Jungle fever or just fever dream?

This episode’s pick:State of Wonder by Ann Patchett—a literary thriller set in the Amazon, complete with pharmaceutical intrigue, moral dilemmas, and one very unfortunate snake encounter. It’s lush, layered, and filled with anacondas, tarantulas, and questionable fertility science. But did it live up to the hype?

This week’s guest:

Pamela Cook —author, podcaster, and teacher. Pam writes contemporary women’s fiction that digs into relationships and psychology. She’s published six novels (traditionally and indie), hosts the Writes4Women podcast, and teaches through her business Wild Words. She also rides horses, wrangles dogs, and somehow finds time to keep her TBR stack alive.

In this episode, we cover:

Why State of Wonder felt both “plotty” and literary—and why that’s rare for Patchett.

The infamous anaconda boat scene (aka: the nightmare fuel we’ll never forget).

Fertility science, pharmaceutical greed, and the ethics of 73-year-olds having babies.

The big twist: Anders is alive (!), but was it too convenient?

The controversial ending—trauma sex, bark chewing, and possible surprise pregnancies.

The unanswered question: who’s the father of Dr. Svensson’s baby?

Desert Island picks, DNFs, hype regrets, and why Pam cries at Emily Henry.

📚 Books Mentioned on the Pod

Ann Patchett:

State of Wonder

Tom Lake

The Dutch House

Commonwealth

Bel Canto

Other fiction faves:

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Pam’s Auto-buy Authors:

Emily Henry

Hannah Richell

Ann Patchett

Taylor Jenkins Reid

💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry?

Which way did the votes fall? You’ll have to listen in…

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: meet Pamela Cook, our guest author04:00 – How State of Wonder came to be (and the Big Magic story)08:50 – Kiss, Kill, or Marry verdict13:00 – Fertility, pharma, and Patchett’s plot power18:00 – Anacondas, tarantulas, and nightmare fuel22:00 – The Anders twist—too neat or just right?25:00 – The controversial ending (trauma bonding or life affirmation?)28:00 – Who’s the father? Milton, Easter… frozen sperm??32:00 – Writing craft: seamless backstory, moral dilemmas, and jungle research37:00 – Pam’s DNF rules, hype regrets, and wish-I’d-written titles42:00 – Guilty pleasures, crying at Emily Henry, and auto-buy authors45:00 – What we’re reading next—and why no one’s going to the Amazon anytime soon

Get full access to Reading Between Deadlines at readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe