It's our favourite episode of the year – our favourite books, films, TV and audio of the year. Thank you for joining us in 2022 and supporting our wonderful authors.
We've started a Substack for Better Words to give you extra mini recommendations each month outside of our podcast episodes. Come join us!
You can also find us Storygraph: Michelle and Caitlin.
Season 10 (can you BELIEVE?!) will be in your ears in a few months.
We're keeping recommendations brief. If we've featured or discussed the book before, we'll link to the episode.
We'll mark any PR/review copies with *
Adult fiction
Caitlin:
- Babel by R.F. Kuang*
- All My Mothers by Joanna Glen* (original rec)
- The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland*
Michelle:
- Girl Friends by Holly Bourne
- Cat Lady by Dawn O'Porter
- Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn* (interview)
Young Adult
Caitlin:
- Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending by Jodi McAlister* (interview)
- The Cult of Romance by Sarah Ayoub* (interview)
- August and Jones by Pip Harry* (interview)
Michelle:
- Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood* (interview)
- Blood to Poison by Mary Watson* (interview)
- Sugar by Carly Nugent* (interview)
Non-fiction
Caitlin:
- How to Be Perfect by Mike Schur
- Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
- I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
Michelle:
- Why Did You Stay? by Rebecca Humphries (read my Substack review)
- Redhanded: An Exploration of Criminals, Cannibals, Cults, and What Makes a Killer Tick by Suruthi Bala and Hannah McGuire
- Parsnips, Buttered by Joe Lycett
Favourite cover
Caitlin: Tiny Uncertain Miracles by Michelle Johnston
Michelle: The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex
The hype read
Caitlin: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Michelle: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
The book we recommend to each other
Caitlin: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
Michelle: All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donohue
The new release we want to read
Caitlin: Love & Autism by Kay Kerr
Michelle: The Vintage Shop of Second Chances by Libby Page
(We also both have Spare on reserve at the library)
The book we already own and want to actually read
Caitlin: Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
Michelle: Still Life by Sarah Winman
TV
Caitlin:
- Barry
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
- The Resort
Michelle:
- Chernobyl
- The Dropout
- Holby City
Joint favourite: Heartstopper (listen to our full discussion)
Movies
Caitlin:
- West Side Story
- Being the Riccardos
Michelle:
- Downton Abbey: A New Era
- More, More, More by Joe Lycett
Joint recommendation: Matilda the Musical (Netflix)
Audio
Caitlin:
- Midnights by Taylor Swift
- And That's What You Really Missed
- Maisie Peters
Michelle:
- Redhanded
- There's Nothing But Space, Man by Sam Ryder
- All Killa, No Filla
Books and other things mentioned
- The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
- Just the Gist 2022 reccos and recommendations episode
- Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
- Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis
- A Class Act by Rob Beckett
- Windswept and Interesting by Billy Connolly
- Wahala by Nikki May
- Palm Springs (film)
- Happy Valley season 3 (TV series)
- Slate article on Matilda's Trunchbull evolution
- The Lonely Island
- Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga (film)
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