lily King. This buzzy novel follows three friends at university and into adulthood. A follow up from King's best-seller WRITERS AND LOVERS, it is an instant New York Times best-seller and is long-listed for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction (shortlist to be announced on 22 April). It's also Zadie Smith's pick for 'the book that made me weep uncontrollably.' More literary romances: THE EVENING OF THE HOLIDAY by Shirley Hazzard SEEING OTHER PEOPLE by Diana Reid

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Anna and Annie discuss the news that Hachette has pulled the book SHY GIRL by Mia Ballard from publication after concerns it was written by AI. Our book of the week is A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar. This follow-up to her novel A Burning is set in near-future, dystopian Kolkata. A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF is full of ethical dilemmas, flawed characters and memorable food scenes - a good book club pick. It has been long listed for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction. Read-alikes: THE DIRECTOR by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin (iykyk) LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam Coming up: HEART THE LOVER by Lily King Follow us!

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