We get it – its hard wading through every chart and recommendation on social media for the podcast you should be listening to on your morning commute.
From true crime to fiction to celebrity interviews to comedy, theres almost too much choice – but before you get caught up in your scrolling-through-Netflix-for-hours-without-watching-anything habit, we have your back.
Every Sunday, Metro.co.uk will be handpicking the podcast of the week for you to feast your ears on while avoiding eye contact with everyone on the bus or the tube.
This week, we have two women who are in the recommendation business themselves, and after listening, youll find yourself simultaneously wanting to hang out with them and leaving your local book shop with a receipt as long as your arm.
Bethany Rutter and Alice Slater are the women behind What Page Are You On? – a book podcast that hears them chat about their favourite novels within a theme, and why you should give them a go.
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Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Bethany explained: What Page Are You On actually came out of my old podcast. The first podcast I ever did was called Hello Friend, and it was me talking to a different interesting person that I know once a week for ten weeks. One of the episodes was me talking to my friend Alice, who at the time worked as a bookseller at Waterstones. I loved talking to her about books, so I decided to do an episode about books, which people really loved.
A few months after the podcast wrapped up, I was talking to Alice and I said “I dont know how youd feel about this, but I would really like to do a book podcast with you”, and she was thinking the same thing. Everytime wed hang out, wed end up talking about books anyway, so it felt like a good way to exploit something we were naturally interested in.
And thats what makes What Page Are You On? such a delight – how it makes you feel like youre part of Bethany and Alices cool little book club. Each week, they take on a theme, whether thats Fat Books, Contemporary True Crime, Girls Gone Wild, or the wonderfully specific Japanese Retail, and dissect a number of books within that genre. Perhaps unique for a literary podcast, Bethany and Alice dont rip their choices to shreds, either.
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Bethany said: We try and make it books that we like, although sometimes, one of us likes a book more than the other. We just think of a theme we think is interesting, and we choose two that fit that theme – it used to be more, but we found the reading was just too much – and then we talk about those.
We try and make it books we like because its just more interesting, theres more to say about books that you like. And as an author, would I want that [criticism] to be done to my work? Probably not.
As well as their weekly dives into themes, Bethany and Alice have interviewed a number of authors on the show – from Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght (the women behind the hysterical Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling!) and Revolting Prostitutes authors Molly Smith and Juno Mac.
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So who would be the dream guest?
Bethany said: Its a basic answer and everyone would love to chat to her, but Sally Rooney. Who wouldnt?
One of the nicest things about What Page Are You On? is that it is in no way patronising, as some literary podcasts can be. Bethany and Alice have a wide range of tastes, but they never talk down to the listener – this is simply about the love of reading.
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Weve been really surprised how much people like it. It doesnt cost anything to do, so we dont need a huge listenership to make it worth our while. Its something we do for fun, but knowing there are people who listen, who then go out and buy the books, is so cool.
Were both very active on social media, so you can see that part of our lives – what kind of films we watch, the books we read, so you can understand our recommendations as part of our wider taste and whether that will appeal to you.
What Page Are You On? is available to download on Audioboom and Apple podcasts.
Reach Bethany, Alice and What Page Are You On? on Twitter.
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