Through the Pages

We are reviewing the good, the bad, the new and the (un)honourable mentions of our Q1 reading experience! We're back on the Whodunnit train, do love ourselves some historical fiction and share one honourable and one unhonourable mention to end these first 3 months of reading in 2024. Titles mentioned: Thank you for listening!

Our most enchanted episode yet - or is it? In this episode, we tackle our first fairy tale and chat about a story we probably all know: Cinderella. But if your first thoughts upon hearing this are Disney, glass slipper and happily ever after, you're in for a surprise. The original story, put into writing by the Brothers Grimm in 1812/15 in their collection of tales is slightly... bloodier and a tad more sinister. We chat about evil stepmothers, dumb princes, the heavy moral of the story and wonder - have we now developed a phobia of pigeons?! As always, we love to hear from you. Follow us @throughthepagespod⁠.

After we both had a great reading year in 2023, we’re excited about all the bookish discoveries we’ll make in 2024. In this episode we chat about our reading intentions for the coming year, the books we’re looking forward to, what we’d like to read more of, and why we started the year with a bunch of short reads (short books for the win!). Books mentioned in the episode 📚 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Strong Female Character by Fern Brady* The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher The Diviners by Libba Bray The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro *and correction of the audio, the author is Scottish!

For the 100th anniversary of Kafka's death, we have decided to feature him on our podcast for a second time. This time with the absurd, cruel, and creepy novella about Gregor Samsa's terrifying awakening. We talk about the elephant in the room and what it could mean and chat about why this particular story was particularly disturbing. Let us know what you think! Have you read it? Did you prefer it to The Trial?

We all know the story, a lot of us grew up with it: Alice and her fun little trip to Wonderland. But, if like us, you’ve never actually read the story, this one’s for you! Tag along as we go down the rabbit hole and try to wrap our head around Lewis Caroll’s novel that was first published in 1865. We chat about Alice’s unsettling trip and the characters she meets on the way, tackle the novel’s problematic background and the age old question: "Can we separate artists and their work?", and try to find some sense in the nonsensical. That’s right - it gets trippy. As always, we love to hear from you. Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok & check out our Patreon to discover our additional bookish content!

One of the most well known Bildungsromane, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë follows the life of the title character from one unfortunate event to the next. In this episode we talk about how this 1847 classic still translates well into our current time and inner monologues and how Rochester might make the top 5 worst men in literary history!

Perhaps the most anticipated episode of our podcast - at least definitely for one of our hosts. We discuss her favourite classic, Dracula by Bram Stoker. The 1897 novel introduced the famous father of all vampires and has since doubtlessly influenced every narrative of "The Undead" that we can think of. Join us as we take a trip to Transylvania and chat about vampirism, the novel's memorable set of characters and structure, and how the story is surprisingly - silly? Let us know what you think about the book and join the conversation! Follow us ⁠@throughthepagespod⁠ on Instagram and TikTok and get in touch. Check out our Patreon and discover additional bookish content! This month you'll find a Beyond the Book episode in which we discuss vampires in book to screen adaptations: https://www.patreon.com/ThroughthePages⁠

The wait is over! Mike Flanagan's new gothic horror miniseries "The Fall of the House of Usher" if finally out on Netflix - and if you can't already tell: we're excited. The series is loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name (first published in 1839), so of course we had to go back to the original material and explore this classic short story! If a creepy house, a strange set of twins and an unreliable narrator are right up your street, this episode is for you. Join the conversation! Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok and get in touch.

Though Truman Capote describes socialite Holly Golightly as being “top banana in the shock department” in his 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s - we beg to differ. In this episode we discuss Breakfast at Tiffany’s, try to make sense of its main character (and creepy narrator), chat about what did not sit right with us when reading, how the novella inspired the iconic Audrey Hepburn film - and of course try to get to the bottom of the question of all questions: why is this book considered to be a classic? What are your opinions on Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Let us know and follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok to get in touch and to let us know your thoughts

It is considered one of the most outstanding crime novels of the 20th century, so we had to read it! We're discussing The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) and have contrasting opinions on its "enjoyability", realise there is no postman in it and talk about why it must have caused shock waves back in the 30s. What did you think of it? Have you seen the adaptations? Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok to get in touch and to let us know your thoughts!

Our very first Salinger and let's just say it might not have been our favourite classic so far. We discuss the different times of publications, how they would both make for amazing plays and why we did enjoy Franny more than Zooey! (& why thanks to Jack Edwards, we knew it was pronounced "Z-oo-ey" and not "Zoe-y"). Have you read it? What did you think? Let us know! Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok to get in touch and to let us know your thoughts!

We are finally discussing the mother of all dark-academia books! The Secret History by Donna Tartt is undoubtedly a Modern American Classic and we are here to dissect the dynamics between characters, how horrible everyone is and how we wish we were as eloquent as Mother Tartt. What are your thoughts on this Secret History? Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok to get in touch and to let us know your thoughts!

You may know The Haunting of Hill House from the acclaimed TV series - but at the heart of that adaptation is the 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. Considered to be the ghost story of the 20th century, this classic is a story about (yes, you guessed it) a haunted house and four characters determined to get to the bottom of the paranormal happenings. We chat about the novel’s eerie atmosphere, its fascinating character study, how we picture settings and characters while reading, and of course our thoughts on the TV adaptation. Follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok to get in touch and to let us know your thoughts!

We’re starting 2023 with an Australin classic (our first!) - Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. First published in 1967, this novel has an intriguing premise: The year is 1900 and a group of students from an all girls boarding ventures to Hanging Rock for a cosy afternoon picnic. But the outing takes a dark turn when three students and a teacher vanish into thin air… We chat about the novel’s themes, its mystery/scifi elements, character dynamics, and try to get to the bottom of the myserious disappearance. Tune in and follow us @throughthepagespod on Instagram and TikTok for behind the scenes content!

In this pre-Holidays episode, we disucss The Queen of Crime, the creator of the modern Murder Mystery and the woman who mastered the Whodunnit. We each read the other's favourite Christie novel and discussed why we love them, our favourite adaptations and if we're team Poirot or Marple. Tune in, and let us know which cosy crime story is your favourite?

We read the classic of classics and feature our first author repetition. We are talking "Animal Farm"! 🐽 How to sum up a novella that is packed with political messaging, the psychology of humans, and heavy themes? We've given it our best shot and were able to feature some listener questions! Thank you for submitting them. If you want to chat about the books we disucss here, follow us on @throughthepagespod on Instagram.

🎃 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 👻 - It's Halloween, which is why today's special episode is a spine chilling horror novella straight out of Germany. E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Sandman was published in 1816 but is as creepy as ever! The figure of the Sandman has accompanied us throughout history and Hoffmann surely had a big influence on the dark side of this mythical character of European folklore. This short story is packed full of intrigue, love, machines, and insanity! Tune in and read along.

We couldn't start a podcast about classics and never read a Sherlock Holmes story! For this installment, we read the third of Conan Doyle's four novels and arguably the most loved and most famous one: The Hound of the Baskervilles. And don't worry, there were no spoilers about the ending! Originally serialised in "The Strand Magazine" from 1901 to 1902, this tale has got it all. A supernatural whodunnit, featuring the world's favourite detective duo. We talk about our diabolical-hound-expectations, how creepy the characters were and the importance of the Dartmoor setting. Tune in and read along.

We're back with a creepy classic for the Spooky Season! Frankenstein by Mary Shelley came out January 1st 1818 and was written when Mary was only 18 years old! We dissect this horror story, partially set in our home country and find ourselves empathising with an unexpected character! Listen and read along.

We all know it, we might have all had to read it at some point: Pride and Prejudice! The 1813 novel, written by Jane Austen threw both of us into the world of English literature and may or may not have had an influence of what we thought England was like for quite some time. We discuss characters, screen adaptations (!) and Keira Knightley in our first 2022 episode of Through the Pages. Welcome back :)