Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not aContinue reading “December Book Club: Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake”
Category Archives: Podcast show notes
Author interview | Jodi McAlister on An Academic Affair
Romance author and academic Dr Jodi McAlister shares her insights on her latest release, an Academic Affair. Meet academic rivals Sadie and Jonah; when a position comes up that Sadie and Jonah are both perfect for, their ongoing enmity explodes into a red-hot competition. We dive into the world of early career academia, rivals toContinue reading “Author interview | Jodi McAlister on An Academic Affair”
July Book Club: I Want to Die, But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee (S4E4)
Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Our July book club discussion is about I Want to Die, But I Want to Eat Ttteokbokki, anContinue reading “July Book Club: I Want to Die, But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee (S4E4)”
Author interview | Neal Shusterman explores All Better Now and a virus of happiness
We sit down with Neal Shusterman to discuss his latest Young Adult novel, All Better Now, which speculates on what could happen if there was another pandemic, but this time, of a virus that brings contentment to its recoverees. We have a lot to talk about including what a happiness virus would really entail, andContinue reading “Author interview | Neal Shusterman explores All Better Now and a virus of happiness”
Author interview | Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist talk the Glass House
Join us for a fascinating interview with Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion, authors of the Menzies Mental Health series – i.e. The Glass House (book 1) and The Oasis (book 2). We have a lot to talk about including the complexity of the Australian mental health care system, balancing technical accuracy and storytelling, and tellingContinue reading “Author interview | Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist talk the Glass House”
May Book Club: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (S4E3)
Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life”. Our May book club discussion is about Get a Life, Chloe Brown, a romance novel that features characters experiencing chronic pain and trauma.Continue reading “May Book Club: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (S4E3)”
March Book Club: Hospital by Sanya Rushdi (S4E2)
A daring literary account of a young woman’s experience of psychosis by Bengali-Australian writer Sanya Rushdi. This March, our book club discussion features Hospital, which explores the experience of psychosis and subsequent hospitalisation, drawn from the author’s real-life experience. We unpack the limitations of the medical model approach towards treatment of mental health issues, sharedContinue reading “March Book Club: Hospital by Sanya Rushdi (S4E2)”
Tara Calaby on spiritualism, representation, and grief l Author interview
Tara Calaby joins us on today’s episode to discuss her latest novel, The Spirit Circle: a speculative historical fiction on the intersection of spiritualism and grief. The novel features women who are haunted by grief and come together as a church under the charismatic leadership of a medium. Tara discusses writing cult-ish dynamics in theContinue reading “Tara Calaby on spiritualism, representation, and grief l Author interview”
Bonus Episode: Growing Out of Y.A. Fiction
This week, we get on the mic to discuss an unexpected identity crisis: we seem to be growing out of Young Adult (YA) fiction. We try to define what exactly YA is (a tough job!) and what we still love about books in this category, as well as grapple with why we no longer gravitateContinue reading “Bonus Episode: Growing Out of Y.A. Fiction”
January book club: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (S4E1)
In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. Join Priscilla and Elise for a book club discussion on Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow‘s complex characterisation and videoContinue reading “January book club: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (S4E1)”
Novel Feelings 