Free reads April 2026

In episode 26 we talk about Garth Nix's 2020 YA urban fantasy adventure novel The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, set in 1980s England, a fun and imaginative adventure story full of mythological creatures and lovable characters! Warning that we get into spoilers from 28 minutes in and it's safe to come back at 35 minutes in. The TBR Jar Lost in Space: Curiously Cosmic Stories by Kirsten Banks Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo To Dream in Darkness by Ann Liang Discount Dan by James A Hunter The Long-Lived King by Dana Terrace and Mikki Crisostomo Common Places by Gillian Hagenus The Waiting Place by Megan Jacobsen The Poison Palace by Shreya Ila Anasuya ______________________ Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September's Free reads episode, we talk about: Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang  The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck On Writing by Stephen King She's a Doll by Barbara Truelove And our TBRs coming up are: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke This All Come Back Now: An Anthology of First Nations Speculative Fiction, ed. Mykaela Saunders Fitcher's Bird by A. G. Slatter The Girl With Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup Styx by Nikita Gill Understory by Chloe Benjamin The Cairo Bridal Shop by Tess Woods   Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 24 we talk about Hannah Kent's 2014 historical fiction novel Burial Rites, set in 1800s Iceland, that tells the true story of Agnes Magnusdottir, accused and beheaded for the crime of murder.  Books discussed in the episode: What I Would Do To You by Georgia Harper Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent Devotion by Hannah Kent The TBR Jar The Good Witch: In Search of Our Lost Feminine Power by Lucianne Tonti The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon Unmasking for Life: The Autistic Person's Guide to Loving, Living and Connecting Authentically by Dr Devon Price Fitcher's Bird by A. G. Slatter Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer This Stays Between Us by Margot McGovern Field Guide for the Formerly Vallainous by Autumn K. England How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang The Girl With Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup The Vegetarian by Han Kang Billy King by Shannon Kelly-White Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman He Who Fights with Monsters by Travis Deverell Tales from the Territory by Travis Baldree Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In June's Free reads episode, we talk about: Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton Platform Decay by Martha Wells Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon Arborescence by Rhett Davis And our TBRs coming up are: Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopolou Enshittification by Cory Doctorow London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry   Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 22 we talk about Rachel Smythe's hit comic-on-Webtoon-turned-graphic-novel, volume 1 of Lore Olympus, featuring endless melodrama from the Greek pantheon, beautifully illustrated panels, and another 9 volumes in the series! Webtoon recommendations: Unordinary by Chelsey Han City of Blank by 66 Super Secret by eon TBRs The Wizard, the Pirate & the Steampunk Librarian by Scott Coon A House With Good Bones by T Kingfisher Arborescence by Rhett Davis Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer Trad Wife by Sarah Langan If We Cannot All Go At The Speed of Light by Kim Cho-yeop The Employees by Olga Ravn The Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung Molka by Monica Kim Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer How to be a Craftivist by Sarah Corbett Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Greedy by Callie Kazumi Butter and Hooked by Asako Yuzuki Hunger by Choi Jin Young Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by Naomi Alderman The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Ending Writers Itself by Evelyn Clarke The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski TBRs Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul Lore Olympus, vol 1 by Rachel Smythe I Told You So: Scientisits Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled and Imprisoned for Being Right by Matt Kaplan A Tale of Two Publishing Houses by Linda Martin   Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 20 we talk about Krystal Sutherland's 2021 dark fairytale urban fantasy novel House of Hollow. SPOILER WARNING: From 19:00 we start mentioning big spoilers for the plot and ending, then we come back to discuss upcoming episodes and TBR lists from 42:19. Other books mentioned in this episode: A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland Homebound by Portia Ellen Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann Arborescence by Rhett Davis Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han Kill Your Boomers by Fiona Wright Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 19 we talk about our top reads and honourable mentions for 2025, then get into our anticipated reads for 2026! A full list of the titles discussed is below: The House of Rural Realness by Curtis Campbell Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove Different, Not Less by Chloe Hayden Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell Stag Dance by Torrey Peters Murder by Memory and Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite Hecate the Witch by Nikita Gill Inner Demons by Stephen Platt There Is No Anti-Mimetics Division by Quantum The Secret Lives of Zombie Wives by Barbara Truelove Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum Local Heavens: A Cyberpunk Reimagining of The Great Gatsby Set in 2075 New York by K. M. Fajardo Beth is Dead by Katie Burnett This Wretched Beauty: A Dorian Grey Remix by Elle Grenier Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern #3) Adult Braces by Lindy West Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe Threads That Bind and Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatsopolou The Long Earth series by Stephen Baxter & Terry Pratchett Midnight Sun and Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 18 we talk about Terry Pratchett's classic 1996 novel Hogfather, which uses Christmas to discuss the importance of belief and ritual. Other books mentioned in this episode: The Nowhere Child by Christian White The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden On Sunday She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Mark Mupotsa-Russell Voidverse by Damien Ober Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In episode 17 we talk about the Monk & Robot duology by Becky Chambers, containing A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. We discuss the first novella until 39 minutes into the episode, then we talk about the second novella.  Other books mentioned in this episode: A Cinnamon Falls Mystery by R. L. Killmore We Are Legion by Dennis E. Taylor Hogfather by Terry Pratchett Katabasis by RF Kuang A Forest, Darkly by A. G. Slatter Intro and outro music: Midsummer’s Night in the Woods by Justin Allan Arnold | https://www.ifnessfreemusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/