Ep 30: The Books That Made Us & International Booker Prize Longlist

This week, join Amanda and Joseph for one of their most personally revealing episodes yet, as they discuss the books that made them: the teenage obsessions, the gateway reads, and the unforgettable titles, passages and writers that made us the readers they are today.(1:20) Bookish News (1:40) The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist(2:49) Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps @lucy.emma13(3:10) The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson @marxia1 (4:32) The International Booker Prize Longlist(5:36) The Nights Are QuietIn Iran by Shida Bazyar(5:59) Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur(6:28) Taiwan Travelogue Yáng Shuāng-zǐ(8:08) Recent Reads (8:17) Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert @sophiegilbertwrites(12:52) The Missing Ink by Philip Hensher @philiphensher(17:43) The Books That Made Us(23:16) The Odyssey by Homer (various translations including Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson)(24:27) O’ Brother, Where Art Thou directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen (24:54) 'Penelope' by Carol Ann Duffy(28:43) The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper(32:48) Elidor by Alan Garner(32:53) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (34:58) The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan(36:56) The Continuous Life: Poems by Mark Strand(40:16) The Colour Purple by Alice Walker(41:25) The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter(46:34) Gilead by Marilyn Robinson(49:38) A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam(53:55) In the Distance by Hernan Diaz(54:36) What We’re Reading Next(55:00) No Friend of This House by Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynesauthor(55:12) One Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson(56:07) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis(56:43) EveryDay Is For The Thief by Teju Cole @_tejucole Also mentionedTate Modern, Nigerian Modernism (on until 16 April 2026)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.