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Curious Readers

Curious Readers

Written by: Curious Readers
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About this listen

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.

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Episodes
  • Ep 26: Our Reading Plans for 2026

    Ep 26: Our Reading Plans for 2026
    Jan 16 2026

    Happy New Year! Start the year with Amanda and Joseph as they talk about their reading plans and intentions for 2026.


    Bookish News

    Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (directed by Emerald Fennell)


    Saltburn and Promising Young Women (directed by Emerald Fennell)


    Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (directed by Chloe Zhao)


    Die My Love by Ariana Harwicz (directed by Lynne Ramsey_


    Train Dreams by Dennis Johnson (directed by Clint Bentley)


    A Pair of Bookends podcast


    What We’ve Been Reading


    Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson


    The Correspondent by Virginia Evans


    Reading Resolutions


    The Little Friend by Donna Tartt


    Independent People by Halidor Laxness


    Death’s End by Cixin Liu


    Farewell Fountain Street by Selçuk Altun


    Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü


    Journey To The Edge of Life by Tezer Özlü


    Snow by Orhan Pamuk


    My Clavicle and Other Major Misalignments by Marta Sanz


    Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guinn


    On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King


    Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk


    Katabasis by RF Kuang


    The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami


    The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong


    On The Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle


    Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver


    Rougon-Macquart Cycle by Emile Zola


    The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji


    Whitstable Silent Book Club


    What We’re Reading Next


    Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy


    Money by Emile Zola


    Angel Down by Daniel Kraus


    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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    54 mins
  • Ep 25: Top 10 Books of 2025 (& Our Biggest Disappointments)

    Ep 25: Top 10 Books of 2025 (& Our Biggest Disappointments)
    Dec 19 2025
    Join Amanda and Joseph for an end-of-year bibliofest as they talk about their top 10 books of the year, plus they dish the dirt on the titles that sadly didn’t live up to their expectations over the last twelve months. (1:20) Bookish News (1:24) The Warwick Prize For Women In Translation (1:44) And The Walls Became The World All Around by Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, translated by Sigrid Rausing(3:33) The New Yorker at 100 (Netflix)(5:22) Our Top 10 Books of 2025 (#10 to #6)(6:55) New York Times Best Books of 2025(8:32) The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Krian Desai(8:55) Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (9:52) Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (10:41) The Director by Andrew Kehlmann(11:15) You Should Have Left by Andrew Kehlmann(11:53) The Sisters by Jonas Hassan Khemiri (12:55) Wild Thing: A Life Of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux (13:01) A Marriage At Sea / Maurice & Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst(15:34) We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt's Lessons in Love and Disobedience by Lyndsey Stonebridge (18:16) The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell by Lucia Osborne-Crowley (20:06) Objects Of Desire by Neil Blackmore (#10) (21:47) Playworld by Adam Ross (#9) (23:08) A Person Is A Prayer by Ammar Kalia r(24:58) Good Girl by Aria Aber @aria.arber(27:16) Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno translated by Natasha Lehrer(31:13) Christmas Cracker Questions Speed Round(32:11) The Story of a Heart by Dr Rachel Clarke (34:10) Nevada by Imogen Binnie (36:21) A Big Storm Knocked it Over by Laurie Colwin(38:37) Margo’s Got Money Trouble by Rufi Thorpe (39:17) The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe(41:15) I Am Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynis MacNicol (41:42) Close to Home by Michael Magee (42:31) Heart the Lover by Lily King (42:37) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (43:25) Flashlight by Susan Choi(44:38) Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab(44:55) The Names by Florence Knapp(48:29) In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust(48:51) A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell(49:26) On the Calculation of Volume, volumes I, II and III by Solvej Balle(49:54) A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah K Maas(50:26) Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (50:51) Our Top 10 Books of 2025 (#5 to #1)(51:02)The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (#5)(53:24) The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (#4)(56:26) Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (#3)(1:02:16) My Clavicle and Other Major Misalignments by Marta Sanz and translated from the Spanish by Katie King (1:02:44) Unwell Woman by Elinor Cleghorn (1:04:48) One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad(1:07:37) Spent by Alison Bechdel (1:10:24) All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert(1:11:56) Twist by Column McCann(1:12:32) Moderation by Elaine Castillo(1:14:11) What We’re Reading Next(1:14:28) Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (1:14:40) Whale Fall by Daniel Kraus(1:16:24) A Dance to the Music of Time by Antony PowellAlso mentioned Gordon Burn Prize For New Writing Curious Readers is mixed by the incredibly talented James Whiting @fishislandstudioFollow 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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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Ep 24: Graphic Novels That Break The Mould & National Book Award Winners

    Ep 24: Graphic Novels That Break The Mould & National Book Award Winners
    Dec 5 2025

    Join Amanda and Joseph as they get graphic – about the best graphic novels they’ve read and the ones they are keen to add to their TBRs. Along the way, they talk about their recent reads and discuss the books they hope will close out their reading year.



    (0:47) Bookish News

    (5:41) National Book Award

    (6:00) The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine

    (6:45) One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

    (7:46) The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith


    (8:25) The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri

    (8:48) We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara



    (9:52) Recent Reads

    (9:56) 11.22.63 by Stephen King

    (15:20) Ultraluminous by Katherine Faw


    (21:12) Graphic Novels

    (25:35) Alison by Lizzy Stewart


    (26:19) Ducks by Kate Beaton

    (30:11) Sabrina by Nick Drnaso

    (30:17) Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls


    (30:57) The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings

    (36:59) Goodnight Pun Pun by Inio Asano

    (37:22) Sheets by Brenna Thummler

    (38:02) Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson

    (38:13) Blankets by Craig Thompson

    (45:05) Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez

    (49:15) Walk Me To the Corner by Anneli Furmark

    (53:34) Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

    (54:13) Florrie: A Football Love Story by Anna Trench

    (54:46) Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto

    (55:53) Firefly by Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker


    (56:34) Walking Distance by Lizzy Stewart

    (57:12) The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco

    (58:02) This Beautiful, Ridiculous City by Kay Sohini


    (59:04) What We’re Reading Next

    (59:29) On The Calculation of Volume: Volumes II and III by Solvej Balle

    (1:00:28) The Silver Book by Olivia Laing


    (1:00:43) Books: A Manifesto, Or, How To Build A Library by Ian Patterson

    (1:01:11) The Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White


    Also mentioned

    The Liverpool Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum

    @harbourbooks


    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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    1 hr and 3 mins
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