Books On The Go

Anna and Geoff discuss the Dublin Literary Award winner, Gliff by Ali Smith.
 
Our book of the week is HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser. Lispector was the Ukrainian-Brazilian novelist writing from the 1940s to 1970s who is widely referenced and is having a moment on BookTube and BookTok.  She was compared with Virginia Woolf and Cubist artists. A short book (80 pages) but not a quick read as we discovered.  Geoff has an intriguing theory about the first section (spoiler alert).  Anna found it too abstract and meta but maybe it all makes sense? 
 
Apologies for the audio quality, Anna's microphone was not working (we realised belatedly)!
 
Coming up: our top holiday reads.
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff react to the 2026 Women's Prize winners:  Virginia Evans' THE CORRESPONDENT for Fiction, which prompts Geoff to recommend 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, and Lyse Doucet's THE FINEST HOTEL IN KABUL for Non-Fiction. 
 
Our book of the week is JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart, the Booker Prize-winning author of SHUGGIE BAIN. Set in the remote Scottish Hebrides among a weaving community, this story of John and his son Cal was an Oprah Book Club pick, a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and picked by many as a Most Anticipated Book of 2026. Is it more Brokeback Mountain or Greek tragedy, or something else?
 
Coming up: HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser.
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Stella Prize winner, CANNON by Lee Lai and the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction shortlist.  We also react to the Guardian list of 100 best books of all time. Is there a difference between your 10 favourite novels and your top 10 best books of all time?
 
Our book of the week is LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe.  This is Keefe's latest book, after his widely acclaimed EMPIRE OF PAIN. It explores the death of 19 year old Zac Brettler, who had been posing as a Russian oligarch's son and became entangled with the London underworld.  LONDON FALLING was a Most Anticipated book of 2026 and is a New York Times Best Book of the Year So Far.
 
There are twists and turns aplenty and much to discuss:
Were the Met police incompetent or was there more to it?

If your teenager has £850,000 in their bank account, is this a red flag?

What did we think of the ending?

Coming up: JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff react to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner, ANGEL DOWN by Daniel Kraus, a World War 1 novel written in one sentence. We also discuss Dwight Garner's New York Times article about the lack of book critics and our views on book influencers and reviews that make news, such as the Harper's review of To Paradise by Hana Yanagihara.
 
Our book of the week is TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lerner. This novel about a writer who writes an article about his mentor from his memory of their interview after dropping his phone in a sink tackles issues such as phone addiction, parenting and eating disorders. It was a Telegraph 'most anticipated book of 2026' and a New York Times 'book everyone will be talking about'. Recommended for book clubs.
 
We had to ask:
Why did he not put his phone in a bowl of rice?

Is this a book about tech addiction?

How does it differ from an Ian McEwan novel?

How many unreliable narrators do we have here?

Read-alikes:
AUDITION by Katie Kitamura
LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION by Ben Lerner
 
Coming up: LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist. Is it  more commercial than usual?
 
Our book of the week is LÁZÁR by Nelio Biedermann translated by Jamie Bulloch. This sweeping historical novel about the aristocratic von Lázár family during the 20th century from the Austro Hungarian empire through to Russian occupation is a buzzy debut which has received much praise. Patti Smith, Dua Lipa and Christian Kracht are fans. 
 
It prompted some questions:
Is One Hundred years of Solitude a good comparison?

What is the meaning of the translucent skin and gothic forest?

Can you spot the modern literature references (Anna missed most of them!)

Here are some read-alikes if you enjoyed Lázár:
Held by Anne Michaels

Beddebrooks by Thomas Mann

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin

The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth translated by Michael Hofmann

Coming up: TRANSCRIPTION by Ben Lerner
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz