Tea or Books?

Tea or Books? #35: do we want to meet our favourite authors, and The Magnificent Spinster vs The Rector’s Daughter

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , 17 Comments

May Sarton and F.M. Mayor go up against each other, and we chat about whether or not we want to meet our favourite authors (living or dead!)


 
Tea or Books logoOur episodes are getting a little more sporadic as we’re doing more reading specifically for them… depending on us managing to read the books. This is what happens when we run out of books we’ve both read and remembered!

In episode 35, we chat about authors we have met and authors we’d like to meet. In the second, we look at two novels about spinsters published at different ends of the 20th century – May Sarton’s The Magnificent Spinster and F.M. Mayor’s The Rector’s Daughter – and chat a bit about other spinster novels we’ve liked.

Btw, our plan for next episode is to read Tom Tiddler’s Ground by Ursula Orange and A Winter Away by Elizabeth Fair. (We don’t mention that on the podcast.)

You can check out our iTunes page, or listen through all the normal ways. Y’all know the drill. Reviews and ratings super welcome if you can battle with iTunes.

Let us know which you’d pick in each category, and any suggestions you have for future topics!

Books and authors we talk about in this episode…

A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison
Ian and Felicity by Denis Mackail
Greenery Street by Denis Mackail
Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple
Susan and Joanna by Elizabeth Cambridge
Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes by Michael Sims
The Story of Charlotte’s Web by Michael Sims
Sarah Waters
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Marilynne Robinson
Alan Hollinghurst
Angela Young
Fell by Jenn Ashworth
The Runaway by Claire Wong
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
P.D. James
Hilary Mantel
A Curious Friendship by Anna Thomasson
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
A.A. Milne
Jane Austen
Virginia Woolf
The Rector’s Daughter by F.M. Mayor
The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton
As We Are Now by May Sarton
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’ by Katherine Mansfield
Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair
Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson
Father by Elizabeth von Arnim
Emma by Jane Austen
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
‘Paul Revere’s Ride’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Third Miss Symons by F.M. Mayor
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Tea or Books? #34: novels based on real life: yes or no?, and A Pin To See The Peepshow vs Messalina of the Suburbs

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , 8 Comments

E M Delafield, F Tennyson Jesse, and novels about real people – that’s what’s on the menu for episode 34.

 
Tea or Books logoIt’s very nice to have Rachel back (hi Rachel!) and we’ve both been doing homework for this episode – reading these novels specially to discuss them. Which hopefully means we have some more details to hand than usual – but it can get confusing, so here is a handy guide to help you get through the slightly confusing interlinking of these two novels and real life. It’s the woman, the lover, and the husband in each case. (All will become clear when you listen.)

The people in real life: Edith / Frederick / Percy
A Pin To See The Peepshow: Julia / Leo / Herbert
Messalina of the Suburbs: Elsie / Leslie / Horace

Hope that helps! As always, let us know if you have any choices to make – and if you have any suggestions for future episodes. As long as it can be in an ‘X vs Y’ format, we’ll consider it! Our iTunes page is here, and you can rate/review through iTunes itself, should you so wish :)

Incidentally, I did some counting while editing this podcast episode, and it turns out this is the 23rd book I’ve read by E.M. Delafield!

The books and authors we mention in this episode…

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Daphne in Fitzroy Street by E Nesbit
The True Heart by Sylvia Townsend Warner
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Virginia Woolf in Manhattan by Maggie Gee
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Josephine Tey Mysteries by Nicola Upson
The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries by Gyles Brandreth
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
The Brontes Went To Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson
Regeneration by Pat Barker
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
At Freddie’s by Penelope Fitzgerald
Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Amadeus by Peter Shaffer
Virginia Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light
Travesties by Ed Stoppard
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith
A Pin To See The Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
Messalina of the Suburbs by E M Delafield
The Suburban Young Man by E M Delafield
The Lacquer Lady by F Tennyson Jesse
The Rector’s Daughter by F M Mayor
The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton

Tea or Books? #33: a Thomas twins crossover special!

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , 9 Comments

C.S. Lewis, Meryl Streep, and Alfred Hitchcock! What do they have in common? They all appear in this special crossover episode – where Tea or Books? meets my brother’s podcast The C of Z of Movies.

 
Tea or Books logoThat’s right – Rachel agreed to sit this episode out, as did Col’s podcast partner Zijian, and we combined our two podcasts. In the first half, Colin talks about his reading tastes – and we look at The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Briefly. In the second half we pick our favourite and least favourite Meryl Streep films, and quiz each other on some Alfred Hitchcock films.

So, yes, this is all pretty shambolic. We had fun… hopefully you did too? Maybe? And Rachel and I will be back next time as normal – as Col will be on his podcast. His plot to steal all our listeners might just work. (Btw, if you want to join in our reading for next time, Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield is very cheaply available on Kindle. A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse is not.)

You can find the iTunes page for Tea or Books? over here – many thanks for the reviews that I found! I didn’t realise you could only see reviews for your country unless you went hunting.

Here are the books – and films! – we talk about in this episode. In an effort to avoid some confusion, I’ve put the films in non-italics.

How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg
The Grasshopper King (I guess??) by Jordan Ellenberg
But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman
The Death of Noble Godavary by Vita Sackville-West
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Tune In: The Beatles by Mark Lewisohn
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Agatha Christie
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Elena Ferrante
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Mistress Masham’s Repose by T.H. White
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hours
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Stepbrothers
The Secret Garden
It’s a Boy/Girl Thing
She’s The Man
Life in a Day
Iris
La-La Land
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Trainwreck
The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Sophie’s Choice
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Iron Lady
Death Becomes Her
Mamma Mia!
Prime
Lions For Lambs
Suffragette
Evening
Evening by Susan Minot (not Anne anything)
The Deer-Hunter
Manhattan
Kramer vs Kramer
Florence Foster Jenkins
Postcards From the Edge
Into The Woods
Notorious
Vertigo
Psycho
Rear Window
The Birds
Strangers on a Train
Spellbound
Shadow of a Doubt
Rope
Rebecca
Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Hacksaw Ridge
Marnie
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith
Throw Momma From The Train
Lawrence of Arabia
The Grapes of Wrath
Going My Way
Lifeboat
The Lost Weekend
On the Waterfront
The Apartment
Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield
A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse

Tea or Books? #32: jobs in books, and Atonement vs On Chesil Beach

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , 8 Comments

Ian McEwan helps us get dangerously modern in our latest ‘Tea or Books?’ episode, as we chat about Atonement and On Chesil Beach (along with a whole bunch of his other books) – while, in the first half, we discuss whether or not we want to read novels in which one or more characters do our jobs. You can see why I have opted for something briefer in our subject line.


 
Tea or Books logoAs announced, there’s a crossover episode next time – I will be joined by my brother Colin, doing half-books and half-movies. Check out his podcast (especially if you want some clues as to what the format might be). Sorry that Rachel will be absent for an episode – but she’ll be back for glorious episode 34, in which we’ll be discussing E.M. Delafield’s Messalina of the Suburbs and F Tennyson Jesse’s A Pin to See The Peepshow. You’ve got a whole month to prepare!

As usual, our iTunes page is over yonder. Rate and review if you can work out the internal mazes of iTunes!

Here are the (many!) books and authors we natter about in this episode:

Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Stoner by John Williams
Goodbye Mr Chips by James Hilton
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Then We Came To An End by Joshua Ferris
Tepper Isn’t Going Out by Calvin Trillin
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
Greengates by R.C. Sherriff
London Belongs To Me by Norman Collins
Faster! Faster! by E.M. Delafield
High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Chronicles of Barsetshire by Anthony Trollope
Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Hearts and Minds by Rosy Thornton
The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch
The Professor’s House by Willa Cather
Seasoned Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey
Alva and Irva by Edward Carey
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand (actually published in 1935, not 1910, sorry!)
Atonement by Ian McEwan
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Ulysses by James Joyce
Nutshell by Ian McEwan
Virginia by Jens Christian Grøndahl
A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar
Solar by Ian McEwan
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield
A Pin to See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Tea or Books? #31: lists, yes or no? and The Fortnight in September vs Greengates

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , 13 Comments

Happy new year! Rachel and I are back from a bit of a podcast break, and raring to go for the New Year.


 
Tea or Books logoIn this episode, we look at two novels by R.C. Sherriff, both published by Persephone, and we also look back over 2016 and debate whether or not we make and read Best Books of the Year lists. Look, it’s just a way for us to shoe-horn in an overview of our favourite reads from 2016.

As always, we’d love to know what you’d choose from each category, and any ideas you have for future episodes. We’re always so grateful for those – though sometimes we haven’t yet read the authors people mention. We’ll work on it!

Listen to us above, via iTunes, or your podcast app of choice. I’ve been asking people to leave a review at the iTunes site, but it turns out you can only do that through the iTunes app or programme, maybe?

Anyway, we’ll loving being back – apologies for a bit of poor sound quality at times – and here are the books and authors we mention in this episode:

Witness for the Prosecution by R.C. Sherriff
4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie
Magnificent Obsession by Helen Rappaport
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
Third Girl by Agatha Christie
Curiosity by Alberto Manguel
Over the Footlights and Other Fancies by Stephen Leacock
The Lark by E. Nesbit
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
The Lost Europeans by Emanuel Litvinoff
Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Complete Works by William Shakespeare
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson
Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield
A Pin to See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Margaret Atwood
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Terms and Conditions by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson
Compton Mackenzie
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Museum of Cheats by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
Greengates by R.C. Sherriff
The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff
Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton
Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff
(The Cataclysm turns out to be The Hopkins Manuscript under the same name!)

Tea or Books? #30: artists vs musicians, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie vs A Far Cry From Kensington

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , 10 Comments

Muriel Spark, artists, and musicians in our final episode of 2016 – it was a fun one to record.


 
Tea or Books logoWe wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year, and fingers crossed for a wonderful 2017 for us all. Recording these episodes has certainly been a highlight in 2016, and we love hearing from you.

In the first half of the episode, we talk about artists and musicians in books – whether real or fictional – and which we prefer. Turning to our second section, we discuss an author I’ve been wanting to chat about the podcast for ages – Muriel Spark, more particularly The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and A Far Cry From Kensington.

Listen above, via a podcast app, or at our iTunes page. Rate, review, etc.! We’ve now had five ratings, which is exciting, as it means they’re displayed and we’re on 5 stars – THANKS GUYS.

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

Round the Christmas Fire by Nancy Mitford, Laurie Lee, Truman Capote et al
Dickens at Christmas
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay
Mystery in White by J.J. Farjeon
Curiosity by Alberto Manguel
A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
Stevenson under the Palm Trees by Alberto Manguel
Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
Emma by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge (apologies for my terrible geography!)
Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
Mapp and Lucia series by E.F. Benson
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell (see the sculpture in my review)
House of Silence by Linda Gillard
Cazalet Chronciles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Chessman
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith
Winnie and Wolf by A.N. Wilson
Evenfield by Rachel Ferguson
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Child of Light by Muriel Spark
John Masefield by Muriel Spark
Barbara Pym
The Only Problem by Muriel Spark
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
The Takeover by Muriel Spark
R.C. Sherriff

Tea or Books? #29: short stories (yes or no?) and Bricks and Mortar vs Princes in the Land

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , , 5 Comments

Two more Persephones in this episode – Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton and Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan – along with a discussion of short stories: which writers we like and don’t like, and whether or not we’d race towards short stories in a bookshop.

 

Tea or Books logoAs always, we’d love to know your choices – and any topics or books you’d like us to cover in future episodes.

Listen to us above, or via a podcast app, or (if you’re feeling daring) at our iTunes page. Our ratings button there has stalled at ‘not enough ratings to display an average’ since day one, so cheer us up and give us a rating. Unless it’s one star, then amuse yourself elsewhere.

Here are the (many!) books and authors we discuss in this episode:

H.G. Wells and His Family (as I have known them) by M.M. Meyer
Ivy Compton-Burnett: A Memoir by Cicely Greig
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton
The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton
The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
The Golden Age by Martin Edwards
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Terms and Conditions by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
Edgar Allan Poe
Agatha Christie
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
Katherine Mansfield – ‘At the Bay’, ‘Prelude’, ‘Miss Brill’, ‘Bliss’, ‘The Garden Party’
The Closed Door and other stories by Dorothy Whipple
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
Elizabeth Taylor
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Love-Child by Edith Olivier
Richard Yates
William Maxwell
‘A Christmas Memory’ by Truman Capote
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
‘The Landlady’ by Roald Dahl
‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
‘After You, My Dear Alphonse’ by Shirley Jackson
Daphne du Maurier
A Table Near the Band and other stories by A.A. Milne
The Birthday Party and other stories by A.A. Milne
A.L. Kennedy
The Montana Stories
Tea With Mr Rochester by Frances Towers
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Tell it to a Stranger by Elizabeth Berridge
The Woman Novelist and other stories by Diana Gardner
Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan
Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton
Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge
High Table by Joanna Cannan
Parson Austen’s Daughter by Helen Ashton
Return to Cheltenham by Helen Ashton
Greengates by R.C. Sherriff
Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark

Tea or Books? #28: scary vs not scary, and The Home-Maker vs The Victorian Chaise-Longue

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , 3 Comments

Two Persephone titles will help solace us in these bizarre post-election days.


 

Tea or Books logoWe’ve been away for a while because I lost my voice – sorry! – but Rachel (Book Snob) and I are back, talking about The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski and The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Before that, we chat scary books, because we haven’t recorded since Hallowe’en.

The world is a scary place right now. I have not come to terms with Trump being President-Elect at all. The idea that somebody could wage a campaign in that way and win… it’s just inconceivable. So let’s turn to books, at least for a moment or two.

We’d love to hear what you’d pick in each of these categories, and any ideas for future episodes. Listen above, via your podcast app of choice, or at our iTunes page. Why not even rate and review us?

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

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Terms and Conditions by Ysenda Maxtone Graham (I think I forgot to say the title of any of hers…)
The Real Mrs Miniver by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Mr Tibbits’s Catholic School by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
Private Demons: the Life of Shirley Jackson by Judy Oppenheimer
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Agatha Christie
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Edgar Allan Poe
Mist and other stories by Richmal Crompton
Ghost stories by Edith Wharton
Casting the Runes by M. R. James
Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Don’t Look Now and other stories by Daphne du Maurier
Goosebumps
Point Horror
Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
The Brimming Cup by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Seasoned Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Her Son’s Wife by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Love on the Supertax by Marghanita Laski
Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski
The Village by Marghanita Laski

Tea or Books? #27: cats vs dogs in literature, and Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward vs The Dover Road by A.A. Milne

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , 8 Comments

Cats! Dogs! Noel Coward! A.A. Milne! I always start off these descriptions with exclamation marks, but seldom has it been more justified…

 
Tea or Books logoIn this episode, we pit literary cats against literary dogs, and almost instantly regret it (while also having plenty of fun, of course) – and, on more secure ground, discuss Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward and The Dover Road by A.A. Milne, especially as we had the good fortune to see the latter together recently. (The text is available online here.)

Sorry this episode has been a while in coming – the 1947 Club took over instead – but we’ll be back on track now hopefully! Listen above, download via a podcast app, or visit our iTunes page.

As usual, here are the books and authors we discuss:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Jennie by Paul Gallico
Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico
Mrs Harris series by Paul Gallico
The Fur Person by May Sarton
As We Were by May Sarton
The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton
The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann
Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiradie
Mother and Son by Ivy Compton-Burnett
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burford
Marley & Me by John Grogan
Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend
The Queen and I by Sue Townsend
Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Dover Road by A.A. Milne
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
Private Lives by Noel Coward
Mr Pim Passes By by A.A. Milne
It’s Too Late Now by A.A. Milne
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Hayfever by Noel Coward
Design for Living by Noel Coward
Still Life by Noel Coward
Miss Elizabeth Bennet by A.A. Milne
Success by A.A. Milne
The Great Broxopp by A.A. Milne
Three Plays by A.A. Milne
Four Plays by A.A. Milne
Mr Pim by A.A. Milne
Toad of Toad Hall by A.A. Milne
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski

Tea or Books? #26: give up vs soldier on, and Matilda by Roald Dahl vs Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , , 15 Comments

Roald Dahl, Michelle Magorian, and whether or not to give up on books – I’m back from holiday, and Rachel and I have a lovely new (…long) episode of Tea or Books?

 

Tea or Books logoIn our first half, we discuss whether or not we give up on books, and what factors might play into that decision – and in the second half we get all children’s-literature-focused. We’re supposedly pitting Matilda by Roald Dahl against Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian (which only have in common that Rachel and I loved them both as children) – but we end up talking about every Dahl we can think of.

This is the excellent airbnb place I stayed in Siena, and this is our iTunes page. Listen to the ep up above, over there, or any which way you choose. We’re not the bosses of you! Having said that, I do want to boss you into telling us what you’d choose for each half. And more ideas, please! We got so many good ideas from people a while ago… and we’re running out.

Here are the books and authors we talked about in this episode:

Collection of Sand by Italo Calvino
Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Sword of Bone by Anthony Rhodes
Chatterton Square by E.H. Young
Miss Mole by E.H. Young
But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman
Jane Austen
The Dover Road by A.A. Milne (book your tickets here!)
Private Lives by Noel Coward
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Zadie Smith
P.G. Wodehouse
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Crash by J.G. Ballard
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Elizabeth Bowen
Jane Austen
Muriel Spark
Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns
Who Was Changed and Who was Dead by Barbara Comyns
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
P.D. James
The Chateau by William Maxwell
A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor
Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
Going Solo by Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach: a play by David Wood
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Doreen by Barbara Noble
Kisses on a Postcard by Terence Frisby
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh