Stay inside and unleash your inner bookworm
One positive in having to stay at home is that you can finally make more time to get stuck into a good book, or twelve. Whether you need some inspiration on what to order, or just missing your weekly book club, these podcasts will have bookworms everywhere rejoicing.
Sentimental Garbage
Hosted by journalist and author Caroline O’Donoghue, Sentimental Garbage dives into the guilty pleasures, with an emphasis on chick lit, often overlooked by the literary world. Covering the likes of Sweet Valley High, The Thorn Birds, The Devil Wears Prada and High Fidelity, Caroline and her guests provide a hilarious and heartfelt look into the power of books in shaping us, especially as teenagers and young adults, and the joy of unashamedly liking what you like, literary snobs be damned. At a time when there’s the pressure to finally read all those classics, this podcast is the perfect reminder that sometimes what you really need are those old reliable favourites.
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The High Low
Exahusted your book pile and on the hunt for some literary inspiration to sink your teeth into? Enter Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes; journalists, authors and voracious readers who love sharing their latest literary finds. The High Low covers current affairs and pop culture with a perfect balance of silliness and intelligence, diving into ye olde mailbag for listener’s stories and hosting author specials and bumper book recommendation episodes to cure all your book blues. The culturecalling.com team's desks are often piled high with titles influenced by Dolly and Panda's picks, so we can vouch that these two definitely know how to pick a gripping read from a range of genres, both fiction and non-fiction.
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You’re Booked
Love having a good old nosy around people’s bookshelves? Author and journalist (we’re sensing a theme here) Daisy Buchanan is your resident Book Inspector in this witty and entertaining podcast that takes a dive into the book collections of your favourite authors and discusses their guilty pleasures, inspirations and favourite reading memories. With over 50 episodes to catch up on including David Nicholls, Richard Ayoade and Taylor Jenkins Reid, this will keep any bookworm entertained until your next book delivery arrives.
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The Penguin Podcast
It’s no surprise that the team at publishing giants Penguin know how to create a cracking podcast for anyone passionate about reading. Each episode features conversations with leading authors discussing their writing processes and ideas, as well as bringing in five objects that have inspired their work. No matter your favourite genre, the podcasts features favourites including Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith and Philip Pullman, and you'll find yourself marvelling at how both everyday and extraordinary items can make a huge impact on their writing.
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