A super quick mini-episode – well, not really an episode – asking for your contributions to the next episode of ‘Tea or Books?’. It will be TEN YEARS since Rachel and I first put an episode out into the ether – I can’t believe it’s been a whole decade, and I’m so thankful to everyone who has listened, commented, emailed, reviewed etc over the time.
Will you help us celebrate? In the next episode, I’d love to share your contributions – are there books we’ve suggested that you’ve read and loved? Are there topics you particularly enjoyed? Anything that we can use to celebrate 10 years in style. Do send in your voicenotes or emails to teaorbooks@gmail.com, or put any highlights into the comment section on this blog post.
(Please do, otherwise it’ll be a very quiet first half of the episode!)
Elizabeth Jane Howard, Brian Moore, and authors’ personal lives – welcome to episode 138!
In the first half of the episode, we do a question that Lindsey suggested: do we care about authors’ personal lives? It takes us to questions both of ethics and of privacy. In the second half, we pit The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore against The Beautiful Visit by Elizabeth Jane Howard.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Recommended! by Nicola Wilson
Hugh Walpole
J.B. Priestley
Sylvia Lynd
Clemence Dane Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield Blue Postcards by Douglas Bruton Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico Stasiland by Anna Funder Crooked Cross by Sally Carson Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
Virginia Woolf
Stella Gibbons
Enid Blyton
Neil Gaiman
Mary Lawson The Other Elizabeth Taylor by Nicola Beauman
Jane Austen
Dorothy L. Sayers Don’t Look Round by Violet Trefusis Echo by Violet Trefusis Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey
Elena Ferrante Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
J.K. Rowling Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater
John Keats
Percy Shelley Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann Invitiation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
R.C. Sherriff The Doctor’s Wife by Brian Moore The Great Victorian Collection by Brian Moore O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
Resolved endings, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Vincenzo Latronico – welcome to episode 137 of Tea or Books?!
In the first half of the episode, we take a suggestion from Lindsey – do we prefer resolved or unresolved endings? In the second half, Rachel and I see how successful our suggestions for each other were (from the end of last episode) – Rachel asked me to read Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes, and I asked Rachel to read Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White aka The Spiral Staircase The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White Persuasion by Jane Austen Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf Memento Mori by Muriel Spark Villette by Charlotte Bronte I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie Immortality by Milan Kundera Atonement by Ian McEwan The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Elizabeth Goudge The Honours Board by Pamela Hansford Johnson An Error of Judgement by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Unspeakable Skipton by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Unbearable Bassington by Saki An Impossible Marriage by Pamela Hansford Johnson
Christopher Isherwood A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence The Beautiful Visit by Elizabeth Jane Howard The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore
Agatha Christie, Gwen Bristow, Bruce Manning and reading morality – welcome to episode 136 of Tea or Books?!
In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether or not we take moral instruction from the books we read – does reading make us better people? In the second half, we compare two very similarly plotted books – And Then There Are None by Agatha Christie and The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning. Many thanks to Susan for suggesting this (and sorry for forgetting your name when we recorded!)
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon.
FYI Hargreaves gets very noisy in this episode!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Stasiland by Anna Funder Mrs Dalloway: A Biography of the Novel by Mark Hussey Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson Emma by Jane Austen The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp Macbeth by William Shakespeare Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Jack by Marilynne Robinson The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge The Warden by Anthony Trollope How To Know A Person by David Brooks Ghosted by Nancy French Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt Walkable City by Jeff Speck Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pamela Smith Brink of Being by Julia Bueno
Shaun Bythell A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico The Diviners by Margaret Laurence Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson
In the first half, we discuss whether or not literary fiction can be comfort reads – thank you for the suggestion, Marcy! In the second half, we compare novels we chose from each other’s Best Books of 2024 – Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad vs Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. Among the bonus things you’ll find is our talk from the Marlborough Literary Festival!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Julia by Sandra Newman Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Jane Gardam Diaries by Virginia Woolf
Miss Read Emma by Jane Austen Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
P.G. Wodehouse
Agatha Christie
Margery Sharp
Val McDermid The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Dorothy Whipple A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson For Every Favour by Ruby Ferguson South Riding by Winifred Holtby Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Turn Again Home by Ruby Ferguson Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott The Group by Mary McCarthy The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs Hamlet by William Shakespeare And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning
Happy new year! In episode 134, Rachel and I share our favourite books reads in 2024 – counting down from ten to one. And we each pick one of the other’s top 10 to read for our next episode!
Thanks so much for everyone who listens to the podcast and gets in touch. It means such a lot to us.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are below – but if you want to avoid spoilers for our favourite books, then don’t read this list too carefully!
Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul
The Years by Annie Ernaux
The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner
The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis
George Orwell
Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
My Darling Villain by Lynne Reid Banks
The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Farthest Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
The Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Weather by Jenny Offill
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Body Made of Glass by Caroline Crampton
Foster by Claire Keegan
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
Antarctica by Claire Keegan
Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Wifedom by Anna Funder
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Oracles by Margaret Kennedy
The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
The Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola
Babbacombe’s by Susan Scarlett
Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell
Willa Cather and reading rules – welcome to episode 133 of ‘Tea or Books?’!
In the first half, we discuss reading rules – when we’re picking up a book, are there certain things that will definitely put us off? In the second half, we compare two novels by Willa Cather: Sapphira and the Slave Girl and A Lost Lady.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. Among the bonus things you’ll find is our talk from the Marlborough Literary Festival!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Back by Henry Green Living by Henry Green Loving by Henry Green A Woman’s Place by Ruth Adam A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmondeley One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Waterfall by Margaret Drabble Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Katherine Mansfield Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather Death Comes for theArchbishop by Willa Cather Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather My Antonia by Willa Cather The Professor’s House by Willa Cather Alexander’s Bridge by Willa Cather
Edward Carey joins us to discuss his latest novel, Edith Holler. Welcome to episode 132!
Rachel and I both love Edward Carey’s novels, so it was a real joy to have the opportunity to interview him. We discuss how he first got published, what inspired Edith Holler and what his books might have in common. Among his books, we discuss Observatory Mansions, Alva and Irva, The Swallowed Man, and Little.
For Patreon subscribers – as a thank you for your support, you can listen to Rachel interview me about the British Library Women Writers at the Marlborough Literary Festival! (If you’re not a Patreon subscriber and would like to be, follow that link to find out more.)
Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with any questions or suggestions, and don’t forget you can listen to (and rate and review!) the podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout A HorrorStory by Olga Tokarczuk The Haunted Wood by Sam Leith Way Far Away by Evilio Rosero Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri The Weird Stone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Diana Wynne Jones Watership Down by Richard Adams I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith The Tin Drum by Günter Grass Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Elizabeth McCracken A Lost Lady by Willa Cather Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather
Angela Milne, Theodora Benson, and reading deeply – welcome to episode 131 of Tea or Books?!
In the first half of the episode, we discuss a topic suggestion by Heidi – do we read deeply or shallowly? Do we like critical editions? Or do we just ‘switch off’ and enjoy? In the second half, we pit two British Library Women Writers titles against each other – Which Way? by Theodora Benson and One Year’s Time by Angela Milne.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Orbital by Samantha Harvey Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
A.S. Byatt Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Mary Lawson The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay The Heir by Vita Sackville-West The House by the Sea by May Sarton To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Beverley Nichols
Shirley Jackson Buttercups and Daisies by Compton Mackenzie Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins Concert Pitch by Theodora Benson The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett
Emile Zola, Noel Streatfeild, and romantic books – welcome to Tea or Books? episode 130!
In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Lindsey – do books need a romantic storyline? In the second half, we compare two novels set in department stores – The Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola (both of us read the translation by Brian Nelson) and Babbcombe’s by Susan Scarlett aka Noel Streatfeild.
You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us.
Please come and see us talking about the British Library Women Writers series at the Marlborough Literary Festival on 29 September! And you can find out more about End Sexism in Schools at their website.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre Timebends by Arthur Miller Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Unless by Carol Shields Larry’s Party by Carol Shields Rereadings ed. by Anne Fadiman Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman High Wages by Dorothy Whipple Babbett by Stella Gibbons Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Love-Child by Edith Olivier The Provincial Lady Goes Further by E.M. Delafield The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Emma by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Anthony Trollope
Zadie Smith
Ian McEwan
Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
Sally Rooney Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Lord of the Flies by William Golding Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff Beloved by Toni Morrison Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck Cannery Row by John Steinbeck An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Hard Times by Charles Dickens Translations by Brian Friel The Tempest by William Shakespeare Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Strangers by Taichi Yamada One Year’s Time by Angela Milne Which Way? by Theodora Benson
