Tea or Books?

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 that contrast the countryside and the town: Beverley Nichol’s fictionalised-autobiography A Thatched Roof and Miss Read’s Fresh From the Country.

Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com if you have suggestions for topics – we love hearing from you. And you can find us at Apple podcasts, or whatever your podcast app of choice is. And if you can work out how to review us, then please do!

Books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

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, we compare two very different novels about relatives – Her Son’s Wife by Dorothy Canfield, also known as Dorothy Canfield Fisher, and Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis.

Do get in touch at teaorbooks[@]gmail.com if you’d like to suggest a topic or a question for the middle section – and rate/review us if you can! Find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever podcast app you use – and you can support the podcast, and get little bonus eps, at Patreon.

The books and authors we talk about in this episode:

The Vanishing Celebrities by Adrian Alington

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 – and what our comfort reading is, which isn’t quite the same question. In the second half, we pit two Willa Cather novels against each other: A Lost Lady and Lucy Gayheart.

We hope that Tea or Books? can be a ray of sunshine in this complicated and anxious time. We’ll keep recording as much as we can! Do let us know if you have any suggestions for future episodes – and please do rate and review us at your podcast app of choice SHOULD you wish. You can find us at Apple Podcasts, and we’re on Spotify too now. If you’d like to support the podcast, that’s an option at Patreon.

You can get in touch at [email protected]. Please do!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

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 near enough to be discussing it. But we plough on!

In the second half, we look at two non-fiction books by Adrian Bell: Corduroy and A Suffolk Harvest.

If you’d like to get bonus mini episodes, and a whole bunch of other things, you can find us at Patreon. And you can listen via Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice. Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com if you have topic suggestions or just want to say hi!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Rose Macaulay: A Writer’s Life by Jane Emery

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. Which is more important to us? In the second half, we compare two novels by Henry Green – Loving and Living. One of us finished the book. Won’t say which one.

If you’d like to support us on Patreon and get the new mini bonus episodes, it’s here. We’re on iTunes and any podcast app of your choice. And do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com if you’d like to ask us questions, suggest topics, or anything else. We love hearing from you!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen

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 their race, gender, or experiences. In the second half we compare and contrast 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie and Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers, and find out if I’ve got over my loathing of Lord Peter Wimsey.

We always love hearing from you – thanks to everyone who has sent in topic suggestions to [email protected]. And if you have any requests for reading advice for the middle segment, do let us know.

You can see us at Apple Podcasts or by searching on Spotify, you can support the podcast at Patreon, and if you can work out how to rate and review us through your podcast app then we’re always grateful for that!

The books and authors we mentioned in this episode are:

The Book of William by Paul Collins

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 in Rachel’s flat, bunched along the sofa. It was really fun – and since Lorna is a broadcast journalist, I feel like we’ve elevated ourselves…

In the first half we talk about political books, both fact and fiction. In the second half we compare two works on running bookshops – Shaun Bythell’s The Diary of a Bookseller and a short essay by George Orwell called ‘Bookshop Memories’.

If you’d like to support the podcast through Patreon, you can! And here we are on Apple Podcasts and you can find us on Spotify too – any reviews or ratings much appreciated. Do get in touch at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions.

Here are the books and authors we mention in this episode:

Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers

Sanditon, The Watsons, and a whistle-stop tour of the centuries – we’re back!

https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tea-or-books-episode-78.mp3

In the second half, we look at Sanditon and The Watsons – two unfinished novels by Jane Austen – and pick which one is our favourite, and which we wish had been finished.

Do get in touch if you’d like to suggest topics or want to ask us advice – you can do that at [email protected]. You can support the podcast at our Patreon page and rate or review us at Apple Podcasts.

And if the Georgianary Group sounds interesting, you can find it at GoodReads.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

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 fiction. In the second half we compare two of the new Furrowed Middlebrow reprints from Dean Street Press – Beneath the Visiting Moon by Romilly Cavan and Wine of Honour by Barbara Beauchamp.

You can find the podcast at Apple podcasts – please rate and review, it really helps us – or download the episode from your podcast app of choice. You can support the podcast at Patreon – and please get in touch if you need any reading advice at [email protected]!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Notes Made While Falling by Jenn Ashworth

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 way. In the second half – only four years after the podcast started – we finally read my favourite novel, Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker. We compare it to the similarly-named Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik, and discover that that’s about all it has in common.

Fun! Please get in touch if you have any topics – or any questions to ask or advice you’d like us to give! We’re at [email protected]. And you can support the podcast at Patreon or find us on iTunes. We appreciate all your reviews and ratings so much.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner