Tea or Books?
Episodes
Tea or Books? #49: Death of the Author?, and The Woman in White vs Possession
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Wilkie Collins, A.S. Byatt, and the death of the author (sort of) – episode 49 is quite the mixed bag. nbsp; I found it quite hard to describe t...
Tea or Books? #48: Sad Beginnings vs Happy Beginnings and The Semi-Attached Couple vs The Semi-Detached House
22 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Eden and the openings of books – we muddle our way through episode 48!   First – do send any questions you have for episode 50 ...
Tea or Books? #47: sequels vs new-author sequels, and A Compass Error vs Pleasures and Landscapes
02 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sybille Bedford and sequels by the original author vs sequels by a different author… we need to come up with snappier titles for these things. &...
Tea or Books? #46: Canadian vs Irish Literature, and My Name Is Lucy Barton vs Anything Is Possible
19 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Strout is our author this episode – and we also dip a toe in the worlds of Canadian and Irish literature. Spoilers: we know a lot less...
Tea or Books? #45: Do Literary Prizes Affect Our Reading and The Heir vs All Passion Spent
03 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A heated conversation about literary prizes AND Vita Sackville-West. Roll up, roll up for episode 45!   In the first half of this fortnight’...
Tea or Books? #44: Monogamous vs Polygamous, and The Village vs To Bed With Grand Music
17 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After a bit of a hiatus, we’re back with an episode about Marghanita Laski and whether we read one book at a time or many books at once. And bec...
Tea or Books? #43: scientists vs clergymen, and As It Was vs Fair Stood the Wind for France
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists! Vicars! H.E. Bates! Helen Thomas!   We’re popping in between holidays to record an episode about clergymen and scientists in no...
Tea or Books? #42: trains vs boats, and Illyrian Spring vs Hotel du Lac
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Trains! Boats! Anita Brookner! Ann Bridge! This episode has it all. Books set on trains vs books set on boats – Rachel didn’t want us to d...
Tea or Books? #41: novels set in one day vs many years, and The Forsyte Saga vs The Cazalet Chronicles
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
John Galsworthy! Elizabeth Jane Howard! Circadian novels! Find out what that means, and much more, in episode 41.   Guys, it was SUPER hot when w...
Tea or Books? #40: how do we arrange our bookshelves, and two E.H. Young novels
05 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alphabetical or thematic shelving? Miss Mole vs Chatterton Square? Episode 40 of ‘Tea or Books?’ continues answering the important ques...
Tea or Books? #39: spoilers or no spoilers, and Anne of Green Gables vs Daddy Long-Legs
20 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Jenny joins us for episode 39 – discussing children’s classics and spoilers!   I was SO excited that Jenny agreed to jo...
Tea or Books? #38: male characters by women vs female characters by men, and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont vs At The Jerusalem
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Bailey, and a bit of a debate about male and female characters. Here’s episode 38 – which is unusually short, but h...
Tea or Books? #37: does studying books ruin them? and A View From the Bridge vs Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
19 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and schooldays – we’ve got it all in episode 37 (depending on your definition of ‘all’).   I...
Tea or Books? #36: audiobooks (yes or no?) and two Furrowed Middlebrow novels
03 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ursula Orange, Elizabeth Fair, and audiobooks – it’s fair to say that people probably won’t know that much about the authors today, ...
Tea or Books? #35: do we want to meet our favourite authors, and The Magnificent Spinster vs The Rector’s Daughter
14 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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!)   Ou...
Tea or Books? #34: novels based on real life: yes or no?, and A Pin To See The Peepshow vs Messalina of the Suburbs
19 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
E M Delafield, F Tennyson Jesse, and novels about real people – that’s what’s on the menu for episode 34.   It’s very nic...
Tea or Books? #33: a Thomas twins crossover special!
30 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 Bo...
Tea or Books? #32: jobs in books, and Atonement vs On Chesil Beach
17 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ian McEwan helps us get dangerously modern in our latest ‘Tea or Books?’ episode, as we chat about Atonement and On Chesil Beach (along ...
Tea or Books? #31: lists, yes or no? and The Fortnight in September vs Greengates
02 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new year! Rachel and I are back from a bit of a podcast break, and raring to go for the New Year.   In this episode, we look at two novels ...
Tea or Books? #30: artists vs musicians, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie vs A Far Cry From Kensington
12 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Muriel Spark, artists, and musicians in our final episode of 2016 – it was a fun one to record.   We wish you all a very merry Christmas an...
Tea or Books? #29: short stories (yes or no?) and Bricks and Mortar vs Princes in the Land
28 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Two more Persephones in this episode – Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton and Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan – along with a discuss...
Tea or Books? #28: scary vs not scary, and The Home-Maker vs The Victorian Chaise-Longue
10 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Two Persephone titles will help solace us in these bizarre post-election days.   We’ve been away for a while because I lost my voice –...
Tea or Books? #27: cats vs dogs in literature, and Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward vs The Dover Road by A.A. Milne
18 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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? #26: give up vs soldier on, and Matilda by Roald Dahl vs Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
27 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 (…...
Tea or Books? #25: to adapt or not to adapt, and To The North vs The House in Paris
12 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Bowen and novels adapted into films – though not in conjunction…   In the first half of this podcast, we discuss novels ada...
Tea or Books? #24: careful or manhandle, and The Love-Child vs Lolly Willowes
25 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  I have forced two topics on Rachel – firstly, are you careful with books, or do you manhandle them? (It will all make sense in context.) ...
