You're Booked

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

It's our season finale! And we are spending it with an absolute legend. Miranda Sawyer is a brilliant and inspirational journalist, broadcaster and author. She started her career at the iconic Smash Hits and has since worked for practically every major newspaper and magazine including The Face, Select, The Guardian, The Observer and Vogue. She's the author of the books Park and Ride, Out of Time and her latest Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs. We talked to Miranda about the women of Britpop, the genius of Smash Hits, corresponding with Joan Didion and getting off with Grace Jones. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Pity PartyDaisy Buchanan - Read Yourself HappyMiranda Sawyer - Uncommon PeopleMiranda Sawyer - Out of TimeHolly Bourne - So Thrilled For YouViv Albertine - Clothes, Music, BoysAgatha Christie - And Then There Were NoneIan Fleming - Casino RoyaleRaymond Chandler - The Long GoodbyeTruman Capote - In Cold BloodTom Wolfe - The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline BabyHunter S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las VegasLili Anolik - Didion and BabitzEve Babitz - Eve's HollywoodJoan Didion - Slouching Towards BethlehemJessica Stanley - Consider Yourself KissedLily Allen - My Thoughts ExactlyJude Rogers - The Sound of Being HumanSylvia Patterson - I'm Not With the BandMiki Berenyi - Fingers CrossedVivien Goldman - Rebel Musix, Scribe on a Vibe: Frontline Adventures Linking Punk, Reggae, Afrobeat and JazzMichael Cragg - Reach For the StarsCraig Brown - One Two Three Four: The Beatles in TimeEva Rice - This Could Be EverythingOliver Burkeman - Meditations For MortalsOliver Burkeman - Four Thousand WeeksPatrick Freyne - Ok Lets Do Your Stupid Idea

This week we are welcoming podcast, comedy and writerly royalty to the show. It's the amazing Cariad Lloyd! Cariad is the host of the podcasts Weirdos Book Club, alongside former guest Sara Pascoe, and the award-winning Griefcast, plus a book based on the podcast You Are Not Alone. She is an actor, comedian and improviser and has just released her first children's book The Christmas Wish-tastrophe (plus another one soon - revealed exclusively during the show!) We talked to her about helpful reading habits, the importance of a great booklight, good books about grief and a surprising literary obsession (with a former guest). Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and visit Daisy's Substack to find out about her live dates. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Read Yourself HappyDaisy Buchanan - Pity PartyCariad Lloyd - You Are Not AloneCariad Lloyd - The Christmas WishtastropheLili Anolik - Didion and BabitzJRR Tolkien - Lord of the RingsJRR Tolkien - The HobbitBrian Jacques - MossflowerNoel Streatfeild - Ballet ShoesAA Milne - Winnie the PoohBrothers Grimm - Fairy TalesLynne Reid Banks - Fairy RebelAnne Fine - Diary of a Killer CatTerry Pratchett - Colour of MagicTove Jansson - Tales from MoominvalleyAstrid Lindgren - Pippi LongstockingNadia Shireen - GrimwoodNadia Shireen - Billy and the BeastNadia Shireen - BumblebearDouglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide to the GalaxyJK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanJill Murphy - Worst WitchPhilip Pullman - Northern LightsJeffrey Archer - As the Crow FliesRoger Lewis - Erotic VagrancyLucy Ellmann - Ducks NewburyportGeorge Saunders - Lincoln in the BardoGeorge Saunders - Swim in the Pond in the RainGuadalupe Nettel - Still BornMadeline Linford - Out of the WindowTessa Hadley - Free LoveJoe Heap - Rules of SeeingHilary Mantel - Mirror and the LightCharles Darwin - Bleak HouseGeorge Eliot - MiddlemarchGabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and TomorrowHanya Yanagihara - A Little LifeDouglas Stuart - Young MungoJohn Ransom - The Whale TattooJohn Ransom - The GallopersCariad Lloyd - Where Did She GoTom Percival - Ruby's WorryTom Percival - Meesha Makes FriendsTom Percival - Perfectly NormanJulia Donaldson - Paper DollsOliver Jeffers - Heart and the BottleFrances Hodgson Burnett - Secret GardenNikki May - This Motherless LandJane Austen - Mansfield ParkNikki May - WahalaAnn Patchett - Tom LakeAnn Patchett - Bel CantoOctavia Butler - Kindred

This week we're delighted to bring you this delicious and delectable conversation with the amazing Rukmini Iyer! Rukmini is the visionary behind the multi-million-selling Roasting Tin series of cookbooks with the latest being the Green Roasting Tin. She is also a voracious and wide-ranging reader. We talked to her about Jilly Cooper, early, eye-popping reads, life-changing food writing and she reveals her secret, and surprising passion. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of The Book Lovers Journal HERE. Find out more about Daisy's Read Yourself Happy retreat at Aweventurer.com/daisy. The episode is sponsored by Serious Readers. To get £100 off your HD Serious Readers reading lamp (and free delivery), visit seriousreaders.com/booked and use the code: BOOKED at checkout.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Pity PartyRukmini Iyer - The Roasting TinRukmini Iyer - The Green Roasting TinMiye Lee - Dallergut Dream Department StoreGabrielle Zevin - Storied Life of AJ FikryGabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and TomorrowTS Eliot - Waste Land FacsimileMuch Ado BookshopTaffy Brodesser-Akner - Fleishman is in TroubleRobert Lowell - ImitationsHomer (Trans: Emily Wilson) - Odyssey Donna Tartt - The Secret HistoryRoberto Bolano - 2666Paul Beatty - The SelloutPhilip Pullman - Northern LightsFrancesa Segal - Welcome to Glorious TugaJilly Cooper - RivalsJohn Lanchester - The Debt To PleasureMFK Fisher - Gastronomical MeBee Wilson - Consider the ForkBee Wilson - The Way We Eat NowTim Spector - Food For LifeChris van Tulleken - Ultra Processed PeopleSanjana Modha - Sanjana FeastsLucy Mangan - BookwormEve Garnett - Family At One End StreetDavid Niven - Moon's a BalloonCaitlin Moran - How To Be a WomanStewart Granger - Sparks Fly UpRoger Lewis - Erotic VagrancyKate Andersen Brower - Elizabeth Taylor Stefan Zweig - Beware of PityVarious - Book Lovers Journal 2025Noel Streatfeild - SaplingsNoel Streatfeild - Ballet ShoesBonnie Garmus - Lessons in ChemistryNoel Streatfeild - A Vicarage FamilyDodie Smith - I Capture the CastleLizzy Stewart - AlisonJane Oliver - Business as UsualDorothy Whipple - High WagesMin Jin Lee - Free Food for MillionairesMin Jin Lee - PachinkoLaurie colwin - Home CookingLaurie Colwin - More Home CookingLaurie Colwin - Happy all the TimeIndia Knight - DarlingNancy Mitford - Pursuit of LoveRukmini Iyer - Quick Roasting TinRukmini Iyer - Green BarbecueTime Life Editors - PatisserieHelen Fielding - Bridget Jones's DiaryRukmini Iyer - Sweet Roasting TinBee Wilson - SwindledRukmini Iyer - Roasting Tin Around the WorldRuby Tandoh - Cook as You AreRuby Tandoh - Eat UpDiana Vreeland - DVDiana Vreeland - Memos

This week we welcome another publishing legend onto the podcast. It's the amazing Liane Moriarty! Liane has sold over 20 million books worldwide and her novels have been translated into forty languages. Her blockbusters Big Little Lies, Apples Never Fall and Nine Perfect Strangers have been adapted into hugely successful TV shows. Her latest novel is the gripping, mysterious Here One Moment. We talked to her about her fellow novelist sisters, extended literary universes, the first book to make her cry and a particularly disturbing sex scene from Jaws. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of The Book Lovers Journal HERE. Preorder your copy of Daisy's Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and find out about Daisy's Creative Confidence Clinic writing course at Daisy's Substack.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Read Yourself HappyLiane Moriarty - Nine Perfect StrangersLiane Moriarty - Big Little LiesLiane Moriarty - Here One MomentAnna Quindlen - After AnnieBarbara Comyns - Our Spoons Came From WoolworthsEthel Turner - Seven Little AustraliansPL Travers - Mary PoppinsPeter Benchley - JawsMichael Coleman - One, Two, Three, Oops! LM Montgomery - Anne of Green GablesLM Montgomery - Emily of New MoonJoanna Trollope - The ChoirAlice Winn - In MemoriamRebecca Makkai - Great BelieversHanya Yanagihara - A Little LifeCatherine Newman - SandwichMaeve Binchy - Light a Penny CandleMichelle Gallen - Factory GirlsClaire Lombardo - Same as it Ever WasClaire Lombardo - Most Fun We Ever HadAnne Tyler - Accidental TouristShelia Heti - MotherhoodOttessa Moshfegh - My Year of Rest and RelaxationDaisy Buchanan - InsatiableKaren Joy Fowler - BoothMary Wesley - A Sensible LifeMary Wesley - Camomile LawnDaisy Buchanan - CareeringDaisy Buchanan - Pity PartyLizzy Stewart - AlisonBarbara Trapido - Noah's ArkBarbara Trapido - Traveling HornplayerBarbara Trapido - Brother of the More Famous JackMarian Keyes - My Favourite MistakeMarian Keyes - Rachels HolidayMarian Keyes - Again RachelMarian Keyes - Anybody Out ThereNicola Moriarty - You Need To KnowJaclyn Moriarty - Gravity is the ThingJane Austen - Pride and PrejudiceKate Atkinson - Life After LifeAudrey Niffenegger - Time Traveler's WifeDorothy Whipple - High WagesBarbara Pym - Excellent WomenNina Stibbe - Love NinaJane Harper - The DrySally Hepworth - The Family Next DoorPatricia Highsmith - Strangers on a TrainPatricia Highsmith - DiariesKatherine Heiny - Standard DeviationLionel Shriver - We Need To Talk About KevinSally Rooney - IntermezzoEmma Forrest - Father FigureMatt Haig - Midnight LibraryCesca Major - Maybe Next TimeBella Mackie - What a Way to GoMary Beth Keane - The Half MoonMary Lawson - Crow LakeElizabeth Berg - Say WhenJo Jo Moyes - Someone Else's Shoes

This week on the podcast we're entertaining one of our favourite writers and one of our favourite people. The brilliant Holly Williams! Holly is a journalist and author who writes about books and theatre for everyone from The Observer to the New York Times and is the author of two fantastic novels, What Time is Love and The Start of Something. We traveled to Holly's wonderful Sheffield home and talked to her about the Tolstoy family dynasty, cosy planning. life lessons from Marian Keyes, generating a poetry habit and books so engrossing you miss your train connection. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of The Book Lovers Journal HERE. Preorder your copy of Daisy's new book Read Yourself Happy.BOOKSHolly Williams - What Time is LoveHolly Williams - Start of SomethingLeo Tolstoy - War and PeaceHolly Williams - Living With LeoAli Smith - WinterAli Smith - How To Be BothZadie Smith - On BeautyTed Hughes - Selected PoemsSeamus Heaney - Selected PoemsPaul Muldoon - Selected PoemsDon Paterson - Selected PoemsJulia Cameron - Artist's WayOcean Vuong - Time is a MotherOcean Vuong - On Earth We're Briefly GorgeousHelen Mort - Illustrated WomanHannah Sullivan - Three PoemsSharon Olds - Stag's LeapRoss Gay - The Book of DelightsJB Priestly - DelightRC Sherriff - Fortnight in SeptemberLauren Bravo - PrelovedClaire Keegan - Small Things Like TheseClaire Keegan - So Late in the DayDaisy Buchanan - LimelightBernadine Evaristo - Girl Woman OtherKatherine Heiny - Games and RitualsKatherine Heiny - Single, Carefree, MellowKatherine Heiny - Standard DeviationKatherine Heiny - Early Morning RiserEmily Bronte - Wuthering HeightsCharlotte Bronte - Jane EyreMarian Keyes - This Charming ManMarian Keyes - Again RachelMarian Keyes - Rachel's HolidayCelia Paul - Self-PortraitGary Shteyngart - Super Sad True Love StoryDaisy Buchanan - CareeringArthur Schnitzler - La RondeVictoria Wood - ChunkyJesse Armstrong - Succession scriptsJB Priestly - An Inspector CallsChristopher Marlowe - Doctor FaustusTimberlake Wertenbaker - The Love of the NightingaleTimberlake Wertenbaker - Our Country's GoodPeter Barnes - The Ruling ClassVirginia Woolf - Mrs DallowayVirginia Woolf - DiariesVirginia Woolf - LettersCharles Dickens - Bleak HouseVarious - Weird WalkJilly Cooper - RidersKathryn Scanlan - Kick the LatchRita Bullwinkel - HeadshotOttessa Moshfegh - LapvonaJen Calleja - VehicleAkwaeke Emezi - You Made a Fool of Death With Your BeautyLizzy Stewart - Alison Adrian Tomine - New York DrawingsElla Frears - GoodlordPhilip Pullman - Book of DustPhilip Pullman - Northern Lights

More legends of literature are dropping by as we welcome bestselling author and crime icon Paula Hawkins! Paula's first book was the phenomenal The Girl on the Train which sold over 20 million copies and was translated into over 50 languages. She followed it up with the bestsellers Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning. Her latest is the highly anticipated The Blue Hour. We talked to her about art books, the writers so good they make you want to give up, great authors from Zimbabwe and being disappointed by a lack of Wombles. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Preorder your copy of Daisy's new book Read Yourself Happy by contacting The Margate Bookshop and see book tour dates and find out about Daisy's Creative Confidence Clinic writing course at Daisy's Substack. BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Read Yourself HappyPaula Hawkins - The Girl on the TrainPaula Hawkins - The Blue HourEleanor Clayton - Barbara HepworthCelia Paul - Self PortraitPatrick Elliot - Joan EardleyWalter De La Mare - The Three Royal MonkeysEnid Blyton - The Famous FiveEnid Blyton - Mallory TowersElisabeth Beresford - The WomblesJoan Aiken - Wolves of Willoughby ChaseGeoffrey of Monmouth - History of the Kings of BritainAli Smith - AutumnZadie Smith - IntimationsSarah Moss - The FellSigrid Nunez - The FriendSigrid Nunez - What Are You Going ThroughSigrid Nunez - The VulnerablesBenjamin Moser - SontagSigrid Nunez - Sempre SusanKate Atkinson - Life After LifePat Barker - The Regeneration TrilogyPat Barker - Life ClassPat Barker - Silence of the GirlsPat Barker - The Women of TroyPat Barker - Voyage HomePenelope Lively - Moon TigerPatricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr RipleyPatricia Highsmith - Strangers on a TrainAgatha Christie - And Then There Were NoneRuth Rendell - A Judgement in StoneGillian Flynn - Gone GirlRebecca F Kuang - YellowfaceMolly Keane - Good BehaviourCaroline Kepnes - YouOyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister the Serial KillerGeorge Eliot - MiddlemarchEmily Bronte - Wuthering HeightsColleen Hoover - It Ends With UsSally Rooney - Conversations With FriendsSally Rooney - Normal PeopleClaire Keegan - Small Things Like TheseCarys Davies - ClearJonathan Abrams - The Come UpCraig Brown - Ma'am DarlingAnne Glenconner - Lady in WaitingTsitsi Dangarembga - This Mournable BodyTsitsi Dangarembga - Nervous ConditionsPetina Gappah - An Elegy for EasterlyPetina Gappah - Rotten RowRaymond Carver - CathedralKate Atkinson - Normal Rules Don't ApplyElizabeth Strout - Olive KitteridgeEvie Wyld - The EchoesEvie Wyld - All the Birds SingingCharlotte Wood - Stone Yard DevotionalCharlotte Wood - The Weekend

We are graced with undeniable literary royalty this week. It's the stupendous, legendary Jodi Picoult! Jodi Picoult is the New York Times bestselling author of 29 novels, including Mad Honey, Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister's Keeper, and, with her daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. She has won numerous awards, including a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America, and her work has been translated into 34 languages. Her latest is the highly anticipated By Any Other Name. We talked to her about erotic Shakespeare poetry, the book that inspired her to be a writer, perfect books to swim to and the message Judy Blume wrote in Jodi's copy of Forever. Find out more about all the books mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of Daisy's new novel Pity Party RIGHT HERE and see book tour dates and find out about Daisy's Creative Confidence Clinic writing course at Daisy's Substack. Find out more about Daisy's Read Yourself Happy retreat at Aweventurer.com/daisy.BOOKSDaisy Buchanan - Read Yourself HappyJodi Picoult - By Any Other NameWilliam Shakespeare - Complete WorksElizabeth Winkler - Shakespeare Was a WomanMaurice Sendak - Where the Wild Things AreSydney Taylor - All-of-a-Kind FamilyMargaret Mitchell - Gone With the WindLauren Groff - The Vaster WildsWilliam Shakespeare - Complete Sonnets and PoemsJudy Blume - ForeverErnest Hemingway - The Sun Also RisesMartin Amis - The Rachel PapersRebecca Makkai - The Great BelieversDon DeLillo - UnderworldLindsey Kelk - Love StoryEmily Henry - Beach ReadBrigid Kemmerer - A Curse So Dark and LonelyScarlett St. Clair - A Touch of DarknessAmanda Bouchet - A Promise of FireMaria Vale - Molly Molloy and the Angel of DeathEdmond Rostand - Cyrano De BergeracLeigh Bardugo - The FamiliarMiranda July - All FoursMiranda July - No One Belongs Here More Than YouWilliam Thackeray - Vanity FairRebecca F Kuang - YellowfaceIsak Dinesen - Babette's Feast and Other StoriesKaren Blixen/Isak Dinesen - Out of AfricaKaren Blixen/Isak Dinesen - Shadows in the GrassJoyce Carol Oates - BlondeLM Montgomery - Anne of Green GablesLM Montgomery - Emily of New MoonAlice Hoffman - The DovekeepersAlice Hoffman - The World That We KnewJojo Moyes - Me Before You