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.
That’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
What fun listening to you two sparring away! :)
I have Messalina somewhere I think – must get round to reading it…
Thanks Karen! What fun we had :)
Loved the crossover podcast ! I always look forward to “Tea or Books.” Simon, you always make me smile 😀
Aww thanks Linda!
I loved the podcast! I started making a list and apparently I have seen TWENTY TWO movies with Meryl Streep (though to be fair I’m older than you). My top three are Julie & Julia, Defending Your Life, and The Devil Wears Prada. Bottom three: Adaptation (nothing against her performance, but I HATED how they changed the book The Orchid Thief); Plenty, and She-Devil, which is probably just as bad as Death Becomes Her. I’m not counting Mamma Mia which was such a bad adaptation I couldn’t even watch the whole thing, though she was fine and I loved the Broadway show.
Also I’ve seen 9/10 of those Hitchcock movies! I’ve never seen The Birds as it’s just too scary. Suspicion and Rear Window are really good, so is Spellbound (and Gregory Peck is really dreamy); also, Dial M for Murder. Not a fan of Vertigo, however. I love Jimmy Stewart but the 25 year age difference between him and Kim Novak is a little icky.
Thanks Karen! That’s very nice of you :) So many films for me to watch… and avoid, in the case of She-Devil…
Yes, Sacramento is actually the capital city of California. Not great at movie trivia myself, and only know about Sacramento from making my kids learn the states and capitals years ago (they were put to music which helps me long term 😊).
If it makes you feel better, I have no idea if the various regions of England have capitals or not.
Loved listening to the two of you together!
I looked it up afterwards! I was so proud of myself for knowing it :) And tried to learn state capitals for quizzing at some point, but didn’t get super far…
We do have county towns in each county! Some are super obvious – Worcester for Worcestershire, etc. – some aren’t (Ipswich for Suffolk).
What a fun podcast! I loved listening to you and your brother talking about books and movies.