Shows
women readGrace reads Ada ZhangName: GraceReading: The Sorrows of Others, Ada ZhangWhy did you want to read this? The stories in this collection feel so familiar to me--the subtle ways Ada Zhang plays with memory, emotion, and interiority inspire me. How did you record yourself? On my bed with my cat sleeping next to me.
2025-12-0342 minwomen readPaola lee a Clarice Lispector (en español) / Paola reads Clarice Lispector (in Spanish)Nombre: PaolaLeyendo: La hora de la estrella, Clarice Lispector¿Por qué quisiste leer esto? Mi cariño por Clarice es inmenso. La Hora de la Estrella fue el primer libro que leí de ella y la vida no fue igual después de eso. Pocas veces leo en voz alta y qué mejor que tener la oportunidad de hacerlo con las que ella escogió y puso en este libro. Me parece que hay algo especial, único y mágico en sus escritos: siempre están llenos de frescura reconforta...
2025-11-0523 minwomen readSharon reads Madam de La FayetteName: SharonReading: The Princess of Clèves, Madam de La FayetteWhy did you want to read this? I had re-read Marguerite Duras’s novel Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein, and that caused me to think of La Princesse de Clèves, perhaps the first psychological novel. I thought of the moments of ravishing encounters or encounters that ravish, that take place through the gaze: seen, unseen.How did you record yourself? In my study, at my table, reading Nancy Mitford’s translat...
2025-10-011h 04women readCarol reads Anne CarsonName: CarolReading: Cassandra Float Can, Anne CarsonWhy did you want to read this? I chose Float by Anne Carson, a collection of individual chapbooks that can be read in any order and from these I picked Cassandra Float Can. Three increasingly short cuts of the same story. Cuts, holes, silences, absence and veils flying up; she takes the reader on a sharp meander through the prophecies of Cassandra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, the short-hand left behind by Edmund Husserl, and the anarchitecture of Gordon Matta-Clark. I love this writ...
2025-09-0323 minwomen readSuyin reads Stuart HallName: SuyinReading: Familiar Stranger, Stuart HallWhy did you want to read this? I first read this book in 2023 and so much of it has stayed with me and shaped my work and thinking since then. As I was re-reading it for this project, I realised how many common threads and themes there are that have appeared in my own life experiences -- it seemed almost serendipitous. Familiar Stranger was published posthumously in 2018, and I keep thinking about how enduring his writing about migrant and diasporic experiences continues t...
2025-08-0653 min
ScreenshotScotland30 years after Mel Gibson's Braveheart cloaked Hollywood in fake tartan, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take the high roads and the low roads to look for the real Scotland on screen.Ellen talks with Tayside journalist Kayleigh Donaldson about the trouble with Braveheart, why veteran Scottish director Bill Forsyth's hyper local comedy dramas Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, and That Sinking Feeling have such international appeal, and why movies such as Ben Sharrock's Limbo tell a different kind of story about Scotland.Comedian and writer Frankie Boyle tells Ellen why Gregory's Girl is one of...
2025-07-1842 minwomen readAmélie lit Ronan Guillou (en français) / Amélie reads Ronan Guillou (in French)Nom: AmélieEn lisant: Angel, Ronan Guillou (texte de Wim Wenders)Pourquoi voulais-tu lire ça ? Je suis d’abord tombée en amour avec une photographie (Tim Claar, serveur au Ruby's) puis avec tout le travail de Ronan Guillou. J’ai rencontré Ronan lors du lancement de Angel à la librairie photographique à Paris (Merci Kiki !). J’avais dans les mains le livre Once de Wim Wenders. Ronan a trouvé ça drôle. Il m’a dit comme il chérissait ce livre et que c’était justement Wim Wenders qui avait écrit le te...
2025-07-1611 min
Hot Pink - Der Klatsch und Glamour PodcastGood for her!HostsBritt-Marie Robrecht (@dunderklumpen80)Nils Geisemeyer (@ngeisemeyer)Gastmoderator, Urlaubsvertretung und Mitbegründer des Podcasts:Kai Preston (KaiPreston.de) **Weitere Podcasts von Britt-Marie, Nils und Kai:Britt-Maries & Nils Spin-off-Podcast "Hot Pink schaut..." (Hot Pink schaut "Let's Dance")Britt-Maries & Nils Spin-off-Podcast "Hot Pink schaut..." (Hot Pink schaut "Drag Race Germany")Britt-Maries Podcasts: "Frankfurter Kranz (FraKra), "By a Lady" (Jane Austen-Podcast), "Trekgasm" (Star Trek-Podcast), "Ein Heim für Serien" (Serienheim)Nils Podcast: "Futur II" (Doppelsichtung)Kais Podcast: "Thekenschnack" (Thekenschnack)Shownotes (Bei den aufgeführten Links zu Amazon handelt es sich um Affiliate Links. Wenn ihr über diese etwas kauft unterstützt ihr...
2025-07-141h 11women readHilary reads Gertrude SteinName: HilaryReading: Tender Buttons, Gertrude SteinWhy did you want to read this? I had a few different ideas but Tender Buttons won out for being the most fun to read aloud. I have a few deadlines at the moment and it was therapeutic to spend thirty minutes thinking of nothing but the shapes and sounds of the words, focusing on not tripping up because nothing unfurls in an expected way. The lines have their rhythm though, and I find a strange or altered sense of emotionality in th...
2025-06-0428 minwomen readLia lee a Chris Kraus (en español) / Lia reads Chris Kraus (in Spanish)Nombre: LiaLeyendo: Romance Artístico, Chris Kraus¿Por qué quisiste leer esto? Traduje y edité este libro: le tengo mucho cariño.¿Cómo te grabaste? Con un micrófono que me prestó Juan Pablo, después de bañarme, en la primera tarde lluviosa del año./Why did you want to read this? I translated and edited this book, so I’m very fond of it.How did you rec...
2025-05-0724 min
Good ShiftEp 5: Think It's Too Late to Change Careers? Here's How to Break Through Your Limiting Beliefs for SuccessEver thought about walking away from a high-paying corporate career to pursue something wildly different - without knowing how it would all work out?In this episode of Good Shift, I sit down with Adam Rowland, former Head of Planning at global brands like Ralph Lauren, ASICS, and Icebreaker, who swapped spreadsheets and a high-paying corporate role, for self-made, stop-motion animation.He didn’t wait for burnout. He made the leap while things were going well and told us why he's always had that mindset. He now runs his own animation studio, Awkward Animations....
2025-04-0857 minwomen readSarah reads Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieName: SarahReading: Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieWhy did you want to read this? This is the story of a 15 year-old Nigerian girl’s coming of age. It’s about the relationships in her life, set against a military coup. I chose it because it lets you into her world and her steps to independence and it allows you to imagine the society in which she lives. The relationship between her and her deeply religious father, alternating between love and fear, is particularly well drawn. Although I read it o...
2025-04-0230 minwomen readAfton reads T Kira MaddenName: Afton
Reading: Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, T Kira Madden
Why did you want to read this? This book has been a huge teacher text for me. It’s incredible at the sentence level--I love the scrappiness of her sounds, consonants especially. I want everyone to listen to and read her.
How did you record yourself? In the middle of the day, I turned off the heat, which is loud, and sat on my bed with my phone.
2025-03-0509 minwomen readLeila lit Virginie Despentes (en français) / Leila reads Virginie Despentes (in French)Bonus episode if you'd like to listen to the text read in the original French by Selbi's mum Leila.Épisode bonus si vous souhaitez écouter le texte lu en français par Leila, la maman de Selbi.
2025-02-2405 minwomen readSelbi reads Virginie DespentesName: Selbi
Reading: King Kong Theory, Virginie Despentes
Why did you want to read this? I was very moved by this book, it changed the way I think. It's raw and speaks to a woman's condition. It's a feminist manifesto but not the commercial Beyonce T-shirt feminism. I wish I read this book earlier in my life - it is one of those life-changing books, it will not leave you unshaken.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself sitting at a table where...
2025-02-0508 minwomen readLaura reads Patricia GraceName: Laura
Reading: Potiki, Patricia Grace
Why did you want to read this? Potiki is a novel about indigenous land rights in Aotearoa New Zealand, it follows a Māori community who's ancestral land is under threat. It was published in 1986 but Māori are still facing the same issues as the current government has introduced a bill that limits the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, Aotearoa New Zealand's founding document. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a gift, and must be protected.
How did y...
2025-01-0121 min
Metendo Livro#13.13 - A Inspiração Que Te Molha (Comentadinho)*EP DE COMENTÁRIOS*
Das páginas 123 até 173 do livro Mitologia Nórdica, com Ronaldo Roque e Victor Von Ancken.
---
Em Asgard, terra de brio e glória,
Há contos para rir e fazer história.
Entre guerras, sabedoria e poesia,
Surgiu um caso de pura heresia.
Dizem que Odin, o Pai dos Deuses,
Após beber o hidromel em grandes doses,
Voou como águia, de bico erguido,
Mas o retorno foi… digamos, sofrido.
Com o estômago cheio de mel fermentado,
Seu vôo ficou meio desajeitado.
E na pressa de cruzar o céu estrelado,
Veio o que chamam d...
2024-12-262h 05women readRebecca reads Anita BrooknerName: Rebecca
Reading: Look at Me, Anita Brookner
Why did you want to read this? Brookner opens 'Look at Me' with a series of close readings of the history of the representation of sickness and madness in art. This has a quality of non-fiction (and reflects Brookner's other life as an art historian) but she also manages to convey so much about her narrator, Frances Hinton. Her isolation, self-estrangement, reticence and rage; her sense of her life's smallness and unfairness.
How did you record y...
2024-11-0628 minwomen readAnna reads Lisa RobertsonName: Anna
Reading: Lisa Robertson, Cinema of the Present
Why did you want to read this? I chose Cinema of the Present because I'd needed to read it aloud to myself to fully experience it - I love books like that. It's a long poem that moves in and around and through its subjects: time, thought, surfaces, structures and language, and many, many, other things. Evenly spaced lines alternate between italic and Roman type: two sets of almost identical sentences, but ordered differently so that they begin to repeat...
2024-10-0231 minwomen readRuby reads Pauline OliverosName: Ruby
Reading: Quantum Listening, Pauline Oliveros
Why did you want to read this? I aspire to be a good listener. Oliveros's approach to listening is poetic and practical, yet also incredibly complex. The theory of Quantum Listening stretches from the observation of a slight change in pitch to the wide stance of a worldview. It reminds us that listening is an ongoing practice of attuning to one’s environment, caring for each other, and orienting ourselves in a chaotic world. It felt like a gift to dedicate time an...
2024-09-0441 minwomen readSophie reads Leonora CarringtonName: Sophie
Reading: The Hearing Trumpet, Leonora Carrington
Why did you want to read this? I got to know and love this book through teaching it a few years ago, which is a nice way to become familiar with a novel: i.e. with lots of other people. Reading it aloud now reminded me of that time. I find it very, very funny and – if this makes sense – as a book it seems sort of free and unbothered. It has one of my all-time favourite plots, Marian Leatherby is an icon, and I wish Carrington’s writ...
2024-08-0751 minwomen readFreya reads W.G. SebaldName: Freya
Reading: The Emigrants, W.G. Sebald
Why did you want to read this? Lately Sebald’s books have been exactly what I want to read and it felt like it would be really nice to share this one. I think that’s partly what I like so much about the podcast - people sharing what they love, in a gentle way - just putting it out there - and the intimacy of reading aloud.
