Books On The Go

Anna and Annie discuss the news that Hachette has pulled the book SHY GIRL by Mia Ballard from publication after concerns it was written by AI.
 
Our book of the week is A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar.  This follow-up to her novel A Burning is set in near-future, dystopian Kolkata.  A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF is full of ethical dilemmas, flawed characters and memorable food scenes - a good book club pick. It has been long listed for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction.  
 
Read-alikes:
THE DIRECTOR by Daniel Kehlmann translated by Ross Benjamin (iykyk)
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam
 
Coming up: HEART THE LOVER by Lily King
 
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Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 International Booker Prize longlist. We're intrigued by  Women Without Men: A novel of Modern Iran by  Shahrnush Parsipur translated by Faridoun Farrokh and The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar translated by Ruth Martin.
 
Our book of the week is SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood. This short novel about a man who works as a shanker on a foggy beach and a film-maker who wants to set a movie there was long listed for the 2025 Booker Prize.
 
There is much to discuss:
Are we now shrimping experts?

How do we feel about dreams in novels?

Do we like bleak, isolated settings?

Annas suggests two read-alikes if you enjoyed Seascraper:
The Horse by Willy Vlautin

Clear by Carys Davies

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Substack: Books On The Go
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Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, including Flashlight, The Correspondent and Audition.  Some of the other long-listed books feature writers as characters, which gets us talking about turn-offs in novels.
 
Our book of the week is DEPARTURE(S) by Julian Barnes. This is the final book by the Booker Prize-winning author. It is a novel about a couple who reunite later in life, with authobiographical elements from Barnes' own life, or it could be a memoir containing a short story.  There is also Proust, philosophy and some observations on memory. Described as 'elegant' (The Times) and 'unmistakably Barnes' (Observer), it got us thinking:
 
Where is the line between memoir and novel?
Is DEPARTURE(S) a love story?
Are the memory bits too Oliver Sacksy?
 
Coming up: SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood.
 
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Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week 2026 amid the controversy after the Adelaide Festival Board disinvited Palestinian-Australian writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fatteh.  Among the authors who withdrew from Writers' Week was Richard Flanagan, who wrote this article (sorry for the paywall).  Director Louise Adler resigned with this letter to the Guardian. Since we recorded this episode, the new Board has retracted the decision and apologised to Dr Abdel-Fatteh.
 
In other book news, Random House has dropped David Walliams, as discussed on this episode of The Rest is Entertainment podcast.
 
Our book of the week is THE SAFEKEEP by Yael van der Wouden, a debut novel set in 1960s Netherlands which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and won the 2025 Women's Prize.
 
Coming up: SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood.
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Substack: Books On The Go
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Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

It's our best books of the year episode!
 
Anna, Amanda and Annie reveal our favourite reads of 2025:
 
Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
The Time of the Child by Niall Williams
The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink translated by Charlotte Collins
A Guardian and a Thief by Megan Majhumdar
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht translated by Daniel Bowles
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie (and audio book)
Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor (and substack Sweater Weather)
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Follow us!
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz