Show Notes
Hello, friends - we're back with a really special episode! Soaliha Iqbal got to sit down with Samah Sabawi to discuss Samah's book Cactus Pear For My Beloved. It's a really moving conversation.
Samah shares the story of her parents, and many like them, who were born while their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Cactus Pear For My Beloved is a narrative memoir of her own family's story from before the Nakba in 1978 until now - and draws on Samah's PhD in post memory within the context of generational trauma and exile.
As you can imagine, this book is more timely than ever - and absolutely a must-read.
More from Booksmart
In this bonus episode of Booksmart, hosts Sunny and Allie meet with Canadian author Bal Khabra, of the beloved hockey romance series Off the Ice — which includes Collide, Spiral, Revolve, and Embrace.
In this very special episode of Booksmart, co-host Sunny had the sublime opportunity to interview English actress Daisy Edgar-Jones for the Sense and Sensibility junket held in Sydney last week. Edgar-Jones plays Jane Austen's beloved Elinor Dashwood, the sensible older sister of Marianne and Margaret Dashwood, whose emotional restraint is tested when she grows attached to Edward Ferrars. The actress is no newcomer to book-to-screen adaptations, having risen to prominence for her roles as Marianne Sheridan in Normal People and Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing. She is also set to star in the upcoming production of Gabrielle Zevin's novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Listen to hear the stars' thoughts on adapting classic literature, maintaining your sensibility, curating the perfect angsty playlist, working with Australian author and screenwriter Diana Reid, and reading Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass and ACOTAR series. Sense and Sensibility arrives in cinemas across Australia on October 15th, 2026.
Welcome back to book club friends! Things are heating up down under, hence our desire to choose Jenny Jackson's New England set contemporary novel 'The Shampoo Effect' as our September book club pick. The hype surrounding this book has been hard to ignore, with VOGUE calling it one of the "best books of 2026". Many readers have likened the reading experience to overhearing juicy gossip about a friend group you know only tangentially. But does the story, focused on one accidental pregnancy and a tight-knit group of dysfunctional friends in their 30s, live up to the buzz? Fortunately, the answer lies in this loving diss (about a book that would have been a far better television show). Warning: this episode contains spoilers for the book's central plot twist. You can purchase The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson online from QBD Books using the following link:
The BookTok girlies have been blessed with yet another book-to-screen adaptation with Ali Hazelwood's 'The Love Hypothesis' dropping on Prime Video. But the real question is, does this adaptation and its stars Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman have chemistry?
In this episode of Booksmart, hosts Sunny Adcock and Allie Daisy King take on the current romantic fiction boom and share which new love stories you should be reading.