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Fans of the hit podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 by powerhouse duo Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb will delight in their first co-authored book, which is effectively a loose encyclopedia of all things hilariously Sales and Crabb. For those who haven’t yet jumped on the fan bandwagon of the podcast – which attracts more than 400,000 downloads per month, has been turned into a live show and has huge social media followings on Facebook and Instagram – this joyful summer read might just rope you in.

Sales and Crabb have been pals and colleagues since they sat next to each other on the production floor of ABC back in 2009. The self-proclaimed “odd couple” separately had serious journalistic profiles – Sales as the steely interviewer on flagship current affairs program 7.30, and Crabb through her writing for (previously) Fairfax and the ABC, plus flecks of comedy in TV programs like the politics-meets-cooking show, Kitchen Cabinet.

In 2014, the pair caved to egging-on by their friends and hit record on a smartphone before embarking on one of their rambling conversations. Few could have predicted the hilarious wit, self-deprecation and heartfelt reflections that would emerge, which have justifiably earned a cult following of hundreds of thousands of “Chatterati”.

Well Hello is the greeting to begin each podcast, and a fitting title to kick off meanderings between the pages of this book. Like the podcast, the women cover most cultural terrain – their favourite reads, TV series, music, cooking and films.

There are dictionaries of slang unique to the podcast, excerpts of fan mail and even recipes with hilarious “improvements” by Sales (omitting the peas and mint from Crabb’s pea and mint tart, for example). It’s all interspersed with snippets of their best recorded exchanges, and beautifully balanced with the warmth and humour unique to these two. Whether you’re a long-time fan or simply curious as to what all the fuss is about, Well Hello is joy to leaf through. A stocking filler to end 2021 with a much-needed laugh-cry.