Tea Or Books?

George Orwell, E.H. Young, guilty pleasures – welcome to episode 127! In the first half of the episode, we ask: what is our guiltiest reading pleasure? Has that changed over time? Do we feel guilty about anything connected with reading?

Banned books, Bonnie Garmus and A.J. Pearce – welcome to episode 126! In the first half of the episode, we discuss banned books – should books ever be banned? Does a book being banned make us want to read it

Celeb memoirs, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Fair – welcome to episode 125! In the first half, Rachel and I discuss celebrity memoirs – do we read them? What do we count as a celebrity memoir? In the second half, we each

Our favourite books from 2023 – or reads, because of course we mostly read ‘backlisted’ titles. Always a fun one to record – this time with the added bonus that we were each going to choose one from the other’s

Beryl Bainbridge, Celia Dale, critical and charitable reading – welcome to episode 123! In the first half of the episode we use a suggestion from Susannah – do we read charitably or critically? In the second half we compare too

Mary Lawson joins us to talk about all her novels – welcome to episode 122! I can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but THE Mary Lawson – Canadian author of Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge, Road Ends, and A Town Called

Jane Gardam and messages in books – welcome to episode 121! In the first half of the episode, Rachel and I discuss whether or not we think books should have a message. In the second half we pit two Jane

D.E. Stevenson, Eva Ibbotson, travel inspo – welcome to episode 120! We have our first returning guest – the wonderful Claire, who blogs at The Captive Reader. In the first half of this episode, we talk about inspiration from travel

Miriam Toews, Olga Tokarczuk and detective fiction – welcome to episode 119! In the first half of this episode, we discuss detective fiction – do we prefer the mystery-solver to be a professional or an amateur? And in the second

Julie Otsuka, Jamaica Kincard, adults’ and children’s books – welcome to episode 118! In the first half – a topic suggested by Aileen, where we discuss authors who wrote both children’s and adult’s books and whether we read both. In

Ursula Parrott, Winifred Boggs, unnamed characters – welcome to episode 117! We are so delighted to welcome Lucy Scholes as a guest for this episode. She’s is a reprint/old books superstar – you might know her Re-Covered column for the Paris

John Dickson Carr, Alan Melville, sports – welcome to episode 116! In the first half, we talk about sports in books – do we like them? Will we be able to think of any? Thank you to Lindsey for suggesting

Barbara Pym, May Sarton, and bookshops – welcome to episode 115! In the first half of the episode, we take up Sally’s suggestion of topic – and discuss whether or not we like books set in bookshops and libraries. More

Sylvia Townsend Warner, Elizabeth Bowen, linear narratives – welcome to episode 114! In the first half of this episode, we use a suggestion from listener Sarah – do we prefer linear or non-linear narratives? In the second half we look

Elizabeth Gaskell, Winifred Holtby, and more – welcome to episode 113! In the first half of this episode, we look at literary retellings – by which we mean authors using fairy tales or Greek mythology or basically whatever we fancy

Dorothy Whipple, May Sinclair, and favourite books of 2022 – welcome to episode 112! Happy new year! Welcome to the first episode of Tea or Books? for 2023 – recorded on two different days, so hopefully it’s not too awkward.

Molly Keane, M.J. Farrell, and characters’ appearances – welcome to episode 111! In the first half, Rachel and I discuss what characters look like – do we care, do we notice if it’s mentioned, etc. In the second half, we

Tove Jansson, Celia Dale, jobs in books! Welcome to episode 110 A bit of a longer break than usual because I lost my voice. But we’re back, asking – in the first half of the episode – whether we care

Penelope Lively, Helen Hull, boarding houses and isolation – welcome to episode 109! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I compare boarding houses novels and novels where people live alone – up to and including complete isolation.

Bite, E.M. Delafield, Elizabeth Taylor – welcome to episode 108! In the first half of this episode, we discuss a topic suggested by Gina – do we prefer books with bite or without bite? All will be explained in due