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Send us Fan Mail Monsters don’t need claws when they have plausible motives and a world that quietly rewards cruelty. We’re German and Jacqui, and we’re picking four books built around one unnerving idea: the human is the monster. If you love horror books, psychological thrillers, and dark literary fiction that stares straight at violence, shame, obsession, and power, this conversation is for you. We start with Monica Kim’s The Eyes Are The Best Part, a razor-sharp blend of immigrant family drama and revenge horror where blue eyes become a symbol of appetite, rage, and the violence of being fetishized. From there we move into Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, a brutal, beautifully written letter-form novel that traps you inside a mother’s attempt to explain the unexplainable, raising the nature versus nurture question without giving you an easy exit. Then we turn to Luke Dumas’ Nothing Tastes Is Good, where an experimental weight loss drug, diet culture, corporate exploitation, and social media fame collide into real-world horror. We close with Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho, a satirical gothic nightmare that makes classism, entitlement, and “polite” society feel like their own kind of violence, and asks how much evil can hide behind a perfect facade. If you like character-driven horror, literary villains, and stories that make you argue with yourself, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a fellow reader, and leave us a review so more people can find the show. Books Discussed this Episode:  The Eyes Are The Best Part - Monika Kim (2024)We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver (2006)Nothing Tastes as Good - Luke Dumas (2026)Victorian Psycho - Virginia Feito (2025) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail Isolation is a setting, a mood, and sometimes a weapon, and we love how it turns a good story into something you feel in your chest. We’re sharing our isolation-themed reads and getting specific about what makes these books work: claustrophobic spaces, emotional detachment, grief that pulls people inward, and the kind of uncertainty that refuses to give you neat answers. We start with horror that traps you in the dark, way below the surface. German brings The Deep by Nick Cutter, where a descent into the Mariana Trench becomes a pressure cooker of science fiction horror, cosmic dread, and personal trauma, plus a candid talk about trigger warnings and who this one is actually for. Then Jacqui makes the case for a literal and existential masterpiece, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, a dystopian novel that leaves you with questions on purpose and dares you to find meaning without explanations. From there we move into grief horror and storytelling craft with The Fisherman by John Langan, unpacking its story-within-a-story structure, its slow-burn build, and how loss can isolate you as effectively as any remote location. Jacqui closes out with Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, where an invisible boundary separates the characters from the world, and Beyond the Sea by Paul Lynch, a survival story that turns isolation into a psychological unraveling. If you’re searching for the best isolation books, dystopian fiction recommendations, cosmic horror, or character-driven literary horror, you’ll leave with a stack of titles and a clear sense of which one to read next. Follow the show, share this episode with a friend who loves isolation reads, and leave us a review, then tell us your favorite isolation story on Instagram  @podcast_his bookher book. Books Discussed this Episode:  The Deep - Nick Cutter (2015)I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacquelin Harpman (1995)The Fisherman - John Langan (2016)Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishiguro (2005)Beyond The Sea - Paul Lynch (2019) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail One great book can be an accident. Two great books by the same author feels like proof. We’re German and Jacqui, and we’re comparing authors who earned our trust the hard way by delivering more than one read we genuinely loved, then pulling us deeper into their catalog. We start with our personal reading habits: when a book blows us away, do we sprint to the author’s backlist, or do we hesitate after one bad experience? From there, German makes the case for Chuck Wendig as a go-to horror author, first with The Book of Accidents, a family-centered nightmare where empathy becomes both a gift and a threat. We talk haunted-house dread, coming-of-age pressure, and the cycle of male violence, plus why the emotional core of the Graves family keeps the story grounded even when the plot gets wild. Then we bite into Black River Orchard, a small-town horror novel built around a cursed apple that promises youth, confidence, and sharpness, while quietly turning neighbors into enemies. We unpack Wendig’s themes of masculine frailty, community fracture, and the unsettling question underneath it all: does the apple change people or expose what was always there? On the literary fiction side, Jacqui highlights Irish novelist Chloe Michelle Howarth and two five-star reads: Sunburn, a hazy 1990s rural Ireland coming-of-age story full of longing, secrecy, and identity, and Heap Earth Upon It, a 1965 tale of orphaned siblings, buried trauma, and dangerous attachment told with gorgeous, atmospheric prose. If you love book recommendations, character-driven fiction, horror novels with heart, or Irish coming-of-age stories, hit play and tell us your ride-or-die authors. Subscribe, share the show with a reader friend, and leave a review so more people can find us. Books discussed in this episode:  The Book of Accidents - Chuck Wendig (2021)Sunburn - Chloe Michelle Howarth (2023)Black River Orchard - Chuck Wendig (2023)Heap Earth Upon It - Chloe Michelle Howarth (2025) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail Summer reading should feel like momentum you can’t shake. We’re German and Jacqui, and we’re bringing a stack of beach reads that are bingeable, a little unhinged, and surprisingly thoughtful, even when they’re dark. If your ideal vacation book is short chapters, high stakes, and characters making questionable choices, you’re in the right place.  We start with what “summer reads” actually means to us, then trade recommendations that hit very different moods. Jacqui breaks down Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier, a sharp, twisted satire about wealth, entitlement, and a tenant who refuses to be a pawn. German brings Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon, a nostalgic coming-of-age novel where childhood magic runs straight into real-world evil, plus a reminder that a long book can still be the perfect companion across slow summer afternoons.  From there, we go darker and more intimate: Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin blends anxiety, identity, and dark humor with a mystery thread, while Whalefall by Daniel Kraus turns grief and guilt into an action-packed survival thriller with an unforgettable premise. Jacqui also shares The Push by Ashley Audrain for readers who love domestic thrillers, unreliable reality, and stories that question the myth of perfect motherhood. And yes, we toss in a bonus horror pick, Maeve Fly, because summer is a great time for glamorous darkness too.  Subscribe for more book recommendations, share this with a friend who needs a new beach read, and leave us a review so more readers can find the show. What’s your go-to summer genre? Books Discussed in this episode:  Good Rich People - Eliza Jane Brazier (2022)Boys Life - Robert McCammon (1991)Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead -  Emily Austin (2021)Whalefall - Daniel Kraus (2023)Maeve Fly -  C.J. Leede (2023) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail What makes historical fiction stick isn’t the costumes or the dates. It’s the moment you realize the past isn’t past at all, it’s a mirror. We bring four historical fiction book recommendations that hit that nerve in totally different ways, from eerie hope to full-body dread, and we talk honestly about who each pick is for (and who should check trigger warnings first). German starts with The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin, a Nazi conspiracy thriller that turns into a sharp debate about nature versus nurture and the terrifying idea that “the conditions” are what create the monster. Jacqui follows with The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a post Spanish Civil War Barcelona mystery where a hidden library, burned books, and buried secrets turn reading itself into the heartbeat of the story. Then we head to World War I with Angel Down by Daniel Kraus, a brutal, surreal mission into no man’s land that finds a fallen angel and exposes what war strips out of people and what it can’t. Jacqui closes with The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock, a Southern Gothic gut-punch where violence, hypocrisy, and weaponized faith collide in rural America. We also toss out rapid-fire historical fiction recommendations, share what we’re reading now, and tease our next theme: beach reads and summer reads. If you like an engaging book podcast with memorable picks, subscribe, share this with a reader friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Books Discussed in this episode: The Boys from Brazil - Ira Levin (1976)The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2009)Angel Down - Daniel Kraus (2025)The Devil All the Time (2011) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail A haunted house is scary because it breaks the one rule we all rely on: home should feel safe. Time travel is scary for the opposite reason because it tempts us with the one thing we can’t actually have, a redo. We put those two beloved tropes head-to-head and share the books that, for us, do them best, from slow-burn dread to twisty reverse-timeline suspense.On the haunted house side, we talk Twelve Nights At Rotter House by J.W. Acker, where a travel writer’s skeptical mindset starts to crack as the house tightens its grip and an old friendship frays in the background. Then we jump to Grady Hendrix’s How To Sell A Haunted House, a wild mix of horror, humor, and grief featuring sibling baggage, a chaotic family home, and a possessed puppet that refuses to be ignored. If you like your horror with heart and a little camp, we get into why this one works and what to watch out for if you hate dolls.For time travel, we go emotional first with Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow, a warm and deeply relatable story about waking up at sixteen and getting unexpected time with a parent. Then we shift into psychological thriller territory with Gillian McAllister’s Wrong Place, Wrong Time, where a mother witnesses a murder and wakes up moving backward through the days to find the cause before it’s too late. Along the way, we talk causality, family bonds, and why time travel doesn’t need to be “for sci-fi fans” to hit hard.If you love reading recommendations, haunted house novels, time travel books, horror fiction, and smart thrillers with emotional depth, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review. Which trope wins for you: haunted houses or time travel? Books discussed in this episode:  Twelve Nights at Rotterhouse - JW Ocker (2019)This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub (2022)How To Sell a Haunted House - Grady Hendrix (2023)Wrong Place Wrong Time - Gillian McAllister (2022) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail Your reading year tells on you, the genres you chase, the themes you can’t quit, and the books you secretly wish you hadn’t finished. We’re German and Jacqui, and we’re breaking down our 2025 reading highlights with two very different totals (19 books versus 93), plus the unglamorous truth behind ratings, rereads, and regret. We start by defining our star rating system in a way you can actually use, from rare five-star “masterpieces” to the occasional zero-star disaster. Then we dig into our top picks and why they hit so hard: Nick Cutter’s The Troop for brutal survival horror and teen paranoia, Phil Fracassi’s Boys in the Valley for demonic infection in a 1905 orphanage, and Nathan Hill’s Wellness for a sprawling, satirical look at modern marriage, misinformation, self-optimization, and the emotional inheritance we drag into adulthood. We also make a case for classics that convert skeptics, especially Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, a giant Western that’s really an epic character-driven story about friendship, loyalty, humor, and heartbreak. And for readers who like literary horror with atmosphere and psychological pressure, Sophie White’s Where I End brings isolation, obligation, identity, and womanhood into a tense, unsettling spiral. We wrap with more rapid-fire book recommendations, plus the books that disappointed us even when we wanted to love them. If you’re hunting for the best books of 2025, honest book reviews, horror book recommendations, and character-driven literary fiction that sticks, come read with us. Subscribe, share the show with a reader friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show, then tell us what earned your five stars this year. Books  Discussed in this episode:  The Troop - Nick Cutter (2014)Wellness - Nathan Hill (2023)Boys in the Valley - Phil Fracassi (2023)Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry (1985)Where I End - Sophie White (2022) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to his book her book, the conversational podcast where a horror obsessed husband and his genre hopping wife try to understand each other’s reading choices, clash tastes and stay happily married through it all.  Together we’ll dive into stories from opposite ends of the bookshelf, laughing, debating, recommending and occasionally roasting each other’s picks.  Because in this relationship there’s one guarantee... the only thing scarier than his/my novels is her/my TBR shelf.  Books discussed in this episode:  Dracula - Bram Stoker (1897)Prophet Song - Paul Lynch (2023)Head Full of Ghosts- Paul Tremblay (2015)Nightwatching - Tracy Sierra (2024)Our Share of Night - Marianna Enriquez (2019) Please subscribe to and follow our show on your favorite Podcast App Follow us, comment and tell us about YOUR books on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/podcast_hisbookherbook