Through the Pages

We're back with a creepy classic for the Spooky Season! Frankenstein by Mary Shelley came out January 1st 1818 and was written when Mary was only 18 years old! We dissect this horror story, partially set in our home country and find ourselves empathising with an unexpected character! Listen and read along. 

We all know it, we might have all had to read it at some point: Pride and Prejudice! The 1813 novel, written by Jane Austen threw both of us into the world of English literature and may or may not have had an influence of what we thought England was like for quite some time. We discuss characters, screen adaptations (!) and Keira Knightley in our first 2022 episode of Through the Pages. Welcome ba...

A book that is a first for the podcast! In this episode we discuss a science fiction novel for the very first time: Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, published in 1966.  We chat about galaxies, spaceships, strong lead characters, and the topic at the heart of the novel: language and how it influences our thinking and understanding of the world.  Let us know what you thought about the book and connect...

We're back with season 3! We're kicking it off with a recap of where we've been and what we've been up to and then dive straight into "The Yellow Wallpaper", a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, published 1892 in The New England Magazine. It is an important piece of early US feminist literature and deals with women's position in society and their "treatment" of mental health. Another season,...

The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James that first appeared in serial format. This week we discuss how slightly underwhelmed we were by the character development and how it was another case of premise > execution. We also delve into The Haunting of Bly Manor that just came out last weekend and how easily scared we are by today's horror genre! Have you read it or watched the...

Part 1 of our Spooky October Classics series is here! We start off with the classic English ghost story, The Woman in Black.  This is a textbook gothic ghost story – think old, haunted house, poltergeist-y moving objects and a ghost with an agenda.  Do we have opinions? Yes. Were we deeply traumatised by the film that was inspired by the book? Yes.  Did we have way too much fun adding creepy sound...

Needless to say, Octavia Butler is one of the most renowned Science Fiction writers we read today. With multiple Nebula and Hugo award, she was the first ever Science Ficiton writer to be awarded the MacArthur Fellowship. Kindred is the first novel of hers we both have read and whilst we loved the premise, the actual plot didn't quite sit right with us. Join us in our discussion of Kindred and we'...

This week we read The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, first published in 1897 – all about one man's scientific experiment of becoming invisible. Often described as an early sci-fi/horror story – but let's just say we have mixed feelings. We also chat about the 2020 film inspired by the book, starring Elizabeth Moss which definitely succeeded in giving us the creeps (in a good way). Connect with us vi...

This 1982 epistolary novel by Alice Walker is an integral part of US American literature and one that was on our radar for a long time. We now finally got to reading it and it was one of our more intense reading experiences. Told through letters to God by 14 year old Celie, we get a glimpse of what her life was like in the South of the early 1900s. Walker raises the issues of racism, sexism, class...

This week we chat about H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu , written in 1926 and published in a pulp magazine in 1928. Lovecraft is considered to be one of the pioneers of horror and sci-fi writing and has influenced countless other writing and story-telling of the same genres. But is The Call of Cthulhu an entertaining monster/horror story or a highly problematic piece detailing the author’s ha...

CW: Talk about suicide, self harm, rape This was a heavy and dark read where the conversation afterwards was needed. The Bell Jar is the depiction of a period in Esther Greenwood's life as she struggles with her mental health, life and societal norms. It is a sad tale, considering also the author's own history with mental illness and is definitely one that we wouldn't recommend to just anyone. If...

This week we talk about Toni Morrison’s prize winning novel Beloved , published in 1987. Book discussion starts at: 10:30 This was an extremely tough, yet hauntingly beautiful read. Join the conversation as we touch on the theme of trauma, the novel’s ghost story elements, attempt an interpretation, and swoon over Morrison’s evocative writing. As always, let us know your thoughts & impressions...

...aaand we're back! We're kicking off the new season with a big one - 100 Years of Solitude has been a wild ride of magical realism and is definitely one that we'll carry with us for a while.  We have also made some changes to our format and will be launching an episode every Wednesday! Book discussion starts at 10:10

A Bonus Episode before we depart on a 2 week summer break! We teamed up with The Blank Was Better Podcast ( @thepodcastwasbetter on Instagram) talking about the book and movie adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley . We couldn't be more excited to share this with you as we all had a blast recording it; talking book vs. movie, a dreamy Jude Law, plot changes and the burning ques...

This summer looks a lot different than planned, but let’s talk summer reads anyway to get in that summery holiday spirit!  We chat about the perfect beach reads (even if there's no beach in sight, these can be enjoyed from a sofa or balcony!), recommend holiday books we’ve read in the past, mention books that are perfect for a bit of escapism, and talk about the books we’ll delve into this summer!...

This week we read an American classic, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (published 1952) – a story of black identity and invisibility. A heavy, at times uncomfortable, but absolutely necessary read (“was published in 1952, could have been written last year”). We discuss themes of powerlessness, disillusionment and the fight for individuality. Let us know your thoughts and get in touch via our Instag...

What is more fun than a bookish Q+A? A bookish Q+A with a question for each letter of the alphabet! We found these fun Qs on elgeewrites.com (her instagram is @elgeewrites ) and thought we'd each answer half of those in a more-or-less quickfire manner. What was your favourite question or answer? Let us know in the comments or via DM on our Instagram @throughthepagespod . 

This week, we delve into one of THE American classics – published in 1952, one of Hemingway's later works, and the shortest book yet on our list (which, to be honest, we were not too sad about). It earned a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Hemingway being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. We chat about themes of human vs. nature, endurance and death, and the omnipresent question:...

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover - and while we agree on that, we still like our editions to be pretty! In this Minisode we discuss our favourite cover design, if we prefer paper over hardbacks and how we like to treat our books! If you want to see the covers for yourselves, head over to Instagram @throughthepagespod where we upload our #bookstagrams. Let us know about your favourite cover...

Arguably the most famous dystopian novel to date, 1984 by George Orwell had us hooked from the start. In this episode we share our thoughts on this 1949 classic and talk about how much of the plot resonates with what is happening in today's world and how timeless this novel really is. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this novel - connect with us on Instagram @throughthepagespod and let us know y...

For this week's Minisode we decided to share our go-to books and literary habits when the world feels heavy and anxiety spikes. These are by no means cures against anxiety, but we hope that maybe one or the other book recommendation can get you out of a negative and anxious headspace and help you take care of yourself in the overwhelming year, that is 2020.  Books mentioned: The Sun and Her F...

This week we discuss Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, published in 1937.  We chat about its lyrical language, the racism its characters face, the story of a woman looking for love – and the birds and the bees! Connect with us on Instagram @througthepagespod and let us know your thoughts about the book.

It's our first Beyond the Book episode (the segment in which we chat about anything that goes beyond the book/classic we read for our book discussion the same week)!  This week we chat about the 1962 film adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Trial , starring Anthony Perkins (yes, the guy from Psycho ) and directed by Orson Welles. How does it compare to the book? How well does the adaptation from...

Written around 1914 and posthumously published in 1925, The Trial is a strange and absurd tale of a young man who arrested for a crime nobody ever learns what it is about - not even the reader! We discuss the dream-like nature of the novel, how frustrating the story gets and why we kind of understand how it has become a classic. This episode also includes a great bookish podcast recommendatio...

We're introducing a new segment! Beyond the Book will be a short episode in which we'll chat about anything that goes beyond the book we're reading that same week! Often the story doesn't stop with the book itself – it continues in films and art and influences other writing. Consider this a "behind the scenes" of a book; an added snippet to our weekly discussions with the question "what happens be...