Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss the news that . Are authors expected to do too much publicity? Our book of the week is by Juan Rulfo translated by Douglas J. Weatherford. ‘Wuthering Heights located in Mexico written by Kafka’ gives a hint - this book is a trip. It broke Anna’s brain but Geoff found it richly rewarding once you get into it. Pedro Páramo inspired a generation of Hispanic writers including Gabriel Garcia Márquez and is considered a classic. It's now a - but is it too faithful to the book? We needed the Wikipedia plot summary for this...
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Heart The Lover by Lily King
Books On The Go
Anna and Annie discuss the 2026 . Our book of the week is by Lily King. This buzzy novel follows three friends at university and into adulthood. A follow up from King’s best-seller WRITERS AND LOVERS, it is an instant New York Times best-seller and is long-listed for the 2026 (shortlist to be announced on 22 April). It’s also Zadie Smith’s pick for ’the book that made me weep uncontrollably.’ More literary romances: THE EVENING OF THE HOLIDAY by Shirley Hazzard SEEING OTHER PEOPLE by Diana Reid Follow us! Email: Instagram: and Substack: Credits...
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A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
Books On The Go
Anna and Annie discuss the news that by Mia Ballard from publication after concerns it was written by AI. Our book of the week is by Megha Majumdar. This follow-up to her novel A Burning is set in near-future, dystopian Kolkata. A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF is full of ethical dilemmas, flawed characters and memorable food scenes - a good book club pick. It has been long listed for the . Read-alikes: THE DIRECTOR by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin (iykyk) LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam Coming up: by Lily King Follow us! Follow...
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Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss the . We’re intrigued by by translated by and by Shida Bazyar translated by Ruth Martin. Our book of the week is by Benjamin Wood. This short novel about a man who works as a shanker on a foggy beach and a film-maker who wants to set a movie there was long listed for the 2025 Booker Prize. There is much to discuss: Are we now shrimping experts? How do we feel about dreams in novels? Do we like bleak, isolated settings? Annas suggests two read-alikes if you enjoyed Seascraper: by Willy Vlautin ...
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Departures by Julian Barnes
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss the , including , and . Some of the other long-listed books feature writers as characters, which gets us talking about turn-offs in novels. Our book of the week is by Julian Barnes. This is the final book by the Booker Prize-winning author. It is a novel about a couple who reunite later in life, with authobiographical elements from Barnes' own life, or it could be a memoir containing a short story. There is also Proust, philosophy and some observations on memory. Described as 'elegant' (The Times) and 'unmistakably Barnes' (Observer), it got us...
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The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss the cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026 amid the controversy after the Adelaide Festival Board . Among the authors who withdrew from Writers’ Week was Richard Flanagan, who wrote (sorry for the paywall). Director Louise Adler resigned with to the Guardian. Since we recorded this episode, the new Board has and apologised to Dr Abdel-Fatteh. In other book news, Random House has dropped David Walliams, as discussed on of The Rest is Entertainment podcast. Our book of the week is by Yael van der Wouden, a debut novel set in...
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Best Books of 2025
Books On The Go
It’s our best books of the year episode! Anna, Amanda and Annie reveal our favourite reads of 2025: by Hannah Kent by Yael van der Wouden by Niall Williams by Bernhard Schlink translated by Charlotte Collins by Megan Majhumdar by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles by Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie (and audio book) by Brandon Taylor (and substack ) by Lily King Follow us! Email: Instagram: and Substack: Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
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Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss their reaction to the , by David Szalay, and the winner of the , Australian author Helen Garner for her collection of diaries . Our book of the week is by Rachel Kushner. Her follow-up novel after the Booker-shortlisted Mars Room, this centres on Sadie Smith, an undercover agent who infiltrates a commune in rural France. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. This raised questions we weren't expecting from a literary novel, such as: Is it a spy thriller? Is Sadie enough of a slob to be compared with Jackson Lamb? Which Sesame Street character...
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Flashlight by Susan Choi
Books On The Go
Anna and Geoff discuss their winner predictions. We haven't read enough of the shortlist to know who will win, but Geoff is tipping THE LAND IN WINTER (a DNF for Anna). Our book of the week is by Susan Choi. This is Choi’s follow-up novel after winning the National Book Award for TRUST EXERCISE. It is a sweeping family saga set in America, Japan and Korea. Shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, we could not say we loved this one but it got us talking. How much cat litter detail is too much? Would Tobias really have gone to Japan or would he be trekking around...
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Seed with Bri Lee
Books On The Go
Annie was lucky enough to catch on her book tour for her second novel, Seed. Set in Antarctica, Seed follows two scientists, Mitch and Frances, as they spend a month at the seed vault that they have been creating and protecting. But as strange things keep happening to the facility, culminating in their helicopter failing to pick them up, they both have to grapple with their life choices and the secrets they have been keeping from each other and themselves. We chat about Bri's research trip to McMurdo Sound, interrogating the Antarctic literary tradition, visions of utopia and...
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Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz