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First Aid Lit

Books to save your life

A podcast that explores and promotes the lifesaving power of literature. We discuss the books you should carry in your literary first aid kit for any situation.
Latest Episode1/15/2021

Episode 6: Being a Child

Season 1, Ep. 6
Ah, the bliss of childhood ... before life got REALLY scary. In today's episode, we're packing our literary first aid kits to survive those pre-teen years (which becomes a great excuse to talk about our favourite books we read as children).Jump to:00:00 - Intro & what we’re reading; Nicola’s reading Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Angela’s reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; we also chat a bit about the 2020 Booker winner & shortlist!08:49 - ‘Adaptation Station’ - today we’re talking about The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix12:12 - We share our first aid kits!Angela’s kit:The Horse and His Boy by C.S. LewisThe Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline WilsonMatilda by Roald DahlNicola’s kit:The Faraway Tree series by Enid BlytonThe Bed and Breakfast Star by Jacqueline WilsonVinegar Street by Philip RidleyOther resources / books we mention:Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (again!)Shuggie Bain by Douglas StuartThe Problem of Susan by Neil GaimanBright: The Apotheosis of Lazy Worldbuilding (video essay) from Lindsay EllisThe Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid BlytonInterview with Jacqueline Wilson (British Library)Find us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
1/15/2021

Episode 6: Being a Child

Season 1, Ep. 6
Ah, the bliss of childhood ... before life got REALLY scary. In today's episode, we're packing our literary first aid kits to survive those pre-teen years (which becomes a great excuse to talk about our favourite books we read as children).Jump to:00:00 - Intro & what we’re reading; Nicola’s reading Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Angela’s reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; we also chat a bit about the 2020 Booker winner & shortlist!08:49 - ‘Adaptation Station’ - today we’re talking about The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix12:12 - We share our first aid kits!Angela’s kit:The Horse and His Boy by C.S. LewisThe Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline WilsonMatilda by Roald DahlNicola’s kit:The Faraway Tree series by Enid BlytonThe Bed and Breakfast Star by Jacqueline WilsonVinegar Street by Philip RidleyOther resources / books we mention:Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (again!)Shuggie Bain by Douglas StuartThe Problem of Susan by Neil GaimanBright: The Apotheosis of Lazy Worldbuilding (video essay) from Lindsay EllisThe Naughtiest Girl in the School by Enid BlytonInterview with Jacqueline Wilson (British Library)Find us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
11/16/2020

Episode 5: Being a Woman

Season 1, Ep. 5
It's a challenging existence and it comes in many forms. Good thing there's plenty of literature to guide us through the nuances and celebrations of being a woman. We talk about what books we might give to our daughters.Note - this episode was recorded when it was (briefly!) legal for two members of different households to mix indoors.Angela's first aid kit:Pride and Prejudice by Jane AustenWe Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodNicola's first aid kit:Three Women by Lisa TaddeoThe Bell Jar by Syvia PlathWoman on the Edge of Time by Marge PiercyOther resources/books we mention:Everything Under by Daisy JohnsonThe Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh ShuklaAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyMadame Bovary by Gustave FlaubertHow 'The Bell Jar' Became Pop Culture's Code for Female Sadness (Nylon)Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie BlyFind us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
10/31/2020

Episode 4: A Haunted House

Season 1, Ep. 4
Just in time for Halloween - we're off to a haunted house with our first aid kit packed with books to keep us sane while things go bump in the night. Will our books keep us safe from ghouls and poltergeists? There's only one way to find out...Note - this episode was recorded when it was (briefly!) legal for two members of different households to mix indoors.Angela's first aid kit:The Little Stranger by Sarah WatersJane Eyre by Charlotte BronteThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire by Arthur Conan Doyle (you can read it online here)Nicola's first aid kit:The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley JacksonThe Turn of the Screw by Henry JamesDracula by Bram StokerOther resources/books we mention:Never Let Me Go by Kazuo IshiguroLove and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie WardA Rather Haunted Life: Guardian reviewThe Lottery by Shirley JacksonThe Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins GilmourWide Sargasso Sea by Jean RhysBram Stoker Claimed That Parts of Dracula Were Real. Here's What We Know About the Story Behind the Novel (Time)Find us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
9/2/2020

Episode 3: Feeling Lonely

Season 1, Ep. 3
It's the most relatable feeling in the world: we've all had a period of time where we've felt lonely, even when surrounded by people. Whether for escapism or inspiration, what books have helped us survive that rubbish feeling of being alone? We've packed our first aid kits.Angela's first aid kit:The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. TolkienRed Dust: A Path Through China by Ma JianThe Goldfinch by Donna TarttNicola's first aid kit:The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest HemingwayEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail HoneymanThe Miniaturist by Jessie BurtonOther resources/books we mention:Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine EvaristoForgotten Women: The Leaders by Zing TsjengJoseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman RushdieViolent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move by Reece JonesPoorna Bell on Instagramdear juliet... from Jessie Burton's blogFind us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
9/2/2020

Episode 2: Time Travel

Season 1, Ep. 2
It's episode 2 and we're hopping in our time travel machines, taking our literary first aid kits with us to guide us through the mind-boggling concept of being some-when else. Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads! (But we do need books.)Forgive a mild tech issue on Nic's side in this episode - there's a little bit of static feedback. Promise it's a one-off.Nicola's first aid kit:A Short History of England by Simon JenkinsSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt VonnegutAngela's first aid kit:The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerKindred by Octavia E. ButlerLife After Life by Kate AtkinsonOther resources/books we mention:The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart TurtonHamnet by Maggie O'FarrellA Suitable Boy by Vikram SethThe British History podcastThey Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie Jones-RogersHyperion by Dan SimmonsThe Gift of Rain by Tan Twan EngUntil the End of Time by Brian GreeneFind us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.
8/18/2020

Episode 1: A Murder Mystery

Season 1, Ep. 1
For our VERY FIRST episode, we're packing a literary first aid kit for surviving (and solving) a murder mystery! Will our books spare us from becoming the victim of a most grisly murder? Let's hope so...Angela's first aid kit:Gone Girl by Gillian FlynnThe Secret History by Donna TarttThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonNicola's first aid kit:Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha ChristieRebecca by Daphne du MaurierFingersmith by Sarah WatersOther resources/books we mention:Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine EvaristoLittle Fires Everywhere by Celeste NgCBC IDEAS podcast: 'Reading with a Grain of Salt' (3-part series)@ferguscraig on Twitter - 'Detective Roger LeCarre' (Dad reads from his crime novel)Find us on Twitter @firstaidlit and share your thoughts - what would you pack in your first aid kit? Let us know.