Booktails Podcast

Greek Retellings 3 This book was new to both of us and we may have made a mistake calling it a Greek retelling but we certainly didn’t make a mistake including it in the podcast! Join Serena and Rachel as they sip our Albatross cocktail, discuss the book’s relation to the Covid 19 epidemic, the power of positive thinking, joys of isolation and try to work out what is actually going on with that en...

Greek Retellings 2: Serena's Recommendation  You know the story of Achilles right? A beautiful and strong demigod, destined to be the greatest and fastest warrior anyone has ever seen, never mind that pesky ankle of his! Well, get ready to see him in a new light, and to hear his tragic love story play out before you with nothing you can do to stop it, as much as you might wish you could! Join Sere...

Greek Retellings 1: Rachel's Recommendation It's time for a new year and a whole new Booktails theme! We are starting off strong with Greek myth retellings! First up is 'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes: a retelling of the Trojan war from the stories of the women who were front and centre! From slaves to queen's to goddesses, Haynes gives voice to them all and Serena and Rachel weigh in on why...

Time for our yearly round up: the best books we read this year, whether surprise new releases or old favourites we've read many times, and our favourite episodes of 2025 in case you're wondering where to start! And our final game of the year is not to be missed: the Booktails Job Swap! Producer Mark is presenting, Rachel is editing and Serena is on 'music': it's going to be a riot.   Thank you so...

Festive Frolics 4: Serena's Recommendation Christmas is just around the corner and we are heartbroken that this is our final festive frolic of the podcast this year! But we've put the perfect gift under your tree in the shape of this delightful mature romance in a picturesque English village complete with quirky ensemble and disastrous dates! You'll want to try our yummy Gingerbread Margi-rita, th...

Festive Frolics 3 On the first day of Christmas Booktails gave to you a baby Alan in a pear tree!  It's the 12 days of Christmas as you've never seen them before! A grumpy widower and his children start receiving very specific and familiar gifts on the days leading up to Christmas... but who is sending them and what could they mean?  Join Rachel and Serena as they rake through ladies dancing, unbe...

Festive Frolics 2: The Secret Christmas Library and interview with bestselling author Jenny Colgan.  It's a big one readers: it's our first author interview and we were over the moon to have the one and only Jenny Colgan on to discuss their new book with us! Join us as we drink a festive old fashioned, chat about real life castle libraries, why books are always the best Christmas gifts and play a...

Festive Frolics 1: Rachel's recommendation  It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right, the season is upon us, time to roast those chestnuts and sing some carols in the snow! And for this first romantic romp you might just want to look out the mistletoe! Join Serena and Rachel as they follow identical twins who swap lives for the twelve days before Christmas in this Hallmark-esque holi...

Prize Winners 3: British Book Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year We hope you're hungry readers, because if not you're about to be! Based on a true case this book explores murder, feminism and most importantly, the joys of eating. It's never too late to change your life or to start eating good food! After today's game Rachel and Serena will never be eating margarine again. We're even putting but...

Prize Winners 2: Women's Prize for Fiction Winner Let's go girls! The Women's Prize was set up in response to the lack of female writers being shortlisted for the Booker Prize despite being more numerous than males, and they have been paving the way for representation and equality ever since! Yasss Queens! This week we dive into the Safekeep and discuss literary wartime lesbians, hare obsessions,...

Prize Winners 1: Pulitzer Prize Winner First up in this prize winning books of 2025 category is a retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which will turn that tale on its head with an unforgettable narrator and a completely new spin on the hi-jinks of a couple of children in the American South! Travel down the Mississippi with Serena and Rachel as they discuss past mojito trauma, the lang...

Spooky Stephen King 4. Misery is the undisputed perfect name for this 1987 Stephen King classic, but we are here to ease your misery today! Listen along as we discuss the bodice ripping novel-within-a-novel, Annie's unhinged psyche and iconic quotes and an unexpected ending, all paired with a delicious Suffering Bastard cocktail courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits. Is it a horror or a thriller or...

Spooky Stephen King 3: Serena's Recommendation  This is the book King himself rates as his scariest and it's clear why! A normal young family moves to rural Maine and is ripped apart by the forces at work in the ancient burial ground in their backyard. This week Serena and Rachel find hidden Stephen King universe Easter eggs, learn what kind of pet would haunt them, find unexpected spicy scenes an...

Spooky Stephen King 2: Rachel's Recommendation  Whoa it's a biggie this week! Over one thousand pages to be exact! We are diving headfirst into the sewers and into one of the spookiest Stephen King stories around! Journey with us to Derry, Maine where danger lurks just below the surface. Rachel and Serena become honorary members of the Losers Club this week as they sip on Drunk Ghost cocktails cou...

Spooky Stephen King 1 HEEEEEEERE'S BOOKTAILS! It's finally spooky season and we are celebrating with the master of horror this month, Stephen King! Join us roaming the iconic hallways of the Overlook Hotel as the nights draw in. Join Rachel and Serena as they discuss unreliable narrators, the Kubrick film adaptation, justice for Wendy and try to get to grips with who or what Tony is, whilst gettin...

Cosy Murders 3. Are you hungry? Grab a seat at the table because Rosemary Shrager is about to serve you up quite the meal and we are here to pour the tea!  Take a sip of your perfectly paired aperitif Death by Rhubarb and meet the cast of very posh potential murderers in this classic country manor setting where murder is definitely on the menu. But can our wholesome granny/ granddaughter sleuth du...

Cosy Murder 2: The Trial by Rob Rinder (Rachel's Recommendation)  WE OBJECT, YOUR HONOUR - to the use of advocaat in a SECOND pod cocktail! But we do not object to the second book in our cosy murder series - The Trial by (Judge) Rob Rinder. The cocktail this week is the Cliveden's Gotcha, or if you fancy a mocktail, the Solicitor. Gather your evidence and get ready to present your case to the eter...

Cosy Murders 1: Serena's Recommendation  Get the gang together on your zimmers because the time has come for... COSY MURDER SEASON! 🔪🧣🍁☕ Change to your winter duvet, get your knitting out and put the kettle on because the seasons are changing and it's time to curl up with murder of the most comforting variety!  And we're starting with a modern favourite- The Thursday Murder Club!  Join our ver...

Deadly Competitions 3 That's right, it's the one you were all thinking of! There's no way we could do a Deadly Competitions series without including this beloved franchise. Get ready to be plucked from District 12 and dropped  into a fight for survival, with politics, intrigue and maybe even love along the way. Get your bow and arrows ready for business, and may the odds be ever in your favour...

Deadly Competitions 2 If you thought your school was bad, it had nothing on this one! It's time to dive into the Battle Royale phenomenon- 42 kids are taken on a 'school trip', given weapons and told to kill each other until only one survives. With a Kiriyama Bloody Mary in hand (pasta sauce) Serena and Rachel join the race for survival and find out how long they would last in a battle royale. Hav...

Deadly Competitions 1: Rachel's Recommendation  Minus 55 minutes and counting On your marks, get set... DEADLY COMPETITIONS TIME! ⏳🔪 Grab your running shoes and grab a natural energy drink (cocktail) full of electrolytes because it's time for a new Booktails Podcast theme!  We're starting with a bang with The Running Man by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) Join Rachel and Serena as we don our d...

Centenery Series 3 (Rachel's Rec) If you've ever missed your stop on the train this episode is for you. We're channeling Kafka and staying alcohol free this week, but feel free to add a splash of something stronger to K's Defence if you prefer! He needs all the help he can get with this Trial after all! Have you ever felt like you're living in a bureaucratic fever dream? (Every time you have to bo...

Centenery Series 2. There's no way we could do a series on books from 1925 without including one of the most studied and revered books of all time! That's right, we are bringing out the big guns and meeting The Great Gatsby. But is he a hero or a fraud? Is Daisy really the worst? And what is actually up with those famous eyes in the sky? All these questions and more will be answered by Rachel and...

Centenary Series 1: Serena's Recommendation  "Kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and safire bracelet lasts forever." This is just one important life lesson given to the reader by the force which is Lorelei Lee. Join Serena and Rachel, 'Tiara' cocktail in gloved hand, as they talk through Lorelei's famous trip to Europe, meet her many suitors, wish Dorothy was their be...

Summer Beach Read 3: Serena's Recommendation  Serena and Rachel may be hungover this week but my oh my do they have some strong views on this book! Prepare yourself for chats on love-bombing, mommy issues, prejudice, sexism, ageism, classism, a whole lot of trauma and general all- round misogyny. You might need another summer beach holiday to recover from this ride. Toxic they certainly are, so fa...