December brings our Season 5 finale, and what a way to wrap the year! In this final episode of Books, Baby!, Ian, Bev, and Alo look back at a year of reading, reflecting on the stories that stayed with us long after the last page.

We chat about our favourite reads of the year, the books that surprised us when we least expected it, the ones that didn’t quite live up to the hype, and our standout favourite books in translation. Along the way, we weave it all together with a look at our Spotify Wrapped stats for the podcast — the numbers, the milestones, and what they say about the year that was for Books, Baby!

It’s reflective, opinionated, and full of love for books and listeners alike — the perfect send-off for Season 5 and a celebration of another year spent reading together.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• The Rest of Our Lives - Ben Markovits
• The Slip - Miriam Webster
• A Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry
• Indeterminate Inflorescence - Yi Seongbok
• Days of Reading - Marcel Proust
• The Emperor of Gladness - Ocean Vounge
• Gravity Let Me Go - Trent Dalton
• Lessons in Chemestry - Bonnie Garmus
• The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
• Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist - Various Authors
• Separate Rooms - Pier Vittorio Tondelli
• Flesh - David Szalay
• Kairos - Jenny Erpenbeck
• Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Iserwood
• On the Calculation of Volume I, II, III - Solvej Balle
• Heart Lamp - Banu Mustaq
• Hunchback - Sao Ichikawa
• Medea Sang Me a Corrido - Dahlia de la Cerda
• Reservoir Bitches - Dahlia de la Cerda
• Between a Wolf and a Dog - Georgia Blain
• Before Night Falls - Reinaldo Arenas
• Hunger - Cho Jin-Young
• The Makioka Sisters - Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
• The Hours - Michael Cunningham
• Minor Black Figures - Brandon Taylor

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

It’s Books, Baby! Booker Prize episode and Bev, Ian and Alo dive into the 2025 winning novel Flesh by David Szalay. We explore its sharp examination of masculinity, emotional restraint, and the quiet turning points that shape István’s life from adolescence to middle age. This episode also features Sim, joining us for a second guest appearance this season.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Audition - Katie Kitamura
• Seascraper - Benjamin Wood
• Flashlight - Susan Choi
• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran Desai
• The Rest of Our Lives - Ben Markovits
• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka
• Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
• The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
• My Friends - Hisham Matar
• A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
• Open Water - Caleb Azumah Nelson
• Boy Friends - Michael Pedersen
• 
  Seán Hewitt
• 
  Solvej Balle
• 
  Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, and Sarah Krasnostein
• 
  Sarah Waters
• 
  Suzumi Suzuki
• 
  Brandon Taylor
  

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest Host:

Sim – ⁠⁠⁠@sims_solace

This month, Ian, Bev, and Alo dive into The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, joined by special guest Nell.

The Bee Sting is a sweeping, tragicomic family saga that captured readers (and Booker Prize judges) alike. We unpack its unforgettable characters, explore Murray’s distinct writing style through each point of view, and debate that twist ending that left us reeling.

But before we get stung by all that drama, we kick things off with a lively chat about ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century — the surprises, the snubs, and the titles that made us cheer (or roll our eyes).

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Burial Rites - Hanna Kent
• Lola in the mirror - Trent Dalton
• Boy Swallows Universe - Trent Dalton
• Stag Dance - Torrey Peters
• Detransition, Baby! - Torrey Peters
• The burrow - Melanie Chang
• Too Much Lip - Melissa Lucashenko
• Dark Emu -Bruce Pascoe
• Carpentaria - Alexis Wright
• Life of Pi - Yann Martel
• The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
• Prophet Song - Paul Lynch
• The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton
• The Cannibal's Daughter - Rosa Montero
• Bad Girls - Camila Sosa Villada
• Thesis on a domestication - Camila Sosa Villada
• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran Desai
• The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
• A room above a shop - Anthony Shapland

• 
  

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest Host:

Nell - @nellreadsbooks

September’s episode of Books, Baby! takes us into the world of Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance, a bold collection of stories about that doesn’t shy away from messiness, desire, and transformation. Across its pages, Peters gives us characters who are stumbling, reaching, and reinventing themselves in ways that feel both raw and achingly human.

Join Alo, Bev and Ian as we dive into these stories—unpacking their humor, heartache, and the sharp truths about love, gender, and selfhood that Peters threads throughout her work.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley
• Seascraper - Benjamin Wood
• Audition - Katie Kitamura
• Not a River - Selva Almada
• Fathoms: the world in the whale - Rebecca Giggs
• Detransition, Baby! - Torrey Peters
• Separate Roos - Pier Vittorio Tondelli
• Honeybee - Craig Silvey
• 
  

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Books, Baby!, Ian, Bev, and Alo dive into Saou Ichikawa’s haunting novel Hunchback. With its fragmented storytelling and stark lyricism, the book offers an unflinching look at the intersections of embodiment, shame, desire, and intimacy. The hosts unpack how Ichikawa captures the vulnerability of inhabiting a body that exists outside of societal ideals, while also carving out space for tenderness and connection.

Their discussion highlights the way Hunchback brings disabled experiences and desires into focus, expanding what is often represented in contemporary literature in translation.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• ​When the cranes fly south - Lisa Ridzén
• ​They came to slay: The Queer culture of D&D - Thom James Carter
• ​The las one - Fatima Daas
• ​The white book - Han Kang
• ​Pink Slime - Fernanda Trías
• ​Audition - Katie Kitamura
• ​The land in winter - Andrew Miller
• ​Flashlight - Susan Choi
• ​Universality - Natasha Brown
• ​Intimacies - Katie Katamura
• ​Tokyo Ueno Station - Miri Yu
• Butter - Asako Yuziki
• Not such thing as an easy job - Kikuko Tsumara
• Just by looking at him - Ryan O'Connell
• 
  

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this special in-person recording, hosts Alo, Bev, and Ian come together at the stunning Narrm Ngarrgu Library in Melbourne to discuss Separate Rooms by Pier Vittorio Tondelli. Originally published in 1989, this poignant queer novel has been reprinted after more than 30 years and is soon to be adapted into a film by Luca Guadagnino.

The episode delves into the book's meditation on grief, memory, and the enduring traces of love. As the protagonist navigates the emotional aftermath of losing his partner, the hosts reflect on the novel’s emotional depth, its timeless relevance, and its significance within queer literary history.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• ​The Makioka Sister - Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
• ​Stag Dance - Torrey Peters
• ​The Hours - Micahel Cunningham
• ​Medea me cantó un corrido - Dahlia de la Cerda
• ​Reservoir Bitches - Dahlia de la Cerda
• ​The Safe Keep - Yael van der Wouden
• ​Toward Eternity - Anton Hur
• ​Call me by your name - André Aciman
• ​Marlo - Jay Carmichael
• ​The Emperor of Gladness - Ocean Voung
• ​Consumed - Aja Barber

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠

Special thanks: To Simone – ⁠⁠⁠@sims_solace- for hanging with us and taking pictures of the behind the scenes of this episode

In the fourth episode of Season 5 of Books, Baby!, Ian, Bev & Alo are joined by returning guest host Simone (⁠⁠@sims_solace) discuss Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, the winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize. This marks the first time a short story collection has taken home the award, and we dive into what makes it so powerful. We explore Mushtaq’s unforgettable characters and how her spoken-style prose builds such disconcerting emotional heights.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• ​
• ​Reservoir Bitches - Dahlia de la Cerda
• ​
• ​Under the Eye of the Big Bird - Hiromi Kawakami
• ​
• ​Perfection - Vicenzo Latronico
• ​
• ​Hunchback - Saou Ichikawa
• ​On the Calculation of Volume 1 - Solvej Balle
• ​We do not part - Han Kang
• ​A Tail for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
• ​All the Violent Tiaras: Queering the Greek Myths - Jean Manzies
• ​The Hours - Michael Cunningham
• ​Before Night Falls - Reinaldo Arenas

Connect with us via email (⁠booksbabypod@gmail.com⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠

Guest Host:Simone – ⁠⁠⁠@sims_solace

The Books, Baby! is back after a short break. This month Ian, Bev and Alo are getting lost in the simmering tension of Yael van der Wouden’s debut, The Safekeep.

Set in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961, this twisted tale of desire and obsession follows two women bound by secrets, suspicion, and the haunting legacy of WWII.

Join us as we unravel the novel’s slow-burn intimacy, queer undercurrents, and one very unforgettable bathtub scene.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discuses spoilers from the book.

Connect with us via email (booksbabypod@gmail.com) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts: Ian - ⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠

Bev - ⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠

Alo - ⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe