We’re backkkk! In ep25, Colin and I talk about Worcestershire pride, what we’d change if we were king for a day, and, of course, otters. Enjoy!
podcast
#154: Independent Publishers vs Big Name Publishers and Two Virginia Woolf Novels
Virginia Woolf! Publishers! Welcome to episode 154.
In the first half, we compare independent publishers and the big-name publishers – and in the second half, we pit two Virginia Woolf novels against each other: Jacob’s Room and The Waves.
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given.
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we cover in this episode are:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
And The Crying Wind by Simon Dare
Mary Essex
Ursula Bloom
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
Lady Into Fox by David Garnett
All I Could Never Be by Beverley Nichols
W. Somerset Maugham
Olga Tokarczuk
A Bite of the Apple by Lennie Goodings
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
Hugh Walpole
Rose Macaulay
Recommended! by Nicola Wilson
Twice Lost by Phyllis Paul
Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
Debbie Voisey
Douglas Bruton
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
Ian McEwan
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson
The Rabbits by A.A. Milne
The Lark by E. Nesbit
The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
The Waves (play adaptation) by Flora Wilson Brown
Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot
The Book of Eve by Constance Beresford-Howe
What does a pram do if it doesn’t have any wheels? Peas in a Podcast #24!
It’s episode 24 of the podcast I do with my twin brother, and as always we cover all the most important issues of the day. Enjoyyyy
#153: Do We Care If Writers Exaggerate? and When The Cranes Fly South vs Only About Love
Liars, Lisa Ridzen, and Debbi Voisey – welcome to episdoe 153!
In the first half, we talk about our expectations of truth in the non-fiction we read, inspired by the hoo-ha over The Salt Path. In the second half, we compare When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen with Only About Love by Debbi Voisey.
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given.
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Deborah by Esther Kreitman
Isaac Bashevis Singer
May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry
Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
The Odyssey by Homer
Unsayable by Michael Cunningham
David Sedaris
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Grief Is For People by Sloane Crosley
The Memory Illusion by Julia Shaw
Rose Macaulay by Constance Babington-Smith
Rose Macaulay: A Writer’s Life by Jane Emery
Rose Macaulay by Sarah LeFanu
Beverley Nichols
The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Mrs Miniver by Jan Struther
All The Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Arnim
How The Heather Looks by Joan Bodger
The Crack in the Teacup by Joan Bodger
Curriculum Vitae by Muriel Spark
Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul
Spare by Prince Harry
Marcel Proust
Temptation by János Székely (is the book Rachel couldn’t remember!)
The Book of Eve by Constance Beresford-Howe
Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
#152: Novels about women’s home life vs work life, and The Professor’s House by Willa Cather vs The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout, Willa Cather, and women’s lives – welcome to episode 152!
In the first half, Rachel and Simon discuss whether we prefer reading novels about women’s professional lives or their home lives. In the second half, we compare two novels about educators – Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House and Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say.
(Apologies for an earlier version of this episode that went out with only the first half. Hopefully this one works!)
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given.
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart
Jane Urquhart
Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr
When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Emma by Jane Austen (!)
High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
The Lark by E. Nesbit
Economy Must Be Our Watchword by Joyce Dennys
The L-Shaped Room trilogy by Lynne Reid Banks
A Pin To See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
The Friend in Need by Elizabeth Coxhead
Fresh From the Country by Miss Read
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Barbara Pym
Muriel Spark
A Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens
Dangerous Ages by Rose Macaulay
Helen Ashton
One Pair of Hands by Monica Dickens
One Pair of Feet by Monica Dickens
My Turn to Make the Tea by Monica Dickens
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge
Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Carol by Patricia Highsmith
Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
Agatha Christie
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather
Alexander’s Bridge by Willa Cather
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Alan Ayckbourn
When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Only About Love by Debbi Voisey
#151: A Q&A special! (part 2)
Thanks again for all your questions for our special Q&A episode of Tea or Books?
It took longer than planned, but here is part 2…
Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with suggestions and questions for future episodes!
Dishwasher Safe Thank You Letter: Peas in a Podcast #23!
After a mere year’s break, Colin and I are back with our very intermittent podcast! This one is looking forward to our trip to Canada, but we also cover important issues like experimental nicknames, vegan halloumi, the quiet carriage, and easy peelers. Enjoy!
#149: Do We Like Campus Novels? and Two Books By Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark and campus novels – welcome to episode 149!
In the first half of this episode, we answer Lisa’s question: do we like campus novels? In the second half, we compare two novels by Muriel Spark. Not necessarily the Muriel Spark novels I thought we would be reading… turns out, Rachel read The Comforters instead of The Bachelors, so we compare that with Symposium instead!
If you’d like to come and see Rachel’s play, full details are here. I’ll be there on the Saturday!
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Hilary Mantel
Honourable Estates by Vera Brittain
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
Yesterday in the Back Lane by Bernice Rubens
The Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens
On the Calculation of Volume vol.2 by Solvej Balle
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Stoner by John Williams
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch
The Small Room by May Sarton
Anthony Trollope
The British Museum is Falling Down by David Lodge
Nice Work by David Lodge
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Masters by C.P. Snow
Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
The History Boys by Alan Bennett
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Seasoned Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
According to Mark by Penelope Lively
Stet by Diana Athill
A Bit of the Apple by Lennie Goodings
84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
The Only Problem by Muriel Spark
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark
#148: Is There A Right Time To Read A Book? and The Dutch House vs The Party
Ann Patchett, Tessa Hadley, and finding the right time to read a book – welcome to episode 149!
In the first half, we answer the question: is there a right time for each particular book? In the second half, we compare Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House and Tessa Hadley’s The Party.
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we mentioned in this episode are:
Honourable Estates by Vera Brittain
Deviants by Santanu Bhattacharya
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
Richmal Crompton
E.V. Lucas
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
The Pooh Perplex by Frederick Crews
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
Charles Dickens
Jane Austen
Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Douglas Bruton
The Bachelors by Muriel Spark
Symposium by Muriel Spark
#147: Quality vs Quantity and Two Books About Artists
Douglas Bruton, Carolyn Trant, and quality vs quantity – welcome to episode 147 or Tea or Books?!
In the first half, we discuss quality vs quantity in our reading goals (inspired by this Guardian article). In the second half, we debate two books we picked from each others ‘Best reads of 2025’ lists – Blue Postcards by Douglas Bruton and Voyaging Out: British Women Artists From Suffrage to the Sixties by Carolyn Trant.
You can support the podcast at Patreon – where you’ll also get access to the exclusive new series ‘5 Books’, where I ask different people about the last book they finished, the book they’re currently reading, the next book they want to read, the last book they bought and the last book they were given. Sorry that I’m behind with posting those, but more are on their way…
And, of course, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com with any questions or comments!
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith
The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning
The Party by Tessa Hadley
The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore [is the novel I was trying to remember!]
All My Sons by Arthur Miller
O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Freida McFadden
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino
The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial by Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, and Sarah Krasnostein
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
‘Master and Man’ by Leo Tolstoy
A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair
Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Told in Winter by Jon Godden
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Winter in Thrush Green by Miss Read
Emma by Jane Austen
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Hope Never Knew Horizon by Douglas Bruton
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett