Tea or Books?
Simon from 'Stuck in a Book' and Rachel from 'Book Snob' engage in friendly debates about reading and bookish dilemmas. They discuss topics like choosing between tea and books, and other tough decisions readers face. The podcast offers thoughtful conversations for book lovers.
Episodes
#153: Do We Care If Writers Exaggerate? and When The Cranes Fly South vs Only About Love
Liars, Lisa Ridzen, and Debbi Voisey – welcome to episdoe 153! In the first half, we talk about our expectations of truth in the non-fiction we read, inspired by the hoo-ha over The Salt Path. In the second half, we compare When
#152: Novels about women’s home life vs work life, and The Professor’s House by Willa Cather vs The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout, Willa Cather, and women’s lives – welcome to episode 152! In the first half, Rachel and Simon discuss whether we prefer reading novels about women’s professional lives or their home lives. In the second half, we compare two
#151: A Q&A special! (part 2)
Thanks again for all your questions for our special Q&A episode of Tea or Books? It took longer than planned, but here is part 2… Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with suggestions and questions for future episodes!
#150: A Q&A special! (part 1)
Thank you so much for all your questions for episode 150 of ‘Tea or Books?’! Because we had so many questions, we’re doing it over two episodes – so today’s is the first half. Watch out for part 2, next
#149: Do We Like Campus Novels? and Two Books By Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark and campus novels – welcome to episode 149! In the first half of this episode, we answer Lisa’s question: do we like campus novels? In the second half, we compare two novels by Muriel Spark. Not necessarily the
#148: Is There A Right Time To Read A Book? and The Dutch House vs The Party
Ann Patchett, Tessa Hadley, and finding the right time to read a book – welcome to episode 149! In the first half, we answer the question: is there a right time for each particular book? In the second half, we
#147: Quality vs Quantity and Two Books About Artists
Douglas Bruton, Carolyn Trant, and quality vs quantity – welcome to episode 147 or Tea or Books?! In the first half, we discuss quality vs quantity in our reading goals (inspired by this Guardian article). In the second half, we
#146: Our Top 10 Books of 2025
Our favourite reads of the year! Welcome to episode 146. We turn the whole episode over to our run-down of our ten favourite books from a year in reading. As has become a tradition, we will then choose one book
#145: Younger vs Older Authors and Rhine Journey vs Fenny
Ann Schlee! Lettice Cooper! Authors! Welcome to episode 145 of Tea or Books? In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether we prefer younger authors or older authors (thank you Lindsey for the suggestion!) In the second half,
#144: Simple vs Ornate Style, and Sylvia Plath vs Janet Malcolm
Sylvia Plath, Janet Malcolm and our thoughts on writing style – welcome to episode 144! In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether we prefer writing style to be ornate or simple. In the second half, we compare
#143 : Do We Avoid Books That Will Upset Us? and Agatha Christie vs Ethel Lina White
Agatha Christie, Ethel Lina White, and sad books – welcome to episode 143! In the first half, we use Geraldine’s suggestion – do we avoid books that will upset us? In the second half, we compare They Came To Baghdad by Agatha
#142: Can We Like A Character Who Makes Stupid Decisions? and Other People vs A Five Year Sentence
Celia Dale! Bernice Rubens! Stupidity! Welcome to episode 142 of Tea or Books? In the first half of the episode, we ask if we can like characters in novels who make stupid decisions. In the second half, we compare Other People
#141: Do We Care About Weather in Novels? and Crooked Cross vs The Spring Begins
Sally Carson, Katherine Dunning, and the weather – welcome to episode 141! In the first half, Rachel and I discuss significant weather scenes in novels, and whether knowing about the weather in novels makes a difference to us. In the
#140: Our 10 Favourite Books from 10 Years
It’s time for our favourite 10 books from 10 years of ‘Tea or Books?’! Rachel and I have looked through the books we read for the first ten years of the podcast and have each picked our ten favourites –
#139: 10th anniversary special! O Caledonia vs The Sundial, and celebrating 10 years
Shirley Jackson, Elspeth Barker, and your emails – welcome to episode 139 of Tea or Books?! Can you believe we’ve been going for ten years? It’s wild to me! In the first half of the episode we compare two gothic-inspired
Help us celebrate 10 years of Tea or Books?!
A super quick mini-episode – well, not really an episode – asking for your contributions to the next episode of ‘Tea or Books?’. It will be TEN YEARS since Rachel and I first put an episode out into the ether
#138: Do We Care About Authors’ Personal Lives? and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne vs The Beautiful Visit
Elizabeth Jane Howard, Brian Moore, and authors’ personal lives – welcome to episode 138! In the first half of the episode, we do a question that Lindsey suggested: do we care about authors’ personal lives? It takes us to questions
#137: Resolved or Unresolved Endings? and Perfection vs Catherine Carter
Resolved endings, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Vincenzo Latronico – welcome to episode 137 of Tea or Books?! In the first half of the episode, we take a suggestion from Lindsey – do we prefer resolved or unresolved endings? In the second half,
#136: Does Reading Make Us Better People? and And Then There Were None vs The Invisible Host
Agatha Christie, Gwen Bristow, Bruce Manning and reading morality – welcome to episode 136 of Tea or Books?! In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether or not we take moral instruction from the books we read –
#135: Can Literary Fiction Be A Comfort Read? and Enter Ghost vs Lady Living Alone
Isabella Hammad, Norah Lofts, comfort reads – welcome to episode 135!   In the first half, we discuss whether or not literary fiction can be comfort reads – thank you for the suggestion, Marcy! In the second half, we compare
#134: Our Top 10 Books of 2024
Happy new year! In episode 134, Rachel and I share our favourite books reads in 2024 – counting down from ten to one. And we each pick one of the other’s top 10 to read for our next episode! Thanks
#133: Do We Have Reading Rules? and Two Willa Cather Novels
Willa Cather and reading rules – welcome to episode 133 of ‘Tea or Books?’! In the first half, we discuss reading rules – when we’re picking up a book, are there certain things that will definitely put us off? In
#132: Interview: Edward Carey on Edith Holler
Edward Carey joins us to discuss his latest novel, Edith Holler. Welcome to episode 132! Rachel and I both love Edward Carey’s novels, so it was a real joy to have the opportunity to interview him. We discuss how he
#131: Do We Read Deeply or Shallowly? and One Year’s Time vs Which Way?
Angela Milne, Theodora Benson, and reading deeply – welcome to episode 131 of Tea or Books?! In the first half of the episode, we discuss a topic suggestion by Heidi – do we read deeply or shallowly? Do we like critical
#130: Do Books Need Romance? and The Ladies’ Paradise vs Babbacombe’s
Emile Zola, Noel Streatfeild, and romantic books – welcome to Tea or Books? episode 130! In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Lindsey – do books need a romantic storyline? In the second half, we
Tea or Books? #129: Authors Who Wrote Too Much vs Not Enough and A Room of One’s Own vs A Bookshop of One’s Own
Virginia Woolf, Jane Cholmeley, and authors who wrote too much or not enough – welcome to episode 129! In the first half, we use a great topic suggestion by David – do we prefer authors who wrote too many books
Tea or Books? #128: Do We Read Plays? and Fifty Sounds vs The Housekeeper and the Professor
Polly Barton, Yoko Ogawa, and plays – welcome to episode 128! In the first half of today’s ‘Tea or Books?’ episode, Rachel and I revisit a topic from years ago – plays! Specifically, do we think that plays should be
Tea or Books? #127: Do We Have Guilty Pleasures? and A Clergyman’s Daughter vs The Vicar’s Daughter
George Orwell, E.H. Young, guilty pleasures – welcome to episode 127! In the first half of the episode, we ask: what is our guiltiest reading pleasure? Has that changed over time? Do we feel guilty about anything connected with reading?
Tea or Books? #126: Should Books Be Banned? and Lessons in Chemistry vs Dear Mrs Bird
Banned books, Bonnie Garmus and A.J. Pearce – welcome to episode 126! In the first half of the episode, we discuss banned books – should books ever be banned? Does a book being banned make us want to read it
Tea or Books? #125: Do We Read Celeb Memoirs? and Day vs Landscape in Sunlight
Celeb memoirs, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Fair – welcome to episode 125! In the first half, Rachel and I discuss celebrity memoirs – do we read them? What do we count as a celebrity memoir? In the second half, we each
Tea or Books? #124: Our Favourite Reads of 2023
Our favourite books from 2023 – or reads, because of course we mostly read ‘backlisted’ titles. Always a fun one to record – this time with the added bonus that we were each going to choose one from the other’s
Tea or Books? #123: Critical or Charitable Reading? and Sheep’s Clothing vs Harriet Said…
Beryl Bainbridge, Celia Dale, critical and charitable reading – welcome to episode 123! In the first half of the episode we use a suggestion from Susannah – do we read charitably or critically? In the second half we compare too
Tea or Books? #122: Mary Lawson novels w/ Mary Lawson!
Mary Lawson joins us to talk about all her novels – welcome to episode 122! I can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but THE Mary Lawson – Canadian author of Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge, Road Ends, and A Town Called
Tea or Books? #121: Should Books Have A Message? and Two Jane Gardam Novels
Jane Gardam and messages in books – welcome to episode 121! In the first half of the episode, Rachel and I discuss whether or not we think books should have a message. In the second half we pit two Jane
Tea or Books? #120: Travel Inspiration from Fiction or Non-Fiction? and The English Air vs The Morning Gift – with Claire / The Captive Reader
D.E. Stevenson, Eva Ibbotson, travel inspo – welcome to episode 120! We have our first returning guest – the wonderful Claire, who blogs at The Captive Reader. In the first half of this episode, we talk about inspiration from travel
Tea or Books? #119: Amateur Sleuths or Professional Detectives? and Women Talking vs Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead
Miriam Toews, Olga Tokarczuk and detective fiction – welcome to episode 119! In the first half of this episode, we discuss detective fiction – do we prefer the mystery-solver to be a professional or an amateur? And in the second
Tea or Books? #118: Do We Read Children and Adult Books By The Same Author? and Lucy vs The Buddha in the Attic
Julie Otsuka, Jamaica Kincard, adults’ and children’s books – welcome to episode 118! In the first half – a topic suggested by Aileen, where we discuss authors who wrote both children’s and adult’s books and whether we read both. In
Tea or Books? #117 w/ Lucy Scholes – Do We Like Unnamed Characters? and Ex-Wife vs Sally On The Rocks
Ursula Parrott, Winifred Boggs, unnamed characters – welcome to episode 117! We are so delighted to welcome Lucy Scholes as a guest for this episode. She’s is a reprint/old books superstar – you might know her Re-Covered column for the Paris
Tea or Books? #116: Do We Like Books About Sport and Quick Curtain vs It Walks By Night
John Dickson Carr, Alan Melville, sports – welcome to episode 116! In the first half, we talk about sports in books – do we like them? Will we be able to think of any? Thank you to Lindsey for suggesting
Tea or Books? #115: Do We Like Books About Bookshops? and Quartet in Autumn vs Journal of a Solitude
Barbara Pym, May Sarton, and bookshops – welcome to episode 115! In the first half of the episode, we take up Sally’s suggestion of topic – and discuss whether or not we like books set in bookshops and libraries. More
Tea or Books? #114: Linear vs Non-linear Narratives and Winter in the Air vs A World of Love
Sylvia Townsend Warner, Elizabeth Bowen, linear narratives – welcome to episode 114! In the first half of this episode, we use a suggestion from listener Sarah – do we prefer linear or non-linear narratives? In the second half we look
Tea or Books? #113: Do We Like Literary Retellings? and South Riding vs Ruth
Elizabeth Gaskell, Winifred Holtby, and more – welcome to episode 113! In the first half of this episode, we look at literary retellings – by which we mean authors using fairy tales or Greek mythology or basically whatever we fancy
Tea or Books? #112: Best Books of 2022 and They Were Sisters vs The Three Sisters
Dorothy Whipple, May Sinclair, and favourite books of 2022 – welcome to episode 112! Happy new year! Welcome to the first episode of Tea or Books? for 2023 – recorded on two different days, so hopefully it’s not too awkward.
Tea or Books? #111: Do We Care What Characters Look Like? And Good Behaviour vs Full House
Molly Keane, M.J. Farrell, and characters’ appearances – welcome to episode 111! In the first half, Rachel and I discuss what characters look like – do we care, do we notice if it’s mentioned, etc. In the second half, we
Tea or Books? #110: Do We Care Where Characters Work? and A Helping Hand vs The True Deceiver
Tove Jansson, Celia Dale, jobs in books! Welcome to episode 110 A bit of a longer break than usual because I lost my voice. But we’re back, asking – in the first half of the episode – whether we care
Tea or Books? #109: Boarding House Novels vs Living Alone and Heat Wave vs Heat Lightning
Penelope Lively, Helen Hull, boarding houses and isolation – welcome to episode 109! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I compare boarding houses novels and novels where people live alone – up to and including complete isolation.
Tea or Books? #108: Books with Bite or No Bite; Late and Soon vs A Game of Hide and Seek
Bite, E.M. Delafield, Elizabeth Taylor – welcome to episode 108! In the first half of this episode, we discuss a topic suggested by Gina – do we prefer books with bite or without bite? All will be explained in due
Tea or Books? #107: Do We Care What Characters Read? and Two Stella Gibbons Novels
Books in books and Stella Gibbons – welcome to episode 107! In the first half, we continue our ‘do we care…’ series with ‘do we care what characters read?’ By which we mean we’re looking at the books that characters
Tea or Books? #106: Book or Movie First, and The Feast vs Grand Canyon
Margaret Kennedy, Vita Sackville-West, and film adaptations – welcome to episode 106! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I discuss whether you should read the book before you watch the film. In the second half, we pit
Tea or Books? #105: Big Families vs Small Families and Animal Farm vs Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell and families – welcome to episode 105! Rachel is busy this month, so I put a shout-out on our Patreon page to see if anybody would be willing to step in and take her place. I was delighted
Tea or Books? #104: Do We Care What Characters Dream? and William – an Englishman vs The Great Fortune
Olivia Manning, Cicely Hamilton and dreams – welcome to episode 104 of ‘Tea or Books?’! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I discuss whether or not we like dreams in books, and how different authors use them.
Tea or Books? #103: Thinking vs Feeling and Moon Tiger vs The Diviners
Penelope Lively, Margaret Laurence, thinking and feeling – welcome to episode 103! Apologies for the unexpected delay in recording. Blame Rachel! But we are here and raring to go. In the first half, we follow a topic suggested by Mairad
Tea or Books? #102: Do We Read Books about Grief? and Five Windows vs Four Gardens – with Claire The Captive Reader
D.E. Stevenson, Margery Sharp – and a special guest! In this episode, we have a special guest in the form of Claire – you’ll know her blog The Captive Reader. We were delighted to have her as a guest, especially
Tea or Books? #101: Rachel explores Simon’s shelves
Rachel takes a look at Simon’s bookshelves – will she take any books away with her?? Way back in episode 70, I was in Rachel’s flat in London and took a look around her bookcases. We planned a return visit…
Tea or Books? #100: Q&A Special
For our special hundredth episode, Rachel and I are doing a question and answer. Thanks so much to everybody who sent in questions – we didn’t get to all of them, but hopefully we answered at least one of yours.
Tea or Books? #99: Do We Like Essays? and Brook Evans vs The Crowded Street
Winifred Holtby, Susan Glaspell, and essays – welcome to episode 99! Sorry for an unintended long break, but we’re back and Rachel even has a new mic – hopefully has helped with the sound issues, though there may be some
Tea or Books? #98: Nature Writing (yes or no) and Favourite Women Prize Winners
Nature writing and some favourite novels by prizewinning women – welcome to episode 98! As mentioned in the podcast – we’d love to hear your questions as we gear up for our hundredth episode. Just email teaorbooks@gmail.com, or put your
Tea or Books? #97: Spontaneous or Planned Reading, and Tension vs Thank Heaven Fasting
How do we choose our reading, and E.M. Delafield – welcome to episode 97!   In the first half of the episode, we debate whether to read spontaneously or plan our reading. In the second half, two E.M. Delafield novels
Tea or Books? #96: Should Offensive Books Be Republished? and two Barbara Pyms
In this episode, we ask whether or not offensive books should be republished – you might remember the same conversation happening here on StuckinaBook a while ago, and it was interesting to visit it with Rachel. In the second half,
Tea or Books? #95: Woolf vs Austen and The Foolish Gentlewoman vs The Half-Crown House
Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Margery Sharp, Helen Ashton – welcome to episode 95. In the first half, we take a detour from our usual practice and pit two authors against each other. And it’s two very big hitters – Jane
Tea or Books? #94: Do We Care Where Authors Live? and Dusty Answer vs Frost in May
Rosamond Lehmann, Antonia White, and authors’ houses – welcome to episode 94! In the first half of this episode, we do a topic suggested by Gillian – do we care where authors live? That is, do we want to visit
Tea or Books? #93 Do We Care What Characters Are Called? and Two Tove Jansson Novels
Summer, Winter, names – welcome to episode 93. In the first half, we ask: ‘Do we care what characters are called?’, looking at the strange and ordinary names that characters are given. In the second half, we compare Tove Jansson’s
Tea or Books? #92: Do We Care What Characters Wear? and Girl, Woman, Other vs Life After Life
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
Tea or Books? #91: Familiar or Unfamiliar Settings? and Two Elizabeth von Arnim novels
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
Tea or Books? #90: Good or Bad Reading Year? and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn vs O, The Brave Music
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
Tea or Books? #89: Do we care about gardens?, and Gilead vs Home
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
Tea or Books? #88: Blurbs or No Blurbs, and The Remains of the Day vs Never Let Me Go
Blurbs and Kazuo Ishiguro – welcome to episode 88! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I talk about whether we want blurbs – i.e. do we do research on what we’re reading before we pick it up.
Tea or Books? #87: Biographies vs Novels about Real People and Emma by Jane Austen and Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater
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
Tea or Books? #86: Empathy vs Sympathy and The Child That Books Built vs When I Was A Child I Read Books
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
Tea or Books? #85: One House or Many Houses, and A Thatched Roof vs Fresh From The Country
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
Tea or Books? #84: Sea vs Mountains and Her Son’s Wife vs Auntie Mame
Dorothy Canfield [Fisher], Patrick Dennis, sea, and mountains – episode 84!   In the first half of this episode, we talk about novels set in the mountains vs those set by the sea. The classic dichotomy. In the second half,
Tea or Books? #83: Comfort Zones (Yes or No?) and Two Willa Cather Novels
Comfort zones, comfort novels, and two novels by Willa Cather – welcome to episode 83! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I talk about whether or not we have comfort zones when it comes to reading –
Tea or Books? #82: Australia vs New Zealand and two Adrian Bell books
Australia, New Zealand, and Adrian Bell – welcome to episode 82! In the first half, we do a topic suggested by Lindsay – books by Australians and books by people from New Zealand. And my GOODNESS we don’t know anywhere
Tea or Books? #81: Style vs Plot and Living vs Loving by Henry Green
Henry Green, style over substance, and some listener questions – here’s episode 81! In the first half of this episode, we discuss style vs substance – or, to put it another way, writing style vs the plot of the novel.
Tea or Books? #80: Should Authors Only Write What They Know? and Agatha Christie vs Dorothy L Sayers
A couple of Queens of Crime and an important question about what writers should be allowed to write…   In the first half of episode 80, we ask if writers should only write what they know – whether that means
Tea or Books? #79: Political Books (Yes or No?), and The Diary of a Bookseller vs Bookshop Memories
Shaun Bythell, George Orwell, and a whole host of politicians – it’s episode 79! We have a special guest for this episode – my very good friend Lorna, who was meeting Rachel for the first time. We recorded in person
Tea or Books? #78: 19th Century vs 20th Century and Two Unfinished Jane Austen Novels
Sanditon, The Watsons, and a whistle-stop tour of the centuries – we’re back!   In the first half of this episode, we take a suggestion from Elizabeth – do we prefer the nineteenth or twentieth century for literature? That’s an
Tea or Books? #77: Fantasy vs Fantastic Fiction and Wine of Honour vs Beneath the Visiting Moon
World War Two fiction and the difference between fantasy and fantastic fiction – welcome to episode 77! In the first half of this episode, I dive back into the topic of my DPhil and we talk about fantastic and fantasy
Tea or Books? #76: Illustrations (yes or not), and Miss Hargreaves vs Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves
Miss Hargreaves! Finally! But also illustrations and a novel by Rachel Malik. In the first half of this episode, we discuss whether or not we want illustrations in our books – taking a little venture to graphic novels on the
Tea or Books? #75: Moral Readers or Amoral Readers and The Summer Book vs Birthday Letters
Tove Jansson, Ted Hughes, and fictional morality – welcome to episode 75!   We’re back after a bit of a break – and we’re doing poetry for the first time ever. In the first half of the episode, we discuss
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