Folks, it's just all bangers this week, with four books we really enjoyed, all brand-new and ready to be given to your mom. We've got a love letter to Earth, a love letter to bad guys, a love letter to Brooklyn, and a love letter to Monica Lewinsky. And we loved the books. That doesn't happen all that often. The big revelation is that Hannah hasn't read Emily St. John Mandel; and, yes, we know that "Cloud Cuckoo Land" was not written by David Mitchell. We just went with it and assumed you understood that we were jumping right to "Cloud Atlas." This fortnight, we read:

1. "Homebound," by Portia Elan
2. "Villain," by Natalie Zina Walschots
3. "Last Night in Brooklyn," by Xochitl Gonzales
4. "Dear Monica Lewinsky," by Julia Langbein

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

We open this week with a book that might not be for Sam, who is not a middle-aged woman, it turns out. Hannah is, but didn't really like it either. However, Hannah did love the trad-wife tale that is "Yesteryear," where 1855 isn't all it's cracked up to be. And Sam liked the new TC Boyle just as much — is there a better writer of people who make bad decisions. But then things finish up with a belly-flop. Oh well. Maybe Hannah should have read "Butter," instead. Also, there is a Sarah J. Maas discussion in this episode for no good reason. This fortnight, we read:

1. "American Fantasy," by Emma Straub
2. "Yesteryear," by Caro Claire Burke
3. "No Way Home," by TC Boyle
4. "Hooked," by Asako Yuzuki

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

If you're going to do a retelling of Cinderella, you gotta include some slippers, right? Apparently not! Liberties have been taken. And that's just the start of an episode that takes you from Shakespeare's England to the International Space Station — with a quick stop at Joan Didion's NYC apartment for a smoke. Man, can she write. We have some thoughts on what makes her so good and why some of that energy is missing nowadays. Somehow, it hangs together better than you might think. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Lady Tremaine," by Rachel Hochhauser
2. "Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell
3. "Blue Nights," by Joan Didion
4. "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out! Also, don't miss our treatise on not leaving reviews and make sure you follow the instructions.