Tea or Books?

Shirley Jackson, Elspeth Barker, and your emails – welcome to episode 139 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/tea-or-books-139.mp3 Can you believe we’ve been going for ten years? It’s wild to me! In the first half of the episode we compare two gothic-inspired novels – O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker and The Sundial by Shirley Jackson. In the second half, we share lots of lovely, lovely emails from you guys. We asked about the books and episodes that stand out from our first decade – and were so touched by everyone who got in touch. Apologies for the handful of people who messaged after we’d recorded. I’m afraid you aren’t in the episode, but we were grateful for the messages of course. You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. Because there are so many books and authors mentioned in this episode, I’m not going to do a full list – but if you’d like anything clarified, do ask in the comments.

https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-year-bonus.mp3 A super quick mini-episode – well, not really an episode – asking for your contributions to the next episode of ‘Tea or Books?’. It will be TEN YEARS since Rachel and I first put an episode out into the ether – I can’t believe it’s been a whole decade, and I’m so thankful to everyone who has listened, commented, emailed, reviewed etc over the time. Will you help us celebrate? In the next episode, I’d love to share your contributions – are there books we’ve suggested that you’ve read and loved? Are there topics you particularly enjoyed? Anything that we can use to celebrate 10 years in style. Do send in your voicenotes or emails to teaorbooks@gmail.com, or put any highlights into the comment section on this blog post. (Please do, otherwise it’ll be a very quiet first half of the episode!)

Elizabeth Jane Howard, Brian Moore, and authors’ personal lives – welcome to episode 138! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/tea-or-books-138.mp3 In the first half of the episode, we do a question that Lindsey suggested: do we care about authors’ personal lives? It takes us to questions both of ethics and of privacy. In the second half, we pit The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore against The Beautiful Visit by Elizabeth Jane Howard. You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. The books and authors we mention in this episode are: Recommended! by Nicola Wilson Hugh Walpole J.B. Priestley Sylvia Lynd Clemence Dane Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield Blue Postcards by Douglas Bruton Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico Stasiland by Anna Funder Crooked Cross by Sally Carson Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer Virginia Woolf Stella Gibbons Enid Blyton Neil Gaiman Mary Lawson The Other Elizabeth Taylor by Nicola Beauman Jane Austen Dorothy L. Sayers Don’t Look Round by Violet Trefusis Echo by Violet Trefusis Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey Elena Ferrante Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley J.K. Rowling Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater John Keats Percy Shelley Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann Invitiation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann R.C. Sherriff The Doctor’s Wife by Brian Moore The Great Victorian Collection by Brian Moore O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

Resolved endings, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Vincenzo Latronico – welcome to episode 137 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tea-or-books-137.mp3 In the first half of the episode, we take a suggestion from Lindsey – do we prefer resolved or unresolved endings? In the second half, Rachel and I see how successful our suggestions for each other were (from the end of last episode) – Rachel asked me to read Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes, and I asked Rachel to read Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson. You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. The books and authors we mention in this episode are: The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White aka The Spiral Staircase The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White Persuasion by Jane Austen Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf Memento Mori by Muriel Spark Villette by Charlotte Bronte I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie Immortality by Milan Kundera Atonement by Ian McEwan The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Goudge The Honours Board by Pamela Hansford Johnson An Error of Judgement by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Unspeakable Skipton by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Unbearable Bassington by Saki An Impossible Marriage by Pamela Hansford Johnson Christopher Isherwood A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence The Beautiful Visit by Elizabeth Jane Howard The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore

Agatha Christie, Gwen Bristow, Bruce Manning and reading morality – welcome to episode 136 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tea-or-books-136.mp3 In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether or not we take moral instruction from the books we read – does reading make us better people? In the second half, we compare two very similarly plotted books – And Then There Are None by Agatha Christie and The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning. Many thanks to Susan for suggesting this (and sorry for forgetting your name when we recorded!) You can get in touch with suggestions, comments, questions etc (please do!) at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you, even if I’m quite bad at replying quickly. Find us at Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. FYI Hargreaves gets very noisy in this episode! The books and authors we mention in this episode are: Stasiland by Anna Funder Mrs Dalloway: A Biography of the Novel by Mark Hussey Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson Emma by Jane Austen The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp Macbeth by William Shakespeare Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Jack by Marilynne Robinson The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge The Warden by Anthony Trollope How To Know A Person by David Brooks Ghosted by Nancy French Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt Walkable City by Jeff Speck Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pamela Smith Brink of Being by Julia Bueno Shaun Bythell A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico The Diviners by Margaret Laurence Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson

Isabella Hammad, Norah Lofts, comfort reads – welcome to episode 135! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/tea-or-books-135.mp3   In the first half, we discuss whether or not literary fiction can be comfort reads – thank you for the suggestion, Marcy! In the second half, we compare novels we chose from each other’s Best Books of 2024 – Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad vs Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts. 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. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. Among the bonus things you’ll find is our talk from the Marlborough Literary Festival! The books and authors we mention in this episode are: Julia by Sandra Newman Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie Catherine Carter by Pamela Hansford Johnson The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim Jane Gardam Diaries by Virginia Woolf Miss Read Emma by Jane Austen Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield P.G. Wodehouse Agatha Christie Margery Sharp Val McDermid The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Dorothy Whipple A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson For Every Favour by Ruby Ferguson South Riding by Winifred Holtby Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Turn Again Home by Ruby Ferguson Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott The Group by Mary McCarthy The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs Hamlet by William Shakespeare And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning

Happy new year! In episode 134, Rachel and I share our favourite books reads in 2024 – counting down from ten to one. And we each pick one of the other’s top 10 to read for our next episode! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tea-or-books-134.mp3 Thanks so much for everyone who listens to the podcast and gets in touch. It means such a lot to us. The books and authors we mention in this episode are below – but if you want to avoid spoilers for our favourite books, then don’t read this list too carefully! Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul The Years by Annie Ernaux The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis George Orwell Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks My Darling Villain by Lynne Reid Banks The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks The Farthest Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad The Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill Weather by Jenny Offill One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez A Body Made of Glass by Caroline Crampton Foster by Claire Keegan So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan Antarctica by Claire Keegan Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Wifedom by Anna Funder Animal Farm by George Orwell The Oracles by Margaret Kennedy The Feast by Margaret Kennedy The Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola Babbacombe’s by Susan Scarlett Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan The Spring Begins by Katherine Dunning To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell

Willa Cather and reading rules – welcome to episode 133 of ‘Tea or Books?’! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tea-or-books-133.mp3 In the first half, we discuss reading rules – when we’re picking up a book, are there certain things that will definitely put us off? In the second half, we compare two novels by Willa Cather: Sapphira and the Slave Girl and A Lost Lady. 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. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate any reviews and ratings you can leave us. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. Among the bonus things you’ll find is our talk from the Marlborough Literary Festival! The books and authors we mention in this episode are: The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Back by Henry Green Living by Henry Green Loving by Henry Green A Woman’s Place by Ruth Adam A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmondeley One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Waterfall by Margaret Drabble Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Katherine Mansfield Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather My Antonia by Willa Cather The Professor’s House by Willa Cather Alexander’s Bridge by Willa Cather

Edward Carey joins us to discuss his latest novel, Edith Holler. Welcome to episode 132! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tea-or-books-132-Edward-Carey.mp3 Rachel and I both love Edward Carey’s novels, so it was a real joy to have the opportunity to interview him. We discuss how he first got published, what inspired Edith Holler and what his books might have in common. Among his books, we discuss Observatory Mansions, Alva and Irva, The Swallowed Man, and Little. For Patreon subscribers – as a thank you for your support, you can listen to Rachel interview me about the British Library Women Writers at the Marlborough Literary Festival! (If you’re not a Patreon subscriber and would like to be, follow that link to find out more.) Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with any questions or suggestions, and don’t forget you can listen to (and rate and review!) the podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. The books and authors we mention in this episode are: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout A Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk The Haunted Wood by Sam Leith Way Far Away by Evilio Rosero Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri The Weird Stone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper Diana Wynne Jones Watership Down by Richard Adams I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith The Tin Drum by Günter Grass Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Elizabeth McCracken A Lost Lady by Willa Cather Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather

Angela Milne, Theodora Benson, and reading deeply – welcome to episode 131 of Tea or Books?! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tea-or-books-131.mp3 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 Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann A.S. Byatt Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster Mary Lawson The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay The Heir by Vita Sackville-West The House by the Sea by May Sarton To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Beverley Nichols Shirley Jackson Buttercups and Daisies by Compton Mackenzie Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins Concert Pitch by Theodora Benson The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

Emile Zola, Noel Streatfeild, and romantic books – welcome to Tea or Books? episode 130! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/tea-or-books-130.mp3 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 Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre Timebends by Arthur Miller Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Unless by Carol Shields Larry’s Party by Carol Shields Rereadings ed. by Anne Fadiman Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman High Wages by Dorothy Whipple Babbett by Stella Gibbons Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Love-Child by Edith Olivier The Provincial Lady Goes Further by E.M. Delafield The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf The Waves by Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Emma by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Anthony Trollope Zadie Smith Ian McEwan Chimananda Ngozi Adichie Sally Rooney Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Lord of the Flies by William Golding Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff Beloved by Toni Morrison Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck Cannery Row by John Steinbeck An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Hard Times by Charles Dickens Translations by Brian Friel The Tempest by William Shakespeare Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Strangers by Taichi Yamada One Year’s Time by Angela Milne Which Way? by Theodora Benson

Virginia Woolf, Jane Cholmeley, and authors who wrote too much or not enough – welcome to episode 129! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tea-or-books-129.mp3 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 A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio The Secret History by Donna Tartt Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid The Visitors by Mary McMinnies Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Shirley by Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Villette by Charlotte Bronte P.G. Wodehouse The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie The Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Dorothy L. Sayers Mapp and Lucia series by E.F. Benson Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield Barbara Pym Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee My Husband Simon by Mollie Panter-Downes Storm Bird by Mollie Panter-Downes One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes Sanditon by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Dorothy Whipple Virginia Woolf Barbara Comyns Muriel Spark Mary Essex/Ursula Bloom Paul Gallico Ian McEwan Michael Cunningham Mary Lawson The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt Sarah Waters Adele and Co by Dornford Yates Tove Jansson The Old Wives’ Tale by Arnold Bennett Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen To The North by Elizabeth Bowen Babbacombe’s by Susan Scarlett (Noel Stratfeild) High Wages by Dorothy Whipple

Polly Barton, Yoko Ogawa, and plays – welcome to episode 128! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/tea-or-books-128.mp3 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 The Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill Weather by Jenny Offill Conventional Wisdoms by Jocelyn Brooke The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi One Good Turn by Dorothy Whipple Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell J.B. Priestley Tennesse Williams The Dover Road by A.A. Milne The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Arthur Wing Pinero Private Lives by Noel Coward Hay Fever by Noel Coward Still Life by Noel Coward Dear Octopus by Dodie Smith Caryl Churchill Lungs by Duncan Macmillan People, Places and Things by Duncan Macmillan Infinite Life by Annie Baker Paula Vogel White Noise by Suzan-Lori Parks Posh by Laura Wade The Watsons by Laura Wade Jane Austen Miss Elizabeth Bennet by A.A. Milne Mr Pim Passes By by A.A. Milne A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller A Bookshop of One’s Own by Jane Cholmeley A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

George Orwell, E.H. Young, guilty pleasures – welcome to episode 127! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tea-or-books-127.mp3 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 Love in a Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Wifedom by Anna Funder Burmese Days by George Orwell A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon I Would Be Private by Rose Macaulay Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham Miss Read Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton The Love-Child by Edith Olivier The Plant Hunter by T.L. Mogford Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov The Warden by Anthony Trollope Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope Jane Austen Charles Dickens He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope The Rector’s Daughter by F.M. Mayor Chatterton Square by E.H. Young The Misses Mallett by E.H. Young Miss Mole by E.H. Young William by E.H. Young Fifty Sounds by Polly Sounds The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Banned books, Bonnie Garmus and A.J. Pearce – welcome to episode 126! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/tea-or-books-126.mp3 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 Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh Dear Octopus by Dodie Smith How To Be Multiple by Helena de Bres The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer Barbara Pym Day by Michael Cunningham A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell The Vicar’s Daughter by E.H. Young The Rector’s Daughter by F.M. Mayor

Celeb memoirs, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Fair – welcome to episode 125! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/tea-or-books-125.mp3 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 Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton At the Pines by Mollie Panter-Downes Algernon Charles Swinburne Max Beerbohm Storm Bird by Mollie Panter-Downes Katie Price Peter Kay John Gielgud No Leading Lady by R.C. Sherriff Virginia Woolf Delicacy by Katy Wix Sidesplitter by Phil Wang Strong Female Character by Fern Brady What’s That Lady Doing? by Lou Sanders Glutton by Ed Gamble Spare by Prince Harry The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey The Woman in Me by Britney Spears Toxic by Sarah Ditum Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton Inferno by Catherine Cho Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton You’re a Brick, Angela! by Mary Cadogan The Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid Blyton St Clare’s series by Enid Blyton The Hours by Michael Cunningham By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham Miss Read Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair Emma by Jane Austen Barbara Pym A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce

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. https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tea-or-books-124.mp3 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 The World Between Two Covers by Ann Morgan Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco A Flat Place by Noreen Masud Noble Ambitions by Adrian Tinniswood The Long Weekend by Adrian Tinniswood A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence The Diviners by Margaret Laurence The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido Noah’s Ark by Barbara Trapido Barbara Comyns Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll Never Said A Word by Heinrich Böll The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge Dr Serocold by Helen Ashton Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton Yeoman’s Hospital by Helen Ashton Half-Crown House by Helen Ashton The Self-Portrait of a Literary Biographer by Joan Givner Katherine Anne Porter This Little Art by Kate Briggs City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert Day by Michael Cunningham Edith Holler by Edward Carey The Hours by Michael Cunningham The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid Road Ends by Mary Lawson For Every Favour by Ruby Ferguson Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Jill’s Gymkhana by Ruby Ferguson In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale Harriet Said… by Beryl Bainbridge A Helping Hand by Celia Dale The House By The Sea by May Sarton Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton The Education of Harriett Hatfield by May Sarton Landscape in Sunlight by Elizabeth Fair A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair Barbara Pym Jane Austen Bramton Wick by Elizabeth Fair The Native Heath by Elizabeth Fair No Leading Lady by R.C. Sherriff Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff Old Filth by Jane Gardam The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam Any Human Heart by William Boyd Last Friends by Jane Gardam Dorothy Whippl Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield The Pillars of the House by Charlotte M. Yonge The Q by Beth Brower Magnificent Rebels by Andrea Wulf The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers Possession by A.S. Byatt The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Armin Mrs. Appleyard’s Year by Louise Andrews Kent Pleasures and Palaces by Juliet Wilbor Tompkins Albert’s Christmas by Alison Jezard The Stillmeadow Road by Gladys Taber Buttered Toast by Marjorie Stewart A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth An Unequal Music by Vikram Seth

Beryl Bainbridge, Celia Dale, critical and charitable reading – welcome to episode 123! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/tea-or-books-123.mp3 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 Stories for Winter and Nights by the Fire by various Elizabeth Taylor Angela Carter Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Temptation by János Székely Family Album by Antonia Ridge Miss Read Grandma Went To Russia by Antonia Ridge The Persimmon Tree by Marjorie Barnard Katherine Mansfield Ivy Litvinov Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Richmal Crompton Stella Gibbons Day by Michael Cunningham Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham A.A. Milne Hamlet by William Shakespeare Dan Brown Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh Another Part of the Woods by Beryl Bainbridge Anita Brookner Barbara Comyns

Mary Lawson joins us to talk about all her novels – welcome to episode 122! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/tea-or-books-122-mary-lawson.mp3 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 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Skylark by Dezső Kosztolány Embers by Sándor Márai Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim Father by Elizabeth von Arnim Introduction to Sally by Elizabeth von Arnim The Caravaners by Elizabeth von Arnim Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Any Human Heart by William Boyd Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert Margaret Laurence Ernest Hemingway F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘For Esmeé—With Love and Squalor’ by J.D. Salinger Alice Munro Margaret Atwood Nick Herring Anne Enright Sebastian Barry Colm Tóibín L.M. Montgomery Thomas King Michael Crummey Michael Ondaatje Brian Moore Crow Lake by Mary Lawson The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson Arthur Miller Road Ends by Mary Lawson Elizabeth Strout Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale Harriet Said by Beryl Bainbridge

Jane Gardam and messages in books – welcome to episode 121! https://www.stuckinabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/tea-or-books-121.mp3 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 Gardam novels against each other: Old Filth and the same story from another angle, The Man in the Wooden Hat. For those looking for Rachel’s new blog, you can find it and subscribe at Substack. Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with any suggestions for topics, or questions for the middle section. You can support the podcast at Patreon, and we also really appreciate your reviews and ratings. The books and authors we mention in this episode are: A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson A Helping Hand by Celia Dale Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale Margaret Laurence Road Ends by Mary Lawson Brian Moore As You Like It by William Shakespeare Love and Salt Water by Ethel Wilson The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro An End to Running by Lynne Reid Banks The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks The Double Heart by Lettice Cooper The New House by Lettice Cooper National Provincial by Lettice Cooper Animal Farm by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman Jodi Picoult Passing Go by Libby Purves Holy Deadlock by A.P. Herbert Palliser series by Anthony Trollope The Warden by Anthony Trollope A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Hard Times by Charles Dickens Jane Austen Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge Ian McEwan Middle England by Jonathan Coe Lady Audley’s Secret by M.E. Braddon Wilkie Collins Agatha Christie Dorothy L. Sayers ‘The Case of Miss Dorothy Sayers’ by Q.D. Leavis Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Ethel M. Dell Last Friends by Jane Gardam Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo Barbara Pym God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam A Long Way From Verona by Jane Gardam Crow Lake by Mary Lawson The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson