About the Dabblers

We’re two sweary state school Midlanders who like to talk honestly about books and laugh at one-star reviews

Every fortnight(ish), from our underground cubbyhole in Islington (not the posh part, obviously) we take a deep dive into a book and talk about anything and everything it conjures up for us. We also read out – and in the most-part laugh at – Amazon one-star reviews, because angry people make good material.

Sometimes classics, sometimes modern bestsellers and Booker prize-winners, we cover a diverse range of books on our podcast, but the idea is to speak openly and authentically about how we connected with them through honest discussion and amusing anecdotes.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not qualified to talk openly about literature because you haven’t read enough or don’t know any of the greats, then please, leave your shoes at the door, make yourself comfortable, and join our club.

Hajar J. Woodland

Host and producer Hajar J. Woodland is a singer and some-of-the-time writer with a professional background in all things content.

Hajar has written tons of corporate copy, produced and scripted videos for tech companies, edited magazines and overseen book marketing campaigns. She’s written for Stylist magazine and spoken on panels at literary events including Bath Literature Festival and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. She was a contributor to the 2015 Virago anthology, ‘I Call Myself a Feminist‘, has an MA in creative writing and a history degree from King’s College London.

Hajar’s a sporadic reader, picking up whatever’s recommended, and often forgetting what a novel’s about as soon as she finishes it. She hopes The Dabblers’ Book Club will keep her reading regularly while helping her recall what the hell went on before she closed the book.

Hajar's also the founder of Noisy Badger, the production company behind the podcast that aims to amp up working-class voices through podcasts, plays and comedy.

Curtis Nice

A touring musician for ten years, host Curtis Nice recently decided to take a leap and follow his love of sports into his dream career in Sports PR.

Curtis has two passions: books and rugby. And craft beer. And all sport, really. He came to reading in his early twenties and spent eight years as a professional guitarist, where books kept him company on long tours on the high seas. He’s a loyal reader, ploughing through back catalogues of Hemingway, Orwell, Bukowski, Kingsley Amis, JG Ballard and Murakami, to name but a few.

He’s a huge fan of Charles Dickens, and early in 2020, he set aside a month to read Bleak House, which meant he smashed his personal goal of reading all of Dickens’ works by his 30th birthday! With a somewhat old-fashioned and male-heavy reading list, he’s looking forward to broadening his literary landscape and reading more modern fiction for The Dabblers’ Book Club.