Branching Out

I know, I know. I said I’d only be sending one of these out quarterly, and I sent one last month. But bear with me, here. I have An Announcement™, and it will be short.

Earlier this year, my old friend Hugo (who I’ve known since I was about eight) got in touch with me and said, “hey mate, do you want to do a podcast about books.”

To which I said, “yeah, sure, but there are so many podcasts about books.”

Well, he assured me we could make ours different, and I like to think that we’re going to.

So what is it about?

The Binge Reading Book Club (he came up with the name, not me) is an online book club with a bit of a twist. Rather than just recommending books you should read, we talk about writing craft and storytelling, while you, the listener, read along with us.

Hugo made a New Year’s Resolution in 2025 to read more books, and more diverse and interesting books that he might not usually read. He also, not being a writer, wanted to learn more about the craft of writing and storytelling. He figured that with me being an author and a creative writing lecturer, I might be able to help.

Each month, I pick a book that I think can teach something really fundamental or interesting about the craft of storytelling, whether that’s character, plot, pace, structure, thematic architecture, or a myriad of other things. It’ll also just be a really good book. The idea is then that you, the listener, have a month to read it and join us at the end of each month for a discussion where I ‘teach’ Hugo some of the craft of this writing, and really we just have a fun chat about it. It should be interesting, light, and hopefully entertaining! I’ll be picking books from a wide range of genres: crime, contemporary realism, fantasy, sci-fi, historical, YA, etc. The idea is also that I’m picking more contemporary books, and not ones the majority will have ever really looked at in that way (no Shakespeare or Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men here)

Ultimately, because we’re studying some great craft books and learning along the way, we will endeavour, paragraph by paragraph, to write the best book ever written live on the show as we go. No pressure.

And that’s the concept! The first episode is very much an introductory one, as you need time to read the first book (the wonderful We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker) and the first proper episode will be out end of February.

Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. Find more info on our website or follow us on Bluesky!