Books On The Go

Anna and Geoff discuss BLACK BAG by Luke Kennard.  This absurdist novel centres on a struggling actor who takes a job that involves wearing a black bag to university as part of an experiment.  It's been described as a funny and poignant  study of masculinity and was shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. 
 
We also give our rankings of the Booker shortlisted books ahead of the winner being announced. Suffice to say that we did not predict the winner!
 
Coming up: PARTITA by Barbara Kingsolver
 
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Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck, prompted by the new Netflix adaptation.
 
EAST OF EDEN is one of Steinbeck's best known works. It centres on the Trask family with the story of Cain and Abel echoing through the novel. Set in the Salinas Valley, California, it also features the Hamilton family, inspired by Steinbeck's own parents, and a number of brothels. Is Cathy real?  How do readers feel about women monsters in fiction, and do we need their backstory? Was this revenge art after Steinbeck's divorce? And did Lee's character inspire Percival Everett in writing James?
 
Coming up: BLACK BAG by Luke Kennard and our Booker Prize predictions.
 
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Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the news that Sally Rooney's books are selling out ahead of the ban in the UK after her publisher Faber announced it would no longer supply her books there.
Our book of the week is THE RENOVATION by Kenan Orhan. This debut novel centres on Dilara, a Turkish exile living in Italy. Her bathroom turns into a Turkish prison cell in this Kafka-esque story.  She is also caring for her father, who was a fiercely intelligent and outspoken professor and now has Alzheimer's. The Renovation has been long listed for the National Book Awards and the Booker Prize.  We are both averse to magical realism so this was an interesting read for us, with mixed results!
Read-alikes:
THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT by Elena Ferrante translated by Ann Goldstein
MY FRIENDS by Hisham Matar
LOJMAN by Ebru Ojan translated by Aron Aji and Selin Gökçesu 
 
Coming up: 
 
EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck
 
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Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff react to the 2026 Booker Prize Shortlist.
 
Our book of the week is THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY by Elizabeth Strout. The latest novel by the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize winning author centres on Artie Dam, a history teacher who has a full life but is upended by feelings of isolation and a secret that is revealed. This has been shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.
 
Is this a political book?
Will there be a spin-off novel about Flossie?
Where do we rank it in the Booker shortlist?
 
Coming up: THE RENOVATION by Kenan Ohran
 
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Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Anna and Geoff discuss the Singapore government paying people to read books, and the 2026 National Book Awards longlist for fiction.
 
Our book of the week is SWITZY by Emma Cline. Switzy is Cline's latest novel after her best-sellers The Girls and The Guest. David, a retired executive suffering from Alzheimers, is travelling to Zurich to end his life.  We follow David's point of view as he visits his daughter and an old school friend, while pretending he is fine. Switzy is a national best-seller, a Most Anticipated Book of Fall and has been longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. 
 
Read-alikes:
WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH by Sigrid Nunez
MAYFLIES by Andrew O'Hagan
Podcast:
Better Off Dead
 
We also give our (wrong) predictions for the Booker Prize shortlist!
 
Coming up: THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY by Elizabeth Strout and THE RENOVATION by Kenan Orhan.
 
Follow us!
Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com
Instagram: @abailliekaras 
Substack: Books On The Go
Credits
Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz