Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club - Christmas Book Conundrums

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

This week is a special Christmas Book Conundrums episode.We asked our listeners for their festive book gifting conundrums and tried to come up with some helpful suggestions and inspirations!Thank you for reading with us this Christmas. We like reading with you!Follow Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club on Instagram @saraandcariadsweirdosbookclub and Twitter @weirdosbookclubTickets for Sara's tour show I Am A Strange Gloop are available to buy from sarapascoe.co.ukCariad's children's book Lydia Marmalade and the Christmas Wish is out in paperback here now. Recorded and edited by Naomi Parnell for Plosive.Artwork by Welcome Studio.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, I'm Sarah Pasco. And I'm Carriead Lloyd. And we're weird about books. We love to read. We read too much. We talk too much. About the too much that we've read. Which is why we created the Weirdo's Book Club.

A space for the lonely outsider to feel accepted and appreciated. Each week we're joined by amazing comedian guests and writer guests to discuss some wonderfully and crudely weird books, writing, reading and just generally being a weirdo. You don't even need to have read the books to join in. It will be a really interesting, wide-ranging. conversation and maybe you'll want to read the book afterwards. We will share all the upcoming books we're going to be discussing on our Instagram, Sarah and Carriads, Weirdo's Book Club. Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you. Ding dong Merrily on high. In heaven the angels are reading. Lovely. I've singing a lot of Christmas songs lately. Of course you

all year round. Well yeah, also my kids are doing like carol concerts. And you've got a Christmas book and you've been missing schools and telling children about it. Yes. And I, you know what? I've been going to schools and I've been talking and it's a bit awkward because I get them to talk about modern Christmas like what do you do at Christmas? You see your family. You might do carol singing. Yeah. And then I explained to them that in Regency times they would do, we're sailing, but they were going to sing to the trees. And I've been doing this sometimes in quite religious schools. And I can see this like, burn her. She's a witch. Yeah, what she's saying? I'm like, because they were telling the trees that spring was coming and the kids are like, wow, what?

I'm like, yeah. Tell the trees about baby Jesus. Tell the trees. This is our Christmas book. Yes. Conundrum's Recommendations episode. But I wanted to ask you a question before we begin. Yeah.

And then I want to do something before we begin. Great. You go first. So, you're reading a lot. I'm reading a lot. If it's podcast, you're also a judge on the

women's prize. Women's prize fiction. You read for pleasure. I do also read pleasure. And then I thought, so on Christmas Day, someone might think someone like you, the last thing you would want

is a book. Oh, no. Always. Is that true? If someone gives me a book at the moment, I'm quite stressed. Because I, because I want to say to someone,

oh I can't wait to read this but so I'm like I don't know when I will so it's a bit panicky but yeah I would like to sit down and read and also you know having judged the women's prize you get to read these books

people send these amazing books and I've had a couple where I'm like oh roge I'm going to sit down and read that book and if someone says something I'm like I'm working yeah mommy's working I've got this theory and this is what I'm going to say to everyone this thing about book giving at Christmas

it's about why you're giving the person that book that makes the book giving a good present and so even if someone reads a lot or has a big to read pile if you have a real reason that you've bought it for that person which is either I have read it this is why I think it's for you

this is why it reminds me of our relationship there are all these things that make the book itself so special and they don't go off there's no rush to read them you don't have to read them over Christmas I'm about to get all teary that's how tired I'm because you bought me some books for my birthday and they are oh my company I'm so tired

they're between my women's prize piles and it's really nice because keep looking at them and like, I'm going to get to you. Yeah, books don't go off. And I feel really nice that you did that. I'm like, Sarah brought me that and that's for like when I'm done

with the job reading which obviously is a privilege and amazing but obviously be nice to read things that you just because you fancy it and I can see this little five books that I'm like, that's going to be ready waiting for me. Because where I think book gifting sometimes is a panic buy

is that you just go, oh, here's all the main ones at Wight Smith's. I'll get them Wayne Rooney's autobiography. And that's waiting for me. Sarah bought that for me and I cannot wait, Sarah, thank you. And I feel like sometimes like the older relatives, the nans,

they will go for that top 10 celebrity biographies, celebrity autobiographies or a big, cozy crime. Yeah. With books, I really think it's about why. And so I've saved on Instagram some of the, there's lots and lots of top tens this year. Yeah, yeah, there's some really good ones.

New York Times, but so like one of my favorite comedians has done his top 10 and I think that's such an interesting intergo I know you like this comic he is a book that he recommended I've not read it and also shout out to the indie booksellers

because I've been touring with the schools and you go with an independent bookseller and watching someone come in I want to shout out to book bean and ice cream in Kirkham which has the greatest brownies I've ever fucking tasted in my life

sorry also books but someone like a granddad came in picked up a shiny kids book I was like oh you know she's a good reader with this be alright sorry Lancashire accent terrible and amazing Elaine but being nice to him was like

it's the content of that bit much come here picked up two more was like get this one get this one and then when she's 12 you definitely get that one and I was like you cannot indie booksellers no they know also I think people sometimes don't know how bad Amazon is not just for capitalism

and the planet but for book sellers and book writers everyone is making less money for the books that they write because of how Amazon works and when Amazon recommends you something it's not because it knows about content it's because the publisher they've paid extra money they've paid 29% extra

to be... Yeah, you get that in front of your eyes so everyone's talking about that book no Amazon is where people go to buy books because it's cheaper and then that then means that other people can't... Did you know? I think this is so interesting you know God love the bloody French and I read it to you exactly

fun fact France straight up refuses I'm obviously quoting someone on substack straight up refuses to let Amazon stomp all over its bookstores thanks to the Loy Lang every new book has a fixed price because Amazon puts in that they make 30% on everything that's sold so that everyone is making much less

by selling on Amazon meaning Amazon has to sell it for basically the same amount as your tiny corner library they're not even allowed to offer free shipping because in France protecting bookstores is more sacred than punctual plumbers isn't that amazing

do get more de lavo God love them so much. I was thinking as a gifting to say to someone, I went into a bookshop and the books, I told them a bit about you and the bookseller said they'd love this or you would like this or people are raving about that thought, this is a £10 gift we're talking about. The thought you've put in is the present. And that's the importance of books of presents. You're going to cry against error. Let's all weep for putting some thought in because we panic. I know, we panic. And also having been to these books like around the country recently,

I'm going to cry. You see that these places are hot. Yeah. Like, they're hubs of places that don't have, like, a lot of these places, maybe everything else is going. Everything else is becoming pound land and bookies. And, like, a bookshop can just make that a community still have a heart. Yeah. And if you don't have one, you can find them online. Yeah, they are on Instagram.

They're selling online. Hive, sort of, you can buy from an indie, bookshop.org. And on substack, so you can search online and still get a bookseller recommending you. So anyway, lots of the lists that I looked at were bookshop. booksellers, sort of doing their top of the year. And did you see Lord Day? Lord. Yes, I've screened grab Lord Days.

Yeah, she's on. No, because I want to do what I want to tell you first. I have to do it because it's making me physically uncomfortable because I've got something behind my back. Oh. Oh. And I need to give you a Christmas presents. Oh, I didn't get you anything.

No, but last year you did and I was thrown because I didn't get you anything. Great. So this year it's your turn. Balance down. So before we talk about recommendations for our listeners, I bought some Christmas presents for Sarah. That's so lovely. Okay, which one I'm going to have.

I'm going to have to give you my 20-25 diary. No, no, I don't want to. So this, now, I'm worried, I'm worried because you might already have this one. Great. Because you're...

But then that I'll get is the dopamine of, okay. I'm a winner at life. Yeah, and also, understand buying books for Sarah is a effing nightmare because she has everything. So close your eyes,

close your eyes. So this is the first one. Open your eyes. Oh. Do you have it? No, I don't have this. Yes. It's the mushroom tapes.

Also, I love Sarah. Oh, about the Australian woman. And we talked about her on the podcast with her, what's it? The Beef Wellington. Yes. So it's by three writers when you say their names. So Sarah Krestnostin, I read another book that she wrote called The Trauma Cleaner,

which is an amazing book about a woman who cleans up after murders. So it's Helen Garner. He's one of my very favourite. And everyone's going about her diaries this year. And Chloe Hooper, sorry, Chloe, I'm about to get to know you. This is, I didn't know this has been written. Yes, I'm so pleased. This has been written.

So it's three Australian writers They were obsessed with the mushroom Poisoning trial as Sarah was They went to the trial And then they decided to write a book The three of them together They must have done this quickly Yes

Apparently they were in a car journey together And they were like We should just do the three of us Like let's do it Because we want to analyse what this meant And what happened And I think Found out about this thanks to Amazing Sam Baker

Who's New Zetta the Shift Is amazing And she's a book club And she's a book club It can be in more one book club Club, by the way. And I saw that and I was like, oh my God, I have to buy that for Sarah. Oh, my God, thank you.

Yes, I'm so glad you. I've got it all heard of it. Thank you. Because I was like, oh, and it's been sitting behind me. That's why I was like, we have to do this. It hurts. Right, next one. This is the last one.

Close your eyes, close your eyes. And maybe we'll do a Patreon when I'll tell you about it. Oh, yeah, close your eyes, right? This is the last one. Carrie, I've done so well. Have you heard of this one? Oh, no. Okay, so this is softwater mansions.

And it's by, I can't see. David White House. David Whitehouse and this is about the true story of those flats in Margate and a woman was found dead

in there and she'd been dead for a long time and what happened in North London yes and the neighbours and it's basically he went to investigate like why was this woman why did neighbours not know

who was she what happened and then it kind of spirals that's just like what happened Duffin Wood Green isn't it what's that woman it spirals into a story of that block so if you've been to Margate

it's quite a famous blog I think as soon as you come out to station it's that one that you can see it's huge and he ended up spiraling and finding out about because he lives there yeah like what had happened

in this block of flats why they were there why the people who live there and this was recommended by someone who works in children's books but used to work for Faber actually amazing shout out to Beth Carter she's missing

they never found her oh never found her sorry so Wood Green there was a woman who died wrapping her Christmas presents and there's a film dreams of a life yes yes so maybe the woman missing sorry I can remember

this woman just disappeared but her bills were being paid and everything was happening by direct debit, but no one knows what happened to her. Yeah. So he went to investigate the neighbours and talked to everyone and be like, how does this happen?

How does it happen? You disappear from my life. She hasn't heard of that one either. Oh, wow. Thank you. And Beth, at Hachette Children, shout out to Amazing Beth, was we were talking about nonfiction.

And I was telling her about Miriam Taves, the actress's kind of piece, and she told me about that and I was like, Sarah would love that. Yes. Oh, I'm so pleased. Oh, it's so great. This is what we've actually demonstrated my points

that I wanted to give to other people is it's about it's not about oh I'm going to buy the new blah blah blah Rich DOSman because everyone's reading it and you panic it's about why you

why now I mean this is you've done very very well because I remember buying books for you before I really understood how many books you were reading and I remember handing you something that again was like

quite well known and you were like yeah I've read that and I was like oh and then I was like of course she has it's like in paperback by them Let's go to Lords.

Lords were very interesting to me. They were very unusual. But then if someone, you know someone who likes Lord and also likes reading, how exciting to be able to go, I looked on her da-da-da. Lord's Book Corner. They were very contemporary, very modern, they seemed to me. Ruth by Kate Riley. I mean, they look very cool as well.

Very cool, yeah. Wave of Blood by Ariana Wienes. Alien Daughters Walk Into the Sun by Jackie Wang. They all look very cool. The Mother Lode by Sarah Hoover After the Ecstasy, The Laundry by Jack Cornfield I loved that title Yes

She said they were all quite visceral Yes, and about womanhood Aging Womanhood And the Patricia Lockwood will there for another year Which everyone's raving about That's a really good question I saw it on this person's recommendation You like them and you like reading

And those are the kind of things I think you could look at online Even if you can't walk around bookshops Yes, that's very true Yeah, yeah Christmas is one of those times you should go oh you matter to me this matters to me everyone matters this matters yeah did you like that really lovely quote about audiobooks after we spoke to um juliet i sent it to you on substack i just thought it's so brilliant

oh yes i did like it was like our ancestor did not spend um millennia discovering an oral storytelling tradition for you to be a prick about audio boxes that audiobooks aren't reading and i sent you did you see that instagram real i send you so many I know you probably don't watch them all. I do. The one, they've done the brain research, and it's the same. Yeah. So if you're reading physical or audio or e-book.

Yeah, it's the same part of your brain. But no, no, is it doesn't, it's activating as much. Yes. So it's not, it's not less. It's no less. Like she said, it's a tiny, tiny bit different with audio and e-book, or maybe with an e-book, but she said it's so minimal and other factors would knock it out. So, like, the part of your brain that imagines is the same if you're audio booking

or physical booking or e-booking. So you cannot say it doesn't count as reading because it's doing the same thing. Also, I don't know who those people are. Well, they're out there. Listeners, you have been very kind and you have emailed in with some requests which we really, really appreciate,

especially our patrons. Merry Christmas are our patrons. A more Merry Christmas to you. A more Merry Christmas. More Merry. Patrions, you are our Kings and Queens. We wish you a Merry Christmas. The merriest Christmas.

Gillian, any recommendations please for someone who enjoys a good family saga, big fan of Anne Tyler, Claire Lombardo, and Elizabeth Strout. Firstly, congratulations, great taste. Really great taste. I would say if she hasn't done it, Anne Patchett, she should chuck that in there. Anne Patchett feels like the obvious one.

And I was going to say, you know, Hilary Mantel, one of those really non-historical ones. A place of greater safety, though. Oh, right. So I was also wondering, I'd never read the Casillette Chronicles, but that is a massive family saga. Elizabeth Jane Howard. Oh, and there's a series of books

they've made adaptations of them. But this person, Gillian, might have read them, because it's a real like, it was so famous 20, 30 years ago. Oh, okay. So I know. These are quite modern. Yeah. So maybe if you want like a classic, that would be quite fun to like dig into family saga.

What was the name of that really massive two years ago family saga that Harry Stiles was on the boat reading? Not sorrow and bliss? Oh, Meg Mason, Sorrel and Bliss. Yes. That's a great recommendation. I think that's a great. Yes. Yes.

There are ones that are really readable and really wonderful and that you would read over Christmas and that's so positive but still family dynamics. Yeah. That's a very good call. Yeah. That's a very good call. And the other one is a very different one,

but Claire Lynch's novel about the women in Ireland who lost access to their children when they came out. It's out now, isn't it? Family Matter. That's it. Claire Lynch is Family Matter. And that's really on the nose. You like stories about family.

Here's one. Here's one, a family matter. And also, do you remember that one, Rebecca, I'm sorry you feel that way Oh, I love that Yeah, that's another good one I'm sorry you feel that way It's a great one to add to that

We did that on the podcast But that's another good family saga Amy E Right, an SOS Desperate for Audibook recommendations for a super picky seven-year-old Who only read and listen to Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl

And our amazing patrons have already come back to her Yeah with really good recommendations If you want more recommendations I cannot recommend enough becoming a member of our Patreon because our patrons they're like great librarians

This is the whole book club This is us We don't meet up You don't have to put a skirt on But if you've got book questions People there know their stuff Yeah so people have been writing in And then the patrons have been answering

And doing their own recommendations It's your people It's your book people It's your powers join us on there I'm a massive obsessive fan of the Yoto player If you don't have a Yoto for your kids I wish they'd sponsor me because I make people buy it all the time.

So it's like a box and you put cards in. It's different to the Tonys. The Tonys is figures. Tonys is definitely for younger kids. Yoto, I think, we bought my daughter to it when she was four. She's nine. She's listened to it every single night. She was four years old.

So there's loads of audiobooks on there. And with a Yoto player, you can Bluetooth it to your phone. So if you have audiobooks on your phone, if you are on Spotify, I know it's awful. I know another thing I need to deal with. But they have lots of kids' audiobooks. there's a set of books that kids seven-year-olds are obsessed with called bunny versus monkey which are graphic novels and recently one of those won an audiobook award and i was like how it's like literally it's cartoons i was like don't understand and they've got a full cast doing it

and my daughter sits there with the book listening to it so it's like a really lovely audiobook experience um and it's really fun like she's laughing ahead of so i think sometimes people, again, very snobby about graphic novels for kids, but I would say that's a really fun audiobook. And then also, Charlie Higson has a whole set of kids' books on audio, which I think are really funny and quite underrated. And Stephen Mangon has written a load of kids' books. And I would also say, if he likes, if you're, it's a super picky seven-year-old, if they like Roald Dahl, then Nadia Shireen's Grimwood series is read by Adam Buxton on audiobook. and it is absolutely brilliant

because I think sometimes with kids we can be so busy trying to give them classics and it's like it's okay for them to have contemporary works in the way that you don't want to always fucking read Dickens every day. Yeah, but I will say I only read Enid Blythe until I was 15 and I'm fine. You're fine. Now I've got a very diverse reading palette.

It is all right to just keep going back to worlds that you like for reading. It definitely is and that's a big thing with kids. They want to hear the same story but I have this with my daughter like you're just trying to like be like open enough. the door over here, like, and so I have definitely done that, really embracing the bunny monkey, and then being able to be like, oh, hey, this Grimwood is very similar, but it's, yeah, the writing's really good. And shout out to the Lady Bird, um, non-fiction Yoto cards, because like, they do Vikings, ancient Rome, ancient Greece, volcanoes, deep sea. And my kids

will just listen to them over and over again. So I would also recommend that. It's really good. Let's go to another question. Teresa, I would love a recommendation. recommendation for my husband, who's into very dry, for me at least, books about history in sports, particularly cricket and economics. He loves books by Tom Holland and Michael Lewis. Thank you. Love the podcast. Teresa, we love you. Well, I know a man like that, Humphrey Carr. Yeah. And his favourite book was Starlingrad. I bet the husband's read that, don't you think, if he's into history and sports? So it's Anthony Beaver's Starlingrad, not Anna Thunders, Starlingrad. Get him both. Get him both. Give him.

Starzeland, is it? Anufunders. Starzieland, I'm mixing them up, sorry. But Starzieland and Stalingrad's two nonfiction, heavyweight books. But also, I would be bold and I would get wifedom by Anna Funder about George Orwell's wife because it might be saying he wouldn't pick up because it's like, oh, it's about the wife. But actually, it's about George Orwell, history, what happened, I might be a little sneaky one. I would also recommend, this comes from, I always say her recommendations, crib notes, amazing substack. She recommended this book

and it's called like The History of Test Cricket Oh And it's I think it's in hardback And I think it came out quite recently And it's like a big solid cricket fan book That she said is actually not a dry book Okay

And I was like oh that's interesting That is good to do My husband likes cricket And I was thinking about getting it for him Your husband likes cricket Economics You sometimes read nonfiction economics I was going to say there is

It's a little bit All the ones now are like You know the price of inequality Yeah Stiglitz, I'm mispronouncing that name, but it's a very prominent economist that does very readable books, but about inequality.

Yeah. There's a new one. But also I was thinking about the one that's sort of like the 13 things you didn't know about capitalism. Let me look at it. Har Yun Chang, 23 things they don't tell you about capitalism

is an economics book that I really love. Oh, that sounds really interesting. And then maybe she will be more, Theresa will be more interested in it. Yeah. I would also recommend. there's a podcast called Empire, which I love by Anita Arnett and William Dalrymple. And they have a book list as well.

And they have incredible guests on who are experts in like East India Company or the Viet Cong. You know, very specific topics. And if she knows there's a like particular period of history that he likes, the Empire podcast, I'm sure of you Google their book list, they often have a historian coming on to talk about history but promoting a book. Yes, yeah. And their books always sound like really. really deep dive.

So I would find out what's his favorite bit of history. There's another, I haven't read this one, but it's called, this is by the same author, Ha Yun Chang, and it's a bad Samaritans, the guilty secrets of rich nations and the threat to global prosperity. This is the kind of stuff, that's Christmas reading. Oh, that sounds amazing. Let me find you the price of inequality, this writer, Joseph Stiglitz.

It's an American economist. The price of inequality, the road to freedom, economics and the good society, globalisation and its discontents, the Great Divide, I mean, this is the kind of stuff you want to be reading on Boxing Day after all this consumption. Also, you read that. No one's coming to bother you, are they? You're sat down on the sofa reading history, anti-capitalism. Oh, you're half reading, half watching Shrek. Yeah, but like no one's going to be like, oh, do you want to chat? They'll be like, oh, what the hell am they reading? I'm going to leave them alone.

Lovely stuff. The next one. I think this is what happens with husbands. They do end up with quite different interests. It's very healthy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You don't want to have the same job. You don't want to be into cricket. Then you'd have to go to cricket. Yeah.

Oh, it's just been a nice thing. I'm just going to read it anyway. We read out. Yeah. So she's got an 11-year-old daughter. This is Yvette. Her 11-year-old daughter just finished her favorite book, which I've been reading every year since she was born. That's so lovely.

It opened up a new world to us. The book was Andrew Kaufman's All My Friends are superheroes. I think that's great to read out because that's a recommendation for anyone else who's got a child around 10 or 11. Andrew Kaufman, all my friends are superheroes. And then Yvette bought Lincoln in the Bardo after listening to the podcast. That's a great. She is saying she hoping she reads, her daughter reads that. I would wait.

I'd give that a little bit of time. For the 11-year-old, we link in the body. So our friend Vanessa, friend of the podcast, so she reads a book every Christmas, which is Jeanette Winterson's 12 days of Christmas, which sounds amazing. So it's 12 short stories, sort of mystery stories. She reads that every year, and it has recipes in it.

Oh, God. So it's both. Doesn't that sound like a great, so that's a great one of it? Christmas book for anyone. Yeah. But maybe a vet could have one she reads at Christmas every year. Yeah.

Yeah. Shout out to Jeanette Winterson's substack as well, which is also brilliant. Victoria, I love you both, we love you. My bedside table snowed under what books you've reviewed. Sorry, and also you're welcome. You've got a clever 13-year-old nephew. You need to buy a book for Christmas or a series of books.

Okay, so I'm a bit rubbish with that slightly old age, but everyone keeps talking to me about Kieran Milgrave Harwood. He is a middle-grade author who everyone says is amazing. There's a podkin series that might be a bit young for a 13-year-old. I can hear the children's people shouting at me. I'm just trying to think there's another The Scandar series John Grisham has some

Do you know for So for Y.A I haven't read them but I bought them Because they make characters Oh John Gisham has YA? Yeah Oh

I thought you Because I did read John Gisham 13 and I was like Well you can And also if he's clever This might be a little A jump into The case stuff

There's a there's a Theodore is there So they are a group of books And they are YA I promise you they are I'm just checking. We're not speaking at confusion.

They might be too young for him. They're not adult books. The Scandar Books. Theodore Boone series. Oh, Theodore Boone too. Okay, that sounds cool. Okay, let's see who they're aimed at. Theodore Boone, what age group is Theodore Boone for?

8 to 13 year olds. Oh, I didn't know that he had that. Suitable for kids in grade 4 to 6 grades, so 912 and up, tackling things like law, mystery, kidnapping, and even the deaf penalty debates. Wow, that sounds cool for a clever 13-year-old. I think that is. And but maybe 13, he's too clever already. But for Christmas, you know, people read stuff.

Depends what he's into, because mine are definitely more fancy recommendations. So if he already likes fantasy stuff, then great. But if he's a bit doesn't really like that, then that sounds really good for John Grisham. I would genuinely say, I don't know enough about that. I really know 8 to 12 very well. But the early YA stuff, if you speak to the indie booksellers, there are some amazing books coming out right now. The Patrick Ness books I really enjoyed.

But they're scary. For kids? They're Y.A. Are they? Yeah. So Patrick Ness but writes horror for, but I liked point horror a lot. I hate it, point horror. I'm so scared.

Well, so scary. And I don't know if they send this this time. So the one I read was called More Than This and it's a dystopian YA. Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to recommend that one and then maybe keep to sleep with the lights on. But yeah, everyone's sort of been downloaded. Everyone's in like eggs. Oh, wow.

But if you get out, they don't want you to get out. Yeah. So it's really dystopian. Oh, it sounds really scary. Yeah. But interesting, because it's about where technology is taking us. Elle McNichael is another good one. She did The Kind of Spark, which is like the witch autism books that they made a kids TV show of.

And she's got some other ones. But I think they're probably maybe not. What about Starlingrad for the movie? Stardland? How clever this kid really is? How clever is his nephew? Anyway, I would definitely say the ones we recommended and go into a genuinely good kids book, shop and be like what what is flying off the shelves.

Natalie, thank you so much to podcast. It's wonderful. Thank you, Natalie. Right, looking for books for her mum and sister, who prefers something not too dark, preferably with a happy outcome, but don't want trashy. Previous successes have been David Nichols

or Taylor Jenkins read. Lovely. Historical fiction would be good too. Looking for something fairly recent, but most of my favourite reads have a darker element. Oh, this is good, isn't it? This is where I think you'd get your sorrow, your sorrow and bliss. Yeah, yeah.

And maybe this is what Lily King, Heart the Lover, which I know is sad. But it's not dark. No, it's beautiful. Yeah. It's beautiful. It's sort of true and human. Yeah. Like, it's not like, I don't think it would leave your readers.

Yeah. No, they won't be like, this was not positive enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's saying historical fiction would be good too. My God, if they haven't read Wolf Hall. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Come on if you haven't read Wolf Hall.

Yeah. And then maybe also the miniaturist Jesse Burton. Yeah. But she was also saying, recent ones which makes me think maybe they do I mean recent's very vague but that makes me think maybe they do keep up with like so they might have done more

like is there anything this year or last year what about I haven't read it but safe keep I love safe keep I mean it's not positive but no well the trouble with the safe keep is how sexual it is oh okay yeah you don't buy that for a few months exactly you'd push it to a lot more people's hands

if there wasn't such but I was embarrassed reading it on a plane because I was like there's so many people around me and this is I mean it's because it's so well written being aroused by someone you're around

but not touching and then yeah mum and sister I'd say yeah do you know what I might shout out for fundamentally by Nisbae Eunice which was nominated

for the women's prize and every prize and every prize but that's a very recent one it's like a really good pace book it's funny and it's

yeah it's not like it has dark I think it's happy place this book of the month this month. Yeah, I think that's quite, I was thinking of ones we have done recently. I think that's pretty good. The other Lily King is writers and lovers as well. Yeah. Oh, what about, euphoria is the one I'd recommend.

Barbara Kingsover. Yeah, oh yes. The Poisonwood Bible. Poisonwood Bible. If they haven't read that. I read that this year. They'd fucking love Poisonwood Bible. Of course they fucking would.

Because I'm, we get bit annoyed about Barbara Kingselver because everyone knows demon copperhead. But I've been reading her. since I was in my 20s and she used to get only recommended by good housekeeping and I read Poison in Bible years ago

and my mum recommends me and if I would say that's quite good choice because I feel like they might not have heard of it yes and the Laguna which isn't mums and sisters

but that's about you know Frida yeah Carla and her husband yeah that's a good call that's really brilliant that one

what was one you said as interrupted you you were saying something I can't remember I'm sure I'm sure I said nothing used okay I think we that's good

there's exciting isn't it pushing books into people's hands Lucky Marie, Christmas Calandrum, partner who doesn't have to read, but has enjoyed Richard IOD and Bob Mortimer's book. Last one laughing. What has been your favourite comedy book? Because comedy book make great presents, in my opinion, says Marie. If people find them funny. Likes Richard, likes Bob. Yes. So can you think of... Well, Richard Osman. Adam Buxton's got a new book out as well. Yeah, I think it's a memoir.

I like Harry Hills books. If you can get your hands on flight to death row, that was one of my favourite comedy books ever. Yeah. Yeah. And it's got things like a withered Alan Titchmarsh and an artist who does them, those radishes in Chinese restaurant windows. There's loads of just really batty. Yeah. Tom Allen has written some lovely, but they're non-fiction.

Yeah. They are really lovely. Yeah. And Phil Wang. So funny. Lus Sanders. Lus Sanders book. If he's going to go through last one laughing, Daisy May Cooper, Lou Sanders.

lose is what's that lady doing and that is really funny as well as well as being serious but what's just like fiction I'm trying to think of there's so many comedians you do fiction but Richard Aowardis are quite offbeat and I guess

Bob Mortimer yeah yeah but because they're a little bit crime that's why Richard Osmond's books are funny as well as being sort of who done it's I was just thinking about Spike Milligan old school but he's Or rolled up my uncle Oswald

Yeah actually yeah because if he likes them it might be good going back to the original so Spike Milligan has loads of loads of books and also like army diary kind of fictionalised ones which are really funny yes really really funny my uncle oswald is about a man who's trying to collect the sperm of all of the geniuses that are currently alive role adult it's adult it's so fantastic yeah yeah that'd be quite cool wouldn't it yeah um that's a good that's loads for lucky marie

mary Alison hi sarah and carid love your podcast thank you your episode on swingtown by zadie smith encourage me to pick it up yay and i can't wait to read it in the dark cozy evenings at fast approaching there here. Oh, so Alison wants, in the aid to make the hours of festive travel more enjoyable, what are your best audio book recommendations? I don't know. I mean, I can keep saying Tom Lake, read by Bell Street, because it is

amazing. But they're not someone that Tom Hanks read. Did he read the one before? He read the other one, didn't he? The Dutch House. Dutch House. Which I loved. I love the Dutch House. Which I haven't read. Which is brilliant. That's good. So you've got that to the forward. Also, that would fit as well for the family books, family dynamics. Oh, also, the

Ben Markovitz one that got nominated for The rest of our lives? The rest of our lives. That's quite very good for family dynamics, especially children leaving home, long-term relationship couples. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For people, I know it was an earlier question.

Audio. It's pretty funny. Yeah, okay. I would say if she hasn't already listened, because Juliet did a lot of good audio book recommendations, so she recommended my brilliant friend. Yeah. So if you hadn't listened to that on audio,

that would be a really nice thing to listen to. Yeah. I know I said this before, I just listened to Juliette-Stevenson reading Pride and Prejudice. on audio and it was just so fucking good. It was so good and she performs all the parts and look I do not likely say that I enjoyed it as much as watching 1995 BBC PMB but it was up there

it was so good. I recently bought the massive copy You Won't like this Helm is really massive but apparently the audio book of that is really incredible and Louise Breedie, a friend of the podcast reads that. That's exciting, yes, she got nominated for it I think. Oh, did she win then? She won then?

Because she won. Did she win? Yeah. Oh, well then she won that award. And we should say Georgia Tenon won for her first show her audio book of rivals by Jiddy Cooper. Yeah. I bet that's fun to listen to. I bet that's a great. That's a really nice tone.

And then no one knows what you're listening to. No one knows that you're listening to cheeky saucy Jilly Cooper. Yeah, let's got the window open, have it blaring on the motorway. Oh, yeah, she might be on the car. I was thinking of like on a train. Oh, I see. That's what I was imagining. Oh, God, I had to go on a train to Peterborough on Saturday.

Not a bloody person on he had headphones. Oh, they were just blowing it out. I think it might be because there were these women singing drunkenly. Oh, God. And then maybe everyone was like, I can't bear this, but I don't have my headphones. I'm just going to start watching Instagram out loud. Oh, and the Instagram out loud, I hate, because it's like, you need to, let me tell you, I just can't believe. Have you ever?

And it's like, you broke my brain. Yeah, it's awful. So awful. So look, headphones for everyone for the Christmas, from the government. If you live near Huntingdon, Hitchin, anywhere between Cambridge and Peterborough. Yeah. Thank you so much to our amazing. listeners and our amazing page on people. And also I just love that people are thinking about

what book is perfect for this person. They do read or they don't read or this is the kind of thing they're into. It's so nice. There is hope for humanity, you know. There is some hope for some humanity. And also the fact that even with all of the struggles of the publishing industry, people are still writing incredible books. People want to write books with no hope of ever getting paid or quitting their proper job and they still have these stories they want to tell and share. And I also want to say like having visited these amazing primary schools, kids love reading. They love talking to you about. And even one of them was like,

I don't like reading, but I'll give you a book a go. Yeah. And then we talked about why they don't like reading. And there's so, there's a kids book for everybody. Like they genuinely is. And if they're,

if they're not into books, get them a graphic novel. Like, just get them into that holding a piece of paper in both hands and turning the pages is a good thing. And it's so, oh yeah, I felt very hopeful talking about to those kids.

And hey, you've got an 8 to 12 year old, Lydia Marmalade and the Christmas Wish. It's available to buy now. Sarah's book, Weirdo. also available to buy. There's a Christmas scene in that.

It's a Christmas scene in that. I really recommend Weirdo if you haven't read Weirdo. And if you've got an 8 to 12 year old that likes adventure stories, Lydia Marley the Christmas wish. Start with buying our books and then all the others

that we recommend. This has all been a trick. Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas.