Better Words

Welcome to our favourite episode: the yearly wrap! We're sharing our reading stats, 2024 goals and the books, TV, film and audio we loved in 2024. Make sure you're also following us on Substack [https://betterwords.substack.com/]. On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to – and we try to keep these separate from regular episode recommendations. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! [https://betterwords.substack.com/] Thank you for joining us in 2024 and supporting our wonderful authors. We love hearing your thoughts on the episodes and what books you've been inspired to pick up – even if it's an older episode. You can also connect with us on Instagram @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/] We're keeping recommendations brief. If we've featured or discussed the book before, we'll link to the episode. Any PR/review copies marked with * We kick off with a wrap-up of our reading stats for the year: how many books and pages, the moods and re-reads. Our awards category of favourite books kicks off at 2023 DEBUT BOOK Caitlin: I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue* Michelle: The Silence in Between by Josie Ferguson* (listen to our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/silence-in-between-josie-ferguson]) NON-FICTION Caitlin: If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos Michelle: Everything is Everything by Clive Myrie BY SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER BEEN A PODCAST GUEST Caitlin: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune Michelle: Prima Facie by Suzie Miller* (listen to our book club chat [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/thanks-for-having-me-emma-darragh]) AUSTRALIAN/UK FICTION Caitlin: Appreciation by Liam Pieper* (our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/appreciation-liam-pieper]) Michelle: The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey* (our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/suspicious-things-jennie-godfrey]) ROMANCE Caitlin: Sit Stay Love/Love From Scratch by Amy Hutton* (our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/love-from-scratch-amy-hutton]) Michelle: You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane (our 2021 interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/mad-about-you-mhairi-mcfarlane]) GENERAL FICTION Caitlin: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Michelle: Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada Honourable mention: Family Politics by John O'Farrell YOUNG ADULT Caitlin: I’m Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough* (our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/gary-lonesborough]) Michelle: Dead Happy by Josh Silver (our 2023 interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/happyhead-josh-silver]) MOST SURPRISING Caitlin: How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie* (our book club chat [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/experienced-kate-young]) Michelle: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray* FAVE COVER Caitlin:  Experienced by Kate Young* (our interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/experienced-kate-young]) Michelle: The Beholders by Hester Musson RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EACH OTHER Caitlin: We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis Michelle: Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen WORTH THE HYPE Caitlin: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Michelle: I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue* 2025 BOOKS ON OUR RADAR (BY AUTHORS NOT PREVIOUSLY READ) Michelle: * 10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte * A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss * 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen * The Grapevine by Kate Kemp * All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman * The Eights by Joanna Miller Caitlin: * Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley * The Pool by Hannah Tunnicliffe 2025 BOOKS ON OUR RADAR (BY AUTHORS WE LOVE) Michelle: * Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane * Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister Caitlin: * Swept Away by Beth O'Leary * Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry * Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth * Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins TELEVISION Caitlin: * Shrinking * The New Look * Nobody Wants This Michelle: * SAS: Rogue Heroes * The Americans * Everyone Else Burns FILM Caitlin: * Better Man * Challengers * My Old Ass Michelle: * Midas Man * Wicked * Prima Facie – NT Live re-release (listen to us chat about it here [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/with-anna-zoe-quirke]) BOOKS AND OTHER THINGS MENTIONED * Caitlin's trip to Prince Edward Island [https://betterwords.substack.com/p/a-trip-to-pei-for-anne-of-green-gables] * Literary Legends StoryGraph challenge [https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/5ffc34f7-108e-4546-ba94-0ef7883514b4] for 2025 * Boy From the Valleys by Luke Evans * Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister * Elphie by Gregory Maguire * So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne* * So Good by Emily English Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/]

Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire and her debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, is inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. Jennie is from a mill-working family, but as the first of the generation born after the mills closed, she went to university and built a career in the corporate world. In 2020 she left and began to write. She is now a writer and part-time Waterstones bookseller and lives in the Somerset countryside. Our interview begins at  24.00 We've got a Substack publication [https://betterwords.substack.com/] now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! [https://betterwords.substack.com/] Caitlin recommends: Thoroughly Disenchanted by Alexandra Almond A time slip novel set in regional Victoria where a couple become stuck in a property. Now, 100 years on they get a visitor who helps them uncover the mysteries of the property. Michelle recommends: Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood and So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne* Rewitched is a cosy delight for anyone who grew up watching Sabrina The Teenage Witch. And if you grew up with that? You're probably also the right age to feel like Holly Bourne's new contemporary novel is incredibly relatable. Both are amazing. In this interview, we chat about: * Jennie's recollection of growing up during the time police were searching for serial killer The Yorkshire Ripper and how this inspired the novel * How audiences interact with true crime and how we talk about crimes and the impact of crime on everyday people * The influences from Jennie's real life that can be seen in the novel * The process from writing to publishing the novel (including how Jennie knew which editor would 'get' the book) * Jennie's stint as a bookseller and how this helped her understand the publishing process Books and other things mentioned: * Charmed (TV show) * Ghosts (TV show) * The Longest Shadow (TV series) * The Yorkshire Ripper Files (TV series) * Sarah Everard's murder, which happened in lockdown 2021 * The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale * The Crime of the Century by Hallie Rubenhold Follow Jennie @jennie.godfrey on Instagram [https://instagram.com/jennie.godfrey] and The List of Suspicious Things is available now! Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/]

Emma Grey is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach. She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope, which has gone on to win hearts around the world. In the US, it was selected as a featured title for the Book of the Month and Target Book Clubs, a Washington Post noteworthy book and listed in the top 25 new releases by the American Bookseller’s Association. Emma lives near Canberra, where her world centres on her family, writing, photography and endlessly chasing the Aurora Australis. Our interview begins at  33.00 We've got a Substack publication [https://betterwords.substack.com/] now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! [https://betterwords.substack.com/] Mini (film) club: Wicked Of course, we had to hold space and discuss the movie of the moment. In short: we loved it. In this interview, we chat about: * How can we tell stories about complex issues like violence against women in fiction? * Why Emma also wanted to explore amnesia through the story * The experience of having an American bestseller * The parenting email that launched Emma's writing career * Exploring grief in her first adult novel and the interesting journey to publication via a YA novel inspired by Harry Styles * How Emma dealt with the way the book was received in the UK given the difficult subject matter Books and other things mentioned: * Pulp Kitchen (podcast) * Deadpool and Wolverine (film) * It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover * National Women's Safety Organisation * Tuesday Evenings at the Copeton Craft Resistance by Kate Solly * Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books Podcast by Zibby Owens Follow @emmagreyauthor on Instagram [https://instagram.com/emmagreyauthor] Pictures of You is available now. The publisher provided us with copies of the book in preparation for the interview.  Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/]

Pip Drysdale writes ‘sexy-cool’ thrillers with a dash of witty humour. She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and London, and lives on a steady diet of coffee, dreams, and literature. Her books — The Sunday Girl, The Strangers We Know, The Paris Affair and The Next Girl — have been bestsellers. She currently lives in Sydney and we're chatting about The Close Up. Our interview begins at  15.00 We've got a Substack publication [https://betterwords.substack.com/] now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! [https://betterwords.substack.com/] Caitlin recommends: Lovestruck by Laura Jane Williams A very enjoyable Sliding Doors-style concept romance, where a woman manifests her dream life. But which life is the right one? Michelle recommends: Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers* A gem of a novel about an ageing American singer whose trip to a fading English seaside town reveals more than he expected. A heartwarming character-driven novel. In this interview, we chat about: * The inspiration for Pip's new novel, The Close Up * Why she wanted to set it in LA and the importance of research trips * How Pip visualise while writing (and how we read) * How Pip uses scent to help her writing * Pip's process for plotting and writing Books and other things mentioned: * Listen to our previous interview [https://betterwordspodcast.com/episode/writing-romance-and-escapist-fiction-with-laura-jane-williams] with Laura Jane Williams * How to Build a Life with Laura Jane Williams on Substack [https://laurajanewilliams.substack.com/] * The Husbands by Holly Gramazio * A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston * Nobody Wants This (TV show) * Melrose Place (TV show) Follow @pipdrysdale on Instagram [https://instagram.com/pipdrysdale] The Close Up is available in Australia and the US now. Thank you to the publisher for providing us with copies of the book to prepare for the interview. Please note that we choose podcast guests independently of Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers. Although her job does help put us in touch with authors, we choose our guests based on what we've enjoyed reading and think you'd find interesting. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/]

Melanie Cheng is a writer and general practitioner. She was born in Adelaide, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut collection of short stories, Australia Day, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2016 and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction in 2018. Room for a Stranger, her highly acclaimed first novel, was published in 2019. Today we're discussing her new novel, The Burrow. Our interview begins at  31.00 We've got a Substack publication [https://betterwords.substack.com/] now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! [https://betterwords.substack.com/] Mini book club: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney One of the most talked about books of 2024 and not one Michelle even finished. However, Caitlin explains why she enjoyed Intermezzo and who she'd recommend it to. In this interview, we chat about: * The inspiration for The Burrow and choosing to explore grief several years on from a traumatic event * How to strike the right balance between realism and hope * Why Melanie is so fascinated by mothers and daughters in her writing * Melanie's work as a GP and how she started writing Books and other things mentioned: * Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang * Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers * The Bee Sting by Paul Murray * Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales * Gary Lonesborough interview * Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout * The Sitter by Angela O'Keefe Follow @cheng_melanie on Instagram [https://instagram.com/cheng_melanie] The Burrow is available in Australia and the US now. Thank you to the publisher for providing us copies of the book in preparation for the interview. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod [https://www.instagram.com/betterwordspod/]