My Wife Likes Books

This week, Sarah brings The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and explains why reading it alone in a hotel room was a terrible decision. Sallie attempts to canonise A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas as a "modern classic", prompting one of our most heated debates yet, while Soph argues for the heartbreak and brilliance of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.We also talk DNF culture, book guilt, refusing to abandon books and continue our A Little Life readalong with Section IV, The Axiom of Equality.Please note, the latter half of this episode contains discussion of heavy themes from A Little Life, including trauma, abuse, self-harm, suicide, addiction and mental illness.Books discussed on this episode:The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley JacksonThe Song of Achilles - Madeline MillerA Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J MaasCirce - Madeline MillerMythos - Stephen FryThe Secret BarristerThe Hunger Games - Suzanne CollinsThe Gallows Pole — Benjamin MyersAfter a Dance - Bridget O'ConnorThe Luminaries - Eleanor CattonThe Book Thief - Markus ZusakMilkman - Anna BurnsMarked - Kristin Cast and P. C. CastRemarkably Bright Creatues - Shelby Van PeltLondon Falling - Patrick Radden KeefeA Little Life — Hanya YanagiharaWant to read any of the books we discuss on the show? Find them on our bookshop.org store.Find us on Instagram @mywifelikesbooks · Read along with us on Fable · Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/mwlb

This week, In The Offering, Sophie sacrifices Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (no one who grew up in a Marsh has teeth like that), Sarah sacrifices On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle, and Sallie venerates What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman — a memoir about travelling the world while your friends have children.We also get into book ratings: whether you need them, what a five star actually means, and why Sallie's system is just vibes (and probably the healthiest approach out of all of us).Then we're deep into Section Two of A Little Life — The Postman. We finally spend real time with Jude, meet Harold properly, and ask whether Andy is doing nearly enough as a healthcare professional. Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of self-harm, child abuse, and sexual abuse as depicted in A Little Life.Spoilers for A Little Life, Section Two: The Postman.Books discussed in this episode:Where the Crawdads Sing — Delia OwensOn the Calculation of Volume — Solvej BalleWhat I Was Doing While You Were Breeding — Kristin NewmanInto Thin Air — Jon KrakauerLonesome Dove — Larry McMurtryA Little Life — Hanya YanagiharaThe People in the Trees — Hanya YanagiharaYou can buy any of these books through our Bookshop.org store to support the pod.Want to support the show? Buy us a coffee | Follow us on Instagram | Join our Fable book clubShow music adapted from "What A Wonderful Day" by Shane Ivers (silvermansound.com) and licensed under creative commons BY 4.0 Artwork by Keith Kilpin Produced by Oscar Rogers

This week we're deep in Chapter Two of A Little Life — and it turns out JB might actually be redeemable? We explore what Hanya Yanagihara is doing with race, privilege, and the way her characters see the world, and ask the big question: is Jude even in this book?In The Offering, Sophie pitches Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (a gripping first-hand account of the 1996 Everest disaster that has absolutely no business being this unputdownable), Sarah makes a case for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (fake dating, banter, and a number of erections), and Sallie sacrifices An Enigma of Brontës — which started promisingly and then used a phrase that we will not be repeating.We also talk reading retreats: Sallie has just returned from Gladstone's Library, Sarah has strong opinions about which books you should and absolutely should not bring, and we float the idea of a MWLB retreat that we are definitely, absolutely going to organise.Spoilers for A Little Life Chapter Two. Books discussed in this episode:Into Thin Air — Jon KrakauerThe Love Hypothesis — Ali HazelwoodAn Enigma of Brontës — Maureen PetersThe Gallows Pole — Benjamin MyersWuthering Heights — Emily BrontëInto the Wild — Jon KrakauerLegends & Lattes — Travis BaldreeEmpire of Pain — Patrick Radden KeefeThin Air — Michelle PaverPeople in the Trees — Hanya YanagiharaFunny Story — Emily HenryA Little Life — Hanya YanagiharaYou can buy any of these books through our Bookshop.Org store to support the pod.Want to support the show?Buy us a coffee | Follow us on Instagram | Join our Fable book clubShow music adapted from “What A Wonderful Day” by Shane Ivers (Free Royalty Free Music | CC BY 4.0 | Silverman Sound Studios ) and licensed under creative commons BY 4.0Artwork by Keith KilpinProduced by Oscar Rogers

Every episode of My Wife Likes Books follows the same format — and here's exactly what you're signing up for. We share what we're currently reading, put a book on trial for praise or criticism, dig into a reading-life theme, and work through our communal readalong of Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life together. Fair warning: we already have feelings about it. New episodes drop every other Tuesday starting 17th March. For readers who want a friend group, not a review show. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts and leave a rating — it genuinely helps more than you know.Want to support the show?Buy us a coffee | Follow us on instagram @mywifelikesbooks | Join our Fable book clubSarah is on Fable, Pagebound and StorygraphSophie is on Fable and StorygraphSallie is on FableShow music adapted from “What A Wonderful Day” by Shane Ivers (silvermansound.com) and licensed under creative commons BY 4.0Artwork by Keith KilpinProduced by Oscar Rogers

My Wife Likes Books is the podcast for people who love reading but have no one to talk to about it. Three friends with completely opposite taste in books — a read-everything obsessive, a fantasy and literary fiction devotee, and a romantasy lover — meet every fortnight to recommend, argue, and overshare about their reading lives. If you've ever felt like the only reader in your friend group, you've found your people. Hang out with us wherever you get your podcasts.Your hosts are Sarah Berry, Sallie Chedburn and Sophie Bishop.Want to support the show?Buy us a coffee | Follow us on Instagram | Join our Fable book clubSarah is on Fable, Pagebound and StorygraphSophie is on Fable and StorygraphSallie is on FableShow music adapted from “What A Wonderful Day” by Shave Ivers (silvermansound.com) is licensed under CC BY 4.0Artwork by Keith KilpinProduced and edited by Oscar Rogers