Novel Thoughts – Details, episodes & analysis

This week we take a look at Small Hours, the highly-anticipated second novel from British writer Bobby Palmer whose debut Isaac and the Egg is already being touted as a contemporary classic.  

Also this week, Saph read Turbulence by David Szalay and Joseph read The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Rachel who really enjoyed The Watchers by A.M. Shine and is looking for more scary reads. Joseph recommended just about anything by Shirley Jackson and Blood Child And Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler, and Saph recommended The Troop by Nick Cutter and The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

The Boy and the Dog by Hase Seishu

The Guest Cat by Takashe Hiraide

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Enchantment by Katherine May 

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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This week we’re deep diving into the brilliant Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, a novel about Victorian asylums, family secrets, and the tragedy of being yourself. 

Also this week, Saph read 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell, Joseph read Day by Michael Cunningham, and Michelle read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Skye who loved Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews and is looking for something with a similarly lyrical first-person style. Joseph recommends Second Self by Chloe Ashby, Saph recommends Tangerine by Christine Mangan, and Michelle recommends Normal People by Sally Rooney. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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Sapphire and Joseph talk about the new releases they can’t wait to read in 2024. Sapphire is looking forward to reading Sandwich by Catherine Newman, Nuclear Family by Kate Davies, and Small Hours by Bobby Palmer. Joseph wants to read Parade by Rachel Cusk, Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie, Your Utopia by Bora Chung, and Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

Sapphire and Joseph talk about their reading habits, how they track what they read, and how they manage to read so many books. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Peter who enjoyed Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and is looking for novels with a similar sensibility. Sapphire recommends The Fish by Joanne Stubbs, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, and the Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Joseph recommends The Unconsoled and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Do You Remember Being Born? By Sean Michaels, Jungle House by Julianne Pachico, and The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Saving Agnes by Rachel Cusk

‘The Stuntman’ by Rachel Cusk

The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola

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Read this week: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeseyer, Wellness by Nathan Hill, and Ghost Music by An Yu. 

2023 favs: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes, The Glutton by A K Blakemore, Julia by Sandra Newman, Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Dying of Politeness (A Memoir) by Geena Davis, The Darkness 

Manifesto: Why The World Needs The Night by Johan Eklöf, North Woods by Daniel Mason.

Christmas reads: The End of Alice by A.M. Homes, Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis, The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. Blackouts by Justin Torres, Closer by Dennis Cooper, I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. 

Recommendations: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay, Chavs by Owen Jones, The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis. 

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Sapphire, Michelle and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including Sean Michaels’ sensitive existential comedy Do You Remember Being Born?, Clementine Ford’s inspiring feminist manifesto Fight Like A Girl, Nathan Hill’s portrait of marital dysfunction Wellness, and Julian Fellowes’ historical drama The Gilded Age.

This week’s deep dive book is the best-selling bookclub favourite Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Leigh who enjoyed Bliss Montage by Ling Ma and is looking for other quirky and interesting short story collections. Sapphire recommends Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, Objects of Desire by Clare Sestanovich, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez, Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson, Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood, Send Nudes by Saba Sams, and 19 Claws and a Black Bird by Augustina Bazterrica. Michelle recommends Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. Joseph recommends Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Severance by Ling Ma

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

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Sapphire, Michelle and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including the thought-provoking The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry, the international bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent from Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, the atmospheric novella Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Jessica Moore), and Blue Sisters, the highly anticipated second novel by Coco Mellors.

This week’s deep dive book is the critically-acclaimed grim dark epic Babel by R. F. Kuang.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Cathy who is looking for engaging detective fiction similar to her favourite, Agatha Christie. Sapphire recommends The Maid and The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, An Expert In Murder by Nicola Upson, The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, The Appeal by Janice Hallett, and The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett. Michelle recommends Whose Body? By Dorothy L Sayers, Footsteps In The Dark by Georgette Heyer, Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi, and Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. Joseph recommends The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo.

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah by Benjamin Zephaniah

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

How to Raise a Viking by Helen Russell

The Novel Thoughts team also pay tribute to poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah. Rest in power.

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Michelle, Sapphire and Joseph chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including the true crime podcasts Crime Junkie, Morbid, and Small Town Dicks, as well as the new TV series The Curse starring Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder, and the classic 80s creature feature Gremlins. 

This week’s deep dive book is Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty by Emma Dabiri, a radical, deeply personal and empowering essay that points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies.

Emma Dabiri is an Irish-Nigerian academic, author and broadcaster. Her books include the Sunday Times bestseller What White People Can Do Next and Don’t Touch My Hair. 

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Jane who has ADHD and is looking for a recommendation that will hold her attention. Michelle recommends Underland by Robert MacFarlane. Joseph recommends This Is The Place To Be by Lara Pawson. Sapphire recommends Antarctica by Claire Keegan, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom, Modern Times by Cathy Sweeney, The Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser, and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

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Sapphire, Joseph, and Michelle chat about what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this week including Paul Lynch’s Booker Prize-winning novel Prophet Song, Alison Rumfitt’s gutchurning new release Brainwyrms, and Down The Drain, the hotly anticipated memoir from model and actress Julia Fox. 

This week’s deep dive book is the million copy bestseller A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. 

For this episode, listener recommendation request comes from Dan who is looking to branch out into the fantasy genre after enjoying The Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin. Joseph recommends The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, the first book in Jemsin’s ‘Inheritance Trilogy’. Sapphire recommends The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang, and Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky. Michelle recommends The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, the first book in Maas’ four book ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, and Temeraire (aka His Majesty’s Dragon) by Naomi Novik, the first book in Novik’s nine book ‘Temeraire’ series. 

Also mentioned in this episode: 

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt 

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

‘Hanya’s Boys’ - an essay by Andrea LongChu about A Little Life and Hanya Yanagihara’s other novels 

SFGateway website - browse all the titles in the SF Masterworks series

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In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024 on this week’s episode we talk about active female representation in contemporary fiction and recommend some of our favourite books that absolutely smash the Bechdel Test

Boulder by Eva Baltasar

Jungle House by Julianne Pachico

Matrix by Lauren Groff

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

Also this week, Joseph read On Reading, Writing, and Living with Books by Pushkin Press/The London Library, and Saph read The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mollie who reads a lot of contemporary fiction set in the present day and would like to read more books set in different time periods. Joseph recommends The Dutch House by Anne Patchett, and Saph recommends Hurdy Gurdy by Christopher Wilson and The Glutton by A K Blakemore. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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