The Book Swap Podcast

For the season finale of Book Swap , Liza and Cassandra explore why Shakespeare's stories continue to resonate centuries later as new remakes for the modern age. Their featured book is Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn, a clever modern retelling of King Lear filled with family drama, power struggles, and corporate intrigue. Along the way, they share favorite Shakespeare adaptations, recommend additional...

After a three-week journey through Japan, Cassandra returns with a suitcase full of book recommendations and a deeper appreciation for Japanese storytelling. The books grapple with themes from high stakes competitions and childhood friendships to memory, impermanence, and the search for meaning. Along the way, they share hidden gems discovered at Tokyo's famous Daikanyama T-Site bookstore and dive...

This week on Book Swap, Liza and Cassandra dive into two unforgettable novels about war, memory, and survival. They discuss Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Painter of Battles , a haunting philosophical novel about a retired war photographer confronted by a man whose life was changed by one of his images, and A Summer Without Dawn by Agop J. Hacikyan and Jean-Yves Soucy, an epic story set during the Arm...

Summer reading season is officially here, and Liza and Cassandra are diving into the books they can’t wait to spend the season with. The books speak to a range of summer moods from a glamorous modern-day Gatsby romp to sweeping novels about societies on the brink of collapse. They talk through what actually makes a great summer read and recommend everything from underrated hidden gems to (yes we’l...

On this week’s episode of The Book Swap , Cassandra and Liza dive into romantic novels that are heartfelt without becoming saccharine sweet or predictable, centering their conversation on Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession. They explore why this quiet Irish novel about friendship, grief, routine, and tentative romance became such an unexpected favorite. Plus: B-side recommendations for reade...

This week on The Book Swap Podcast, Liza Hamm and Cassandra Berger dive into the the intoxicating, messy, deeply ambitious world of writers for this episode on books about writers. The deep-five is Three Martini Lunch by Suzanne Rendell, set in late-1950s New York publishing culture, the novel follows aspiring authors, editors, and dreamers chasing literary success while navigating class, race, am...

On this special premiere episode of The Book Swap Podcast Liza and Cassandra delve into their first episode theme on books with misleading titles. Their deep dive pick of the week is When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill, which may sound like YA fantasy, and, sure, it may include a phenomenon where women spontaneously turn into dragons. But it's actually an emotionally mature historical fictio...

In this season one trailer Cassandra and Liza introduce the concept of the show, their approach to finding hidden gems, and preview the categories they'll be diving into in later episodes.