On this final episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2021, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond discuss birthdays, Halloween and Jewish Stuff before moving on to wax lyrical about this month's books: The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography by Deborah Levy [6:35] and Dissolve by Nikki Gemmell [36:35].

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:16:45 for final remarks.

Next episode - in February 2022! - the two books up on the slab will be:

• When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut

• A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond have a mercifully brief and borderline hysterical conversation on the state of COVID before jumping a discussion of this month's books: The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography by Deborah Levy [3:45] and Dissolve by Nikki Gemmell [29:50].

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 58:15 for final remarks, including a minor rant on the subject of book annotations/defacement.

Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:

• Little Eve by Catriona Ward

• Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Hello dear listeners!

Before the recording of Episode 84, Kirstyn and Ian had a chat about the strange alternative present that has taken up residence during COVID. It didn't quite fit into the episode itself so they though they'd upload it as an extra surprise this month.

Hope you enjoy!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond indulge in some thankfully brief maudlin meanderings around the current state of the pandemic before turning to the books up for discussion: All the Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma [9:10] and Cat Person and other stories by Kristen Roupenian [34:00].

The article “Cat Person” and Me by Alexis Nowicki is recommended for those interested further background reading.