podcast

Tea or Books? #92: Do We Care What Characters Wear? and Girl, Woman, Other vs Life After Life

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Bernadine Evaristo, Kate Atkinson, and clothes – welcome to episode 92.

In the first half of the episode, Rachel and I discuss clothes in books – do we care what characters wear? I forgot to mention, but do check out Moira’s excellent Clothes in Books blog for lots of this sort of thing.

In the second half, we are unusually modern – comparing Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo.

Do get in touch with us if you have any suggestions or questions – teaorbooks[at]gmail.com – and you can support the podcast at Patreon. Many thanks to those who do!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

The Flick by Annie Baker
John by Annie Baker
A Winter Book by Tove Jansson
A Name to Conjure With by G.B. Stern
For All We Know by G.B. Stern
Alan Ayckbourn
Harvey by Mary Chase
Speaking of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern
More Talk of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern
Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
‘Miss Brill’ by Katherine Mansfield
The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Letter From New York by Helene Hanff
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
Emma by Jane Austen
Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson
Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson
Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp
Ashcombe by Cecil Beaton
Edith Olivier
Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor
A Winter Book by Tove Jansson
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Tea or Books? #91: Familiar or Unfamiliar Settings? and Two Elizabeth von Arnim novels

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Elizabeth von Arnim and settings of novels – welcome to episode 91!

In the first half of the novel, we look at the settings of novels, and ask whether we prefer familiar or unfamiliar settings. In the second half, we compare two recently reprinted novels by Elizabeth von Arnim – Father and Expiation.

You can listen above, on Spotify, via Apple Podcasts, or any podcast app. You can support the podcast at Patreon, or get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com.

The books and authors we mention in this episode:

O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
Emma by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Passing On by Penelope Lively
According to Mark by Penelope Lively
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
Dorothy L Sayers
E. M. Delafield
Charles Dickens
Winifred Holtby
Vera Brittain
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge
Maria Edgeworth
Brensham Village by John Moore
The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Bowen
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Westwood by Stella Gibbons
The Matchmaker by Stella Gibbons
Bassett by Stella Gibbons
Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons
Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons
Barbara Pym
Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson
Dangerous Ages by Rose Macaulay
Keeping Up Appearances by Rose Macaulay
Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay
Potterism by Rose Macaulay
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Tea or Books? #90: Good or Bad Reading Year? and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn vs O, The Brave Music

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Betty Smith, Dorothy Evelyn Smith, and a review of our reading years…

In the first half, we look back over a very unusual year and ask – was it a good reading year or a bad reading year? We’ve not talked much about the pandemic this year, because we want this to be one of the places people can escape from all that, but in this episode we’ve talked about how it affects our reading.

In the second half, in a slight change to the advertised pairing, we compare O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Both are coming-of-age novels set in the 1910s and published in the 1940s, though in very different environments.

We’ll see you in the new year – in the meantime, you can listen to this podcast on Spotify, via your podcast app, or at Apple podcasts. You can get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com and/or support the podcast at Patreon.

Thanks to Arpita of Bag Full of Books for her wonderful contribution to our Dorothy Evelyn Smith conversation!

Have a lovely Christmas and a happy new year – here’s hoping 2021 is better than 2020.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

Three Kings by Stephen Beresford
Present Laughter by Noel Coward
Have His Carcass by Dorothy L Sayers
The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Willa Cather
Emily Eden
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Ali Smith
Square Haunting by Francesca Wade
Virginia Woolf
Business As Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford
John Buchan
A House in the Country by Ruth Adam
A Woman’s Place by Ruth Adam
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey
Alva and Irva by Edward Carey
Little by Edward Carey
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
Leila Slimani
Jeeves and Wooster series by P.G. Wodehouse
The Girl on the Boat by P.G. Wodehouse
Miss Plum and Miss Penny by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Beyond the Gates by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Proud Citadel by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
The Lovely Day by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
Miss Read
Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith
Expiation by Elizabeth von Arnim
Father by Elizabeth von Arnim

Tea or Books? #89: Do we care about gardens?, and Gilead vs Home

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? , 12 Comments

Marilynne Robinson and gardens – welcome to episode 89!

We are scraping the barrel a little in our first half, and arguably repeating ourselves, but please enjoy our musings on gardens. In the second half, after answering a question from Jen, we talk about Marilynne Robinson’s novels Gilead and Home. Finally, after talking about it for years!

You can listen above, at Spotify, at Apple Podcast, or via any podcast app you use. Reviews and ratings very welcome – they apparently help people find us. If you have any questions or suggestions, do get in touch at teaorbooks@gmail.com. And you can support the podcast at Patreon. What a lot of options!

