Welcome to the Bound By Books Book Apothecary - our fortnightly mini podcast where we invite you into our literary dispensary, a place of clinking bottles, mysterious tinctures and soothing salves, all in search of the perfect book prescription for life’s modern-day ailments.

In this episode, we’re dispensing literary remedies for:

• The Sunday Scaries

• Post-Holiday Blues

• Incessant Doom Scrolling

• Email Rage

• Midweek Malaise

• Being Left on ‘Read’

Our prescriptions take us from the sun-drenched stillness of summer days spent with a grandmother and granddaughter on an island in the Finnish Gulf, to the unlikely companionship of a tea monk and a robot.

We’ll prescribe a transportive murder mystery as an antidote to doom scrolling, turn to the lost art of analogue letter writing to soothe the particular frustrations of email rage and discover how a theatre built from whalebone might be just the thing to lift a midweek slump.

Finally, we’ll explore a very particular kind of heartache - being left on ‘read’ - from the male perspective.

So, step into the apothecary, take your seat, and let us prescribe this week’s literary remedies.

Hannah has been busy with the new term and her daughter starting secondary school. She’s also looking ahead to the Abergavenny Food Festival, where she’ll be chairing and interviewing at three events.

Nikki has been to see the Midnight Matinee of As You Like It at the Globe Theatre. Cue an in-depth discussion about jigs! She’s also been to the Duxford Airshow and experienced the excitement of seeing a Spitfire in flight.

Current Reads

Hannah

The Wedding People – Alison Espach

Blurb: Phoebe Stone arrives at a luxurious Rhode Island hotel dressed for a wedding - but she isn’t part of one. As the bride’s carefully planned celebration begins to unravel, Phoebe unexpectedly becomes entangled in the chaos. Hilarious, heartfelt and deeply human, The Wedding People explores love, friendship, family dysfunction and the surprising ways life can lead us towards happiness.

This was a DNF for Hannah. We discuss the idea of finding the right book at the right time, and vice versa, and how that influences our experience and enjoyment of stories. How do we successfully order and curate our TBR piles?

Our Noble Selves – Kate Atkinson

Blurb: Summer, 1951. As Britain seeks to move beyond the war, Harry Flynn joins the eccentric team preparing for the Festival of Britain, hoping to rebuild his career and find redemption. But when a woman he dates disappears, Flynn becomes the last person to see her alive. With suspicion mounting, an outspoken thirteen-year-old and a scruffy terrier may hold the answers.

We discuss turn of phrase and the language of post-war Britain, and Kate Atkinson’s talent for recreating time and place through dialogue. We also talk about how comedy can work alongside deeper and darker themes, and the power that creates. We look at the relevance of national identity, both currently and back in 1951.

Nikki

Big Magic: How to Live a Creative and Let Go of Your Fear – Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert explores the mysteries of creativity, revealing how anyone can unlock their imagination and pursue what inspires them. Drawing on her own experiences and those of people around her, she encourages readers to embrace curiosity, overcome fear and follow their passions. Whether writing, making art, tackling challenges or pursuing a dream, Big Magic offers inspiration, wonder and unexpected joy.

A revisit for Nikki, who, interestingly, had a completely different response this time around from when she first read it. We discuss the tone of the book and its length, as well as the ideas of authenticity and privilege. We talk about the act of creativity: who it is for, the intention behind it and the process of editing.

My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite

Blurb: When Korede’s sister Ayoola calls in distress, Korede knows exactly what to do: clean up another dead boyfriend. Ayoola insists it was self-defence, and family loyalty keeps Korede silent. But when Ayoola begins dating the doctor Korede secretly loves, everything changes. Faced with protecting her sister or the man she loves, Korede must decide how far loyalty can go.

Nikki considers the believability of the characters and the exploration of relationships, as well as the themes of complicity and jealousy. A fantastic premise… but did the execution meet expectations? How does a writer handle very dark themes such as murder?

Upcoming Buddy Read: You Did Nothing Wrong - CG Drews

In this episode of Bound by Books, we catch up on our latest adventures. Hannah shares her experience of attending the Green Man Festival and losing her festival virginity, while Nikki looks ahead to her upcoming theatre trips, including As You Like It and My Neighbour Totoro, as well as a visit to the Duxford Airshow.

Then it’s time for our buddy read: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Full spoilers ahead!

Natalie seems to have the perfect traditional life: a beautiful farmhouse, a handsome cowboy husband, children and enviable homemade sourdough. But when she wakes up in a disturbing version of her reality, everything familiar feels wrong. As she searches for a way out, the novel explores tradition, fame, faith and the performance of womanhood.

We discuss the book’s fascinating premise and its take on the trad wife movement, including the appeal of the aesthetic, the romanticising of traditional gender roles and the contradictions behind the polished social-media image. We also explore connections to influencers such as Hannah Neeleman’s Ballerina Farm and Nara Smith, as well as wider ideas around consent, submission and female liberation.

Other topics include Natalie as an unlikeable female protagonist, whether readers judge unlikeable women more harshly than men, the lack of female friendship and community in the novel, Caleb’s role and motivations, and the mystery surrounding Shannon.

And, of course, we get into the twist: whether it worked for us, whether it felt earned, and whether the characters’ motivations made the ending believable.

What did you think of Yesteryear? Did the twist work for you? Let us know!