The Shameless Book Club

Happy Tuesday, book worms! For Memoir March, we read The House of Hidden Meaning by RuPaul. His memoir painted an intricate portrait of what it was like growing up Black and queer in a broken home, as well as detailing his inherent belief that fame was always his destiny. At its core, this is a memoir about identity and RuPaul’s influence on changing the way the world thinks about drag. Your hosts...

Hey book clubbers! Today Bri Lee and Sohani are discussing the 'sad girl novels' literary trend and how Bri’s latest book deviates from this trend.  Very excitingly, Bri’s book ‘The Work’ will be coming out on April 3rd and she will be at the Melbourne Writers Festival which is taking place from the 8th to the 12th of May. You can buy your tickets to Bri’s event here. Join us for all the book chat...

Welcome to The Tastemakers, in partnership with Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur. In this very special fortnightly book club series, our host Gemma Dimond sits down with your favourite tastemakers from a range of backgrounds. From beauty to lifestyle to food creators, over the next few months, we will be getting to know The Tastemakers we reckon lead the charge in their respective areas of expertise. T...

Hello, hello! This month on The Adaptation we're reviewing the Netflix romantic drama everyone’s been raving about: One Day. The series follows Emma and Dexter who meet after spending an interesting graduation night together. They go their separate ways the next day but the two embark on a friendship that eventually leads to love. Each episode picks up a year after the last and it gives viewers a...

Hi hi hi! Calling all Cat People! Is it ever okay to use someone else's real-life experiences as inspiration for your writing? We're asking the big questions today on Stranger Than Fiction! Join Eilish Gilligan and Rhiannon Joyce as they discuss Cat Person, the short story from The New Yorker that went unfathomably viral - and the wild, kind-of "true" story that inspired it. Big thanks to Baileys ...

Welcome to The Tastemakers, in partnership with Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur. In this very special fortnightly book club series, our host Gemma Dimond sits down with your favourite tastemakers from a range of backgrounds. From beauty to lifestyle to food creators, over the next few months, we will be getting to know The Tastemakers we reckon lead the charge in their respective areas of expertise. T...

Happy Tuesday, book clubbers! Our second pick of the year was Maame by Jessica George; this coming-of-age debut received a glowing review in the New York Times in January and was shortlisted twice in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. This book follows Maddie who's living a far from rewarding life in London. Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced-stage Parkinson’s...

Hey, book clubbers! We’re so excited to bring you this interview with the author of 'Such A Fun Age' Kiley Reid. Sohani speaks to Kiley about her new novel, ‘Come and Get It’. Set on a college campus, you’ll hear why Kiley was inspired to look at the influence consumption and money have on us as a society.  Join us for all the book chat over on our Insta @theshamelessbookclub, our TikTok @theshame...

Welcome to The Tastemakers, in partnership with Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur. In this very special fortnightly book club series, our host Gemma Dimond sits down with your favourite tastemakers from a range of backgrounds. From beauty to lifestyle to food creators, over the next few months, we will be getting to know The Tastemakers we reckon lead the charge in their respective areas of expertise. T...

Hello, friends! We put the power in your hands last month to pick which adaptation we’ll be reviewing and you guys OVERWHELMINGLY voted in favour of Normal People. Normal People follows Connell and Marianne - two young people who met in high school and… simply cannot stay away from each other. This novel was a runaway best seller, so, naturally, it was turned into a TV series, which launched the c...

Hello helloooo! Calling all Mortal Instruments readers - today on Stranger Than Fiction, Eilish Gilligan and Sohani Goonetillake cover all things Cassandra Clare, AKA Cassandra… Claire. There’s Harry Potter fandom drama from the early 2000s, fanfiction tomes that are longer than the bible, and two seperate plagiarism accusations… almost 20 years apart. Phew!  Big thanks to Baileys - Irish Cream Li...

Happy Tuesday, book club friends! Our first pick of the year was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett; a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor wi...

Happy Tuesday, book clubbers! Today, we are so thrilled to bring you this interview with lifestyle editor and writer, Gyan Yankovich. Gyan is a lifestyle editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and has just published her first novel. Just Friends explores modern friendship: what it means to be a friend, lose a friend, and everything in between. Big thanks to Baileys for making this episo...

Welcome to the first-ever episode of The Adaptation - a monthly review series from The Shameless Book Club. On the 18th of June, 2018, Trent Dalton’s debut novel - Boy Swallows Universe - was released into the world. The book came with some serious hype - expectations were high. Almost six years on, there’s a seven-episode Netflix series that brings Darra - a south-western suburb in Brisbane, Quee...

Hello helloooo! Today on Stranger Than Fiction, Eilish Gilligan and Michelle Andrews cover one of the most interesting literary scandals of recent years - influencer Caroline Calloway, writer Natalie Beach, and the tell-all essay that blew their long-standing rivalry wide open. Join us in the all the book chat over on our Insta, @theshamelessbookclub, and our TikTok, @theshamelessbookclub. Or, if...

Helloooo, book clubbers! This month, we read Green Dot by Australian author Madeleine Grey. In this book, we meet Hera Stephen, a twenty-something who is working as an underpaid comment moderator in an overly air-conditioned newsroom by day and kicking around Sydney with her two best friends by night. While everyone around her seems to have slipped effortlessly into adulthood, Hera is wondering if...

Hey, book clubbers! Today, we are so excited to bring you this interview with Australian writer and critic, Madeleine Gray. Madeleine was working at a bookstore when her debut novel Green Dot took off, and has already become an absolute crowd favourite. In this interview, Madeleine and Sohani chat, of course, about all things Green Dot. From how Madeleine researched and came up with some of the co...

Happy Stranger Than Fiction Day, book clubbers! Today, Eilish Gilligan and Zara McDonald are breaking down the surprising history of the New York Times Best Seller list, and the shady things some authors have done to land a spot on the list… Join us in the all the book chat over on our Insta, @theshamelessbookclub, and our TikTok, @theshamelessbookclub. Or, if you’re after some variety, here’s a l...

G’day, book clubbers! This month, we read Good Material by the one and only Dolly Alderton. Good Material tells the story of Andy who has recently split from his long-term partner, Jen. We follow Andy on his painful, self-indulgent journey of heartbreak, as he desperately tries to solve the puzzle of their broken relationship. After all, he figures, if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Je...

Hey, book clubbers! Today, we’re bringing you an interview with the brilliant Jessie Stephens. You’ll likely know Jessie as a podcaster, writer, and author of the international bestseller, ‘Heartsick’. Annabelle was lucky enough to chat with Jessie about her new release, ‘Something Bad is Going to Happen’ - a book that pulled us straight in within the first few sentences. From what it’s like separ...

G’day, book clubbers! Today on Stranger Than Fiction, Eilish Gilligan and Annabelle Lee are talking about the Twilight Saga extended universe. How exactly was 50 Shades of Grey inspired by Stephenie Meyer's story about love and vampires? And how do we look back on both worlds today? Join us in the all the book chat over on our Insta, @theshamelessbookclub, and our TikTok, @theshamelessbookclub. Or...

Hello, book clubbers! This month we read None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. Podcaster Alix Summer meets the meek and mysterious Josie Fair on the night of… both of their 45th birthdays. A few days later, they meet again, and Josie convinces Alix that Josie’s story is worth telling on her podcast. Alix discovers a number of disturbing facts about Josie’s life as her investigation progresses - fro...

Hey, book clubbers! Today, we are so thrilled to be bringing you this interview with Aussie journalist and award-winning author Trent Dalton. Trent is the author of so many novels you’ve probably read already, including Love Stories, All Our Shimmering Skies, and of course, his widely acclaimed, semi-autobiographical novel, Boy Swallows Universe (which has been adapted for television and will soon...

Hello, book clubbers! Today on Stranger Than Fiction, Eilish Gilligan and Annabelle Lee are talking about YouTube influencer turned author, Zoe Sugg - also known as Zoella - and the ghostwriting drama that followed the release of her debut novel, Girl Online. Join us in the all the book chat over on our Insta, @theshamelessbookclub, and our TikTok, @theshamelessbookclub. Or, if you’re after some v...

Hey, book clubbers! This month we read ‘The List’ by Yomi Adegoke. Ola is a high-profile journalist at a feminist website who is one month away from marrying Michael, the love of her life. One morning, they both wake up to the same message: ‘Oh my god, have you seen The List?’ The List began as a crowdsourced collection of men in the media who had been accused of everything from sexual misconduct...