A Pair of Bookends – Details, episodes & analysis

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A Pair of Bookends

Hannah MacDonald

Arts

Fiction

Frequency: 1 episode/7d. Total Eps: 214

A weekly bookish podcast hosted by Hannah MacDonald. Join us for monthly Book Club episodes - read the book at your own pace and then listen to us deep dive with the author! Our Debut Spotlight series is to put the freshest authors and their work firmly on your radar and in our new series we bring you a monthly culture round up of all the recommendations we've collected over the previous month of consuming. Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and TIk Tok.

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Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
04/08/2026
#95
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
28/09/2025
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
27/09/2025
#51
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
01/09/2025
#91
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
31/08/2025
#53
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
30/08/2025
#80
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
29/08/2025
#62
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
06/05/2025
#87
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
04/05/2025
#63
🇬🇧 Great Britain - books
03/05/2025
#97

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Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/apairofbookendspod
9 shares
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9780140167771
9 shares
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13480/9780571334650
6 shares

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting
10 shares
https://substack.com/@hannahsreadsandrambles
8 shares
https://www.nowtv.com/gb/sign-in?DCMP=WA&amp
8 shares

https://www.instagram.com/apairofbookendspod
138 shares
https://www.instagram.com/elphreads
12 shares
https://www.instagram.com/thebobpalmer
3 shares

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 84%

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September Book Club: Shy Creatures with Clare Chambers

Season 7 · Episode 2

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 • Duration 35:51

For this month's Book Club episode, Hannah was joined by Women's Prize long listed author of 'Small Pleasures', Clare Chambers, to discuss her latest novel Shy Creatures.
They discuss the true stories that inspired her books, her research into psychiatry, why the suburbs is such a great setting to write about and lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it's a free way to support the pod and means the world.
For less than £3 a month and for extra exclusive content you can support us via Patreon.
You can follow Clare here and to buy her books or any books mentioned in this episode visit our bookshop.org page.
You can follow us via Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok

Books & other mentions in this episode:
Missing Person: Alice by Simon Mason
The Muslim Cowboy by Bruce Omar Yates
The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz
Sanity, Madness and the Family by R.D Laing and Aaron Esterson
Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates by Erving Goffman
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
This House of Grief by Helen Garner
The Good Life (Now TV)
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (Amazon Prime)
Keeping Up Appearances (BBC Iplayer)
One Foot in the Grave (U)

Thanks so much for listening, until next time- happy reading!

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S4 Debut Spotlight- 6. Bruce Omar Yates (Westerns, Camels & Identity Crises)

Season 7 · Episode 1

Wednesday, August 28, 2024 • Duration 29:25

Welcome back Bookends! On today's Debut Spotlight episode, Hannah chatted to debut author Bruce Omar Yates about his new novel The Muslim Cowboy (Dead Ink Books)
(This discussion is spoiler free!)
We discuss the various tropes of Westerns, the journey from song-writing to novel writing, the iconic camel character in Bruce's book & loads more!
If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, it's a free way to support the pod and it means the world. You can also support & gain exclusive content via Patreon.
You can follow Bruce via Instagram or Twitter, & to buy The Muslim Cowboy or any books mentioned in this episode click here.
You can also follow us via Instagram, Twitter & Tik Tok

Books & other mentions in today's episode:
The Story of the Jews by Simon Schama
Great Short Stories of the Masters edited by Charles NeiderThanks so much for listening, until next week-happy reading!

Bonus: In conversation with Claire Lombardo, author of 'Same As It Ever Was'

Season 6 · Episode 10

Wednesday, June 19, 2024 • Duration 45:54

For today's very exciting bonus episode Hannah was joined by the Women's Prize longlisted author of 'The Most Fun We Ever Had' Claire Lombardo to chat all about her new novel 'Same As It Ever Was' (out now in the US, published by Doubleday! UK folk you can pre-order!)
We chat about her favourite family saga novels, writing 'nice' men & complicated women, her debut novel's upcoming adaptation and so much more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe to boost us in the charts!
You can follow Claire via Instagram or Twitter
For more exclusive content & for less than £3 a month, join us on Patreon, you can also follow us via Instagram, Twitter & Tik Tok

Books mentioned in today's episode:
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
Middlesex by Jeffrey EugenidesThanks so much for listening! If you want to get in touch you can do so via apairofbookendspod@gmail.com

4. Pride Book Club Special - Heartstopper with Emma Hinds

Season 1

Friday, June 24, 2022 • Duration 01:06:42

Welcome Back Bookends and Happy Pride Month!

We have a treat in store for you this episode. Not only are we chatting about the outstanding Heartstopper books by Alice Oseman and its’ gorgeous Netflix adaptation but we also have a very special guest! Joining us this month is the incomparable author and playwright Emma Hinds. So enjoy our chat this month, in which we talk about the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation in literature past and present, our fave Pride TV and Film recommendations and shout about our favourite LGBTQIA+ authors and books.

Sponsored by @deargreenreads , the perfect place for all your bookish needs.

Authors and Books:

Alice Oseman:
Heartstopper 1-4
Solitaire
Winter
Nick and Charlie
Loveless
Radio Silence

Weird Fucks by Lynne Tillman
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston
One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston
The Colour Purple- Alice Walker
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit- Jeanette Winterson
Call Me by Your Name - Andre Aciman
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
You Exist Too Much- Zaina Arafat
Kirsty Logan
Daisy Johnson
Bridget Collins
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

TV and Media Mentions:
Looking- HBO
Netflix:
It’s a Sin
Sex Education
Atypical
AJ and the Queen
American Horror story
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Queer Eye
Sex Education
Shadow Hunters
Pose

Everything I Know about Love- BBC

Alice’s Patreon:
Support Emma’s work: Additional People & Places:@humphreads Queer Lit bookshop - Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

Top Of Your TBR with Pandora Sykes

Season 1

Friday, June 10, 2022 • Duration 43:50

Welcome back Bookends!
Hope you're excited for the FIRST in our brand new series 'Top Of Your TBR' where we invite the people we admire to give four of their stand-out book recommendations for us to read and discuss! Our first ever feature on the podcast is none other than the Writer and Broadcaster, the one & only - Pandora Sykes.
Pandora is the author of 'How do we know we're doing it right?' an essay collection about the anxieties of modern life, her journalism has been published by Elle, Vogue, GQ and the Sunday Times and she was the co-creator and co-host of the chart-topping pop culture podcast 'The High Low' alongside her pod-wife Dolly Alderton. As we have mentioned them so much already on the podcast, it was only right that she was our go-to guest. We hope you enjoy!

To buy Pandora's debut essay collection:
https://uk.bookshop.org/books/how-do-we-know-we-re-doing-it-right-and-other-thoughts-on-modern-life/9781786091000

To subscribe to Pandora's Books subscription:
https://www.pandorasbooks.co.uk/

Books & Authors mentioned:

One Day by David Nicholls
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) by Philippa Perry
Strong Female Lead by Arwa Mahdawi
Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
Ella Risbridger
Nora Ephron
Dolly Alderton
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Meg Mason
Why I No Longer Write Poems by Diana Anphimiadi

Other mentions:
Sycorax Collective- https://sycoraxcollective.weebly.com/ Somewhere to Belong Archive- Follow us @apairofbookendspod to see updates on our Book Club episodes & future guest updates!

3. Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Season 1

Friday, May 27, 2022 • Duration 01:03:10

Welcome back Bookends! This month's book club episode features Vladimir, the exciting new debut novel from Julia May Jonas. Our deep dive includes chat on complex female protagonists, sexual fantasies, power dynamics and dark academia. As usual, we give you our cultural recommendations and books we'd recommend as companion reads to Vladimir.

Books & Authors mentioned:
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
10 Minutes 38 Seconds by Elif Shafak
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

@meg.in.a.book- Meg Picks
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
Life as a Unicorn: A journey from shame to pride and everything inbetween by Amrou Al-Kadhi

Cultural Recommendations:
Bridgerton Season 2- Netflix
Vigil- BBC Iplayer
Pop Fiction Women Podcast- Conversations with friends (novel) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5W1KPabWPs3YwQ3ed1hj49
This is Us - Amazon Prime

We hope you love these book club episodes as much as we love making them. Please do rate, review and subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts! Give us a follow on Instagram @apairofbookendspod or email us apairofbookendspod@gmail.com if you'd like to suggest future reads.

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Minisode Two: The Books That Shaped Us

Season 1

Friday, May 13, 2022 • Duration 01:21:54

Welcome back Bookends! Join us for our not so mini-minisode and explore the books that shaped us. We delve into our childhood faves, those angsty teenage picks and our ultimate recommendations.

