Bound by Books

In this episode of our book podcast, we dive into our recent reads and a lively discussion on romance fiction tropes, male leads, and what makes us swoon - or cringe - in contemporary romance novels. We catch up on life lately, from school-related mental load and the UK heatwave, to Nikki recovering from a busy work event (and an attempted game of The Traitors that quickly got too complicated over...

This week, Nikki and Hannah discuss Feel Free by Zadie Smith, a collection of essays exploring culture, politics, art, identity and what it means to be free in an increasingly divided world. Before diving into the book, there's a long-overdue real-life catch-up, Hannah shares details of her trip to London to celebrate her dad's 80th birthday (and an unexpected crush), and Nikki recounts a...

In this episode, we’re diving into our recent and current reads, plus the inevitable pile of books building up on our TBRs. Alongside the reading chat, there are chickens, knitting projects, a very sweaty pilgrim walk and plenty of literary detours. Life Updates Hannah has added real-life chickens to her garden, including one very confidently named George Michael. There’s ongoing excitement (and v...

This week’s episode begins with a mystery worthy of its own novel: Hannah tells the tale of a traffic-calming mannequin installed outside her cottage… only for him to be stolen within six hours. Meanwhile, Nikki has been out and about, enjoying a packed week that included a visit to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, a humanist wedding and the Ramses exhibition in Battersea. There w...

Hannah’s back from a cruise around Spain and France, where she got to practise her languages…and somehow managed to completely destroy her cabin in the process. Nikki’s just returned from Florida after visiting Disneyworld and Universal Studios. Ride photos were taken, dignity was lost, and yes, they’re going on our socials. We also discovered Nikki had no idea How to Train Your Dragon was origina...

This week we’re discussing our autobiography buddy read, H is for Hawk . Hannah has been for a getaway to Pembrokeshire after the dramas of the haunted cottage (see ep 3) and enjoyed a much-needed reset, complete with dolphins and seals. Nikki, meanwhile, is off to Florida - Disney awaits! She’s been preparing by cleaning her flat to within an inch of its life, including a long-overdue rejigging o...

Hannah celebrated her birthday this week with a trip to London to visit the Samurai Exhibition at the British Museum and a wander around Covent Garden’s stationery shops. Meanwhile, Nikki has been busy assembling her miniature Book Nook model…although she still hasn’t managed to find a suitable home for her Jonathan Bailey cut-outs (!). Upcoming Buddy Read H is for Hawk – Helen Macdonald (Autobiog...

Nikki’s been stretching out her birthday celebrations with dinners in Shoreditch, new plants and plans to rejig her bookshelves. Hannah, on the other hand, started “reorganising” her cottage… then abandoned ship halfway through and headed to IKEA instead. Book Talk Spoiler Warning: This week we dive into The Lamb by Lucy Rose. FULL spoilers ahead: plot, themes, and the ending are all on the table....

It’s been a busy week! Nikki celebrated her birthday in true nerdy, history-loving style with a trip to see dinosaurs followed by a visit to Shakespeare’s Globe. A pretty brilliant combination, if you ask us. She’s also managed to pick up a very respectable haul of birthday gifts along the way. Lucky thing! Meanwhile, Hannah has been swept up in birthday celebrations of a slightly different kind w...

Hannah shares her experience of staying in a haunted cottage in Snowdonia and what made her and her family pack up and leave a day early. Expect strange happenings and a bizarre Charles Dickens coincidence that no one can quite explain. Meanwhile, Nikki firmly establishes herself as an absolute wuss when it comes to anything remotely paranormal and questions Hannah’s life choices in even booking t...

This week, we’re catching up on the chaos of the past few days, from the never-ending rain to Nikki’s lingering cold (plus a couple of perfectly timed feline interruptions) Book Talk We tackle our ever-growing TBR towers, debate how to actually define fantasy subgenres, and confess to Hannah’s less-than-stellar book-group track record. Plus, Hannah makes it her personal mission to convince Nikki t...

It’s our very first episode! We’re Hannah and Nikki and we love books, but we have very different tastes. We’re here to share our recent reads and dig deep into big bookish topics. Book Talk This week we discuss Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet , both interms of the novel itself and the more recent film adaptation. We discuss: The way the adaptation differs to the book and how it impacts the experience o...