How did you record yourself? Sitting on a fluffy rug on my bedroom floor with my laptop in f...
2024-06-0534 min
Unbeeleafable - Growing food, rewilding, creating habitat and exploring natureGroundbreakingIf you've ever wondered how to encourage more ground nesting bees and create nesting areas for them, this is the episode for you.
We talk to Freya Jackson, Ecologist and PhD candidate who specialises in ground nesting bee ecology.
You can find Freya on Instagram at
Freya Jackson (@freya_beelady) • Instagram photos and videos
2024-05-0145 minwomen readIsha reads Asia SulerName: Isha
Reading: Mirrors in the Earth, Asia Suler
Why did you want to read this? I discovered this book earlier this year while reading an article on intuitive plant medicine. The language had a vivid nature imagery, an openness and a tenderness that made me feel extremely safe and held. The book reads like a healing salve on a burning wound. I would usually read an essay and then keep the book down — soaking in its essence. And after a few days or weeks passed the next essay would call out to me at exact...
2024-05-0137 minwomen readAssunta reads Leopoldina FortunatiName: Assunta
Reading: The Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital, Leopoldina Fortunati
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read this text to understand it more deeply and to be able to listen to it on my commute.
How did you record yourself? I recorded the chapter with my mobile phone.
2024-04-0337 minwomen readFathima reads Iman MersalName: Fathima
Reading: Traces of Enayat, Iman Mersal
Why did you want to read this? This was one of my favourite reads from last year. I had the chance to hear Iman read and talk about her work, and she read an excerpt from the first chapter. I was really struck by the story of Enayat, Iman’s search for her and the questions it poses about who gets to be remembered, being a writer and trying to make a living for yourself. I felt a kinship with both Iman and Enayat and their ethos wh...
2024-03-0618 minwomen readJulia reads Elaine DundyName: Julia
Reading: The Dud Avocado, Elaine Dundy
Why did you want to read this? Throughout the book, I enjoyed the frivolity and openness of the protagonist. I have an affinity with Sally Jay in the way she strives to feel things and live her life, even though at some points her naïvety and impatience bring nothing but a series of misfortunes. This is a story to be read with flush on your cheeks, every time. Also, it evokes some Parisian longings.
How did you record yourself? I was sitting on my b...
2024-01-031h 12women readAnusuya reads Ursula Le GuinName: Anusuya
Reading: The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin
Why did you want to read this? I first read The Dispossessed during a family vacation when I was in my mid-teens. By that point, I was an avid Sci-Fi reader, and the vaguely alien-looking spaceship on the cover convinced me that it would be decent for the week. However, it took hold of me in a way no book had before, made me consider things I had never before, or consider further in-depth, and then later, unearth new considerations. I have returned to this book a fe...
2023-12-0645 minwomen readJaya reads Alice WalkerName: Jaya
Reading: The Temple of My Familiar, Alice Walker
Why did you want to read this? I partly wanted to connect with my 21-year-old self—just finishing college, already into meditation, and amazed by how this book transmitted a shamanic, transformative atmosphere. I bought copies for many friends, and even the mother of a friend, although I had very little money—and these gifts were hardcover copies because the paperback hadn’t come out yet. Even now, after decades of meditation, I find it more important than ever to share art that directly supports insigh...
2023-11-0137 minwomen readRosa reads Martin HerbertName: Rosa
Reading: Tell Them I Said No, Martin Herbert
Why did you want to read this? When you invited me to contribute, my first instinct was to say no. Gathering myself, I turned to one of my favourite books about artists refusing. We can learn so much from artists and how they approach work and the world.
How did you record yourself? Using my boyfriend's setup in our old house in Nottingham. We were mid-packing to move back to London and I wanted an excuse to have a break.
2023-10-0441 min
GautzGautz Hour Episode 10 Celebration !Hey my friends !
Thanks for sticking around with me for the big 10 !
Just having fun with my favorites tunes so far, the ones I didnt get to play and quite a few releases.
Go listen to my latest single I Am Peace on @urbanhellaudio
Gautzclusive this week was Never Coming Home w. KYPT by the artist Not Fair on his debut EP So High, an excellent flowy 7 dnb track album, keep your eyes out for this guy !!
Big thanks to @dansnakehead and his Nocturnal Emissions podcast for the support and the encouraging words ! Keep the fresh dnb coming !
find his...
2023-09-201h 02women readCaitlin reads Rita Mae BrownName: Caitlin
Reading: Rubyfruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown
Why did you want to read this? I was a bit hesitant to read this actually. It’s definitely a product of its time, and in some ways hasn’t aged well. But it is also hilarious and heartbreaking and hard to put down. It's about staying true to yourself and your dreams from the first page to the last, even in the face of hate and judgement.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my laptop, in my son’s “book nook” which is j...
2023-09-0611 minwomen readJesse reads George EliotName: Jesse
Reading: Middlemarch, George Eliot
Why did you want to read this? When I was invited my first thought was, "Well, I can't read Middlemarch because the podcast is probably already 30 women reading the first chapter of Middlemarch." But then it turned out, no one had read Middlemarch! So obviously I had to read Middlemarch.
How did you record yourself? On my laptop at the table by the window.
2023-08-0225 minwomen readEleanor reads Claire LynchName: Eleanor
Reading: Small: On Motherhoods, Claire Lynch
Why did you want to read this? It’s a really beautifully written book about queer motherhood, something that rarely gets talked about. I’ve found myself wanting to read a lot about motherhood recently, and it’s been so refreshing and reassuring to be able to read about it from a queer perspective.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my laptop, sitting propped up on my favourite end of the sofa. The curtains were closed, daffodils on the table beside me, and a...
2023-06-0720 minwomen readJamie reads Jamaica KincaidName: Jamie
Reading: Lucy, Jamaica Kincaid
Why did you want to read this? I loved this book - Jamaica Kincaid is deft and smart and her wryness made so many passages worth smirking at. She's unapologetic about how messy relationships can be, which I appreciate not being tidied into something that makes people feel like relationships exist for happy endings. And she's never afraid to question the idea of place as its own unique relationship in our lives - what it means to be who we are based on where we're at and where we've com...
2023-05-0337 minwomen readFlora reads Lily Le BrunName: Flora
Reading: Looking to Sea, Lily Le Brun
Why did you want to read this? I chose to read Looking to Sea because it is a thoughtful, insightful reflection on 100 years of modern art in Britain, written by the brilliant Lily Le Brun. As the daughter of an artist and a painter myself, the work of many of the artists in this book is intrinsic to the fabric of who I am. Le Brun's exploration of the practices and pieces of Vanessa Bell to Bridget Riley provides an insight into more than just the...
2023-04-0558 minwomen readFreya reads Vigdis HjorthName: Freya
Reading: Long Live the Post Horn!, Vigdis Hjorth translated by Charlotte Barslund
Why did you want to read this? I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically when I first read this, and immediately wanted to share it and talk about it with other people. I think I was originally drawn to it as the premise of finding an old diary + defending the postal service made it seem made for me (a bad-diary obsessive and snail mail fan), but really it’s the deadpan, looping inner monologue of the main character clawing to grasp her life...
2023-02-0121 minwomen readLoré reads Felicia BerlinerName: Loré
Reading: Shmutz, Felicia Berliner
Why did you want to read this? When contemplating what to read, this novel instantly came to mind. I discovered it during the summertime and felt utterly swept up by Raizl's inner life. From religion and familial belonging to sex and friendship to the tension of figuring out one's identity, there are so many themes to chew on. Also, I'm a major slut for good prose and the lines in this book are just decadent. I want everyone to indulge themselves in this story.
How did you rec...
2023-01-0433 minwomen readAmy reads Makenna GoodmanName: Amy
Reading: The Shame, Makenna Goodman
Why did you want to read this? 'The weight of motherhood is a backpack full of stones.' This book messed me up -- but in a good way. I first read it very shortly postpartum. It felt like such consolation, after all the sentimentality and raw emotion of feeling motherhood suddenly happen to my own life, to read this wild, complicated book about a mother who loves her children entirely, and is entirely complicated, disappointed, competent, and failing, all at once. I'm obsessed with the idea of fa...
2022-12-0745 minwomen readYusra reads Robin Wall KimmererName: Yusra
Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Why did you want to read this? Braiding Sweetgrass is the last book I read. It's beautifully written and very tender, offering a different tone for discussing the climate and ecological emergency. Whilst reading, I found myself reflecting a lot about the phase of life I'm in right now, my relationship with the world and all that inhabit it. Although it is the only book I've managed to read since having my son last year, it has been wonderful to dip in and out of. Relearning is...
2022-11-0221 min
TsundokuEp 13: In Search of the Woman Who Sailed the World + the healing power of bibliotherapyBiologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode embarks on a journey to reveal the true story of Jeanne Barret, the first woman to circumnavigate the world in 1775. We meet an impoverished peasant from Burgundy who disguised herself as a man and sailed on a french voyage around the world from the South American jungles and Magellan Strait to the tropical islands of the Indo-Pacific. Seamlessly weaving together memoir, history and science, Clode unmasks the remarkable woman who, like all explorers, charted her own course for others to follow. And… We avid readers know deep down that re...
2022-10-1841 minwomen readRatnadevi reads Richard PowersName: Ratnadevi
Reading: The Overstory, Richard Powers
Why did you want to read this? The Overstory is the most absorbing, courageous, wise, compassionate and skilfully crafted book I have read in a long time, a gift to the beleaguered world, particularly the trees. The novel weaves people and trees from very different backgrounds and geographies together, like mycelium connects root systems and fungi. It's deep-time sweep makes the heart ache: what are we humans doing, wrecking our beautiful home?
How did you record yourself? I recorded it on my phone, there was no...
2022-10-0557 minwomen readLindsey reads Kathryn DavisName: Lindsey
Reading: The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf, Kathryn Davis
Why did you want to read this? I read Kathryn Davis’s first novel, Labrador, earlier this year and felt like I was kicking the dirt off some kind of revelation I’d found in the ground. A few months later I was in my favorite used book store and saw this book, The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf; I read the back and though I’m not into opera (the central motif), I was immediately attracted to a story that seemed so unr...
2022-08-3136 min
The Labia LoungeOvercome Difficulties Orgasming With A Partner with Melissa VranjesThis week in The Labia Lounge I shared couch space with the wonderful Melissa Vranjes, another holistic sex coach, to talk about struggling to orgasm with a partner.This is a topic that I get asked about a lot and know is quite a common difficulty for many women, so Mel and I delved into the topic together in this episode and had quite a hilarious time while doing it!We cover things like: common reasons why women struggle to orgasm with a partner, strategies and methods to overcome this, 'getting out of your head...
2022-08-081h 10
women readTanvi reads Elif ShafakName: Tanvi
Reading: The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak
Why did you want to read this? This book struck that evasive balance between the past and the present. It combines the ambition for a bright future with the yearning for a past we cannot seem to leave behind. It's told through the eyes of characters who are as captivating as they are diverse. It moved me to tears and then took me to new heights of joy. I just wanted to share this bittersweet experience with as many people as I could.
...
2022-08-0338 minwomen readLaura reads Bob MortimerName: Laura
Reading: And Away..., Bob Mortimer
Why did you want to read this? I think that Bob Mortimer is a lovely man. I’m not a huge reader. I sometimes (unfairly) think badly of myself because of this. I enjoy reading autobiographies of people that I admire because I feel like I already know some of the context, so I find it an easier starting point than some other books. This is, of course, a very funny and silly book but he also writes very sensitively about his life, experiences, and being a shy an...
2022-07-0616 min
Wine with Meg + MelAldi wines we'd actually buySend us a textSome people swear by Aldi wines - but are they actually any good? Mel and Mel go in to find out. South Point Estate Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV $5.99Precious Earth Chardonnay $2.99Freya & Jules Watervale, Clare Valley Riesling $8.99The Tudor Yarra Valley Pinot Noir $12.99Humo Blanco Chilean Organic Cabernet Sauvignon $12.99 Follow us on instagram @winewithmegandmel
2022-06-0943 minwomen readJane reads Jackie KayName: Jane
Reading: Trumpet, Jackie Kay
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read this because it remained in my memory so clearly. I loved the story and the clarity of the narrators voice, with the words and images falling like the notes of the trumpet. Her descriptions of the house by the sea and that whole locality, feel very familiar to me as of course do the parts set in Glasgow.
How did you record yourself? I recorded this on my Samsung A50, sitting in an armchair in the...
2022-06-081h 15women readGrace reads Mary GabrielName: Grace
Reading: Ninth Street Women, Mary Gabriel
Why did you want to read this? I decided to read this book, as in my own art practice I am heavily influenced by women artists. It’s inspiring to hear the stories of how they challenged a very male-dominated art scene. This book gives an opportunity for these pioneering women artists' stories to be heard, something that is very necessary and needed.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my phone and found it to be a very enjoyable experience.
2022-05-1849 minwomen readAndrea reads Joan DidionName: Andrea
Reading: Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion
Why did you want to read this? This essay is a treasure trove of classic Didionisms: the devoted descriptions of roads and barren lands, the dire plot twists at the end of routine enunciations, profound human truths told with a crisp sense of humor. If you follow Didion to San Bernardino, she will take you to beguiling places...!
How did you record yourself? After some trial and error, I opted for doing it sitting in my (empty) bathtub, since the bathroom turned out to be...
2022-05-0442 minwomen readLisa reads Tiffany McDanielName: Lisa
Reading: Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
Why did you want to read this? This book touched me in so many ways, it’s brutal, beautiful and poetic all at once. It’s a coming-of-age story based on true events and different to anything I have ever read. I loved how Betty’s dad with his rich Cherokee history used his knowledge of nature and spirituality to sooth her. Betty will always hold a special place in my heart.
How did you record yourself? Curled up on my bed with lots of pillows, dimmed li...
2022-04-0626 minwomen readJane reads Ali SmithName: Jane
Reading: How to Be Both, Ali Smith
Why did you want to read this? I chose this book for my book group last year and I think without the group discussions I would have struggled with it. It is incredibly rich and beautiful and I couldn't fathom how it had been written. We all ended up loving this book.
How did you record yourself? In my kids room with the cat on a cold Monday when I had no energy and needed to do something other than work.
2022-03-2353 min
The Stork and IS5: E7 Being donor conceived and using donor conception to conceiveIn todays episode I chat to Freya.
Freya is donor conceived and was raised by 2 mums. Then, her and her wife used donor sperm to conceive a daughter, so she has perspectives of both being donor conceived and also being a recipient parent.
**Warning: we discuss some characteristics of the sperm donor Freya used in the episode**
In this episode we cover:
- Feelings about being donor conceived
- A good age to meet donor siblings
- Finding your donor through DNA testing
- Ho...
2022-03-1636 minwomen readFreya reads Daisy JonesName: Freya
Reading: All The Things She Said, Daisy Jones
Why did you want to read this? It was our birthday and Mel and I thought fuck it, we should do another reading! Through lockdown I came to miss queer spaces intensely and gulped this down when it came out. We’ve also had lots of queer readers on the podcast so far, but not so many GAY BOOKS, so I thought I’d up the quota with this.
How did you record yourself? Lying on the floor in my studio.
2022-03-091h 03women readJane reads Deborah LevyName: Jane
Reading: Hot Milk, Deborah Levy
Why did you want to read this? Hot Milk is the first book of Deborah Levy’s I read and is my enduring favourite. I loved meeting Sofia as she emerges from the stinging sea, seeking pain relief from the injury hut – one of many incredible metaphors for her life as a young woman, where broken things don’t quite receive adequate repair and bold ambitions are licked by caring responsibilities...and vicious Medusas.
How did you record yourself? Alone at home one Monday evening. I enjoye...
2022-02-2321 minwomen readHannah reads Judith KerrName: Hannah
Reading: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Judith Kerr
Why did you want to read this? I chose When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit because it was my absolute favourite as a child and probably the book I've read the most times of any. As an adult, I don't really reread books at all but I used to read this several times a year as a kid. It reads much more poignantly now though.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my phone, in bed with a duvet and a hot...
2022-02-0917 minwomen readJanice reads Lauren ElkinName: Janice
Reading: Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, Lauren Elkin
Why did you want to read this? Walking the city was one of, if not most, crucial experiences of my formative years. Like Elkin, I discovered the concept of flâneur during my undergrad and explored in my own ways academically if there was/is, and thus what was/is the flâneuse, a woman who flâner. Could that flâneuse be an East Asian one? I will never forget the excitement, liberation and transhistorical connect...
2022-01-2648 minwomen readSára reads Jennifer ClementName: Sára
Reading: Widow Basquiat, Jennifer Clement
Why did you want to read this? This is one of my all-time favourite books. It travels well and doesn't age. It was given to me by a musician friend. The atmosphere and the people in the book have a loud pulse that doesn't fade. I love that Clement uses prose to write a memoir so close to the skin. It is also an excellent book to read to someone on a romantic stroll through a cemetery with famous graves - true story.
How did y...
2022-01-1226 minwomen readJessica reads Shirley JacksonName: Jessica
Reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
Why did you want to read this? I'm curating a new programme that is centred around issues of place and belonging. Shirley Jackson takes any uneasiness around these things and slowly, skilfully amplifies it into horror. I decided on We Have Always Lived in the Castle because that first chapter does a whole hell of a lot.
How did you record yourself? My bedroom is the quietest room in the house so I do most of my audio recording in bed. I r...
2021-12-0837 minwomen readClaire reads Anna KavanName: Claire
Reading: Ice, Anna Kavan
Why did you want to read this? Ironically this narrative about the world turning to ice was first recommended to me via a paper napkin scribble by my best friend one hot summer day. Now, due to the oncoming bleakness of a British winter, it feels seasonally appropriate. I recommend the thrill of reading this book on its own terms, and waiting to read about Kavan’s life afterwards – both are strange rides.
How did you record yourself? On my sofa with my laptop, reading from my favourite...
2021-11-2427 minwomen readEllen reads Maggie NelsonName: Ellen
Reading: Bluets, Maggie Nelson
Why did you want to read this? Bluets shares the qualities of many of my favourite books – experimental in form, collapsing the lines between prose, poetry, essay and memoir. 240 numbered paragraphs make up this fragmentary, rhythmic meditation, which explores art, literature, grief and female desire through the tinted lens of Nelson’s love for the colour blue.
How did you record yourself? In bed, warmed by morning sun; my favourite place to read – and often to write (desks are overrated, comfort is underrated).
2021-11-1030 min
Book Lounge by LibbyNovember's Biggest Books!Jill is joined by Emma and they discuss some of the great new books coming out in November 2021Books mentioned in this episode:The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise WilliamsGilded by Marissa MeyerThe Last Shadows by Orson Scott CardThe Every by Dave EggersA Marvellous Light by Freya MarskeKing of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. ClairThe Perishing by Natashia DeonGo Tell the Bees that I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
2021-10-2856 minwomen readBlue reads Sarah MossName: Blue
Reading: Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss
Why did you want to read this? I read this book earlier this year and was totally gripped by the seething suspense, seeing patriarchy and power through the eyes of a teenage girl. It touches upon questions that I feel are incredibly important if you become too enamoured with history or the past as inspiration for art or a way of life. How slippery and sinister it can be.
How did you record yourself? My beautiful partner set up a microphone for me to read the b...
2021-10-2751 minwomen readSophie reads Primo LeviName: Sophie
Reading: The Periodic Table, Primo Levi
Why did you want to read this? It’s one of the best books I read in my life so far. It’s extraordinary and stays with you for a long time.
How did you record yourself? Outside, a rare sunny evening, on the steps in front of our house. I hope the road in the distance is not too loud, I think at some point a freight train passes which was not great.
2021-10-1316 minwomen readRebecca reads Elizabeth Barrett BrowningName: Rebecca
Reading: Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Why did you want to read this? When I first read Aurora Leigh, I felt like this nineteenth century gem had been hidden from me. Elizabeth Barrett Browning beats most of her contemporaries in the vitality of her language, and the poem carries me throughout with the force of its energy. I find the depiction of young Aurora Leigh's grief, and her turn back towards life, moving. It is a politically rich story, a novel in verse which sets Aurora's ambitions as a writer within the social...
2021-09-2955 minwomen readSeo Hye reads Cathy Park HongName: Seo Hye
Reading: Minor Feelings, Cathy Park Hong
Why did you want to read this? When I was choosing a book to read, I was considering picking one of my favourite classic literature books, but instead I chose something I have read much more recently and is written by a woman of POC. This book was initially recommended by Asian American friends and I wanted to share something that may be not so familiar in the UK. As someone who lived in US for years, I wanted to show an insight of Asian American...
2021-09-1558 minwomen readVaska reads Robert MacfarlaneName: Vaska
Reading: Underland, Robert Macfarlane
Why did you want to read this? This past year I discovered some beautiful non-fiction books and Underland was one of them. Macfarlane shines a light on places most of us will never have the opportunity to visit and really makes them come alive on the page. He writes beautifully about the underground places themselves, but also explores what the deep, the hidden, means to our cultural imagination, our psychology, and our relationship to the world and to life itself. His chapter on the catacombs in Paris is particularly...
2021-09-0127 minwomen readLindsay reads Annie DillardName: Lindsay
Reading: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
Why did you want to read this? Pilgrim at Tinker Creek holds reverence for nature, yet is unafraid to describe its cruelty. Annie Dillard wrote this in 1974, when she was about 30 years old, my age. I think of her when I walk in the neighborhood or hike outside the city where I live, and I try to locate beauty in the way she does.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself with my laptop on a hot summer evening, sweat trickling down my fa...
2021-07-2830 minwomen readLarissa reads Anne CarsonName: Larissa
Reading: Eros the Bittersweet, Anne Carson
Why did you want to read this? sappho is my favourite poet and anne carson looks at her writing in such a beautiful way. it is such a beautiful way of thinking and writing about poetry. it also talks about love and desire, which are themes i deeply care about.
How did you record yourself? sat on bed, the sun shining on my legs, with the laptop on my lap.
2021-07-1416 minwomen readBettina reads Elena FerranteName: Bettina
Reading: The Lying Life of Adults, Elena Ferrante
Why did you want to read this? I loved Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, and this is Ferrante’s most recent book, set in Naples again. The book allows you to inhabit the inner turmoil of adolescent Giovanna who enters the lying life of adults... I revel in the idea that Ferrante’s prose feels totally uncensored.
How did you record yourself? Sitting on my bed with my laptop and hardback copy of the book.
2021-07-071h 19women readSarah reads P.D. JamesName: Sarah
Reading: Death Comes to Pemberley, P.D. James
Why did you want to read this? I was given this book as a present from my Mum - the joy at unwrapping a continuation of one of the most beloved stories of all time AND with a detective twist?! The perfect story for anyone who watched the BBC dramatisation of Pride & Prejudice so many times when it came out as a teenager (and probably far too many times since) they could recite most of the show line for line - and loves a Poirot...
2021-06-3059 minwomen readMonica reads Clarice LispectorName: Monica
Reading: Agua Viva, Clarice Lispector
Why did you want to read this? Because I love Clarice and the cryptic power of her introspective, impressionistic worlds! Her novels and their inhabitants are always so bold & strange. I think she’s a writer who is hyperconscious of language, always searching within it, determined to reconcile it with reality and vice versa. Of her works, this search feels most urgent in Água Viva, and I wanted to feel and share some of this fragmented searching by reading it out loud.
How did you record you...
2021-06-2342 minwomen readEmily reads W. G. SebaldName: Emily
Reading: The Rings of Saturn, W. G. Sebald
Why did you want to read this? I was loaned Rings of Saturn on a trip to Norway. At that time, I had never been truly alone in a foreign country. As I was walking along the shore of Sydspissen, Tromsø coming to terms with the loneliness and isolation I felt, The Rings of Saturn proved a curious companion. It combines two of my favourite things; travel and rambling meditations on seemingly unrelated things. It's a book that feeds my curiosity, is thought provoking, poignant an...
2021-06-1635 minwomen readZanna reads Nigella LawsonName: Zanna
Reading: How to Eat, Nigella Lawson
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read this, because I love how Nigella talks about her love for food. You so rarely hear people talking about the joy of actually eating, and I love how simple that idea is. I also thought it might be a fun thing to read, and that if I get any of the reading wrong, I can pretend it's pronounced that way, like 'microwahveh'.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself in a music studio...
2021-06-0918 minwomen readElizabeth reads Arundhati RoyName: Elizabeth
Reading: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
Why did you want to read this? I love Roy’s tidal, circular writing, and the textures of her eccentric characters. This was brought out vividly when reading – you might hear me stumble over some of her dizzying, alliterative sentences. When I first read the novel, I was a teenager drawn by the John Berger epigraph, and I remember being spellbound at her use of structure: the overlapping of multiple seasons, memories, people, and breathless monsoon days. I had never read anything like it, and have n...
2021-06-021h 04women readJulie reads Virginia WoolfName: Julie
Reading: The Waves, Virginia Woolf
Why did you want to read this? I chose to read this as I love the sea in literature, as I do in my own life. It always feels a blank canvas on which to project so many thoughts and metaphors. As well as being mysterious and beautiful, Virginia Woolf’s writing is extraordinary to read but not always easy. In the opening to The Waves I am astonished by how she enters the minds of the children and describes their inner worlds and imaginings. And she conjures up...
2021-05-2642 minwomen readIsabella reads Pierre Choderlos de LaclosName: Isabella
Reading: Les Liaisons dangereuses, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to record this for the pure delicious wickedness of having these words in my mouth. In these last months, I have read so many letter-exchanges: Nin/Miller, Jonker/Brink, Acker/Wark, Bachmann/Celan, Camus/Casares, Bowen/Ritchie, Vita/Violet/Virginia, Kafka to Milena and Shklovsky's Zoo, and I've found great solace in reading how other people write to their distant and impossible loves. But they don't quite match the dubious thrills of a book that was...
2021-05-193h 22women readFiona reads Isaac R. FellmanName: Fiona
Reading: Breath of the Sun, Isaac R. Fellman
Why did you want to read this? I love the depth of world-building in this book, and the satisfying way it’s spooled out throughout the story, both by the narrator and interjecting footnotes and edits from others. It’s about trying to climb an unknowably tall mountain that reaches into space, and science, and faith, and the complex, intense relationships that the narrator has with the people around her, alive and dead. It’s one of my favourite fantasy novels.
How did you recor...
2021-05-1235 minwomen readViv reads Eileen ChangName: Viv
Reading: Half a Lifelong Romance, Eileen Chang
Why did you want to read this? I read this a few years ago after a slump in reading non-fiction. I'd realised that all the non-fiction I was reading was by white or Japanese men, I was pretty sick of it, so I made a point of looking for books written by East Asian women. It was also around that time when I saw my mum more often in person. She remembers reading Eileen as a teenager, and is one of the few Hong Kong writers whos...
2021-05-0527 minwomen readGillian reads Elizabeth BowenName: Gillian
Reading: A Time in Rome, Elizabeth Bowen
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read A Time in Rome because Rome is my first city, in every sense (I went aged 17 and lived there for six months; I’d never been out of England before), and Elizabeth Bowen is a peerless writer, a near favourite. Yet I only discovered it before my most recent visit. 1959, 2018, same Rome.
How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on Voice Memos on my iPhone, in a nice soft armchair in a ca...
2021-04-2854 minwomen readCatherine reads Jean RhysName: Catherine
Reading: Good Morning, Midnight, Jean Rhys
Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read Good Morning, Midnight because it has been my favourite book since I first read it, over ten years ago, aged 19. It’s hard to explain why something is your favourite book, like asking why you love someone, but I think the tragedy of the story appeals to me. I’m drawn to Sascha the downtrodden woman, roaming around Paris remembering the humiliations of her youth and railing against other people who seem to be able to keep it...
2021-04-2132 minwomen readStella reads Jane AustenName: Stella
Reading: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Why did you want to read this? I studied this classic book at school and loved it, aided by an excellent English teacher. I enjoyed the antiquated but relatively accessible language/wit as well as the colourful ensemble of characters. Of course, my naive teenage self fell in love with the lively heroine, Elizabeth Bennet (see also, Jane Eyre!). It's been quite comforting to rediscover this book again!
