Diving In

73: The Ghost of Charles Dickens sitting on Barbara Kingsolver’s Shoulder

Virginia and Louise do a deep dive into Barbara Kingsolver’s Pullitzer Prize winning and compelling novel Demon Copperhead and talk all things Charles Dickens as well as adding some shameful new entries to the infamous Ick Register.BooksOliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, 1838Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, 1854Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 2023 More Deep DivesEmma, by Jane AustenTelevisionEmma, mini series,  2009 Slow Horses, series 1-3 Apple TV+One Day, Netflix 2023

72: This Is A Bit Embarrassing… (books we’ve never read)

Louise and Virginia thought it might be fun to do an episode on books that they feel a bit embarrassed to have never read (until now). There were a lot of books to choose from, but they discuss four in this conversation.    During this chat they also create an Ick Register for authors who use words that give the ick, so that readers can be warned in advance (kind of like a trigger warning, but more basic).    Books  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro  Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin  Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote  Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson     Television Shows  Scrublands - Stan  Boy Swallows Universe – Netflix    Podcasts  The Children of Rutherford County – Serial  The Queen’s Reading Room

71: The Next Diving In Book Club – Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt

Louise and Virginia have a great conversation about a lovely Western Australian novel. Salt River Road by the very talented debut author Molly Schmidt captures the large Tetley family at the worst time of their lives. Their wife and mother, Elena, has died after a long illness and left them all devastated. Although the book looks at grief through the eyes of several different characters, it has a forward-moving arc, plenty of heart, and a wonderful ending, with an authentic Western Australian, 1970s feel.BookSalt River Road by Molly Schmidt, 2023, published by Fremantle PressBinge TVStrifeNetflixThe Crown

70: A Spotlight on Early Australia

Louise and Virginia have a conversation about two books with many overlaps, one fiction and one non-fiction, and reflect on the fact that none of this information was taught in the classroom when they were at school.BooksKilling for Country by David MarrEdenglassie by Melissa LukashenkoTV ShowThe Crown – NetflixPodcastsThe Rest is History – Dominic Sandbrook and Tom HollandThe Rest is Entertainment – Richard Osman and Marina Hyde

69: It's the very best time of year! It’s new release time and there is a publishing frenzy.

Virginia and Louise dive into four new releases some of them from our favourite authors!  They also encourage everyone to get their hands on Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt for a bookclub deep dive episode coming up.  Books  The Fraud, Zadie Smyth, 2023, Hamish Hamilton Penguin  Normal Rules Don’t Apply, Kate Atkinson, 2023, Penguin Random House  Tom Lake, Ann Patchett, 2023, Harper Collins  Pearl, Sian Hughes, 2023 UQP  London’s Number One Dog-Walking Agency: A Memoir, Kate MacDougall, 2021 William Morrow  Salt River Road, Molly Schmidt, 2023 Fremantle Press  Streaming  Welcome to Wrexham, Disney  Podcasts  The Whistleblowers, ABC Background Briefing