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130: The Lads' February 2026 Reading Update

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany get a little bit spicy with their February roundup...

129: The Lads' January 2026 Reading Update

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What have Alice and Bethany been reading this month? You'll just have to listen to find out...

128: The Lads Choose Their 2025 Books of the Year

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany pick one book they read each month of 2025 and pit them against each other to determine their book of the year. Full lists available...

127: The Lads Return with a Mid-Year Roundup

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany catch up halfway through 2025 and chat about some new releases and backlist titles that have charmed them thus far.

126: The Lads Give Their 2024 Books of the Year

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany make a cheeky little top 10 of their favourite books of the year! Head to our Instagram for the full list.

125: The Lads Create Their 2024 Gift Guide

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doing a spot of Christmas book shopping and thirsty for recommendations? Alice and Bethany have you covered. They each choose a fiction, a non-fiction...

124: The Lads Catch Up On Their Recent Reading Habits

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany catch up on what they've been reading, but it turns out it's been a weird reading year for them both. Much yapping lies ahead.

123: The Lads Gather Autumn/Winter Recommendations

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany chat through a few of the books they're excited about for the rest of the year, and ask their author and bookseller friends for more...

122: The Lads Talk Forthcoming Film Adaptations

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Following the escandalo that has dogged the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us, Alice and Bethany discuss a few forthcoming adaptatio...

121: The Lads Chat Big Date Energy AND Slowcoach

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany look inward and discuss the two books Bethany has released this year! First up, Big Date Energy, aka what happens when you try to wr...

120: The Lads Give Their Midyear Reading Roundup

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany talk through what they've been reading so far in 2024, and how not recording the pod has affected their reading habits.

119: The Lads List Their 10 Books of the 21st Century

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by the New York Times' list of the 100 greatest books of the 21st Century, Alice and Bethany each compile their own top 10s, and find they ha...

118: The lads chat to Eliza Clark

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the huge pleasure of talking to girlie of the moment, Eliza Clark, largely about her new novel Penance but also about true crim...

117: The lads chat body horror with Heather Parry

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of talking to Heather Parry about her short story collection This Is My Body Given For You, which is a gnarl...

116: The Lads Chat Unlikeable Female Characters with Anna Bogutskaya

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of talking to the film journalist and programmer Anna Bogutskaya about her new non-fiction book Unlikeable F...

115: Fat Talk with Virginia Sole-Smith

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bethany has the huge pleasure of chatting to Virginia Sole-Smith about her revolutionary new book Fat Talk: Coming of Age in Diet Culture, which inves...

114: The Lads Celebrate Death of a Bookseller

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice's debut novel, Death of a Bookseller, is out NOW! So obviously Bethany had to ask her all the nosy questions about it!

113: The lads chat to actual Katherine Heiny

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have a whale of a time with the funny, smart Katherine Heiny, author of the new collection Games and Rituals, as well as the novels ...

112: Q1 reading report

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany atone for not putting out an episode for the first three months of the year by telling you all about everything they've read in the ...

111: Our books of 2022

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany are BACK from their unplanned hiatus! And they've got a long, juicy episode for you about their favourite books of 2022, which obvio...

110: The Lads Chat to Sara Gran

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you've been listening to WPAYO for a little while you'll know that a true Book of the Pod is Come Closer by Sara Gran. We are so hyped that she has...

109: The Lads Chat to Chelsea G Summers

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of interviewing Chelsea G Summers, author of the bloody and brilliant A Certain Hunger!

108: The Lads Chat to Erin Kelly

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the extreme joy of interviewing friend of the pod, thee Erin Kelly, author of Alice's fave, The Poison Tree and Bethany's fave,...

107: The Lads Had To Remove This Post

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss the dark and delicious novella We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets, translated by Emma Rault. We Had To Remove This...

106: The Lads Chat to Torrey Peters

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's no secret that WPAYO loved Detransition, Baby - we dedicated a whole episode to it! So we're beyond delighted to speak to Torrey Peters ahead of ...

105: Blockbusters: Red Dragon

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany go deep on Red Dragon by Thomas Harris as part of their Blockbusters series, since they both love Silence of the Lambs.

104: The Lads Interview Joanne Harris

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we had the huge pleasure of talking to literary legend Joanne Harris about her latest book, A Narrow Door, which is absolutely brilliant, th...

103: The Lads Talk Through Their TBR Piles

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany go through the five books they're each planning to read in the near future. If you want to see a list of the books, head to the podc...

102: The Lads Predict the British Book Awards

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take a look at a few categories from the British Book Awards and chat through their thoughts and feelings, as well as trying to pred...

101: The Lads Read New Animal

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take messy gal fic into a darker direction with New Animal by Ella Baxter, which is out now from Picador.

100: The Lads Interview Coco Mellors

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany absolutely loved Coco Mellors' glittering debut Cleopatra & Frankenstein, a portrait of a marriage in early noughties NYC, and i...

99: The Lads Discuss Welcome To Your Life!

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bethany's adult debut novel is out NOW and she and Alice have a lil chat about the book and its creation!  You can buy it from Waterstones here - ht...

98: The Lads Interview Catherine Ryan Howard

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bethany attempts to keep calm as she and Alice meet Catherine Ryan Howard, author of several of the best 21st century thrillers, including her latest ...

97: The Lads Read Notes On An Execution

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany do a deep dive on the brilliant Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka, exploring the life and death of a murderer on death row and ...

96: The Lads Chat to Lucy Foley

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany get to sit down with the 21st century's answer to Agatha Christie, the excellent Lucy Foley! They chat all things murder mystery as ...

95: The Lads Read Attica Locke

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past two months, Bethany has become obsessed with the crime author Attica Locke, so this episode is a little introduction to her major themes...

94: The Lads Do BookTok

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alice educates Bethany on the wonderful world of BookTok, a place that Alice is spending a lot of time these days. They talk virality, what makes a Bo...

93: The Lads chat to Daphne Palasi Andreades

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you don't know about Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades, where have you been?! It's one of the most anticipated books of the year, and in the w...

92: The Lads' Books of 2021

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany wrap up the year in style and let you know their respective top 10s of 2021! For a full list, please see our Instagram account for W...

91: Blockbusters: The Lads Read Agatha Christie

03 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

She's sold over 2 BILLION COPIES and is the most-translated author in history. Alice has never read any Agatha Christie, so the WPAYO gals read And Th...

90: Dark Tales with Jen Campbell

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jen Campbell is a Proper Expert on fairytales, especially as they relate to disability and disfigurement, so Alice and Bethany were extremely keen to ...

89: Bethany Talks Romance with Lindsey Kelk

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What are the essential ingredients of a romantic interest? Are people gagging for escapism right now? Why do you love Twilight so much? These are all ...

88: Alison Rumfitt Tells You You're Worthless

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany celebrate the release of Tell Me I'm Worthless with an interview with the book's esteemed author Alison Rumfitt. A truly audacious a...

87: Blockbusters: The Lads Read Twilight

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany continue their slow and intermittent series on blockbuster books with an episode about Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Has it stood the...

86: Calla Henkel Wrote A Book You Will Love

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bethany interviews the extremely interesting Calla Henkel about her phenomenal novel Other People's Clothes, which - if you listen to this podcast and...

85: The Lads Get Scared

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany kick off Spooky Season with this rundown of 10 scary novels, from thrillers to horror to noir, that they rate in three very importan...

84: The Lads Get Beastly

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take a look at two recent reissues of novels about women getting *very* intimate with nature, Bear by Marian Engel and Mrs Caliban b...

83: The Lads Do A BookTube Reading Tag

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany do a rest-of-the-year reading tag as seen on Ariel Bissett's YouTube channel and talk about their plans, ruminate on ghostwritten bo...

82: The Lads Do The Sally Rooney Campaign

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany navigate Rooney Fever by discussing the masterful marketing campaign by Faber for Beautiful World, Where Are You? which is released ...

81: The Lads Play A Game

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany read each other the first line of five books from their TBR pile and try to guess what they're from.

80: The Lads Celebrate Women In Translation Month

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take you through a non-comprehensive list of some translated fiction they've enjoyed for Women In Translation month.

79: The Lads Get Short and Sweet

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take you through some quick reads: novellas to consume on a train journey, on the beach or chilling in a pub garden this summer.

78: The Lads Talk to Nina Mingya Powles

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany are so lucky to be able to speak to Nina Mingya Powles, author of previous WPAYO fave Tiny Moons, about her new book, Small Bodies o...

77: The Lads Love The Service

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss The Service by Frankie Miren, a genuinely brilliant book that you should buy and read right now.

76: The Lads Do The Latest Cat Person Discourse

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss the article Cat Person And Me by Alexis Nowicki and try to grapple with the question of whether it's okay to lift other pe...

75: The Lads Go Blockbuster

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take a look at the best-selling books of all time, and attempt to crack the key to the DaVinci Code('s success).

74: The Lads Do A Mid-Year Roundup

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany go through their books of 2021 so far. A full list will be posted on the What Page Are You On account on Instagram!

73: The Lads Do A Writing Q&A

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany answer YOUR questions about writing, from the first draft all the way through to what we would avoid in a publisher.

72: The Lads Survive the Apocalypse

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany survey the terrain of post-apocalyptic novels, from The Road to Severance.

71: The Lads Get Witchy

02 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss the brilliant Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore before musing over the Women's Prize shortlist. Spoiler: they're not happy...

70: The Lads Explore Author Etiquette

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany try to navigate the wild behaviour of a fellow author online this week, who prompted a backlash by complaining about 4* reviews.

69: The Lads Go Shopping

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany celebrate the reopening of bookshops in England with an episode singing the praises of bookshops they've known and loved, and recomm...

68: The Lads Get Extremely Online

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany think about the role of the internet in their reading habits, from posting your monthly reads to whether they get negative online.

67: The Lads Do the Night Shift

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany talk about Night Shift by Kiare Ladner, a book that appears to be treading familiar ground and then sneaks up on you.

66: The Lads Contemplate The Classics

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany chat about their experience of reading, or in many cases not reading, the 'classics', from Carmilla to the Divine Comedy to Jane Eyr...

65: The Lads Go To The Movies

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany attempt to pair some of their favourite books of recent years with films that they feel captures the vibe or theme, from The Vanishi...

64: The Lads explore the Women's Prize

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take a look at the longlist of the Women's Prize and lament some notable omissions.

63: The Lads Talk Detransition, Baby

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have a spoiler-free discussion of one of the year's buzziest books so far - Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

62: The Lads Get Violent

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After Alice revisits American Psycho, she discusses the experience of reading violence in books with Bethany.

61: The Lads Ruminate On Book Boxes

12 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Following a viral tweet this week that drew some criticism, Alice and Bethany contemplate the role of book boxes and libraries.

60: The Lads Talk Writing

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany talk about writing, from drafting to editing and getting an agent, and discover they are very different beasts.

59: The Lads Answer Your Questions

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany opened their inbox to questions from listeners for 24 hours and the results are here, in their last episode of 2020.

58: The Lads Do Their Top 10 of 2020

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany compile their top 10 of the year, after what they perceive to be a slightly disappointing 2020 for books.

57: The Lads Anticipate 2021

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany get the hype machine going with their 2021 preview.

56: The Lads Read The Truants

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany tell you about their Christmas fundraiser, and discuss The Truants by Kate Weinberg, which seemed like it would be right up their st...

55: The Lads Sort Your Christmas Presents

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany give you a hand with your Christmas shopping and reading plans by taking you through the WPAYO gift guide.

54: The lads go deep on Waterstones Book of the Year

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice talks us through the shortlist of Waterstones' Book of the Year and puts her tin foil hat on to develop some conspiracy theories. Bethany airs h...

53: The Comeback

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany rise like a phoenix from the ashes of lockdown and regroup for their first episode in.... many months. 

52: Memoir in the Dream House

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss non-fiction works by two queer writers that each take different formal approaches to the idea of 'memoir'. And keep listenin...

51: Stories from Northern Ireland

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss two short story collections by female authors from Northern Ireland - Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell and Sweet Home by Wendy Er...

50: 20:20 Vision

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Joined once again by Jordan Taylor-Jones, Alice and Bethany go through their anticipated books of the year - some of which they've already read...

49: Give the People What They Want

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We robbed you of a 2019 faves episode by doing a 'best of the decade' instead, but we can't bear the thought of leaving you wanting, so here's a round...

48: The Best Of The Decade

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany forego a best of the year episode and instead compile a best of the decade list while you listen! 1. Just Kids - Patti Smith (2010)...

47: Meddlesome ladies

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany head to North London and into the world of prying middle-aged women with Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller and Bitter by Francesca Ja...

46: Sleepy Bitches

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss a pair of books about women who, to one extent or another, hibernate. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh and...

45: Deep Cut

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany come back from their extended hiatus with an episode about a phenomenal book from 1995 that was just reissued: In The Cut by Susanna...

44: Mid-year faves

21 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Before Alice and Bethany take a summer break, they go through their respective top 10s of books they've read this year. Not just books released in 201...

43: LIVE EPISODE - Water Shall Refuse Them

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of talking to Lucie McKnight Hardy about her brilliant debut, Water Shall Refuse Them, published by Dead Ink...

42: Bon Appetit

07 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany indulge in new fiction release Supper Club by Lara Williams and pair with last year's non-fiction banger Eat Up by Ruby Tandoh.

41: The American Dream?

23 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany talk about two recent-ish books that are set in the Bay Area and deal with the American experience in a different way to their usual...

40: Seeing Red

09 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany discuss two recently-released books with similar titles that both deal with sexual assault, but find their content and execution to ...

39: Louise O'Neill interview

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We have the great pleasure of talking to Louise O'Neill, author of Only Ever Yours, Asking For It, Almost Love and The Surface Breaks, which is a femi...

38: A Short Darkness

27 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Alice and Bethany discuss two short story collections with a taste for the darker side: Salt Slow by Julia Armfield which is out this...

37: Vile Victorians

28 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany are joined by author Elizabeth Macneal to discuss her novel, The Doll Factory, as well as Michel Faber's Victorian masterpieces, The...

36: Citruses Are Not the Only Fruit

14 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany realised there was a trend in 2018-2019 for books with citrus fruits in the title, so decided to read them for this episode. The boo...

35: Michelle Paver interview

07 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

WPAYO had the great pleasure and honour of interviewing Michelle Paver, author of [among others] Dark Matter and Thin Air, two of our favourite novels...

34: Beth McColl interview

04 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In a special bonus episode, Alice and Bethany talk to Beth McColl aka internet fave TeddyBless about her new book, How To Come Alive Again, which is o...

33: Almost Famous

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany take a look at two fictionalised accounts of the music industry via newly-released faux oral history Daisy Jones & the Six by Ta...

32: The Big Poetry Episode

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany tackle something that Alice knows something about and Bethany knows nothing about: poetry. They talk about a series of modern poems ...

31: Nordic queer

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice and Bethany lean into the winter by reading two contemporary Nordic novels with a queer angle, Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval, and Crimson by Niviaq...