My Wife Likes Books

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

What separates a young adult novel from everything else — is it the age of the protagonist, the writing style, or just the absence of explicit content? This week Sarah, Sophie and Sallie get into it, sharing their favourite YA reads (The Hunger Games, Noughts and Crosses, Maximum Ride) and unpacking why so many books end up in the wrong section of the library entirely.Plus: The Offering. Sallie brings Lessons in Chemistry for veneration. Sophie makes a passionate case for Lonesome Dove, a 900-page western that converted a committed non-western reader. And Sarah offers The Summer I Turned Pretty, with a verdict that will surprise anyone who's heard her talk about the TV show.Then it's the read-along. This week: chapter three of A Little Life — the one where the plot finally arrives. Was Willem a good friend to Jude, or was he protecting himself? And why does Hanya Yanagihara write about colour unlike anyone else?⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses self-harm. Spoilers for A Little Life chapters 1–3 and Part 1.Want 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 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

Sarah is reading The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, Sophie is deep into Golden Son by Pierce Brown, and Sallie is working through Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli.We're also bringing our first offerings to the table — Sarah recommends Piglet by Lottie Hazell, Sallie makes the case for Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers, and Sophie champions Red Rising by Pierce Brown.Then we get into our first theme: reading goals. Do we set them? Do we keep them?And we kick off our A Little Life read along with chapter one reactions.For readers who want a friend group, not a review show.Support the showBuy us a coffee | Instagram | Join our Fable book clubShow music adapted from “What A Wonderful Day” by Shane Ivers (silvermansound.com) and licensed under creative commons BY 4.0Artwork by Keith KilpinProduced by Oscar RogersOther books mentioned this episodePeople in the Trees — Hanya YanagiharaTo Be Taught If Fortunate — Becky ChambersThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet — Becky ChambersThe Galaxy and the Ground Within — Becky ChambersShark Heart — Emily HabeckPriory of the Orange Tree — Samantha ShannonLegends and Lattes — Travis BaldreeBefore the Coffee Gets Cold — Toshikazu KawaguchiThe Housekeeper and the Professor — Yoko OgawaTo Paradise — Hanya Yanagihara

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

Before we get into the books, meet the hosts. Sarah reads everything and has opinions about all of it. Sophie lives for fantasy and literary fiction and has a complicated relationship with romance. Sallie is a burnt-out romantasy reader who reads selectively but feels deeply. Together we somehow make it work — mostly by disagreeing. My Wife Likes Books is for readers who want a friend group, not a review show. Hang out with us wherever you listen to podcasts.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 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