We’ve reached the final book on the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist! This week, Aaron, Hannah, and Lucy discuss The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny by Kiran Desai — a tender, multi-layered story exploring how the two titular characters navigate love, family, and belonging, both in India and beyond.

The team dive into Desai’s luminous prose, the emotional depth of her characters, and how this novel fits within the broader themes of this year’s shortlist.

We also give a special shout-out to our friends at @bookfarepod — go give them a listen for more great bookish chats! 🎧

📅 Coming Up Next

📊 Tomorrow: our Final Rankings & Predictions episode — including the Bookies’ odds ahead of Monday’s Booker Prize 2025 winner announcement.
🏆 Then: our Winner Reaction episode, dropping after the announcement!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Which book do you think will take home the prize?

We’re onto book five of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist with Flesh by David Szalay — a look at how others can influence our lives and define the relationships we form.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: our final shortlisted title, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton). 🌙

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

This week, the team hit the road with The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits — a story of midlife crisis, family tensions, and health struggles, all unfolding across a cross-country road trip through the US. Opinions are divided on this one, but there’s plenty to discuss!

Our Bookie of the Week is @dymphnaflynn — book reviewer, Costa Book Awards Judge 2021, and former BBC Arts producer — sharing her thoughts on this Booker-shortlisted novel.

We also hear from listeners in the book club who’ve been reading along, and of course, Aaron brings back Read It & Eat It, cooking up a batch of pancakes inspired by the book. 🥞

Judging the Book by Its Cover

Next up: Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape). We take a first look at the cover and share our early expectations.

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts on The Rest of Our Lives and join the discussion for Flesh!

This week, Lucy, Hannah, and Colin discuss Flashlight by Susan Choi — a sharp, layered story that shines a beam on identity, family, and the fragments that make up a life. The three of them unpack Choi’s lengthy tale.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (Faber) 📘

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts on Flashlight or your first impressions of The Rest of Our Lives!

This week, Colin, Lucy, and Hannah brave the chill as they discuss The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller — a historical novel set against a fierce blizzard and the frozen backdrop of political and personal turmoil.

Do they have a frosty opinion on this Booker-shortlisted story, or does it warm their hearts? Hannah also dives into another of her trademark “odd chapters”—you’ll have to listen to find out which one!

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape) 🔦

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts or theories to be featured in a future episode!

This week we dive into the first book on the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist: Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press). The novel is split into two distinct parts, exploring the life of an aging Broadway actress and her shifting relationships with those around her.

Our Bookie of the Week is @bobthebookerer on Instagram—make sure to also check out his YouTube channel for more bookish content!

📚 In This Episode

✨ Breaking down the dual structure of Audition
✨ Our classic “Rename the Novel” segment
🥐 Read It & Eat It: Aaron snacks on a croissant straight from the pages—see the pic on our Instagram!
✨ Listener reactions and book club thoughts

📅 Coming Up Next

Have you read other books by Katie Kitamura? We’d love to hear what you thought of them.

Next week: The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre) ❄️

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Check out our written reviews on Goodreads

Share your thoughts to be featured in an upcoming episode!

The official Booker Prize 2025 shortlist is here—and honestly? We’re a little disappointed by the choices. Still, there’s plenty to dig into, and we’re excited to read and discuss each of the six books in the lead-up to the winner’s announcement.

Here’s the order we’ll be reading them in:
1️⃣ Audition by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press)
2️⃣ The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)
3️⃣ Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape)
4️⃣ The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (Faber)
5️⃣ Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape)
6️⃣ The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton)

We also hear again from our guest Bookie, Ashlee (@afewofchifavoritethings) on Instagram.

📅 What’s Next

• Each week we’ll release a new review episode on one of the shortlisted books.

• Our Eden’s Shore chapter-by-chapter read-along will pause until the shortlist project is complete.

💬 Get Involved

Which shortlisted book are you most excited (or dreading) to read?
📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

We’ll also be posting written reviews on Goodreads: ⁠Bookies’ Favourite Bookclub on Goodreads⁠.

Join us as we take on the Booker shortlist—six books in six weeks!

With the official Booker Prize 2025 shortlist announcement just one day away, we’re making our calls!

Lucy and Hannah—who’ve managed to read some of the longlisted titles—face off against Aaron and Colin (who haven’t read any) as we each put forward our six predicted books for the shortlist. Then, together, we try to settle on a final six we’d love to see announced.

📅 What’s Next

📖 Tomorrow – the official shortlist is revealed.
🎧 Later this week – we’ll be back with a shortlist reaction episode, setting out our full reading list.

From there, we’ll be reading and discussing all six shortlisted books before the winner is announced.

💬 Join the Conversation

Which books do you want to see on the shortlist?
📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Follow along as we make our way through the shortlist and build up to the winner!

Our chapter-by-chapter journey through Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan continues! In this episode, we tackle Part II, Chapter 3: Colony, where the story shifts with a time jump of several years. We dig into the ensemble cast of characters, the rising rebellion, and explore some striking similarities with Les Misérables.

🍗 Aaron’s Kitchen Chronicles

Food continues to play a role in the read-along! This week Aaron makes fried chicken (straight from the book’s pages), and we also chat about the intriguing mention of “spit cake.”

📅 Coming Up Next

Next episode: Part II, Chapter 4: Play 🎭
And remember—the series will end with a special interview with Oisín Fagan. Got a question you’d like us to put to him? Send it in!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Follow along and share your thoughts as we read through Eden’s Shore together!

We’re back with our chapter-by-chapter read-along of Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan! In this episode, we explore Part I, Chapter 2: Land, diving into its characters, themes, and hidden layers.

We’re once again joined by Emma from Real Life Ghost Stories, this time sharing some fascinating folklore about the Irish Púca. You can watch the original video we pulled audio from here: Emma on the Púca (TikTok).

🍸 Lucy’s Cocktail Corner

Lucy debuts her Eden’s Shore Special cocktail—perfect for sipping as you read along! Check out the recipe and images on our Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next episode: Part II, Chapter 3: Colony
And don’t forget—this read-along series will end with a special interview with Oisín Fagan himself. Got a question for him? Send it our way!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Read along with us each week and share your thoughts!

Welcome to our weekly chapter-by-chapter read-along of Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan!

In this first episode, Aaron & Lucy dive into Part I, Chapter 1: Sea, exploring its plots, characters, themes, references, and hidden easter eggs.

He hear from Emma of Real Life Ghost Stories, who lends her insight as we pull in some fascinating clips from their episode on Hy-Brasil—a mysterious phantom island off the Irish coast. You can listen to that full episode here: Hy-Brasil on Spotify.

We also hear from one of our listeners who’s reading along with us, sharing their thoughts on the opening chapter.

🍪 Aaron Bakes Eden’s Shore

Aaron kicks off a new segment where he bakes something inspired by each chapter! This week: Oatmeal Biscuits.
Want the recipe? Head over to our Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub.

📅 Coming Up

Next, we’ll continue the read-along with Chapter 2: Land.
We’ll also be taking in your reactions and preparing for an exclusive interview with Oisín Fagan at the end of the series.

👉 Got a question for Oisín, or your own thoughts on Eden’s Shore so far? Email or DM us and we’ll share them in a future episode!

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Follow along and read with us, chapter by chapter!

In this episode, we dig into Glorious Exploits—the witty, inventive, and widely celebrated debut that won your vote in our book club poll. Expect laughs, analysis, and plenty of admiration for Lennon’s bold storytelling.

We’re also joined by this week’s special guest Bookie, Mᴀɪʀᴇ́ᴀᴅ Hᴇᴀʀɴᴇ (@mairead.hearne), who shares her thoughts on why this book has captured so much attention.

📅 Coming Up Next

📖 Confessions by Catherine Airey – Full review episode coming soon.

🌊 Eden’s Shore Read-Along – Starting this Wednesday, we’re launching a special chapter-by-chapter series, unpacking Oisín Fagan’s dense and ambitious novel in detail. This will run every Wednesday, ending with an exclusive interview with the author himself.
👉 Have a question for Oisín Fagan? Send it in and we’ll put it to him in our chat!

🏆 Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist – Once the list is revealed in September, we’ll be reading and reviewing all six books in six weeks.

💬 Join the Conversation

We want to hear your thoughts on Glorious Exploits and what you’re most excited about in our upcoming series.

📸 @bookiesfavouritebookclub
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Follow along so you don’t miss the Eden’s Shore breakdown or our Booker Prize shortlist marathon!

The longlist is here—and Aaron and Hannah are diving straight in!

In this episode, they run through all 13 longlisted titles, sharing quick synopses of each book and discussing whether they hope to see them on the final shortlist.

📚 While we’re not reading the full longlist, Lucy will be making her way through as many titles as she can in her own time.

And don’t worry—we will be reading the full shortlist once it’s announced in September: six books in six weeks!

📅 What’s Coming Up Next

🏺 Glorious Exploits – Full review episode coming Monday
🌊 Eden’s Shore Read-Along – A chapter-by-chapter mini-series starts soon, featuring a special interview with the author, Oisín Fagan
🗣️ Confessions – Review episode coming in September, just ahead of the Booker shortlist announcement

💬 Join the Conversation

Which books are you rooting for on the shortlist? Let us know!

📸 bookiesfavouritebookclub
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Hit follow to stay updated on every episode leading up to the Booker shortlist announcement—and beyond!

With the official Booker Prize 2025 longlist announcement just around the corner, Aaron, Lucy, and Colin sit down to pitch their top 12 books they’d love to see make the list.

⚡ Plus, Lucy takes us through a speed round of eligible books she’s already read and whether she thinks they’ll appear on the list.

📚 Previous Booker-Eligible Episodes

Want to catch up on some eligible books we’ve already covered? Check out our past reviews:

• Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan

• The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine

And stay tuned—in September, we’ll be reviewing Confessions by Catherine Airey, another eligible title. If you're reading it too, send us your thoughts!

👀 What’s Coming Next
🎧 Wednesday – We’ll be uploading a longlist reaction episode, breaking down the official picks revealed in tomorrow's announcement and seeing which of our predictions made it.

🏺 Next week listen out for our review of Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

🪼 Aaron & Lucy will also be launching a read-along mini-series soon, going chapter-by-chapter through Eden’s Shore. Read along and join the discussion!

📚 And once the shortlist is announced in September, we’re planning to read and discuss every book on it.

💬 Share Your Predictions & Hopes!

What books do you want to see on the longlist?
Send us your predictions and hot takes on:
📸 Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Follow along and be part of the Booker conversation!

In this special bonus episode, Lucy is joined by Stacey from @whatstaceyreadnext to discuss The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine—a sharp, moving, and freshly released novel set in Belfast.

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault as it relates to the themes in the book.

Both Lucy and Stacey bring local insight to the conversation, exploring the novel’s themes, setting, and characters with care and excitement. With its powerful storytelling and distinct voice, they share why they’re hopeful this book will make the Booker longlist.

Lucy also reports back from a recent event with Wendy Erskine at the Belfast Book Festival, where Wendy shared details about The Benefactors.

📊 Help Pick Our Next Book!

Head to our socials and vote in this week’s polls to help us choose our next book club read:
📸 Instagram post & story polls
🎧 Poll on this Spotify episode
The more places you vote, the more power your vote has!

📅 What’s Next

Our next full episode drops Monday, and we’ll be reviewing Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon—the book YOU voted for!

🌊 Then in two weeks, we kick off our Eden’s Shore mini-series, starting with Chapter One: Sea.

💬 Connect With Us

We want to hear what you think of The Benefactors, Glorious Exploits, or the Eden’s Shore mini-series.
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📒 Goodreads
📸 Instagram
🐦 Twitter/X
📘 Facebook

Follow us, share your thoughts, and stay tuned for the next chapters!

In this episode, we dive into Eden’s Shore—a dense, experimental, and rewarding read that left us wanting more. With Hannah away traveling, we’re joined by our Bookie of the Week, Graeme (@graeme_c on Instagram), who shares his take on this powerful and unusual novel.

📚 Eden’s Shore is divided into four main chapters—Sea, Land, Colony, Play—plus a final chapter titled World. We all agreed: we’ve barely scratched the surface. So, we’re launching a mini-series between our regular episodes to unpack each chapter in its own dedicated discussion. If you're reading along, we’d love to hear your thoughts for inclusion in future episodes!

🎧 Bonus: The audiobook is free on Spotify for anyone with a subscription—perfect for those catching up!

🏆 Poll Results Are In!

The next book we’ll be reading together is Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon! Start reading now and send us your thoughts—our next full review episode drops Monday in two weeks.

📊 New Book Club Poll – Vote Now!

Help us choose what to read after Glorious Exploits! You can vote on:

• 🟢 Spotify poll (on this episode)

• 📸 Instagram post poll

• 📸 Instagram Story poll

The more places you vote, the more influence you have!

This week’s picks:

👑 Has Been Crowned – The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Aaron’s pick)
→ Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2025

📖 Freshly Bound – The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Colin’s pick)
→ Recently released and gaining momentum

🏅 Now Renowned – Confessions by Catherine Airey (Lucy’s pick)
→ Shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

💬 Share Your Thoughts

We want to hear what you think of Eden’s Shore, Glorious Exploits, or the books in this week’s poll!

📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📘 Goodreads
📸 Instagram
🐦 Twitter/X
📘 Facebook

Tap Follow wherever you’re listening so you don’t miss the mini-series or our next review!

We’re back! In this season premiere, we react to Heart Lamp’s big win at the 2025 International Booker Prize, reveal our next book club read—Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan—and launch our Book Club Vote to decide what we’ll read after that.

🎧 We also catch you up on what we’ve been reading and planning behind the scenes. Come join the conversation!

📊 Book Club Poll – Vote Now!

You can vote in four places—Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, and right here on this episode.
📌 Voting closes Midnight GMT on Friday.
📌 The more places you vote, the more your vote counts!

This Week’s Categories & Picks:

👑 Has Been Crowned - Lucy
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

• Winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction

• Winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

• Winner of the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award

• Named a Best Book of 2024 by Slate, The Guardian, and the New York Public Library

📖 Freshly Bound - Hannah
Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare

• Published 12th June 2025

• Be among the first to read it!

🏅 Now Renowned - Aaron
The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

• Shortlisted for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novella

• Shortlisted for the 2025 Nebula Award for Best Novella

📚 Been Around - Colin
Mother Naked by Glen James Brown

• Colin’s personal top read of 2024

📅 What’s Coming Up

Our next episode drops Monday 16th June, where we’ll review Eden’s Shore and reveal the winner of the vote.
From then on, we’ll be releasing new episodes every two weeks this season.

💬 We Want to Hear From You!

Tell us what you thought of Eden’s Shore, vote in the poll, or recommend our next book!
Which book would you suggest for each category?

📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📘 Goodreads
📸 Instagram
🐦 Twitter/X
📘 Facebook

👉 Tap Follow on your favourite platform to stay in the loop and help shape what we read next!

The shortlist has been read, the opinions have been aired, and now it’s time... to rank them.

In this special bonus episode of Bookies’ Favourite, we each reveal our final rankings of the six International Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted books—complete with laughs, debates, and a little chaos, especially as Lucy goes head-to-head with the Bookies' Favourite hivemind 👀📚

We also:

• Discuss our aggregate podcast rating based on all previous reviews

• Break down the bookies’ odds and what they might tell us about tonight’s winner

• Share a few last-minute hopes and predictions before the announcement drops this evening

🎉 Stay tuned:
We’ll be back later this week with a reaction episode once the winner is announced, and to share our plans for what we’ll read next—whether that’s more awards, future shortlists, or award-winning books.

💬 We want to hear from you!
Let us know what prize lists, books, or themes you’d like us to cover going forward. This podcast is a book club, after all—and we want your voice in the conversation.

📘 Facebook: Bookies’ Favourite
📸 Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub
🐦 Twitter/X: @BookiesFavorite
📚 Goodreads: Bookies’ Favourite Bookclub
📧 Email: bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Thanks for joining us on this International Booker journey—see you soon for the winner reveal!

In this final instalment of our International Booker Prize 2025 shortlist read-through, we’re diving into Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi and published by And Other Stories.

A powerful collection of short stories that explore gender, class, and quiet resistance, Heart Lamp left us with a lot to reflect on—and no shortage of opinions. We also hear the thoughtful response of guest @sazloureads on Instagram, whose take adds another layer to our discussion.

This is the last book on the shortlist—but we’re not done yet...

📢 Coming up tomorrow:
We’ll be releasing a bonus episode with our final rankings, Booker predictions, and some final reflections before the winner is announced on Tuesday evening.

🎉 Later this week:
We’ll be back once more with a reaction episode to the big announcement—did our predictions hit the mark, or did the judges surprise us?

✨ Get involved:

Now’s the time to send in your final rankings, predictions, or thoughts on the shortlist—we’d love to feature your opinions in our wrap-up coverage!

📘 Facebook: Bookies’ Favourite
📸 Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub
🐦 Twitter/X: @BookiesFavorite
📚 Goodreads: Bookies’ Favourite Bookclub
📧 Email: bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Thanks for reading along with us—we’ll see you tomorrow for the final countdown!

This week on Bookies’ Favourite, we’re setting sail with Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated from French by Helen Stevenson and published by Small Axes. A poignant dive into the conflicted conscience of a woman haunted by guilt after a migrant boat sinks in the English Channel under her watch, Small Boat has us asking: how much of grief can truly be put into words?

We’re joined by special guest Stacey from @whatstaceyreadnext who shares her thoughts on the book, and we also hear from some of our listeners—thank you to everyone who wrote in!

📖 Next week’s episode is a bumper one!
We’ll be discussing Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, a collection of short stories translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi and published by And Other Stories. It’s the final book on the International Booker 2025 shortlist—and with the winner announced Tuesday, May 20th, we’ll also be:

• Ranking all six books in order of our personal favourites

• Predicting the winner with our take on the bookies’ odds

• Reading out your final rankings and reactions!

✨ Get involved:
Send us your shortlist rankings, predictions, or general Booker thoughts—we’d love to include your takes in our final episode of the season.

📘 Facebook: Bookies’ Favourite
📸 Instagram: @bookiesfavouritebookclub
🐦 Twitter/X: @BookiesFavorite
📚 Goodreads: Bookies’ Favourite Bookclub
📧 Email: bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Thanks for listening — we’re almost at the finish line!