Cassie McCullough

Well, it's worth pointing out, it's not her reading the audio book, but the woman who does it is brilliant.

Now on the bookshelf, let's meet today's guests, beginning with Sefakor Zikpi, a Sydney-based lawyer and writer of Ghanaian descent.

Sefakor, hello.

Hi there, Cassie.

How are you?

I'm pretty good, but I was feeling a little bit worried about you because we've given you this book to read at the same time as you having a four-week-old baby and a toddler.

How are you going?

Just barely, barely opening my eyes.

Hilarious, but no doubt really tragic as well.

Well, there's lots that the rest of us could learn about exactly what that's like.

Yeah.

Also with us is journalist Penelope Green, who writes for the Newcastle Herald, but who also in her 20s gave up a job in Sydney and headed to Italy.

And there she ended up living for years and wrote about her experiences in a series of books called When in Rome and See Naples and Die.

Penny, hello.

Hello.

Thanks for having me.

Why Italy?

I mean, well, not Italy, of course, but what was your idea of the place that took you there?

Is half-assed a term you picked up in sort of provincial...

Okay, well, we're shamelessly using both of your lives and language skills today on the bookshelf to take us into the books that we've asked you to read.