How did you record yourself? Laying on my sofa using my phone and a mic cocooned in...
2021-04-1405 minwomen readKelly reads Ruth ReichlName: Kelly
Reading: Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl
Why did you want to read this? It had been several years since I'd read Tender, but it was the first book that came to mind. A memoir by American food writer Ruth Reichl, it’s filled with stories that make me laugh and at times almost cry. It was maybe the first 'food writing' I enjoyed reading. One of the most tender themes of the book is Ruth's relationship with her mother - something she shares from the first chapter. Many parts of the book resonate w...
2021-04-0727 minwomen readOlga reads Svetlana AlexievichName: Olga
Reading: Second-hand Time, Svetlana Alexievich
Why did you want to read this? I am interested in the idea of compiling alternative archives and subverting the ‘official’ narratives. The voices in this book belong to a particular time and place, but at the same time speak outside of history; their desires are very human: simultaneous desire for a greater purpose and for a comfortable life, for freedom, for love even when tanks are under the windows.
How did you record yourself? Sitting cross-legged on a cushion underneath Antonioni's Zabriskie Point film poster. I di...
2021-03-3154 minwomen readFiona reads Maeve BinchyName: Fiona
Reading: Circle of Friends, Maeve Binchy
Why did you want to read this? This is one of the most comforting books I've ever read. It reminds me of my mum; years after she had passed away, I found this on a bookshelf and it opened up a whole new world of books for me. Maeve Binchy has been described as a quiet feminist in the past, and while some of the narratives in this book are a bit catholic guilt'ish and archaic, when I think of it being published and how sex, bodies, and...
2021-03-2445 minwomen readJade reads Hazel WatersName: Jade
Reading: Racism on the Victorian Stage: Representation of Slavery and the Black Character, Hazel Waters
Why did you want to read this? I love reading aloud, and therefore took this opportunity to read aloud for my pleasure, which also, given my anxiety around lack of time, and reading about slavery and racism (which we do so much of alone, and that I can only do intermittently - I am a slow reader of non-fiction), I took as an activity that would allow me to ease into both of these non/work necessities, that...
2021-03-171h 30women readSinae reads Raven LeilaniName: Sinae
Reading: Luster, Raven Leilani
Why did you want to read this? Luster is a book that makes you laugh. You might hear me giggling under my breath while reading it. Of course I have read this chapter before and many in fact since I stuttered too many times. Yet, it still make me laugh. It is about being poor, insecure also wanting more for life and demanding for that in an unapologetic way which I loved. I wish you enjoy it!
How did you record yourself? At my quiet studio on the week...
2021-03-1030 minwomen readShirin reads Kathy AckerName: Shirin
Reading: Don Quixote, Kathy Acker
Why did you want to read this? To me Kathy Acker’s writing represents possibility. Her work taught me that everything is possible: rules can not only be bent but forgone entirely. Acker’s stories are deeply rooted in our violent heteropatriarchal capitalist reality, but often veer toward an oneiric dimension which I like to think a reminder to wield the powerful gift of imagination to create new, collective-oriented, love-filled futures. Don Quixote is no exception. The famous knight is now a woman who sets to save the worl...
2021-03-031h 12women readMel reads Lucy EllmannName: Mel
Reading: Ducks, Newburyport, Lucy Ellmann
Why did you want to read this? Ducks has been mine and freya's beloved lockdown companion. My attention wanders as often as the narrator's and I feel less bad about myself while reading pun after excellent pun. I'm sure ducks is actually a fancy magic trick. Whatever you have been thinking about will appear in the pages you read - a chocolate pudding, the sunlight through leaves, a pandemic.
How did you record yourself? Propped my phone on a pile of cushions on the sofa.
2021-02-2449 minwomen readFreya reads Deborah LevyName: Freya
Reading: Things I don’t Want to Know, Deborah Levy
Why did you want to read this? I’ve been a bit fan-girly about Deborah Levy since I first read this - slowly reading my way through all her books ‘cos I knew I’d be sad when I’d finished them. There is something about her writing that makes me feel like I’m being sucker punched at intervals -- the observation is just so RIGHT, argh, you got me -- totally poised, yet also casual and funny as though it just fell out tha...
2021-02-1637 min
The Pastie TapesMini Episode - 2020 Wrap Up & Shout OutsLet's wrap up 2020 cheering each other on. Over the last few weeks I had an an open call out for YOU to dial in and shout out someone (or someones) who added a sparkle to your 2020. You can dial in to The Pastie Tapes Hotline any time and give a shout out (maybe I'll publish it later), leave feedback, or tell me something cool. Dial in at 1-530-PASTIES (530-727-8437) OR record a voice memo under 3 minutes starting with your name and email it to ThePasiteTapes@Gmail.comThis episode you hear...
2020-12-3117 min
BackstoryBackstory - 4 March 2020Mel Cranenburgh is joined by Mandy Beaumont, author of Wild, Fearless Chests (published by Hatchette), 'a timely debut short story collection that breaks open the idea of women from a powerful new Australian literary voice'. Freya Howarth then talks to Mel about literary awards and why they matter to up and coming writers.
2020-03-0437 min
...desde el sur de California!La democracia podria regresar pronto a Honduras…Hoy martes 7 de Julio del 2009, mientras los medios internacionales transmitian el servicio de respeto a la memoria de Michael Jackson.
De la clandestinidad surgia la figura de la senora Xiomara Castro de Zelaya quien tomo las calles por primera vez para ponerse al frente de la resistencia a golpistas y por el regreso del presidente Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Mel.
Xiomara encabezaba una movilizacion frente a las oficinas del Ministerio Publico para pedir por la investigacion de las muertes y demas delitos perpetrados contra el pueblo, cuando en cadena nacional de Radio Globo el periodista Eduardo Maldonado hacia contacto...
2009-07-0725 min