Ah, the bliss of childhood ... before life got REALLY scary. In today's episode, we're packing our literary first aid kits to survive those pre-teen years (which becomes a great excuse to talk about our favourite books we read as children). Jump to: 00:00 - Intro & what we’re reading; Nicola’s reading Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Angela’s reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; we also chat a bit about the 2020 Booker winner & shortlist! 08:49 - ‘Adaptation Station’ - today we’re talking about The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix 12:12 - We share our first aid kits! Ang ..read more

It's a challenging existence and it comes in many forms. Good thing there's plenty of literature to guide us through the nuances and celebrations of being a woman. We talk about what books we might give to our daughters. Note - this episode was recorded when it was (briefly!) legal for two members of different households to mix indoors. Angela's first aid kit: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Nicola's first aid kit: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo The Bell Jar by Syvia Plath Woman on the Edge of Tim ..read more

Just in time for Halloween - we're off to a haunted house with our first aid kit packed with books to keep us sane while things go bump in the night. Will our books keep us safe from ghouls and poltergeists? There's only one way to find out... Note - this episode was recorded when it was (briefly!) legal for two members of different households to mix indoors. Angela's first aid kit: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire by Arthur Conan Doyle (you can read it online here) Nicola's first aid kit: The Haunting of Hill House by S ..read more

It's the most relatable feeling in the world: we've all had a period of time where we've felt lonely, even when surrounded by people. Whether for escapism or inspiration, what books have helped us survive that rubbish feeling of being alone? We've packed our first aid kits. Angela's first aid kit: The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien Red Dust: A Path Through China by Ma Jian The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt Nicola's first aid kit: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Other resources/books w ..read more

It's episode 2 and we're hopping in our time travel machines, taking our literary first aid kits with us to guide us through the mind-boggling concept of being some-when else. Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads! (But we do need books.) Forgive a mild tech issue on Nic's side in this episode - there's a little bit of static feedback. Promise it's a one-off. Nicola's first aid kit: A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Angela's first aid kit: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Kindred by Octavia E. Butler Life After Life by Ka ..read more

For our VERY FIRST episode, we're packing a literary first aid kit for surviving (and solving) a murder mystery! Will our books spare us from becoming the victim of a most grisly murder? Let's hope so... Angela's first aid kit: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn The Secret History by Donna Tartt The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Nicola's first aid kit: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Other resources/books we mention: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste N ..read more