Dear RBD Listeners

January is a busy month for EVERYONE, so we decided instead of discussing a particular book this month, we’d ask each other the questions we usually ask our author guests instead.

Enjoy the list of recommendations and non-recommendations mentioned in this ep below.

Book that made you cry?

Anthea – doesn’t cry in books

Rach – Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson; Pack Up the Moon by Kristin Higgins; Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Book that got you into reading?

Rach – The Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin and late 90s chick-lit

Anthea – The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

How do you read?

Anthea – has a Kindle, loved print best but listens mostly to audiobooks these days (currently listening to Secrets by Judi Morison and Circe by Madeleine Miller.

Rach – recently bought a Kobo as is loving it ALMOST as much as print. Audiobooks while cleaning (currently listening to Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan)

What is the book that you wish you’d written?

Rach wishes she’d written The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.

Anthea wishes she’d written her bestselling novel The War Nurses earlier.

What is the book you recommend the most?

Rach – The Wedding People by Alison Espach, Sandwich by Catherine Newman, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley (and bonus mention of The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty.

Anthea – somehow we skipped her!?!

Where do you like to read?

Anthea – reading in bed early in the morning with a cup of tea

Rach – bed too but also on an aeroplane and especially on holiday.

What’s your fave book-to-screen adaptation?

Rach – Bridget Jones’ Diary and Gone Girl

Anthea – BBS Pride & Prejudice (Hello, Colin – Rach agrees), North & South.

Do you have snacks and/or drinks while you read?

Anthea – nice cup of tea; no snacks

Rach – Diet Coke or wine; no snacks

What’s the last book you recommended?

Rach – Sandwich and The Wedding People – already mentioned above

Anthea – The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (listen to our ep about it here)And a shout out to Lara in Denver!! andThe Far Flung Life by ML Stedman

Do you reread books?

Anthea – as a rule no, but sometimes she does accidentally as she’s getting old and forgetful, but she does mention MM Kaye and her lovely British murder mysteries.

Rach – wants to reread more, including Three Little Truths by Eithne Shortall, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Are you embarrassed about a book you read?

Anthea – The White Hotel by DM Thomas – but you’ll have to listen to find out WHY!

Rach – not at all embarrassed now but might have been embarrassed once to admit she’d read a lot of M&B novels

Do you have a fave go-to cookbook?

Rach – Nagi’s books and Everybody Loves Cake

Anthea – Jamie Oliver’s and Nagi’s books

Do you DNF books?

Anthea – yes; she really wants to read The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins but just can’t get into it.

Rach – yes (quick mentions of Heart the Lover and Writers and Lovers by Lily King – Rach HAS read them both though)

What book do you wish Booktok would know about?

Anthea – The Drifter by herself (fair)

Rach – The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

What’s your fave book outside your genre?

Anthea – Lady of Hay and House of Echoes by Barbara Erskine

Rach – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

What’s your three desert island books?

Anthea – the Game of Thrones novels (um, Anthea, that’s FIVE)

Rach – The Paper Palace (AGAIN), Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.

What’s a classic book you’ve never read?

Rach – Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Anthea – again, we seemed to skep this!

What are your three auto-buy authors?

Anthea – Rachael Treasure, Emily Henry, Beth O’Leary and Kim Wilkins (Anthea can’t count)

Rach – Marian Keyes, Fredrik Backman, Elin Hilderbrand and Liane Moriarty (yes, Rach can’t count either)

Do you read your own reviews?

Anthea – nope

Rach – yes, with caution

What book do you think is overhyped?

Rach – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Heart the Lover by Lily King

Anthea – never knows what is hyped ;)

What book do you want to read but haven’t read yet?

Anthea – anything by Jodi Piccoult (Rach raves about Plain Truth and Wish You were Here and Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan.

Rach – My Friends by Fredrik Backman and Ghost Cities by Siang Lu

What is your favourite book of the year so far?

Anthea – The Far Flung Life (already mentioned above)

Rach – The Last Encore by Rebecca Heath

What is your fave book you’ve written and why?

Anthea – The War Nurses, with special mention to The Drifter

Rach – Man Drought (if rural), The Patterson Girls (if general fiction), but Just One Wish if she really has to pick just one! Special mention to How to Mend a Broken Heart.

What are you currently writing/editing?

Anthea – editing The Palace of Lost Virtue

Rach – writing Someone Else’s Fortune and also The Number One Insta Detectives Agency with Mercedes Mercier

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

We’re launching a bonus episode a month for our paid subscribers!!

📖 Coming up next:

👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Virtually Annie about CIRCE by Madeleine Miller.

In February, we’re diving into The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore and guest author Kayte Nunn will make us read My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

In March, we’re reading The Crash one of Freida McFadden’s ZILLION books and our guest author for the second episode will be John Purcell, who is making us read The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.

For what we’re up to after that, click here.

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