# Greyhounds, dark academia and an Amish community in new fiction by Toni Jordan, R.F. Kuang and Ron Rindo

An episode of [The Bookshelf](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/499762704), 28 Aug 2025, 55 min.

Audio: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/cm/Z/ic.mp3

An Australian story of the tender, eager lives of greyhounds and their owners in Tenderfoot by Australian author Toni Jordan. Dark academia in Yellowface author R.F. Kuang’s new fantasy novel, Katabasis. Sport, miracles, and the Amish, in Ron Rindo’s Life, and Death, and Giants. BOOKS Toni Jordan, Tenderfoot, Hachette R.F. Kuang, Katabasis, Harper Voyager Ron Rindo, Life, and Death, and Giants, Pan Macmillan GUESTS Seth Robinson, writer, producer, and lecturer at the University of Melbourne. He is also co-hosting a new podcast with Tony Birch – Unfolded – in which writers take apart short stories to see what makes them work. Michael McGirr, writer, reviewer, and mission director at Caritas Australia. His own books include Ideas to Save Your Life, Books that Saved my Life, and The Story of a Road MICHAEL'S TOP 100 LIST • Patriot by Alexei Navalny. • This is Happiness by Niall Williams • Apeirogon by Colum McCann • King by Jonathan Eig • People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks • Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright • Emily Wilson’s Translation of the Odyssey • The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton • Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung • The Fig Tree by Arnold Zable SETH'S TOP 100 LIST • Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver • The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt • Educated, Tara Westover • Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton • Less, Andrew Sean Greer • The Overstory, Richard Powers • Still Life, Sarah Winman • The Passage (Trilogy), Justin Cronin • Station 11, Emily St John Mandel • James, Percival Everett OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE • Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip • Gillian Mears, Foal's Bread • Kim Scott, That Deadman Dance • Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time • Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow • Tony Birch, Pictures of You • Behrouz Boochani, No Friend but the Mountains • Charles Dickens, David Copperfield • Lucia Berlin, A Manual for Cleaning Women CREDITS • Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh • Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett • Sound engineer, Roi Huberman • Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown

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