Secret Life of Books Podcast
banner
slobpodcast.bsky.social
Secret Life of Books Podcast
@slobpodcast.bsky.social
Every book has two stories.
The one it tells, and the one it hides.

Welcome to a classic books podcast with Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole MBE.
Pinned
#SecretLifeOfBooks is turning one! To celebrate, Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole re-read one of their all time favorites, My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

open.spotify.com/episode/6ZSQ... #BookSky
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
It's our first birthday! 🥳🥂🎉

Been here from the start? Or maybe you’ve just found us? Either way, we couldn't do this without you. Thank you to each and every one of you who've joined us on this journey through the classics. It's been a treat!

With love, #SecretLifeOfBooks 🧡
November 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM
#SecretLifeOfBooks is turning one! To celebrate, Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole re-read one of their all time favorites, My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

open.spotify.com/episode/6ZSQ... #BookSky
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:42 PM
This week Sophie and Jonty unpack the beloved and brilliant #MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals by #GeraldDurrell. Tune in as we explore this hilarious chronicle of childhood all taking place on the Greek island of #Corfu.

🎧 Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts! #SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky
November 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM
This week Sophie and Jonty deep dive into a beloved classic from British naturalist Gerald Durrell, ‘#MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals’ – an idyllic, idealised, lightly fictionalised comedy, of a chaotic but enchanted childhood.

🎧 Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts! #SecretLifeOfBooks #classicbooks
November 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM
#Horror is for the othered.

Jonty chats with acclaimed horror writer catrionaward.bsky.social, who has just written a story for a new collection set in the world of Kings sprawling epic #TheStand. To access this conversation, subscribe to the #SecretLifeOfBooks on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. 💛
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM
⭐ New bonus episode out now ⭐

We’re back to continue our journey through #AmericanHorror… and who better to join us than acclaimed horror writer and author of #NowhereBurning, @catrionaward.bsky.social

🎧 Not a subscriber yet? we'd love for you to join the club. 💛
🔗 www.secretlifeofbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:01 PM
📚A book is just a book, until there’s a reader. 📚

This week, Jonty chats with acclaimed #horror writer @catrionaward.bsky.social about their own work & the book many consider #StephenKing’s masterpiece, The Stand.

🎧 Want to hear more? 🔗👆 visit www.secretlifeofbooks.org
#SecretLifeOfBooks
November 6, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Since his debut with #Carrie, #StephenKing has published over 60 novels. He’s one of the most successful writers of all time, and not just for horror – everything from the #ShawshankRedemption and #StandByMe (The Body), to #Misery and #TheShining. But what makes his stories so great?

#BookSky
November 5, 2025 at 9:01 AM
What was #StephenKing’s contribution to #horror in ‘Salem’s Lot?

For Sophie, it was situating horror in #AmericanLife. This week, we continue our journey through #AmericanHorror with one of the most successful horror writers of all time!

🎧 Listen now! #SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky #Halloween
November 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM
🧛 Is #SalemsLot by #StephenKing “good trash”?

You might be wondering what King has to do with a podcast on #ClassicLiterature. Does it earn its place among the #classics? Find out tomorrow in the latest edition of our #AmericanHorror series 🎧 wherever you listen to podcasts! #BruceSpingsteen
November 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
For those of you who've stuck with our series on #sonnets, this is for you. 💛

In the latest edition of this subscribers-only series, we unpack #JohnKeats' ‘Bright Star’

🎧 To access this conversation, subscribe to #SecretLifeOfBooks on Apple Podcasts or Patreon

🔗 www.secretlifeofbooks.org
November 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
#BrightStar is one of #JohnKeats most famous sonnets. It’s also a 2009 film, with #Keats played by #BenWhishaw (aka. #PaddingtonBear).

In the latest instalment of our subscriber series on #sonnets, we unpack ‘Bright Star’. 🎧 Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Patreon: www.secretlifeofbooks.org
November 2, 2025 at 7:40 AM
#JoeHill may have #StephenKing for a dad, but he’s more than made a name for himself in his writing.

👻 It’s #Halloween! What better time to tune into this subscriber-exclusive special on American horror with Joe Hill. Out now.

🔗👆 apple.co/slob

#SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky
October 31, 2025 at 9:16 AM
#Halloween is just around the corner!

To get into the spooky spirit, Sophie sits down with Joe Hill, #1 #NewYorkTimes bestselling author, who also just happens to be #StephenKing’s son.

🎧Want to hear more? Stay tuned for this subscriber-exclusive episode, coming soon! #SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky
October 30, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Would you eat the mousse?

This week, Sophie and Jonty explore spine-chilling #AmericanHorror, with the second edition of a three-part series in the lead-up to #Halloween. This week: #RosemarysBaby by Ira Levin 😈.

🎧 Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts! #SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky
October 29, 2025 at 9:01 AM
#RosemarysBaby verges on the #cliché... but, for Jonty, it somehow gets away with it. Do you agree?

This week, we traverse the spine chilling titillations of #AmericanHorror with a deep dive into bestselling horror novel of the 1960s, Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby!

🎧 Out now! #SecretLifeOfBooks
October 28, 2025 at 12:33 AM
😈 This week, Sophie and Jonty continue to traverse the spine chilling titillations of #AmericanHorror with a deep dive into Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby!

🎧 Tune into this episode tomorrow, wherever you listen to podcasts!

#SecretLifeOfBooks #classicbooks #readingcommunity #Halloween #RosemarysBaby
October 27, 2025 at 9:01 AM
👻 The genius of #ShirleyJackson's #TheHauntingOfHillHouse is that it's never resolved!

This week, Sophie sat down with Ruth Franklin, author of the definitive Jackson biography, “A Rather Haunted Life.”

Access this subscriber-exclusive conversation 🔗👆 apple.co/slob
October 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM
#ShirleyJackson is not only a major figure in #AmericanHorror, she was also a protofeminist writer of women’s lives — according to Ruth Franklin, author of the definitive Jackson biography, “A Rather Haunted Life.” This week on #SecretLifeOfBooks, Sophie and Ruth chat all things Jackson. Out soon!
October 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM
⭐ What makes a literary writer a #classic?

For literary critic and biographer Ruth Franklin, it’s the ability to write a story that reverberates through the generations.

🎧 Want to hear more? Stay tuned for this special episode with Ruth Franklin, coming soon! #SecretLifeOfBooks
October 22, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Shirley Jackson’s #TheHauntingOfHillHouse is utterly horrific. It’s only fitting that the novel's creation myth is equally #spooky.

With #Halloween just around the corner, we’re spending the next three weeks deep diving into American horror.

🎧 Out now, wherever you listen! #SecretLifeOfBooks
October 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
👻 Do you believe in ghosts? Let us know in the comments!

With #Halloween around the corner, we’re spending the next three weeks exploring classic American horror. Up first, one of the most influential #HorrorNovels of all time, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House!

🎧 Out tomorrow!
October 20, 2025 at 8:26 AM
William Wordsworth was a radical!

We’re back with another subscriber-exclusive episode on the #sonnet, this time delving into Wordsworth’s "Composed upon Westminster Bridge".

🎧 Not a subscriber? we'd love for you to join the club 💛 Check out the 🔗 in bio for more info.

#SecretLifeOfBooks
October 19, 2025 at 7:15 AM
💃 “When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep”

Michel de Montaigne tells us to sit in the moment, to take each pleasure as it comes. This week, we sat with historians Rowan Tomlinson and Stephen Greenblatt to talk all about #Montaigne.

🎧 Episode out now!

#SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky
October 15, 2025 at 8:02 AM
📚 French philosopher Michel de Montaigne had an extraordinary upbringing.

This week, we sat down with Rowan Tomlinson to talk all about Montaigne — a man cited as an important influence for many classic authors, from #Shakespeare to #VirginiaWoolf

🎧 Out now. #SecretLifeOfBooks #BookSky #Montaigne
October 13, 2025 at 7:15 PM