Tea or Books? #23: keep or cull, and They Came Like Swallows vs Time Will Darken It
03 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Two William Maxwell novels go up against each other in this episode – but not before we’ve got to the heart of the emotional issue ...
Tea or Books? #22: set in the time vs written in the time, and 84, Charing Cross Road vs Howards End is on the Landing
18 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Historical fiction and books-about-books are the themes for episode 22 of Tea or Books? – and we have a LOT to say on these topics. And ...
Tea or Books? #21: children narrators vs adult narrators, and Shakespeare comedies vs tragedies
06 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Shakespeare! That’s right, we’re getting very classy and/or GCSE English in our discussion of his comedies and tragedies – fo...
Tea or Books? #20: first vs third person and Cider With Rosie vs My Family and Other Animals
21 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Happy birthday us! We actually passed our birthday by a couple of weeks, but this is the first podcast after the big day. Can you believe it...
Tea or Books? #19: summer vs winter and The Night Watch vs The Little Stranger
06 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Sarah Waters and the seasons – how better to celebrate the sunny weather we’ve been having recently? In episode 19 we look at summe...
Tea or Books? #18: titles: fancy or simple? and Hercule Poirot vs Miss Marple
23 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Agatha Christie and curious titles come together in perhaps my favourite episode of the podcast yet. And also the first one where we’re ...
Tea or Books? #17: diaries vs letters and The Importance of Being Earnest vs The Picture of Dorian Gray
12 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Letters! Diaries! Oscar Wilde! We’ve got it all – well, those three things – in episode 17 of Tea or Books?, which has taken ...
Tea or Books? #16: series vs standalones and Winnie the Pooh vs The Wind in the Willows
19 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Winnie-the-Pooh vs Wind in the Willows is perhaps the most animal-strewn debate we’ve had so far, as well as being more or less inevitabl...
Tea or Books? #15: plays vs poetry, and Rebecca vs My Cousin Rachel
05 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Plays or poetry? We go broad with the first half of our 15th episode, and (inevitably) barely scratch the surface. You wouldn’t have it a...
Tea or Books? #14: reprints vs original editions, and The Time Traveller’s Wife vs Her Fearful Symmetry
21 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Reprints or original editions? That’s the first question we ask ourselves, courtesy of Michelle of Book Musings, and have a lot of fun di...
Tea or Books? #13: villainous vs virtuous, and One Fine Day vs London War Notes
08 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Villains or virtuous folk? No, not describing your hosts Rachel (Book Snob) and me, but enquiring into our favourite types of characters. In th...
Tea or Books? #12: happy vs sad endings, and Elizabeth and Her German Garden vs The Enchanted April
15 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Happy endings? Sad endings? And a couple of Elizabeth von Arnim novels – we have a fun, albeit somewhat sickly episode. It makes me think...
Tea or Books? #11: ebooks vs books and Nancy Mitford vs Evelyn Waugh
03 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
  Ebooks! Books! Nancy Mitford! Evelyn Waugh! We’ve got it all for you in episode 11, as we turn our attention to the well-worn path of ebo...
Tea or Books? #10: Reading Resolutions, yes or no? and Barbara Pym vs Elizabeth Taylor
18 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
    ‘Tea or Books?’ is back for the new year – and it starts pretty shambolically, as we can’t remember the episode ...
Tea or Books? #9: buy or borrow and Christmas books: yes or no?
19 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  Welcome to a festive edition of ‘Tea or Books?’ (and another one where I forgot to close my bedroom window when recording) – ...
Tea or Books? #8: biography vs autobiography and I Capture the Castle vs Guard Your Daughters
02 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  In this episode Dodie Smith’s much-loved I Capture the Castle goes up against Diana Tutton’s lesser-known Guard Your Daughters, a...
Tea or Books? #7: Persephone vs. Virago & To The Lighthouse vs. A Room of One’s Own
16 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  Rachel and I are pitting our favourite publishers against each other in this (belated!) episode – Persephone vs Virago Modern Classics. ...
Tea or Books? #6: mothers vs fathers in fiction and Dickens on page vs screen
13 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  Fictional mothers vs fictional fathers and Dickens on the page vs Dickens on screen in this episode of Tea or Books? – and I think Rach...
Tea or Books? #5: rural vs urban settings and Pride & Prejudice vs Sense & Sensibility
29 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  It’s been an enormous delay, because of internet issues, but – we’re back! In this episode, Rachel (Book Snob) and I debate r...
Tea or Books? #4: American classics vs. British classics and Enid Blyton vs. E. Nesbit
28 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  In this week’s episode, Rachel (Book Snob) and I get waaay out of our depth talking about American classics and British classics, then ...
Tea or Books? #3: re-reading vs. new books, and D.E. Stevenson vs. Dorothy Whipple
12 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
  A little later than we planned (which is probably a good indication of how unreliable we’re going to be… but I hope not!) here is e...
Tea or Books? #2: long vs. short books, and The Catcher in the Rye vs. The Go-Between
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the second episode of our podcast! In this episode, Rachel and I are discussing long books vs. short books and The Catcher in the Rye vs. ...
Tea or Books? #1: books in translation vs. books set in other countries, and Emily vs. Charlotte Brontë
08 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The first episode of Tea or Books? looks at books in translation vs. books set in other countries, and Emily vs. Charlotte Brontë