Holly Williams - You're Booked

Christmas has come early! And do we have a festive treat for you! It's a funny, thrilling and thorough chat with returning champ Helen Lederer! We visited Helen's home back in 2019, but now she's coming to us, visiting the prestigious Margate Bookie book festival in front of an ecstatic audience. We talked to her about her legendary comedy career (including the people she got off with), the game-changing Comedy Women in Print Prize that she instigated, her hilarious books Losing It and Not That I'm Bitter, the mindbending experience that was Celebrity Big Brother and almost getting a tattoo. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Helen Lederer - Not That I'm Bitter Helen Lederer - Losing It Carrie Fisher - Wishful Drinking Anthony Trollope - Can You Forgive Her? Daisy Buchanan - Insatiable Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Miranda July - All Fours Sue Townsend - Secret Diary of Adrian Mole John Betjeman - Collected Poems Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our season finale! And we are spending it with an absolute legend. Miranda Sawyer is a brilliant and inspirational journalist, broadcaster and author. She started her career at the iconic Smash Hits and has since worked for practically every major newspaper and magazine including The Face, Select, The Guardian, The Observer and Vogue. She's the author of the books Park and Ride, Out of Time and her latest Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs. We talked to Miranda about the women of Britpop, the genius of Smash Hits, corresponding with Joan Didion and getting off with Grace Jones. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Miranda Sawyer - Uncommon People Miranda Sawyer - Out of Time Holly Bourne - So Thrilled For You Viv Albertine - Clothes, Music, Boys Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None Ian Fleming - Casino Royale Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye Truman Capote - In Cold Blood Tom Wolfe - The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby Hunter S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Lili Anolik - Didion and Babitz Eve Babitz - Eve's Hollywood Joan Didion - Slouching Towards Bethlehem Jessica Stanley - Consider Yourself Kissed Lily Allen - My Thoughts Exactly Jude Rogers - The Sound of Being Human Sylvia Patterson - I'm Not With the Band Miki Berenyi - Fingers Crossed Vivien Goldman - Rebel Musix, Scribe on a Vibe: Frontline Adventures Linking Punk, Reggae, Afrobeat and Jazz Michael Cragg - Reach For the Stars Craig Brown - One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time Eva Rice - This Could Be Everything Oliver Burkeman - Meditations For Mortals Oliver Burkeman - Four Thousand Weeks Patrick Freyne - Ok Lets Do Your Stupid Idea Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for a really fun, warm and refreshing chat with one of our favourite authors, the brilliant Amanda Prowse! Amanda is an Internationally bestselling author of novels, non-fiction books and short stories, whose books have been published worldwide in dozens of languages. Her chart topping titles include What Have I Done?, Perfect Daughter, My Husband’s Wife, The Girl in the Corner and her latest is the wonderful Swimming to Lundy. We talked to her about magic, library love, literary Christmas gift ideas, the joy of annuals and the genius of Maeve Binchy. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Amanda Prowse - Swimming to Lundy Colleen McCullough - The Thorn Birds The Bunty Annual The Mandy Annual The Beano Annual Jackie - 60 Years of Magic Jill Mansell - Promise Me Katie Hickman - She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen: British Women in India Clarissa Pinkola Estes - Women Who Run With the Wolves Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice Dorothy Whipple - High Wages Persephone Books Louise Bagshawe - Career Girls Shirley Conran - Lace Danielle Steele - Palazzo VC Andrews - Flowers in the Attic Jilly Cooper - Rivals Jilly Cooper - Polo Jilly Cooper - Between the Covers Rufi Thorpe - Margot's Got Money Troubles Callum Robinson - Ingrained Carol Ann Duffy - Three Wise Men Chapter 34 Books Dr Seuss - Oh The Places You'll Go Cathy Rentzenbrink - How To Feel Better Nigella Lawson - Nigella Christmas Diana Henry - Simple Nigel Slater - A Thousand Feasts Jane Austen - Persuasion Thomas Hardy - Collected Poems Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility Charles Dickens - Bleak House Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd Maeve Binchy - Evening Class Stephenie Meyer - Twilight Joyce Lankester Brisley - Milly Molly Mandy Joyce Lankester Brisley - Marigold in Godmother's House Holly Bourne - So Thrilled For You Holly Bourne - You Could Be So Pretty Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events Daniel Handler - And Then? And Then? What Else?: A Writer's Life Bruce Omar Yates - The Muslim Cowboy Shelby Van Pelt - Remarkably Bright Creatures Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are welcoming podcast, comedy and writerly royalty to the show. It's the amazing Cariad Lloyd! Cariad is the host of the podcasts Weirdos Book Club, alongside former guest Sara Pascoe, and the award-winning Griefcast, plus a book based on the podcast You Are Not Alone. She is an actor, comedian and improviser and has just released her first children's book The Christmas Wish-tastrophe (plus another one soon - revealed exclusively during the show!) We talked to her about helpful reading habits, the importance of a great booklight, good books about grief and a surprising literary obsession (with a former guest). Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Cariad Lloyd - You Are Not Alone Cariad Lloyd - The Christmas Wishtastrophe Lili Anolik - Didion and Babitz JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien - The Hobbit Brian Jacques - Mossflower Noel Streatfeild - Ballet Shoes AA Milne - Winnie the Pooh Brothers Grimm - Fairy Tales Lynne Reid Banks - Fairy Rebel Anne Fine - Diary of a Killer Cat Terry Pratchett - Colour of Magic Tove Jansson - Tales from Moominvalley Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Longstocking Nadia Shireen - Grimwood Nadia Shireen - Billy and the Beast Nadia Shireen - Bumblebear Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Jill Murphy - Worst Witch Philip Pullman - Northern Lights Jeffrey Archer - As the Crow Flies Roger Lewis - Erotic Vagrancy Lucy Ellmann - Ducks Newburyport George Saunders - Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders - Swim in the Pond in the Rain Guadalupe Nettel - Still Born Madeline Linford - Out of the Window Tessa Hadley - Free Love Joe Heap - Rules of Seeing Hilary Mantel - Mirror and the Light Charles Darwin - Bleak House George Eliot - Middlemarch Gabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Hanya Yanagihara - A Little Life Douglas Stuart - Young Mungo John Ransom - The Whale Tattoo John Ransom - The Gallopers Cariad Lloyd - Where Did She Go Tom Percival - Ruby's Worry Tom Percival - Meesha Makes Friends Tom Percival - Perfectly Norman Julia Donaldson - Paper Dolls Oliver Jeffers - Heart and the Bottle Frances Hodgson Burnett - Secret Garden Nikki May - This Motherless Land Jane Austen - Mansfield Park Nikki May - Wahala Ann Patchett - Tom Lake Ann Patchett - Bel Canto Octavia Butler - Kindred Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're delighted to bring you this delicious and delectable conversation with the amazing Rukmini Iyer! Rukmini is the visionary behind the multi-million-selling Roasting Tin series of cookbooks with the latest being the Green Roasting Tin. She is also a voracious and wide-ranging reader. We talked to her about Jilly Cooper, early, eye-popping reads, life-changing food writing and she reveals her secret, and surprising passion. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of The Book Lovers Journal HERE. Find out more about Daisy's Read Yourself Happy retreat at Aweventurer.com/daisy. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Rukmini Iyer - The Roasting Tin Rukmini Iyer - The Green Roasting Tin Miye Lee - Dallergut Dream Department Store Gabrielle Zevin - Storied Life of AJ Fikry Gabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow TS Eliot - Waste Land Facsimile Much Ado Bookshop Taffy Brodesser-Akner - Fleishman is in Trouble Robert Lowell - Imitations Homer (Trans: Emily Wilson) - Odyssey Donna Tartt - The Secret History Roberto Bolano - 2666 Paul Beatty - The Sellout Philip Pullman - Northern Lights Francesa Segal - Welcome to Glorious Tuga Jilly Cooper - Rivals John Lanchester - The Debt To Pleasure MFK Fisher - Gastronomical Me Bee Wilson - Consider the Fork Bee Wilson - The Way We Eat Now Tim Spector - Food For Life Chris van Tulleken - Ultra Processed People Sanjana Modha - Sanjana Feasts Lucy Mangan - Bookworm Eve Garnett - Family At One End Street David Niven - Moon's a Balloon Caitlin Moran - How To Be a Woman Stewart Granger - Sparks Fly Up Roger Lewis - Erotic Vagrancy Kate Andersen Brower - Elizabeth Taylor Stefan Zweig - Beware of Pity Various - Book Lovers Journal 2025 Noel Streatfeild - Saplings Noel Streatfeild - Ballet Shoes Bonnie Garmus - Lessons in Chemistry Noel Streatfeild - A Vicarage Family Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle Lizzy Stewart - Alison Jane Oliver - Business as Usual Dorothy Whipple - High Wages Min Jin Lee - Free Food for Millionaires Min Jin Lee - Pachinko Laurie colwin - Home Cooking Laurie Colwin - More Home Cooking Laurie Colwin - Happy all the Time India Knight - Darling Nancy Mitford - Pursuit of Love Rukmini Iyer - Quick Roasting Tin Rukmini Iyer - Green Barbecue Time Life Editors - Patisserie Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary Rukmini Iyer - Sweet Roasting Tin Bee Wilson - Swindled Rukmini Iyer - Roasting Tin Around the World Ruby Tandoh - Cook as You Are Ruby Tandoh - Eat Up Diana Vreeland - DV Diana Vreeland - Memos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.