Tea Or Books?

Bernadine Evaristo, Kate Atkinson, and clothes – welcome to episode 92. In the first half of the episode, Rachel and I discuss clothes in books – do we care what characters wear? I forgot to mention, but do check out

Elizabeth von Arnim and settings of novels – welcome to episode 91! In the first half of the novel, we look at the settings of novels, and ask whether we prefer familiar or unfamiliar settings. In the second half, we

Betty Smith, Dorothy Evelyn Smith, and a review of our reading years… In the first half, we look back over a very unusual year and ask – was it a good reading year or a bad reading year? We’ve not

Marilynne Robinson and gardens – welcome to episode 89! We are scraping the barrel a little in our first half, and arguably repeating ourselves, but please enjoy our musings on gardens. In the second half, after answering a question from

Blurbs and Kazuo Ishiguro – welcome to episode 88! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I talk about whether we want blurbs – i.e. do we do research on what we’re reading before we pick it up.

Jane Austen, Jane and Mary Findlater, and – it’s episode 87!   We recorded this episode a little while ago and I have been lazy at editing – but here we are. Hope you like our lovely new logo, courtesy

Marilynne Robinson, Francis Spufford, empathy and sympathy! Welcome to episode 86, in which we talk about characters we feel empathetic towards and those we feel sympathetic towards. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, don’t worry, we’ve got that

Houses, Miss Read, Beverley Nichols! In the first half of today’s episode, we look at whether we prefer novels that stay in one house or those that go all over the place. In the second half, we explore two novels

Dorothy Canfield [Fisher], Patrick Dennis, sea, and mountains – episode 84!   In the first half of this episode, we talk about novels set in the mountains vs those set by the sea. The classic dichotomy. In the second half,

Comfort zones, comfort novels, and two novels by Willa Cather – welcome to episode 83! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I talk about whether or not we have comfort zones when it comes to reading –

Australia, New Zealand, and Adrian Bell – welcome to episode 82! In the first half, we do a topic suggested by Lindsay – books by Australians and books by people from New Zealand. And my GOODNESS we don’t know anywhere

Henry Green, style over substance, and some listener questions – here’s episode 81! In the first half of this episode, we discuss style vs substance – or, to put it another way, writing style vs the plot of the novel.

A couple of Queens of Crime and an important question about what writers should be allowed to write…   In the first half of episode 80, we ask if writers should only write what they know – whether that means

Shaun Bythell, George Orwell, and a whole host of politicians – it’s episode 79! We have a special guest for this episode – my very good friend Lorna, who was meeting Rachel for the first time. We recorded in person

Sanditon, The Watsons, and a whistle-stop tour of the centuries – we’re back!   In the first half of this episode, we take a suggestion from Elizabeth – do we prefer the nineteenth or twentieth century for literature? That’s an

World War Two fiction and the difference between fantasy and fantastic fiction – welcome to episode 77! In the first half of this episode, I dive back into the topic of my DPhil and we talk about fantastic and fantasy

Miss Hargreaves! Finally! But also illustrations and a novel by Rachel Malik. In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether or not we want illustrations in our books – taking a little venture to graphic novels on the

Tove Jansson, Ted Hughes, and fictional morality – welcome to episode 75!   We’re back after a bit of a break – and we’re doing poetry for the first time ever. In the first half of the episode, we discuss

Young Adult fiction – are we fans? And Richard Yates vs John Williams.   In the first half of this episode, we venture into potentially controversial territory as we discuss young adult (YA) fiction, and whether or not we think

How many chances will we give an author? And Margery Sharp!   In the first half of the episode, we ask whether we’re one-strike-you’re-out people or if we’re willing to give an author several chances – and which authors we’ve