What Page Are You On?

What Page Are You On?

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Prolific readers Alice Slater and Bethany Rutter take a literary theme, from ghost stories to crime to fat women, and chat about it for the next 40 minutes. Follow us on Twitter @WhatPagePod (https://twitter.com/WhatPagePod)

What Page Are You On?


    • Dec 20, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 41m AVG DURATION
    • 127 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The What Page Are You On? podcast is an absolute delight for book lovers. Hosted by Alice and Bethany, this podcast offers a unique blend of gossip, personal writing experiences, and discussions around the books they have read. It is refreshing to see how these elements add depth and richness to the overall conversations about literature.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the chemistry between the hosts. Alice and Bethany are fantastic hosts who bring honesty, humor, and intelligence to their discussions on a wide range of books. Their broad knowledge allows them to cover a diverse breadth of genres, ensuring that there is something for everyone. The recommendations provided by the hosts are always on point, leading listeners to discover new authors and novels they may not have come across otherwise.

    Another highlight of The What Page Are You On? podcast is its frequency of episodes. After a brief hiatus, it came back with more regular episodes much to the delight of its listeners. This dedication from the hosts shows their commitment to providing quality content consistently.

    However, one issue that can be distracting in some recent episodes is a background rustling noise that sounds like microphone interference or movement. While it doesn't hinder the overall enjoyment of the podcast, it would be beneficial if this issue could be addressed or removed in future episodes.

    In conclusion, The What Page Are You On? podcast is a must-listen for any book enthusiast. With knowledgeable hosts who offer insightful and engaging discussions about literature, this podcast will leave you with a longer "to-read" list every time you listen. Despite minor technical issues in some episodes, this podcast remains an excellent source of literary insights and recommendations.



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    Latest episodes from What Page Are You On?

    126: The Lads Give Their 2024 Books of the Year

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2024 43:23


    Alice and Bethany make a cheeky little top 10 of their favourite books of the year! Head to our Instagram for the full list.

    125: The Lads Create Their 2024 Gift Guide

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2024 27:55


    Doing a spot of Christmas book shopping and thirsty for recommendations? Alice and Bethany have you covered. They each choose a fiction, a non-fiction, a food and drink, a reissue and the book they'd most like someone to give them.

    124: The Lads Catch Up On Their Recent Reading Habits

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2024 33:10


    Alice and Bethany catch up on what they've been reading, but it turns out it's been a weird reading year for them both. Much yapping lies ahead.

    123: The Lads Gather Autumn/Winter Recommendations

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2024 33:31


    Alice and Bethany chat through a few of the books they're excited about for the rest of the year, and ask their author and bookseller friends for more recommendations! Because of the way we have to record episodes in advance, at least one of the books is already out, so if any of them sound good to you, it may be possible to read them already rather than wait!

    122: The Lads Talk Forthcoming Film Adaptations

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2024 34:11


    Following the escandalo that has dogged the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us, Alice and Bethany discuss a few forthcoming adaptations of books, plus one that's taking up a lot of Alice's brain space, released on the same day as this episode...

    121: The Lads Chat Big Date Energy AND Slowcoach

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2024 32:21


    Alice and Bethany look inward and discuss the two books Bethany has released this year! First up, Big Date Energy, aka what happens when you try to write a romcom where the main character is more like 'The Friend', and then Slowcoach, where we talk about how weirdly horrible and borderline traumatic PE lessons were.

    120: The Lads Give Their Midyear Reading Roundup

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2024 43:28


    Alice and Bethany talk through what they've been reading so far in 2024, and how not recording the pod has affected their reading habits.

    119: The Lads List Their 10 Books of the 21st Century

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2024 65:54


    Inspired by the New York Times' list of the 100 greatest books of the 21st Century, Alice and Bethany each compile their own top 10s, and find they have only one book in common, but don't agree on what that book is about... Bethany's list:  The Fact of a Body - Alex Marzano-Lesnevich What I Loved - Siri Hustvedt Manhattan Beach - Jennifer Egan Beyond Black - Hilary Mantel Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides Crimson Petal & The White - Michel Faber  Fingersmith - Sarah Waters Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro Life After Life - Kate Atkinson Alice's list: A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori) Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi In the Dream House - Carmen Maria Machado Just Kids - Patti Smith Lanny - Max Porter My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl - Andrea Lawlor Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel What I Loved - Siri Hustvedt

    118: The lads chat to Eliza Clark

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2023 35:11


    Alice and Bethany have the huge pleasure of talking to girlie of the moment, Eliza Clark, largely about her new novel Penance but also about true crime, Tumblr, the wild success of Boy Parts and its upcoming stage adaptation!

    117: The lads chat body horror with Heather Parry

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2023 39:36


    Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of talking to Heather Parry about her short story collection This Is My Body Given For You, which is a gnarly little thing full of troubling images and ideas. She also talks about the great work she does at the Society of Authors, and lots more!

    116: The Lads Chat Unlikeable Female Characters with Anna Bogutskaya

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2023 42:05


    Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of talking to the film journalist and programmer Anna Bogutskaya about her new non-fiction book Unlikeable Female Characters! They take a dive into the world of 'unlikeable' women through film and TV from erotic thrillers to Skyler White via the Hays Code and Amy Dunne from Gone Girl.

    115: Fat Talk with Virginia Sole-Smith

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2023 57:19


    Bethany has the huge pleasure of chatting to Virginia Sole-Smith about her revolutionary new book Fat Talk: Coming of Age in Diet Culture, which investigates the radical possibility of abandoning our cultural fears around 'childhood obesity' to create bodily autonomy in children and beyond.

    114: The Lads Celebrate Death of a Bookseller

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 45:13


    Alice's debut novel, Death of a Bookseller, is out NOW! So obviously Bethany had to ask her all the nosy questions about it!

    113: The lads chat to actual Katherine Heiny

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2023 33:40


    Alice and Bethany have a whale of a time with the funny, smart Katherine Heiny, author of the new collection Games and Rituals, as well as the novels Standard Deviation and Early Morning Riser. Games and Rituals is out now!

    112: Q1 reading report

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2023 41:09


    Alice and Bethany atone for not putting out an episode for the first three months of the year by telling you all about everything they've read in the first quarter of 2023.

    111: Our books of 2022

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2023 67:18


    Alice and Bethany are BACK from their unplanned hiatus! And they've got a long, juicy episode for you about their favourite books of 2022, which obviously they should have recorded weeks ago... but didn't. Enjoy!

    110: The Lads Chat to Sara Gran

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2022 32:11


    If you've been listening to WPAYO for a little while you'll know that a true Book of the Pod is Come Closer by Sara Gran. We are so hyped that she has a NEW book out, called The Book of the Most Precious Substance, and that we got to talk to her about it for this episode! The Book of the Most Precious Substance is out NOW from Faber!

    109: The Lads Chat to Chelsea G Summers

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2022 42:01


    Alice and Bethany have the great pleasure of interviewing Chelsea G Summers, author of the bloody and brilliant A Certain Hunger!

    lads chelsea g summers
    108: The Lads Chat to Erin Kelly

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022 42:43


    Alice and Bethany have the extreme joy of interviewing friend of the pod, thee Erin Kelly, author of Alice's fave, The Poison Tree and Bethany's fave, The Burning Air, as well as huge bestseller He Said She Said! Her new novel, The Skeleton Key, is out on September 1.

    107: The Lads Had To Remove This Post

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2022 32:17


    Alice and Bethany discuss the dark and delicious novella We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets, translated by Emma Rault. We Had To Remove This Post deals with the corrosive nature of repeated exposure to violence on a content moderator for a tech giant, and we loved it.

    106: The Lads Chat to Torrey Peters

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2022 51:48


    It's no secret that WPAYO loved Detransition, Baby - we dedicated a whole episode to it! So we're beyond delighted to speak to Torrey Peters ahead of the British Book Awards, where she's nominated in the Discover category. Detransition, Baby is out now in paperback!

    105: Blockbusters: Red Dragon

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2022 42:42


    Alice and Bethany go deep on Red Dragon by Thomas Harris as part of their Blockbusters series, since they both love Silence of the Lambs.

    104: The Lads Interview Joanne Harris

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 41:31


    This week we had the huge pleasure of talking to literary legend Joanne Harris about her latest book, A Narrow Door, which is absolutely brilliant, thrilling and haunting. We also chatted about the great work done by the Society of Authors, and Joanne's generosity with informal creative writing education via Twitter! A delight.

    103: The Lads Talk Through Their TBR Piles

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2022 30:24


    Alice and Bethany go through the five books they're each planning to read in the near future. If you want to see a list of the books, head to the podcast Instagram or Twitter!

    102: The Lads Predict the British Book Awards

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2022 44:17


    Alice and Bethany take a look at a few categories from the British Book Awards and chat through their thoughts and feelings, as well as trying to predict what will win. Lots of chat, speculation and conjecture!

    101: The Lads Read New Animal

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2022 30:10


    Alice and Bethany take messy gal fic into a darker direction with New Animal by Ella Baxter, which is out now from Picador.

    100: The Lads Interview Coco Mellors

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2022 43:20


    Alice and Bethany absolutely loved Coco Mellors' glittering debut Cleopatra & Frankenstein, a portrait of a marriage in early noughties NYC, and in this episode they get to ask the author all about it! The book is available now from 4th Estate. 

    99: The Lads Discuss Welcome To Your Life!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2022 36:23


    Bethany's adult debut novel is out NOW and she and Alice have a lil chat about the book and its creation!  You can buy it from Waterstones here - https://www.waterstones.com/book/welcome-to-your-life/bethany-rutter/9780008469948

    98: The Lads Interview Catherine Ryan Howard

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2022 52:19


    Bethany attempts to keep calm as she and Alice meet Catherine Ryan Howard, author of several of the best 21st century thrillers, including her latest novel 56 Days. Catherine talks about her frankly fascinating writing process, her relationship with true crime, writing a 'lockdown novel' and loads and loads more. 

    97: The Lads Read Notes On An Execution

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2022 32:47


    Alice and Bethany do a deep dive on the brilliant Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka, exploring the life and death of a murderer on death row and the women whose lives he affected.

    96: The Lads Chat to Lucy Foley

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2022 32:18


    Alice and Bethany get to sit down with the 21st century's answer to Agatha Christie, the excellent Lucy Foley! They chat all things murder mystery as they celebrate the launch of Lucy's latest thriller, The Paris Apartment, which is out now.

    95: The Lads Read Attica Locke

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 31:26


    Over the past two months, Bethany has become obsessed with the crime author Attica Locke, so this episode is a little introduction to her major themes and her most famous novel Bluebird, Bluebird. 

    94: The Lads Do BookTok

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 35:40


    Alice educates Bethany on the wonderful world of BookTok, a place that Alice is spending a lot of time these days. They talk virality, what makes a BookTok hit, and what publishers can do to hop on the TikTok train.

    93: The Lads chat to Daphne Palasi Andreades

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2022 42:33


    If you don't know about Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades, where have you been?! It's one of the most anticipated books of the year, and in the words of Raven Leilani, 'an ode to girlhood'. We've been so lucky to talk to Daphne on today's episode, and we hope you enjoy the chat and the book, which is out now from 4th Estate.

    92: The Lads' Books of 2021

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2021 69:21


    Alice and Bethany wrap up the year in style and let you know their respective top 10s of 2021! For a full list, please see our Instagram account for WPAYO!

    91: Blockbusters: The Lads Read Agatha Christie

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2021 44:12


    She's sold over 2 BILLION COPIES and is the most-translated author in history. Alice has never read any Agatha Christie, so the WPAYO gals read And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express.

    90: Dark Tales with Jen Campbell

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2021 51:20


    Jen Campbell is a Proper Expert on fairytales, especially as they relate to disability and disfigurement, so Alice and Bethany were extremely keen to talk to her about her new book, The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers And Other Gruesome Tales. They travel around the world discussing the fairytale tropes from different countries and continents and ask Jen all their burning fairytale questions like why disability is so prevalent in tales of yore.

    89: Bethany Talks Romance with Lindsey Kelk

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2021 44:04


    What are the essential ingredients of a romantic interest? Are people gagging for escapism right now? Why do you love Twilight so much? These are all questions that baby romance author Bethany asked very well-established romance author Lindsey Kelk to celebrate the publication of her new novel, On A Night Like This!

    88: Alison Rumfitt Tells You You're Worthless

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2021 25:18


    Alice and Bethany celebrate the release of Tell Me I'm Worthless with an interview with the book's esteemed author Alison Rumfitt. A truly audacious addition to the great tradition of haunted house novels!

    87: Blockbusters: The Lads Read Twilight

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2021 46:16


    Alice and Bethany continue their slow and intermittent series on blockbuster books with an episode about Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Has it stood the test of time?

    86: Calla Henkel Wrote A Book You Will Love

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2021 35:22


    Bethany interviews the extremely interesting Calla Henkel about her phenomenal novel Other People's Clothes, which - if you listen to this podcast and enjoy Alice + Bethany's recommendations - you will almost certainly adore.

    85: The Lads Get Scared

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2021 59:39


    Alice and Bethany kick off Spooky Season with this rundown of 10 scary novels, from thrillers to horror to noir, that they rate in three very important categories. 

    84: The Lads Get Beastly

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2021 33:02


    Alice and Bethany take a look at two recent reissues of novels about women getting *very* intimate with nature, Bear by Marian Engel and Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls.

    83: The Lads Do A BookTube Reading Tag

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2021 38:51


    Alice and Bethany do a rest-of-the-year reading tag as seen on Ariel Bissett's YouTube channel and talk about their plans, ruminate on ghostwritten books and start cautiously thinking about 2022 books.

    82: The Lads Do The Sally Rooney Campaign

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2021 36:22


    Alice and Bethany navigate Rooney Fever by discussing the masterful marketing campaign by Faber for Beautiful World, Where Are You? which is released this week.

    81: The Lads Play A Game

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2021 38:06


    Alice and Bethany read each other the first line of five books from their TBR pile and try to guess what they're from.

    80: The Lads Celebrate Women In Translation Month

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2021 41:34


    Alice and Bethany take you through a non-comprehensive list of some translated fiction they've enjoyed for Women In Translation month.

    79: The Lads Get Short and Sweet

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2021 32:42


    Alice and Bethany take you through some quick reads: novellas to consume on a train journey, on the beach or chilling in a pub garden this summer.

    78: The Lads Talk to Nina Mingya Powles

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2021 27:45


    Alice and Bethany are so lucky to be able to speak to Nina Mingya Powles, author of previous WPAYO fave Tiny Moons, about her new book, Small Bodies of Water. It's out now from Canongate and you can buy it at all good bookshops!

    77: The Lads Love The Service

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2021 28:53


    Alice and Bethany discuss The Service by Frankie Miren, a genuinely brilliant book that you should buy and read right now.

    76: The Lads Do The Latest Cat Person Discourse

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2021 40:15


    Alice and Bethany discuss the article Cat Person And Me by Alexis Nowicki and try to grapple with the question of whether it's okay to lift other people's lives to use as material in your writing.

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