Books, Baby!

In this episode of Books, Baby!, Bev, Ian and Alo sit down with Australian author Joshua Hortinela to talk about his debut novel, Hate You to Love You — a funny, heartfelt love letter to rom-coms and all the messy feelings that come with falling in love.We chat about Carlos Reyes, a hopeless romantic having a quarter-life crisis, the expectations we bring to love stories, and what happens when real life refuses to follow the rules of a rom-com. Joshua also talks about writing his first novel, the books and movies that inspired him, and what it feels like to finally see his story out in the world.A conversation about romance, friendship, growing up, and why sometimes the happily-ever-after isn't quite what you expected.Connect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠Guest: Joshua Hortinela – ⁠⁠⁠@joshhortinelawriter

This month, Ian, Bev, and Alo discuss Fruit Fly by Josh Silver, a sharp, darkly funny, and deeply unsettling satirical thriller about identity, ambition, desire, and the strange ways people reinvent themselves.In this episode, we unpack Silver’s wildly inventive novel, from its slippery characters and dual perspectives to its biting take on the art world, privilege, and the stories we tell about ourselves. We talk about what makes Fruit Fly so difficult to pin down—and why its mix of satire, suspense, humour, and psychological unease makes for such a memorable reading experience.Whether you've already devoured Fruit Fly or you're wondering what all the buzz is about, join us for a conversation about one of the year's most provocative and unpredictable novels.Connect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This month, Ian, Bev, and Alo discuss Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi, the winner of the 2026 International Booker Prize. Blending food, travel, history, and colonial politics, this richly layered novel invites readers on a journey through 1930s Taiwan, where every meal tells a story and every encounter reveals the complexities of identity, power, and belonging.In this episode, we unpack the novel's meditation on culture and colonialism, and discuss why this quietly ambitious work resonated so strongly with the International Booker judges. We also chat about the joys—and occasional challenges—of reading a novel that asks you to slow down and savour every detail.Whether you've already fallen in love with Taiwan Travelogue or are simply curious about this year's International Booker winner, join us for a thoughtful conversation about one of the most distinctive novels of the year.Books mentioned in this episode:​The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar​She Who Remains by Rene Karabash​The Director by Daniel Kehlmann​On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia​The Witch by Marie NDiaye​Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq​Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto​Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang​Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel​The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood​John of John by Douglas Stuart​Whistler by Anne Patchett​The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai​Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor​The Vegetarian by Han Kang ​Greek Lessons by Han Kang​Fruit Fly by Josh SilverConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Books, Baby! continues its sixth season with a discussion of The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante, a novel that begins with a seemingly ordinary holiday and unfolds into a piercing examination of motherhood, desire, and identity.In this episode, we explore the novel’s unsettling honesty, its complex portrayal of maternal ambivalence, and the questions it raises about the versions of ourselves we leave behind in order to become who we are. A conversation about expectations placed on women and mothers, and the uncomfortable truths that lie beneath the stories we tell about our lives.Books mentioned in this episode:The Days of Abandonment - Elena FerranteThe Lying Life of Adults - Elena FerranteMy Brilliant Friend - Elena FerranteThe Story of the Night - Colm TóibínThe Dangers of Smoking in Bed - Mariana EnriquezRejection - Tony TulathimutteThe Mushroom Tapes - Helen Garner et. al.Earthlings - Sayaka MurataConvenience Store Woman - Sayaka MurataFruit Fly - Josh SilverConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In the Season 6 premiere of Books, Baby!, we dive into Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor—a tender, searching novel set against the heat and loneliness of a New York summer.On the surface, this novel reads like a romance. But beneath the intimacy is a deeper meditation on art, race, ambition, and the quiet ache of wanting to be fully seen.In this episode, Ian, Bev and Alo unpack the emotional restraint, the tension beneath the dialogue, and the way Taylor turns New York into a backdrop for both reinvention and isolation. A conversation about connection, creativity, and the fragile distance between seeing and understanding.Books mentioned in this episode:Valencia - Michelle TeaRejection - Tony TulathimutteCinema Love - Haming TangThe South - Tash AwThe Morning Star - Karl Ove KnausgårdOisín McKennaConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠

December brings our Season 5 finale, and what a way to wrap the year! In this final episode of Books, Baby!, Ian, Bev, and Alo look back at a year of reading, reflecting on the stories that stayed with us long after the last page.We chat about our favourite reads of the year, the books that surprised us when we least expected it, the ones that didn’t quite live up to the hype, and our standout favourite books in translation. Along the way, we weave it all together with a look at our Spotify Wrapped stats for the podcast — the numbers, the milestones, and what they say about the year that was for Books, Baby!It’s reflective, opinionated, and full of love for books and listeners alike — the perfect send-off for Season 5 and a celebration of another year spent reading together.Books mentioned in this episode:The Rest of Our Lives - Ben MarkovitsThe Slip - Miriam WebsterA Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily HenryIndeterminate Inflorescence - Yi SeongbokDays of Reading - Marcel ProustThe Emperor of Gladness - Ocean VoungeGravity Let Me Go - Trent DaltonLessons in Chemestry - Bonnie GarmusThe Bee Sting - Paul MurraySpinning Around: The Kylie Playlist - Various AuthorsSeparate Rooms - Pier Vittorio TondelliFlesh - David Szalay Kairos - Jenny ErpenbeckGoodbye to Berlin - Christopher Iserwood On the Calculation of Volume I, II, III - Solvej BalleHeart Lamp - Banu MustaqHunchback - Sao IchikawaMedea Sang Me a Corrido - Dahlia de la CerdaReservoir Bitches - Dahlia de la CerdaBetween a Wolf and a Dog - Georgia BlainBefore Night Falls - Reinaldo ArenasHunger - Cho Jin-YoungThe Makioka Sisters - Jun'ichirō TanizakiThe Hours - Michael CunninghamMinor Black Figures - Brandon TaylorConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

It’s Books, Baby! Booker Prize episode and Bev, Ian and Alo dive into the 2025 winning novel Flesh by David Szalay. We explore its sharp examination of masculinity, emotional restraint, and the quiet turning points that shape István’s life from adolescence to middle age. This episode also features Sim, joining us for a second guest appearance this season.Books mentioned in this episode:Audition - Katie KitamuraSeascraper - Benjamin WoodFlashlight - Susan ChoiThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran DesaiThe Rest of Our Lives - Ben MarkovitsThe Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan KarunatilakaGirl, Woman, Other - Bernardine EvaristoThe Bee Sting - Paul MurrayMy Friends - Hisham MatarA Little Life - Hanya YanagiharaOpen Water - Caleb Azumah NelsonBoy Friends - Michael PedersenSeán HewittSolvej BalleChloe Hooper, Helen Garner, and Sarah KrasnosteinSarah WatersSuzumi SuzukiBrandon TaylorConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Guest Host:Sim – ⁠⁠⁠@sims_solace

This month, Ian, Bev, and Alo dive into The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, joined by special guest Nell.The Bee Sting is a sweeping, tragicomic family saga that captured readers (and Booker Prize judges) alike. We unpack its unforgettable characters, explore Murray’s distinct writing style through each point of view, and debate that twist ending that left us reeling.But before we get stung by all that drama, we kick things off with a lively chat about ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century — the surprises, the snubs, and the titles that made us cheer (or roll our eyes).Books mentioned in this episode:Burial Rites - Hanna KentLola in the mirror - Trent DaltonBoy Swallows Universe - Trent DaltonStag Dance - Torrey PetersDetransition, Baby! - Torrey PetersThe burrow - Melanie ChangToo Much Lip - Melissa LucashenkoDark Emu -Bruce PascoeCarpentaria - Alexis WrightLife of Pi - Yann MartelThe Book Thief - Markus ZusakProphet Song - Paul LynchThe Luminaries - Eleanor CattonThe Cannibal's Daughter - Rosa MonteroBad Girls - Camila Sosa VilladaThesis on a domestication - Camila Sosa VilladaThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran DesaiThe Little Stranger - Sarah WatersA room above a shop - Anthony ShaplandConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠Guest Host:Nell - @nellreadsbooks

September’s episode of Books, Baby! takes us into the world of Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance, a bold collection of stories about that doesn’t shy away from messiness, desire, and transformation. Across its pages, Peters gives us characters who are stumbling, reaching, and reinventing themselves in ways that feel both raw and achingly human.Join Alo, Bev and Ian as we dive into these stories—unpacking their humor, heartache, and the sharp truths about love, gender, and selfhood that Peters threads throughout her work. Books mentioned in this episode:Ministry of Time - Kaliane BradleySeascraper - Benjamin WoodAudition - Katie KitamuraNot a River - Selva AlmadaFathoms: the world in the whale - Rebecca GiggsDetransition, Baby! - Torrey PetersSeparate Roos - Pier Vittorio TondelliHoneybee - Craig SilveyConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Books, Baby!, Ian, Bev, and Alo dive into Saou Ichikawa’s haunting novel Hunchback. With its fragmented storytelling and stark lyricism, the book offers an unflinching look at the intersections of embodiment, shame, desire, and intimacy. The hosts unpack how Ichikawa captures the vulnerability of inhabiting a body that exists outside of societal ideals, while also carving out space for tenderness and connection.Their discussion highlights the way Hunchback brings disabled experiences and desires into focus, expanding what is often represented in contemporary literature in translation.Books mentioned in this episode:​When the cranes fly south - Lisa Ridzén​They came to slay: The Queer culture of D&D - Thom James Carter​The las one - Fatima Daas​The white book - Han Kang​Pink Slime - Fernanda Trías ​Audition - Katie Kitamura​The land in winter - Andrew Miller​Flashlight - Susan Choi​Universality - Natasha Brown​Intimacies - Katie Katamura​Tokyo Ueno Station - Miri YuButter - Asako YuzikiNot such thing as an easy job - Kikuko TsumaraJust by looking at him - Ryan O'ConnellConnect with us via email (⁠[email protected]⁠) and on Instagram!Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