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

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

Virginia Woolf, Jane Cholmeley, and authors who wrote too much or not enough – welcome to episode 129!

In the first half, we use a great topic suggestion by David – do we prefer authors who wrote too many books or those who didn’t write enough? And what do we mean by that? It was really fun trying to decide which authors fell into which category.

In the second half, two quite different works of non-fiction: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf and A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmeley.

If you’d like to find out more about our appearance at Marlborough Literary Festival – here’s their events info.

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:

Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood

Polly Barton, Yoko Ogawa, and plays – welcome to episode 128!

In the first half of today’s ‘Tea or Books?’ episode, Rachel and I revisit a topic from years ago – plays! Specifically, do we think that plays should be read on the page, as well as seen on the stage. In the second half, we compare two books with a Japanese theme: Polly Barton’s Fifty Sounds, a non-fiction about moving to Japan and learning the language, and Yoko Ogawa’s novel The Housekeeper and the Professor, translated by Stephen Snyder.

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:

A Body Made of Glass by Caroline Crampton

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? In the second half, we compare two similarly titled novels: The Vicar’s Daughter by E.H. Young and A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell.

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:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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 more? In the second half, we pit two recent novels set in the mid-century: Dear Mrs Bird by A.J. Pearce and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

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:

Strangers May Kiss by Ursula Parrott

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 chose one of the other’s favourite 2023 reads – Day by Michael Cunningham (one of my favourite reads from last year) and Landscape in Sunlight by Elizabeth Fair.

You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc 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:

Convenience Store Woman by Suyaka Murata

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 list to read for the next episode.

Some of our Patreon patrons also appear in this episode. You can join them, and get early access to episodes and other perks, at our Patreon. Do feel free to get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie

Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming

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 rather dark novels – Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale and Harriet Said… by Beryl Bainbridge.

You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc 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:

Mary Lawson

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 Solace – joins us in this episode to talk through her work. We discuss how she approaches writing a novel, some of her creative decisions, and a little hint about her next book.

Do let us know any future episode suggestions, or any questions you have, at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com. Get episodes a little early, and some other bonus content, through Patreon. And get the podcast wherever you get podcasts! Your ratings and reviews really help too (except those people who give us one star, I guess).

The books and authors we mention in this episode:

Temptation by János Székely