In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024 on this week’s episode we talk about active female representation in contemporary fiction and recommend some of our favourite books that absolutely smash the Bechdel Test

Boulder by Eva Baltasar

Jungle House by Julianne Pachico

Matrixby Lauren Groff

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

Also this week, Joseph read On Reading, Writing, and Living with Books by Pushkin Press/The London Library, and Saph read The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

This week’s listener recommendation request comes from Mollie who reads a lot of contemporary fiction set in the present day and would like to read more books set in different time periods. Joseph recommends The Dutch House by Anne Patchett, and Saph recommends Hurdy Gurdy by Christopher Wilson and The Glutton by A K Blakemore. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

See the Novel Thoughts bookshop page for all books mentioned in this episode.

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