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Random Commentary by Dorothy Whipple
The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Expiation by Elizabeth von Arnim
Father by Elizabeth von Arnim
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham
Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham
Letters of Tove Jansson
Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce
A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink
On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior
Faces of Justice by Sybille Bedford
Not at Home by Doris Langley Moore
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols
Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols
Dear Friend and Gardener by Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd
A.A. Milne
A Thatched Roof by Beverley Nichols
Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Virginia Woolf’s Garden by Caroline Zoob
The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkley
Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay
Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay
A Scream in Soho by John Brandon
The Lake District Murder by John Bude
Agatha Christie
Quick Curtain by Alan Melville
Death of Anton by Alan Melville
The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton
Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Miss Plum and Miss Penny by Dorothy Evelyn Smith

Tea or Books? #87: Biographies vs Novels about Real People and Emma by Jane Austen and Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater

StuckinaBook Tea or Books? 6 Comments

Jane Austen, Jane and Mary Findlater, and – it’s episode 87!

 

We recorded this episode a little while ago and I have been lazy at editing – but here we are. Hope you like our lovely new logo, courtesy of my graphic designer friend Ellie.

In the first half of this episode, we discuss novels based on real people vs biographies – in the second half, Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater vs a book it seemed a little based on, Emma by Jane Austen.

You can listen to the podcast via Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice – reviews gratefully accepted! You can support the podcast, and get bonus mini episodes along with other ‘rewards’, at Patreon.

Oh, and you can find a snippet of me recommending a lovely summer read in the latest Book Club Review Podcast – have a hunt for that in your apps.

Books and authors we mention in this podcast:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Human Kind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
A House in the Country by Ruth Adam
Airhead by Emily Maitlis
A Woman’s Place by Ruth Adam
A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair
Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Virginia Woolf in Manhattan by Maggie Gee
Alexandra Harris
Hermione Lee
Quentin Bell
Regeneration by Pat Barker
Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon
Memoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried Sassoon
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik
Rose Macaulay by Constance Babington-Smith
Rose Macaulay by Jane Emery
Rose Macaulay by Sarah LeFanu
The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm
Anne Stevenson
According to Mark by Penelope Lively
Summer in February by Jonathan Smith
Stevenson Under the Palm Trees by Alberto Manguel
Nicola Upson
Josephine Tey
Gyles Brandreth
Oscar Wilde
Dorothy L. Sayers
The Brontes Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
The Three Brontes by May Sinclair
Larchfield by Polly Clark
Remembering Denny by Calvin Trillin
The Story of Charlotte’s Web by Michael Sims
Arthur and Sherlock by Michael Sims
Parson Austen’s Daughter by Helen Ashton
Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton
More Women Than Men by Ivy Compton-Burnett
A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Elizabeth Gaskell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Tea or Books? #86: Empathy vs Sympathy and The Child That Books Built vs When I Was A Child I Read Books

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Marilynne Robinson, Francis Spufford, empathy and sympathy!

Welcome to episode 86, in which we talk about characters we feel empathetic towards and those we feel sympathetic towards. And if you aren’t sure of the distinction, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered too.

In the second half, we compare two books with similar titles but very different contents: When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson and The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford.

Do get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics or a question for the middle bit – we’re at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com. Find us in your podcast app of choice, on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts. And you can support us on Patreon, where there are also bonus ten-minute episodes from me.

The books and authors we mention in this episode are:

The Game by A.S. Byatt
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt
The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
The Vanishing Act by Adrian Alington
Dorothy L Sayers
Agatha Christie
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Goodbye To Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Henry James
Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Ian McEwan
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Ivy Compton-Burnett
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Biggles series by W.E. Johns
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
The Way We Live Now by Meg Rosoff
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
White Cargo by Felicity Kendal
William Shakespeare
The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Love by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Astonishment by Dodie Smith
Look Back With Mixed Feelings by Dodie Smith
Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh
Wise Children by Angela Carter
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Lover’s Vows by Elizabeth Inchbald
Sea Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard
At Freddie’s by Penelope Fitzgerald
Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater
Emma by Jane Austen

Tea or Books? #85: One House or Many Houses, and A Thatched Roof vs Fresh From The Country

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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
Fidelity by Susan Glaspell
Brooke Evans by Susan Glaspell
The Glory of the Conquered by Susan Glaspell
Our Man in Havana by Grahame Greene
The City and the City by China Miéville
My Discovery of England by Stephen Leacock
The Provincial Lady in America by E.M. Delafield
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Rosamunde Pilcher
Daphne du Maurier
The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
Yellow by Janni Visman
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
Mrs Tim of the Regiment by D.E. Stevenson
The New House by Lettice Cooper
Greengates by R.C. Sherriff
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Heir by Vita Sackville-West
The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Thornyhold by Mary Stewart
Sarah Waters
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Ivy Compton-Burnett
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
A Regiment of Women by Clemence Dane
Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols
A Village in a Valley by Beverley Nichols
Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols
Sunlight on the Lawn by Beverley Nichols
Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson
Powers That Be by E.F. Benson
George Orwell
Thrush Green series by Miss Read
When I Was A Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford