Share
Did The Reading
What we read over lockdown
We're back!
To start series two we both talk through some of the books we read during lockdown, as we face another one. From fiction through to books we lent and borrowed (and we know how picky Jess is about who she lends books to) we try and fit it all into 40 mins.
We would like to encourage anyone looking to buy any of the books we mentioned to do so through the new bookshop.org. A new website and centre for independent bookshops — simply search up any book and be pointed in the direction of a local bookshop who stocks it.
Jess:
The Last Samurai - Helen Dewitt
Sweet Sorrow - David Nicholls
We Both Laughed in Pleasure - Lou Sullivan
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Mostly Dead Things - Kristen Arnett
Right After the Weather - Carol Anshaw
Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race
The Good Immigrant - edited by Nikesh Shukla
Summer - Ali Smith
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
Carceral Capitalism - Jackie Wang
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
Abby:
Insomniac City- Bill Hayes
Denying the Holocaust- Deborah Lipstadt
100 Artists' Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists- Alex Danchev
Catch and Kill- Ronan Farrow
No Visible Bruises- Rachel Louise Snyder
Night Film- Marissa Pessl
Lost at Sea- Jon Ronson
Convenience Store Women- Sayaka Murata
In the Miso Soup- Ryu Murakami
American Psycho- Brett Easton Ellis
We Both Laughed in Pleasure- Lou Sullivan
Trans, a Memoir- Juliet Jacques
Twilight- Stephenie Meyer
The Pisces- Melissa Broder
A Little Life- Hanya Yanagihara
More episodes
View all episodes
7. A Christmas Carol *Christmas Special*
31:53It's our Christmas Special!Today Abby and Jess try to bring some festive cheer by discussing Charles Dickens' Christmas classic. Naturally, going via a discussion of 'why ghosts', poor politics, Mariah Carey, and which ghost are you?We'd also like to take the opportunity to suggest some donations that are close to our hearts. If you are able to we'd love for you to make a one-off, or recurring, donation to any of these charities in our name if you've enjoyed the podcast this year.RefugeTrussell TrustShelterMerry Christmas, we'll see you in the new year x6. Midnight Sun
33:43Abby has finally done it, Jess has read a Twilight book. Our resident YA fiction queen recalls her childhood of reading the Twilight books, and discusses the story written from Edward's perspective in terms of rewriting, target audience, and of course, brooding.New episodes every Tuesday – join us next week for our Christmas special!5. Mrs Dalloway
37:07One of the most famous modernist novels, Jess and Abby tackle Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and, yes, even try to summarise the plot.What do we think of Woolf's male characters? What even is a "social" novel? And how on earth does Abby manage to weave Twilight into the discussion? We all know there's only one way to answer these questions.Instagram: @didthereadingpodNew episodes every Tuesday.4. Macbeth
36:35Murder? Timeless.For more out of context soundbites, look no further than this week's episode, where Jess and Abby discuss Shakespeare's Macbeth (after Jess takes some convincing that Macbeth and Richard III are, in fact, very different plays).If you're here just for a summary? Abby's got that covered. If you want to know how Come Dine With Me and 'it's just like reading your horoscopes to a t' comes into things, you might need to listen to a bit more.As always, we really appreciate you rating, reviewing, and subscribing to the podcast wherever you listen – it helps others find us.New episodes every Tuesday.3. The Lottery
34:53Shirley Jackson's short story, 'The Lottery' is the subject of this week's conversation between Jess and Abby.You can read the story on the New Yorker website here.A gothic story of family, community, obligation and tradition, Abby and Jess still naturally manage to discuss it in terms of horror movies, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Horrible Histories, and Midsommar's 'flower slug'. As always, send us an email at didthereadingpod@gmail.com and drop us a message on our Instagram @didthereadingpod. New episodes every Tuesday.2. The Great Gatsby
32:53You asked, you receive.Ever wondered what Jess and Abby think Gatsby's Instagram profile would look like? You've come to the right place.Via a conversation that swerves from Fitzgerald's female characters, to who is allowed to partake in consumerism, to the age-old question of what deserves to be called a classic, Jess and Abby finally get to relive their A Level analysis of The Great Gatsby.***Subscribing and leaving reviews helps others to find us!8. 8: The Mule Bone
30:01Abby and Jess discuss The Mule Bone via decolonising the curriculum, the politics of language, and the radical capacity for stage performance versus a text on the page.As ever, if you want to suggest something for us to have a look at, drop us an email at didtheradingpod@gmail.comArticles discussed:1991 NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/10/theater/theater-why-the-mule-bone-debate-goes-on.html7. 7. Howl
35:17Ever wondered how much Abby and Jess can talk about a subject they don't know much about? Listen to this episode, which covers Beat Poetry, the obscenity trial, and structuring Howl.