If you've ever argued with a friend about whether a book prize actually reflects what real people read — or felt personally attacked when someone sacrifices your favourite Emily Henry — this episode is for you.

We discuss: whether the Booker Prize is for readers or for people who want to be seen reading; the International Booker vs the Women's Prize and which one actually has the best track record; the Hay Festival's 2026 pleasure reading list and why it's everything the Guardian's "best novels" list isn't; and what it means when a book wins an award but nobody enjoys reading it.

Plus: The Offering. Sophie sacrifices Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky) — bleak, monotonous, and full of Russians called the same name. Sallie attempts to sacrifice Happy Place (Emily Henry) and Sarah absolutely will not have it. Sarah venerates Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer — the book that'll give you a framework for JK Rowling, Michael Jackson, and every other artist you love and shouldn't.

Then we reach the end of A Little Life. Sections 6 and 7: Dear Comrade and Lispenard Street. Full spoilers for these sections only.

Content warnings for the readalong segment: suicide, self-harm, death, sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, eating disorders.

Books discussed: Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) · Happy Place (Emily Henry) · Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma (Claire Dederer) · Orbital (Samantha Harvey) · Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders) · Hamnet (Maggie O'Farrell) · Piranesi (Susanna Clarke) · Demon Copperhead (Barbara Kingsolver) · A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)

Find us on Instagram and TikTok @mywifelikesbooks · Join our Fable book club · Buy us a coffee · Buy a book mentioned in the episode

This week, Sarah brings The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and explains why reading it alone in a hotel room was a terrible decision. Sallie attempts to canonise A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas as a "modern classic", prompting one of our most heated debates yet, while Soph argues for the heartbreak and brilliance of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

We also talk DNF culture, book guilt, refusing to abandon books and continue our A Little Life readalong with Section IV, The Axiom of Equality.

Please note, the latter half of this episode contains discussion of heavy themes from A Little Life, including trauma, abuse, self-harm, suicide, addiction and mental illness.

Books discussed on this episode:

• The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
• The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
• A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas
• Circe - Madeline Miller
• Mythos - Stephen Fry
• The Secret Barrister
• The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
• The Gallows Pole — Benjamin Myers
• After a Dance - Bridget O'Connor
• The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton
• The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
• Milkman - Anna Burns
• Marked - Kristin Cast and P. C. Cast
• Remarkably Bright Creatues - Shelby Van Pelt
• London Falling - Patrick Radden Keefe

• A Little Life — Hanya Yanagihara

Want to read any of the books we discuss on the show? Find them on our bookshop.org store.

Find us on Instagram @mywifelikesbooks · Read along with us on Fable · Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/mwlb

This week we're bringing three venerations to the table — Sallie makes the case for Naomi Alderman's The Power, Sarah champions The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, and Sophie goes wildcard with the Mr. Men and Little Miss series. We also get into the people who shaped our reading lives: librarians, grandmothers, boyfriends who worked in Waterstones. Then we dig into Section 3 of our A Little Life readalong — Vanities — covering Willem's existential crisis, Jude thriving at work, and JB's meth addiction tearing the group apart. Content warning: this section contains discussion of substance abuse and self-harm. Next up: Section 4, The Axiom of Equality. Read it before our next episode.

Find every book we've discussed at uk.bookshop.org/shop/MWLB. Follow us on Instagram at @mywifelikesbooks and support the show at buymeacoffee.com/MWLB.