Curious Readers

Curious Readers
  • 4.5 (20)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

A bi-weekly bookchat podcast by Joseph Dance and Amanda Moulson, two time-poor curious readers with eclectic TBRs. Every two weeks we meet to talk all things books and deliver some recommendations for new, classic, and contemporary titles you might want to read next. We cover everything from backlist to frontlist, prize winners to debuts, and we are generally spoiler free.  Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 2d ago

    Ep 44: Accessorizing Our Reading (Stationery Addicts Unite!)

    This week is a bit of a departure for the Curious Readers, as Joseph and Amanda discuss all things related to pen and paper. Join them for a whole episode dedicated to stationery (with an ‘e’) in which they cover their favourite reading-adjacent supplies and where to get them - but not without a review of the Booker and National Book Award shortlists first. Bookish News The Booker Prize shortlist Replica food The National Book Awards Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi @hillith The Disappearers by Marlon James @marlonjameswriter The Renovation by Kenan Orhan Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich Dèy by Edwidge Dandicat @dandicatedwidge Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli @valeria_luiselli @amicus.domus Current Reads Uprising by Tahmima Anam @tahmima The Understory by Chloe Benjamin @cholekbenjamin The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty East of Eden by John Steinbeck Reading accessories Taotronic goose neck LED @taotronics_official Mini clip on reading lights IKEA @ikea Mornington studio Clarity Floor Standing reading light @morningtonstudio Glocusent original neck reading light Stabilo ‘swing cool’ highlighters @stabilo Creator’s Friend @creatorsfriend Paper Republic @paper_republic Traveler’s Company @travelers_company Mark and Fold @markandfold Midori @thejournalshop Daigo Japan @thejournalshop Uni-ball Eye Micro Black Rollerball Pen @uniball_uk Mitsubishi Pencil Company @uni_mitsibushi-pencil Montblanc @montblanc Caran D’Ache @carandache Pelikan fountain pen @pelikan_passion Pilot Kakuno @artfromtheheart_uk Ellington Pens @ellington.pens YStudio @ystudiostyle Art from the Heart @artfromtheheart_uk Present & Correct @presentandcorrect The London Graphic Centre @londongraphiccentre Muji @muji_global Blueprint Coffee @coffeeblueprint Bounty Whitstable @bountywhitstable What we’re reading next The Wedding People by Alison Espach @alison.espach I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers @theerinsomers Attacking Earth and Sun by Mathieu Belezi and translated by Lara Vergnaud @mathieubelezi @laravergnaud John of John by Douglas Stuart @douglas_stuart Dusk by Robbie Arnott Also mentioned Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Sep 27

    Ep 43: It's Finally Sweater Weather! Our Autumn Preview for 2026

    As the nights draw in, Joseph and Amanda look forward to all the autumn releases they hope to get through before December. Along the way, they meander through prize news, current reads and discover circular themes about the Epic of Gilgamesh, pianos and Dickens – and that’s all before they get to the mimmoths. Bookish News A Tale of Two Cities, a Marlowe Theatre Production The Hugo Awards The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow @alix.e.harrow The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar @amalelmohtar This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone @max.gladstone A Wizard Of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. LeGuin and Fred Fordham Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirlees A Drop Of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett @r.jackson.bennett The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Current Reads There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak @shafakelif Land by Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason @meg_mason_writer Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Autumn Preview Ply by Hernan Diaz Trust by Hernan Diaz American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee @lee_minjin End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor @naomiklein @astraamoura The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson @jennyjacksonpineapple Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson The Wedding People by Alison Espach @alison.espach The Strangers by Naomi Alderman @naomi_alderman The Power by Naomi Alderman Partita by Barbara Kingsolver @barbara.kingsolver Minihorror by Barbi Marković translated by Jen Calleja @barbimarkovich @jencalleja_ Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte @tonytula Off The Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones @stephengrahamjones The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham-Jones Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage @simonarmitage_official Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus @bonnie_garmus_author Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus Stations by Louise Kennedy @louisekennedywriter Trespasses by Louise Kennedy Furious, Disney Plus Widow’s Bay on Apple TV Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot (also know as Abra in Canada) Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura On The Calculation of Volume - Volume V by Solvej Balle The Pen: A Human History by Simon Garfield The Missing Ink: How Handwriting Made Us Who We Are by Philip Hensher The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Alan Hudson by Hernán Ronsino, translated by Mallory Craig-Kuhn Fruit Fly by Josh Silver Look What You Made Me Do by John Lancaster Capital by John Lancaster Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Sep 11

    Ep 42: Whistler by Ann Patchett (Deep Dive) & Our Views On The Booker Prize Longlist

    Joseph and Amanda are back from summer break with a bumper episode deep diving into Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Whistler. They also take some time to cogitate over the Booker Prize long list, as well as catch up on what they've been reading recently and the titles they hope to pick up next. Bookish News The Imagination Library @imaginationlibraryuk Booker Prize Longlist and Predictions The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis Switzy by Emma Cline @emmanancycline Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman @makenna_good The End of Everything by M. John Harrison @m_john_harrison The Disappearers by Marlon James @marlonjameswriter Black Bag by Luke Kennard @lukekekennnard The Renovation by Kenan Orhan May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry @poorsasquatch The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @liztroutauthor John of John by Douglas Stuart @douglas_stuart All Them Dogs by Djamel White @djamelwhitewriter The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams @missouriwilliams What We’ve Been Reading Frost in May by Antonia White Novel on Yellow Notepaper by Stevie Smith Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge The Caravners by Elizabeth von Arnim The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani The Hyena’s Daughter by Jupiter Jones @jupiterjones It Will Come Back To You by Sigird Nunez East of Eden by John Steinbeck Intermezzo by Sally Rooney @sallyrooney6 Selected Books of Ann Patchett Parnassus Books @paranassusbooks The Patron Saint of Liars Taft The Magician’s Assistant  Bel Canto Run State of Wonder The Dutch House Tom Lake Whistler What We’re Reading Next Astronaut! by Oana Aristide  My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova @egana_djabbarly Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Sep 4

    Ep 41: Dear Curious Readers - Summer Postbag Special

    As we bid farewell to Summer Break, we take questions from our listeners in a special post bag episode - and of course, we can’t help but make some recommendations along the way. And don’t worry, normal service will be resumed on 11 September when return to the mics for a deep dive into Ann Patchett's latest novel, Whistler. Recent Reads The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton Post Bag Questions Claude.ai Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley  The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash An Apprenticeship, or The Book Of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector  The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector  The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya The Life of M by Rachel Cusk Audition, by Katie Kitamura Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad @apairofbookendspod Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman The Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Alison by Lizzie Stewart The Wreck by Lizzie Stewart Ducks by Kate Beaton From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell Black Hole by Charles Burns The Property by Rutu Modan Something Will Happen, You’ll See by Christos Ikonomou Little Infamies by Panos Karnezis Greekling by Kostya Tsolakis The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson  Circe by Madeline Miller Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes Hot Milk by Deborah Levy What We’re Reading Next Whistler by Ann Patchett Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Aug 1

    Ep 40: We Only Went In For One Book - Our Love of Browsing and Bookshops (London/South East Edition)

    How many times have Amanda and Joseph joined the ‘Just One Book’ Deception Society? Too many to count. This week they are talking about the joy of browsing and the bookshops they love visiting across the UK. Plus, as always they’ll be chatting about what they’ve been reading recently and the titles they're hoping to pick up next.   Recent Reads I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder Service by John Tottenham Bookshops and browsing Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal The Book of Lost Tales (Volume 2) by J R R Tolkien Persephone Books, Bath and London @persephonebooks If The Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon Charco Press @charcopress Daunt Books, Marleybone or Cheapside @dauntbookspub Bookmongers, Brixton @bookmongersbrixton Harbour Books, Whitstable @harbourbooks A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam In The Distance by Hernan Diaz London Review of Books Bookshop, London @londonreviewofbooks Judd Books, London @juddbooks Book Bar, London @bookbaruk Hatchards, St Pancras @hatchstpancras Brick Lane Bookshop, London @bricklanebookshop Pages of Hackney, London @pagesofhackney The Margate Bookshop, Margate @themargatebookshop Little Green Bookshop, Herne Bay @thegreenbookshop Michael’s Bookshop, Ramsgate @michaelsbookshopramsgate Plunder Books, Ramsgate @plunderbooks Heffers, Cambridge @heffers_cambridge Body in the Bookshop, Cambridge @bodiesinthebookshop Murder and Mayhem, Hay on Wye @murder_and_mayhem Richard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye @richardboothsbookshop What We’re Reading Next The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockton The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova Also mentioned Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Jul 19

    Ep 39: Land by Maggie O'Farrell (Deep Dive)

    Join Amanda and Joseph as they set out to excavate Land, Maggie O’Farrell’s latest historical novel and family drama which is set in 1860s Ireland, a decade after the Great Famine. Plus, as always they chat about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next.  Bookish News Children’s Booker Prize Frank Cottrell-Boyce @frank_cottrellboyce Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald Beast in View by Maragert Millar Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood @herrealtake Recent Reads The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series by Juno Dawson @junodawson Parallel Lives: A Love Story from a Lost Continent by Iain Pears Selected Books of Maggie O’Farrell @maggieofarrellofficial The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Instructions for a Heatwave This Must Be the Place  Hamnet  The Marriage Portrait  Land What We’re Reading Next The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan @theodysseymovie Crossing The Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily Wilson I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Jul 3

    Ep 38: The Ghost In The Manuscript - Reading, Writing and Living After AI

    Join Amanda and Joseph as they go through the looking glass into the fascinating (and anxiety inducing) world of artificial intelligence - and recommending some fiction and non-fiction picks about Large Language Models, bots, and the machines learning to live like us. Plus, as always they'll be chatting about what they've been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next.  Bookish News Lambda Literary Awards @lambdaliterary Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter  Black Panther Woman by Mary Frances Phillips @maryfrancisphillips  The Lilac People by Milo Todd @todd_milo Virago Modern Classics @viragopress Frost In May by Antonia White  Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge Recent Reads The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthor Soft Core by Brittany Newell @frottage_industry Good Girl by Aria Aber @aria.aber The Spare Room by Helen Garner How to End a Story by Helen Garner Small Rain by Garth Greenwell @ggreenwell The Ghost in the Manuscript Olga Tokarczuk @tokarczuk_olga Martin Scorcese @martinscorcese Kane Parsons @kanepixels Josh Johnson @joshjohnsoncomedy Field Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kandasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates @laura_bates_ Meditations for the Anxious Mind @meditationsfortheanxiousmind How to Talk to AI (and How Not To) by Jamie Bartlett @jamiejbartlett Annie Bot by Sierra Greer @sierra_greer_writer Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow What We’re Reading Next Whistler by Ann Patchett @annpatchett Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Jun 21

    Ep 37: Are Literary Prizes A Reading List? Inside the Nobel, Pulitzer, Booker & National Book Award

    In the height of Prize Season, Amanda and Joseph are back with a bumper episode asking what all the hullabaloo is about - how are prizes judged and awarded, and are the winners worth our time? Plus, they talk about Amanda’s recent trip to the Women’s Prize ceremony, and as always, what they’ve been reading recently and what they hope to pick up next.  Bookish News Hay Festival Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams @sarahww_ Women’s Prize Women’s Prize Live and other events Rivals on Disney+ Felicity Blunt @thebluntoffice Laura Wade Katherine Parkinson @parkinson.katherine Field Work as a Sex Object by Meena Kadasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y Rapture by Emily Maguire @emilymaguirewriter These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany @salmaelwardany The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet @lyse.doucet The Correspondent by Virgina Evans @virginia.l.evans Dominion by Addie E. Kitchens @addie_citchens The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1 Recent Reads Air by Christian Kracht Eurotrash by Christian Kracht Imperium by Christian Kracht You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate @christinapplegate Prizes and Prize-Worthy Recommendations The Nobel Prize for Literature The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Booker Prize National Book Award  Milkman by Anna Burns ‘The Hemingway Veto’ and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway The Riders In The Chariot by Patrick White The Tree of Man by Patrick White The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty Martyr by Kaveh Akbar @kavehakbar.kavehakbar Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Trust by Hernan Diaz What We’re Reading Next The Beautiful Ones by Prince and Dan Piepenbring  The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout @lizstroutauthor Also mentioned Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudio Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderspodcast and Bluesky @curiousreaderspod.bsky.social for more recommendations in between episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4.5
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About

A bi-weekly bookchat podcast by Joseph Dance and Amanda Moulson, two time-poor curious readers with eclectic TBRs. Every two weeks we meet to talk all things books and deliver some recommendations for new, classic, and contemporary titles you might want to read next. We cover everything from backlist to frontlist, prize winners to debuts, and we are generally spoiler free.  Follow us on Instagram @curiousreaderpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Curious Readers
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Joseph Dance
  • Show Website
    Curious Readers

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