Sponsor: @deargreenreads.gifts https://deargreenreads.co.uk/

Books and Authors Mentioned:

This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Harry Potter Series
The Love Songs of W.E.B Dubois by Honoree Fenonne Jeffers
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Narnia Series by C.S Lewis
Elmer by David McKee
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Alun Ahlburg
Baby Love, Love, Frankie ,Girls in love series, Midnight, Clean Break, Lola Rose by Jaqueline Wilson
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult
My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
Happy Fat by Sofie Hagan
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
The Stand by Stephen King
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Our Wives under the Sea and Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
On Beauty and White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Queenie by Candice Carty Williams
The places I’ve cried in public by Holly Bourne
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

Author Shoutouts:
Meg Mason, Katherine Heiny, Bernadine Evaristo, Kate Elizabeth Russell, Meg Nolan, Douglas Stuart, Tayari Jones, Elif Shafak, Sally Rooney, Nora Ephron

Media Mentions:
Everything is Copy documentary - Nora Ephron
When Harry Met Sally
I May Destroy You
It’s a Sin
Boiling Point
Literary Friction podcast
The High Low Podcast
Pandoras Books Box Subscription
@meg.in.a.book

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

2. Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Season 1

Friday, April 29, 2022 • Duration 01:12:12

Welcome back Bookends! This month's book club episode features the captivating debut novel from Julia Armfield. We discuss this literary horror about love, loss and grief. We also answer your questions, dive into our current reads and recommend some gems we've been enjoying recently.

Books & Authors mentioned:
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller
Milkman by Anna Burns
The Promise by Damon Galgut
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
The Doloriad by Missouri Williams
Thinner by Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
Pet Semetary by Stephen King
The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Life of Pi by Yan Martel
Magma by Thora Hjorlefsdottir
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
The Missing Word by Concita De Gregorio
Sally Rooney

Boyf Picks: Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Crawford

TV, Music and Film:
Succession- HBO
The Fly- David Cronenberg
Fleabag- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
The Babadook- Jennifer Kent
The Shape Of Water- Guillermo Del Toro
The Center Will Not Hold- Netflix
This Is Us- Amazon
The Sinner- Netflix

People & Publishers Mentioned:
@savidgereads
@meg.in.a.book
@supposedlyfun
@montanabookco
@tandemcollectiveuk
@bettyandthebooks

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next! Please do rate and review us as it helps to boost us in the charts.

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Minisode One: Women's Prize Special

Season 1

Thursday, April 14, 2022 • Duration 45:54

Welcome back Bookends! In this minisode of A Pair of Bookends we will be discussing all things Women's Prize. From our thoughts on the longlist, the books we are most excited for to our own shortlist picks. Come join us for a natter about our favourite literary prize!

Books mentioned:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Unsettled Ground by Clare Fuller
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
A Door Behind a Door by Yelena Moskovich
What a Shame by Abigail Bergstrom
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Flamingo by Rachel Elliot
Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Careless by Kirsty Capes
This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Podcasts Mentioned:
Book Off!
Literary Friction

People and Publishers mentioned:
@savidgereads
@meg.in.a.book
@supposedlyfun
@skyartsbookclub
@serenbooks
@influxpress
@tandemcollectiveuk

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next. Please do subscribe to us to be sure you never miss an episode and we would love it if you could rate and review the podcast to ensure other bookends can find us. Thanks for listening!

1. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

Season 1

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 • Duration 01:08:14

Welcome to our FIRST episode of A pair of bookends!
This month, we have chosen to wax lyrical about the incredible new novel To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara. In this episode we talk about our thoughts on the book, meeting Hanya and a whole host of bookish things.

Books mentioned:
To Paradise
A Little Life
The People in the trees, All by Hanya Yanagihara
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller
1984 by George Orwell
Vox by Christina Dalcher
The Power by Naomi Alderman
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Tin Man by Sarah Winman

Other recommendations:
The High Low Podcast
This is going to hurt- BBC Iplayer
The Lost Daughter- Netflix

Boyf Pick-
The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes

Follow us on Instagram @apairofbookendspod and let us know what you'd like us to read next.

Please do subscribe to us to be sure you never miss an episode and we would love it if you could rate and review the podcast to ensure other bookends can find us.

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A Pair of Bookends – Details, episodes & analysis

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A Pair of Bookends – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Bookshop99+

Other99+

Instagram99+

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

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Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Bookshop99+

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