Two novels by A.A. Milne and we get deep about Amazon.
In the first half, we talk buying books in bookshops vs buying books online – taking our cue from a suggestion by Karen – and then we wander into a discussion about Amazon that isn’t especially conclusive. In the second half, we compare two books by my favourite (probably) author – Mr Pim Passes By and Four Days’ Wonder. You can see a filming of the play Mr Pim Passes By on YouTube.
You can see our iTunes page, and you can support the podcast at Patreon. Or you can just listen via the sound file above or through any podcast app. The blog I mention is Indie Lit Fic.
The books and authors we mention – including a mass of Hardy! – are:
Heat Wave by Penelope Lively
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor
Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Hackenfeller’s Ape by Brigid Brophy
Edith Olivier
The Dover Road by A.A. Milne
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
R.C. Sherriff
The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins
Chloe Marr by A.A. Milne
Two People by A.A. Milne
The Table Near The Band by A.A. Milne
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Education of Harriet Hatfield by May Sarton
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Loved the podcast! Especially your discussion on online bookstores vs. “real” bookstores. I like to visit thrift stores for my used books, as well as little free libraries. Never know what you’ll find !
It’s really a shame that there isn’t an independent in Oxford but I think it’s part of a greater picture . When I worked in Salisbury some years back there were literally a dozen second hand bookshops. Last time I visited most of them had gone. Most sad. I try to buy from proper shops but a good number of my books come from charity shops. The issues with Amazon make it hard to justify shopping there, and I try to use alternatives like Wordery. But unfortunately it’s sometimes the only way to get a book you want.
As for Mr Pim – I’m looking forward to reading it! 😁😁
Firstly, totally agree with you Rachel about In A Summer Season. I finished it wondering i) what was the point of it, ii) how convenient are crashes for disposing of surplus characters, and iii) was I being particularly dense for just not getting some deep and subtle meaning? I put it away resolving to reread when older and wiser.
You made a lot of salient points about online shopping but my guilt about online orders has vanished after a run of particularly poor service on the part of three different bookshops. To enumerate them would turn this post into a rant but really, bookshops can only distinguish themselves on service and a few topical displays are really not enough. They need to stop treating customers like a nuisance.
Lovely podcast as usual! I like to support indie bookstores as much as possible, but I also find a lot of cheap, used books at my library’s biannual book sale. Otherwise, I would spend a lot more money on books than I already do! But I occasionally order online when I can’t find the books I want in the bookstores. I avoid Amazon at all costs. My parents live near an amazing bookstore in Portland, Oregon, called Powell’s Books. I go there anytime I visit them, and I swear I can’t leave without spending less than $100!
Speaking of books being hard to find, A.A. Milne’s have so far proved elusive, but I look forward to tracking them down at some point.
Simon, have you or Rachel heard of or read anything by Wendell Berry? He wrote the novels Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow, among others.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth, glad you enjoyed it! And I have heard so much about Powell’s Books from different people – I doubt I’ll ever make it there,but I’m sure I’d spend a fortune if I did.
I have dimly heard of Wendell Berry, I think, but didn’t know any titles and haven’t read any. I’ll ask Rachel!
is there any way of listening to your podcast as an MP3 file, [ie not with itunes] as I can with most other podcasts eg Tea and Tattles?
many thanks