Prize Winners 2: Women's Prize for Fiction Winner Let's go girls! The Women's Prize was set up in response to the lack of female writers being shortlisted for the Booker Prize despite being more numerous than males, and they have been paving the way for representation and equality ever since! Yasss Queens! This week we dive into the Safekeep and discuss literary wartime lesbians, hare obsessions, twist endings and what pears have to do with any of it! Get yourself a Pears and Hares cocktail and let's get into it!

Spooky Stephen King 4. Misery is the undisputed perfect name for this 1987 Stephen King classic, but we are here to ease your misery today! Listen along as we discuss the bodice ripping novel-within-a-novel, Annie's unhinged psyche and iconic quotes and an unexpected ending, all paired with a delicious Suffering Bastard cocktail courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits. Is it a horror or a thriller or just plain cockadoody? You decide.

Spooky Stephen King 3: Serena's Recommendation  This is the book King himself rates as his scariest and it's clear why! A normal young family moves to rural Maine and is ripped apart by the forces at work in the ancient burial ground in their backyard. This week Serena and Rachel find hidden Stephen King universe Easter eggs, learn what kind of pet would haunt them, find unexpected spicy scenes and realise that Stephen King is absolutely not a cat person. The perfectly paired cocktail this week courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits is the Corpse Reviver and this might have been our favourite of the collaboration. Just try it and thank us later. In the iconic words of Jud Crandall "Sometimes dead is better" but since it's spooky season let's revive some corpses and dig up Pet Semetary! 

Spooky Stephen King 2: Rachel's Recommendation  Whoa it's a biggie this week! Over one thousand pages to be exact! We are diving headfirst into the sewers and into one of the spookiest Stephen King stories around! Journey with us to Derry, Maine where danger lurks just below the surface. Rachel and Serena become honorary members of the Losers Club this week as they sip on Drunk Ghost cocktails courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits, and discuss fear, success, trauma and friendship and the ongoing mystery of Bob Gray aka. Pennywise aka an alien?! We all float here at Booktails Podcast and we have a sneaking suspicion you'll float too...

Spooky Stephen King 1 HEEEEEEERE'S BOOKTAILS! It's finally spooky season and we are celebrating with the master of horror this month, Stephen King! Join us roaming the iconic hallways of the Overlook Hotel as the nights draw in. Join Rachel and Serena as they discuss unreliable narrators, the Kubrick film adaptation, justice for Wendy and try to get to grips with who or what Tony is, whilst getting more than a little tipsy!  But all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy so if you feel like visiting the Overlook's ghostly bar the Undead Gentleman himself would be only too happy to serve you up a delicious cocktail courtesy of the marvellous Hauntingly Good Spirits book! Seriously these cocktails are the real deal and not to be missed! This one is a Red Rum drink but hopefully murder won't be on the cards for you tonight...  Notes: Serena's frozen Jack photo is available on Instagram. 

Cosy Murders 3. Are you hungry? Grab a seat at the table because Rosemary Shrager is about to serve you up quite the meal and we are here to pour the tea!  Take a sip of your perfectly paired aperitif Death by Rhubarb and meet the cast of very posh potential murderers in this classic country manor setting where murder is definitely on the menu. But can our wholesome granny/ granddaughter sleuth duo solve the case before it's too late? Rachel and Serena get very hungry this episode exploring red herrings, celebrity writers, quirky sidekicks and mushrooms you definitely shouldn't eat in the woods.  Notes: 1) Rosemary Shrager was in such shows as Kitchen Showdown, Soapstar Superchef and the gem that was Ladette to Lady.  2) There was a 'Millicent Bulstrode' character in Harry Potter, not Matilda! 3) The Toxic Bachelors character is called Gray Hawk, Serena should never have doubted you Rachel. Tut tut.

Cosy Murder 2: The Trial by Rob Rinder (Rachel's Recommendation)  WE OBJECT, YOUR HONOUR - to the use of advocaat in a SECOND pod cocktail! But we do not object to the second book in our cosy murder series - The Trial by (Judge) Rob Rinder. The cocktail this week is the Cliveden's Gotcha, or if you fancy a mocktail, the Solicitor. Gather your evidence and get ready to present your case to the eternal judges Rachel and Serena as we cut through the legal jargon to examine this cosy courtroom drama. Will Adam Green ever get his tenancy? Will Jimmy Knight be sent to the slammer? Court is now in session. You are hereby ordered (politely) to serve as juror and justice WILL be served. What, like it's hard?

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Cosy Murders 1: Serena's Recommendation  Get the gang together on your zimmers because the time has come for...COSY MURDER SEASON! 🔪🧣🍁☕Change to your winter duvet, get your knitting out and put the kettle on because the seasons are changing and it's time to curl up with murder of the most comforting variety! And we're starting with a modern favourite- The Thursday Murder Club!  Join our very own Booktails Murder Club by listening to the episode and CHASING it down with a Coopers Chase tea cocktail, sleuth your way through the book and find out which of the iconic granny gang is your spirit animal!  Notes: We recorded this episode before the movie was released. We do have opinions on it, but they are not shared here! Except perhaps #justiceforbogdan ;)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Deadly Competitions 3. That's right, it's the one you were all thinking of! There's no way we could do a Deadly Competitions series without including this beloved franchise. Get ready to be plucked from District 12 and dropped  into a fight for survival, with politics, intrigue and maybe even love along the way. Get your bow and arrows ready for business, and may the odds be ever in your favour...

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami If you thought your school was bad, it had nothing on this one! It's time to dive into the Battle Royale phenomenon- 42 kids are taken on a 'school trip', given weapons and told to kill each other until only one survives. With a Kiriyama Bloody Mary in hand (pasta sauce) Serena and Rachel join the race for survival and find out how long they would last in a battle royale. Have a think to yourself who from your school days you would want to form an alliance with! Those of us who spent our days reading in the corner would make a great team... Right?  Notes: Go to our social media for the mentioned video of Rachel tasting bloody Mary. Difference between psychopath and sociopath: Sociopaths are prone to fits of rage and hot headedness, whereas psychopaths remain calm and emotionless. Psychopaths usually seem to lead normal, even very successful lives whereas sociopaths struggle to maintain regular work and family life.

The Running Man by Stephen King Deadly Competitions 1: Rachel's Recommendation  Minus 55 minutes and countingOn your marks, get set...DEADLY COMPETITIONS TIME! ⏳🔪 Grab your running shoes and grab a natural energy drink (cocktail) full of electrolytes because it's time for a new Booktails Podcast theme!  We're starting with a bang with The Running Man by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) Join Rachel and Serena as we don our disguises and race alongside Ben Richards through streets, hotel rooms and sewers and and even through a pencil maze of our own creation and try our hardest to stay alive despite a corrupt government with all the wrong priorities. Topical who????    Notes:  Photos of Rachel's pencil maze available on Instagram and Patreon. Also, the new Running Man movie was partially filmed in Glasgow, ooh!

If you've ever missed your stop on the train this episode is for you. We're channeling Kafka and staying alcohol free this week, but feel free to add a splash of something stronger to K's Defence if you prefer! He needs all the help he can get with this Trial after all! Have you ever felt like you're living in a bureaucratic fever dream? (Every time you have to book an appointment at your GP?) Don't go in a huff and burn your writing like Kafka! There's always the chance you might get a complete acquittal. I mean, no one ever has... But you might! ...Right?

Centenery Series 2. There's no way we could do a series on books from 1925 without including one of the most studied and revered books of all time! That's right, we are bringing out the big guns and meeting The Great Gatsby. But is he a hero or a fraud? Is Daisy really the worst? And what is actually up with those famous eyes in the sky? All these questions and more will be answered by Rachel and Serena this week. So grab a gin Rickey cocktail and look out your dancing shoes. There's a party in West Egg and you're all invited. 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos Centenary Series 1: Serena's Recommendation  "Kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and safire bracelet lasts forever." This is just one important life lesson given to the reader by the force which is Lorelei Lee. Join Serena and Rachel, 'Tiara' cocktail in gloved hand, as they talk through Lorelei's famous trip to Europe, meet her many suitors, wish Dorothy was their best friend too and reflect on the joys and misadventures of being a fabulous flapper in 1925.

Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel - Summer Beach Read 3: Serena's Recommendation  Serena and Rachel may be hungover this week but my oh my do they have some strong views on this book! Prepare yourself for chats on love-bombing, mommy issues, prejudice, sexism, ageism, classism, a whole lot of trauma and general all- round misogyny. You might need another summer beach holiday to recover from this ride. Toxic they certainly are, so fair warning: your blood will boil reading this book. But at least we can have some good laughs with a dark cherry martini over it.

One Summer by Taylor Cole - Summer Beach Read 2 It's the beginning of summer, your boyfriend has just left you for someone else - but the sun is shining, it's time to get out of the city and spend a long, hot, sexy summer in ... a wee island in Cornwall? Join Rachel and Serena to surf the wave of Taylor Cole's One Summer and expect singing in Simlish, discussions on flaky heroines, cute animal sidekicks far too many eccentric old ladies with funny names and some mudlarking chat. We still don't really know what that is either.  NOTES: It's called the Relational Proximity theory. We still don't know what kind of dog Ted is.

You and Me on Vacation/ People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (Rachel's rec) Peach schnapps lovers and sunscreen experts unite: this is your time.  It's classic romantic comedy this week complete with the AC breaking and cute inside jokes! Join us as we delve into this Emily Henry delight and discuss dream travel jobs and real life romcom situations! Learn about Serena's recent 2 star holiday, full of German karaoke, climbing walls and cash only cocktail bars. Real life should be as lovely as this book, so listen along and make your day that much more magical!

Science Fiction 3 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams What do you do at the end of the world? DON'T PANIC. Go to the pub and have a few pints of our Black Hole cocktail, then jump on a spaceship and listen to Vogon poetry as the earth blows up under you! Hitch a ride with us as we blast off to podcast universes unknown, and test your Hitchhikers Guide Knowledge at the end before you say "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

Science Fiction 2: Ubik by Philip K. Dick (Rachel's Rec) This week we are very excited to dive into Philip K Dick's trippy 1969 masterpiece Ubik, so use your anti-precog powers to go back in time with us. Drink your Ubik Coffee as we deep dive into what this book really means (hint: metaphors... maybe?) and, of course, reenact some Ubik style ads. And, for some reason, we sing Céline Dion and imagine Phil Collins drumming in space.