Weird Girl Book Club

Planting yourself in the ground as a tree is not actually a normal thing that you can do. 🌳🌿This month, in light of the US and Israel's war of aggression in Iran, the girlies are diving into Iranian literature, with International Booker Prize Longlisted Women Without Men, Shahrnush Parsipur's 1989 novel.  This book weaves a surreal and confronting tapestry of the lives of five different women in Tehran. Parsipur explores the constraints of sexuality, gender, bodies, and class through engaging with Islamic mystic tradition and challenging contemporary social values. Join us to discuss the magical realism genre, Western imperialism, and the feminine urge to turn into a tree. 🌱Follow us on Instagram at weirdgirlbookclub_pod to stay up to date with episodes! xx 

These boys are so hard with each other!In this month's episode, we cover 'Heated Rivalry' (2019) by Rachel Reid. Would you believe it, this is our first step into the world of gay sports romance!Part 2 in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry follows the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, 2 ice hockey legends who play for opposing teams. Despite their supposed public rivalry, the two cant resist each other and enter into a clandestine sexual relationship that spans over 7 years. But is this purely sexual or is loooooove the name of the game? ;)Don't worry, we obviously cover the groundbreaking, dare we say, life changing TV show. We love these hockey boys and we think you will too!Have you read the book series or watched the show? Let us know at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. xx

First name Heath, last name Cliff.In this month’s episode we (sort of) discuss Emily Brontë’s Gothic masterpiece, ‘Wuthering Heights’ (1847)… but mostly we end up talking about the 2026 movie adaptation.Lockwood, the new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, travels to Wuthering Heights to meet his hostile landlord Heathcliff; shaken by his encounter with the ghost of a girl named Catherine, Lockwood asks his housekeeper Nelly to tell him the story of the Heights’s curious inhabitants. What follows is a tale of revenge, violence and obsession that reverberates through two generations, intertwining the fates of its families.Have you read the novel or seen the new film? Let us know at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. xx

Everything’s better in the Czech Republic.In this episode the girls discuss ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ (2009) by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.The novel follows Janina Duszejko, a woman living in a remote Polish village near the Czech border; the sudden and violent death of her neighbour is the first in a string of mysterious murders, and Janina is convinced that only she knows the identity of the true culprit. ‘Drive Your Plow’ raises questions around humans’ relationship with animals and our place in the universe; the revolutionary poetry of William Blake and the complexities of translation; the mind-body divide and the nature of prisons, both literal and metaphorical.Would you rather be mauled to death by a grizzly bear, or torn apart by a pack of wolves? Let us know over at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. x

The baby is the villain in this book.In our final episode of 2025, Lina and Harmony are delving into ‘Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish’ (2011), the fourth instalment in the Windham series by Grace Burrowes.Lady Sophie Windham is the “sensible” one in her family, but when she is stranded in the middle of a snowstorm with a baby who isn’t hers she realises she is in over her head. Enter Vim Charpentier, who has recently returned to England for the Christmas holidays and offers to help Sophie take care of little Kit. As their mutual feelings of desire and longing become impossible to ignore, will Sophie’s Christmas wish - to spend the holidays with the man she loves - finally come true?Enjoy this fun, festive episode and see you all in the New Year! Love from all at WGBC xx

We know Death personally, and he said he never said that!This week the girls revisit The Book Thief (2005), Markus Zusak’s bestselling young adult novel following a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Narrated by Death, this is the story of Liesel, who is sent to the small town of Molching to live with her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel quickly develops an appetite for reading and for stealing books, and strikes up a fragile friendship with the mayor’s wife, who lends Liesel the use of her library. The Hubermanns agree to hide a young Jewish fistfighter named Max in their basement, a secret Liesel vows to keep, even from her best friend Rudy. As the Second World War rages on, Liesel and her family strive to protect each other and survive in the face of impending destruction.Follow us at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG to keep up with what we will read next! x

Bow all your heads to our adored Shirley Jackson.🐈‍⬛🍂🫐This week the girls discuss We Have Always Lived In The Castle (1962), Shirley Jackson’s last published novel before her death. Mary Katherine Blackwood, otherwise known as Merricat, lives with her reclusive older sister Constance and her Uncle Julian; the rest of the family, she tells us, is dead. Merricat’s days are marked by routine inspections of the house and its grounds, checking on the magic charms she has installed for protection, playing with her cat Jonas, and dreaded weekly visits into the village where she is taunted and harassed by the villagers. When Cousin Charles shows up at their door in search of the Blackwood fortune, Merricat’s world is turned upside down - and she takes it upon herself to expel the intruder, by whatever means necessary.Follow us at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG, or we will leave leaves and broken sticks in your bed. Happy Halloween! x🎃

Are you accepting the love you think you deserve? 🍂📼💌Come discuss generation trauma with us as we delve into cycles of abuse and ponder the coming of age genre in Stephen Chbosky's 1999 novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Love always, Weird girl book club xxxFollow us on insta @weirdgirlbookclub_pod to keep up with the latest episode releases!

It’s giving hottie with a tragic backstory.This week the girls discuss John Green’s 2005 young adult novel, ‘Looking for Alaska’.Miles ‘Pudge’ Halter is obsessed with reading biographies and memorising last words; in search of “the Great Perhaps”, Miles moves to Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama, where he meets the brilliant, beautiful, and endlessly fascinating Alaska Young. When an unthinkable tragedy threatens to tear Pudge and his group of friends apart, they are forced to reckon with the consequences of their mistakes and understand what it means to forgive, amidst the pain of grief and loss.Read Anas Al-Sharif’s full statement here: https://x.com/AnasAlSharif0/status/1954670507128914219@weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG x

Follow us on Instagram at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod to keep up with new episode releases. RIP Giles Corey, you would have loved a Wetherspoons.In this week’s episode we are joined by friend of the pod Goody Kruger to discuss Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible (as well as the 1996 film adaptation directed by Nicholas Hytner), based on the real life events of the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692 in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, the ten-year-old daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris is taken ill and refuses to wake: as more and more girls succumb to terrifying visions and accusations of witchcraft fly, the community of Salem is gripped by mounting fear and hysteria.At the heart of the play is John Proctor, a farmer who, though initially dismissive of the rumours of witchcraft, is eventually called to defend his wife Elizabeth and must ultimately grapple with his own humanity in the face of a world that is rapidly descending into chaos.If you have ever paid a witch on Etsy to cast you a love spell(or had a crush that got a little out of hand…): this one’s for you. x

This is a book about hair.In today’s episode of Weird Girl Book Club we will be discussing Jacqueline Wilson’s 2004 children’s novel Midnight. Thirteen-year-old Violet lives in a world of her own, populated by the fairies, nymphs and shadowy creatures that flit through the pages of her favourite Casper Dream books. When charismatic new girl Jasmine arrives at her school, Violet finds herself falling under her new friend’s spell - much to the displeasure of Violet’s enigmatic and controlling older brother Will. TW: domestic abuse, emotional abuse, mild physical abuse. Follow us on Instagram at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod to keep up with new episode releases. Let us know your favourite Jacqueline Wilson novel in the comments! x

We are the girls in the village! Welcome to the first episode of Weird Girl Book Club: the podcast where two best friends, Harmony and Maeve, recount the story of our friendship through the books that we love. Today we will be discussing Dodie Smith’s 1949 novel I Capture the Castle, a coming of age story told through the diary of seventeen year old Cassandra Mortmain, who chronicles the lives of her eccentric family: her reclusive writer father, dramatic older sister Rose, and glamorous stepmother Topaz. When two Americans - Simon and Neil Cotton - arrive at the dilapidated castle that the Mortmains call home, their lives are thrown in disarray and Cassandra finds herself falling in love for the first time.Warning: this episode contains discussion of bears, wirelesses, pub gardens and the insanity of being a teenage girl with a crush.You can follow us on Instagram at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod to keep up with new episode releases. If you have read the book, we’d love to hear from you!