Welcome Back Weirdos!

Hello Amy Gletthill here. And Harriet Kemsley from the single ladies in your area podcast. And we've got some exciting news. We've sorted your Valentine's Day plans again as we're doing a special live recording of the podcast on Valentine's Day. AKA Saturday the 14th of February. Yes, we've got a lovely venue. It's at the Underbelly Boulevard in Soho London. And we're on late at 9.15pm. So if you have a terrible day at Bookton, you can go to that and then join us after for a day brief. Woohoo! I mean, I'm excited. We had so much fun at the last Valentine's Day show. Yes, and we both absolutely overshed. Will we do it again? You'll have to come along and find out. Okay, yes, yes we will. So that Saturday, 14th of February at Underbelly Boulevard and you can get tickets at blocib.co.uk. Hello, I'm Sarah Pasco and I'm Carrie Adloy. 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 Weirdos 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 crafty 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-raging 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 Carrie Ad's Weirdos Book Club. Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the Weirdos Book Club. Yes, thank you so much for your amazing messages and book suggestions over the break. We have thoroughly enjoyed going through them and starring right and done the ones that are peaking our interest. And thank you so much. While we want to break you joined our Patreon, enjoyed the extra content. We appreciate you. We appreciate you. We send you good vibes. Good reading vibes. And also, if you're new to the podcast, welcome. Come on in. This is the place for the lonely outsider to feel accepted and appreciated. And crucially, it's a book club. We don't have to read the book. We've read it for you. And hopefully you might want to read it afterwards. Yeah, or sometimes one of us haven't read it. Yeah, we're doing more of that. We're doing more of that. Because there's only so much time in the day. So many so many so many so many. We all have the same 24 hours, guys. Some of us don't. Some of us don't have 24 hours. No, we always have 20 minutes. Yeah. And if you've got 20 minutes, welcome. Welcome, welcome. We're very excited about this series. We've got some great guests, some great books coming up. Yes, some really exciting. Like seismic episodes. Ooh, so exciting. We're going to send shockwaves in the book community. It's going to be front page of the daily mail. Oh my goodness. What are we going to say? Who are we interviewing? Oh, we're both cancelled. We've both been doing a bit of side reading. The thing is, we've had dicks. Even with this much reading, we have to do professionally. Just always like, oh, I've got that on my shelf. And all I spent my water stones voucher. I spent my water stones voucher. Yeah, I love it. No, I didn't have my stones actually. I had a national booktoken. I spent it at Bookshop.org. Oh, lovely. Oh, lovely. Oh, lovely. I've been buying. I've been doing a lot of kids middle grade and graphic novel reading. That's what I've been doing. What have you been doing? I read Sarah Hall's Hells. Hells. I'll read, you know what I read. And my big treat was the Ian McEwan. Yes, basically. This cannot end. God, it's terrible remembering titles. It's in Harbock. I might not be paper, but it's dystopian future. It's about books. It's about a poet reading a poem as a gift for his wife on her birthday, 60th birthday. And then people, the hundreds in the future trying to find that poem, which they think is about climate change, which is then by then happened that the arrangements is what they call this period of time, like 1990 to 2030. Oh, my God. That's horrible. Oh, it's so brilliant. I find it in Macauing quite arteries. Okay, but you do. I feel like he gets under my, like I think he's a good, such a good writer. He gets under my skin and I feel unnerved. But his last two, I mean, they are, there is an unnerving element, but the piano teacher. Oh, yeah, you loved that one. I loved it so much. Yeah. And now this one, just what a pleasure. She was one unruly. She would do a Macauing episode, but you read them and you tell me about them. Maybe. I feel maybe he'll come on Monday. He went to Sussex. That's what I should remember. Did you go to Sussex? Yeah. I always forget the heart. That's why I feel like he's one of our gangs. You don't Macauing. He was Sussex before us. He was in the drama society with that name. Did he do? I just love him. Yeah, I haven't read enough. Yeah. I haven't read enough. And the one I did read, I just want to say. I think it's such good women. I think you'd like this one so much. It's about the woman who is the poet. But it's not just Topey and it's more just the University of Sussex is at this time the University of the South Downs. Oh, it's set there. Well, some of it is because it's scholars at universities try it. So it's a lot of this set in Oxford as well, but everything's under water. I'm not making it sound good. It's not just Topey. You are making it sound good. It's really good. I'm just scared. I'm scared to read it. You mustn't be scared. I think in particular you would love it. Okay. All right. I'll give it a go. I'm still. I read a book called The Husband and My Husband Written by a French novelist. It's about a woman who's obsessed with her own husband. Oh, yeah, you tell me about this. Yeah. And that's quite juicy and interesting. What, like, why is she obsessed with him? She just never went off him. That thing that's supposed to happen, we start taking them a bit for granted. Okay. But how and why does she never go? Well, that's what's interesting about it. She's still, so imagine the cliche of, like, maybe early in a relationship, you know, you're excited about the time that they come home and making their best dinner and looking your best for them. I'm trying to remember. And most people think, you know, after she's had children, she sort of resents the kids for the time they take her husband away from her. And she's just absolutely obsessed with him. So it doesn't transfer from kids and then become? No. And also then she's sort of doing this quite malevolent things to maintain his interest. And then there's a twist. So it's pretty good. You can't remember who it's by. We'll put it. We'll find it. A French lady. Is that not enough? It's about to go before. Something that's like some older brother. Well, I'll go before I do some more. Okay. You've been busy. What else have you been reading? I also have I've been reading. Oh. Or a Tony Interruptor. Yeah. Very, very funny. And sort of fitting some sort of slack enough jazz at the moment in my new one work in progress. And then of course, work away for Ulysses and the Odyssey because they have a quarter. Ulysses and Odyssey. Ulysses is based on the Odyssey, which I also haven't read. I've read the Odyssey. Great. We could do an episode on the Odyssey. I had to do the module at uni. So the central three characters from the Odyssey, Penelope, Odysseus and Telemacus are the archetypal characters in Ulysses. I still don't know that. Well, you wouldn't until you started looking into it because because something sort of just there as a lump. I tried to read what's the other one. So Molly Bloom is Penelope. I didn't know that. Seven Deadly is Odysseus going, making his way back to Molly Bloom and Telemacus is, oh, God. Why have I forgotten the name? Killies. No, in Ulysses. Oh. Oh, sorry. No, it's, it's, it's, and let Leonard Bloom, Stephen Deadly is Telemacus. That's why it's getting rough. Sorry. It's if someone was screaming then. She's putt doing it. It's classic. It's classic. Um, get those names out of your mouth. I'm curing. Odysseus added in my mouth. Yes. Oh, interesting. So in this series, we're going to talk about, uh, Miramarge. Mm-hmm. I read it and you read it a long time ago. Yeah. So, and you are now, it was on my brain since Unread it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I read it and then I've deleted it. Yeah. Because we, who has the, I need it to go back to brain download it. This, but you are now going to read Eulice's and that's how I love you. Every year. Yes. On a part, but at the end of it, you might feel like you want to. And again, I'll be out for reading the Odyssey again. I really love the Odyssey. Yeah. Well, there's a really good, there's a, there's a translation that is out now that's really recommended by a woman. Yes, I've heard of it. Because it gives the female characters all interesting aspects. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because my first thing when I did start reading Eulice's was this is not going to pass the Beck-Deltist. No, no, no, no. Um, and then a very kind audience member sent me there. Oh, I was in the bookshop and the book in, in Waterstains in Hampstead and they were telling me about this version. Yeah. But you know when you're buying so many books, you're like, no, I can't pick up Odyssey right now. And it's so flattering that you've looked at my taste. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You might also like, it's in my basket, so I can actually show it to you. In my Waterstains box, basket, great app. Um, I've also got Stephen Fry's, Emily Wilson is her name, the translator. Oh, okay. Um, everyone's raven about it. It seems like. Because I read, I read a pretty good translation of it. I had to do Iliad Odyssey and the Iniad in Iniad, yeah, at uni. And I remember the Iliad being like, fuck, you know, a bit of a trek. But the Odyssey was, I remember being like, so exciting. Yeah. Hi, it's Monsters and Steve and Joe. But so here's the issue though. 20 years. Adesius takes to get that heart of the attention more. And the knee goes for six years with Calypso, has an affair while the whole book is about how his wife is faithfully waited for him, Penelope. Everyone wants to marry her. Yeah, there's no, because it's the days before, I mean, it doesn't write a letter. It doesn't text. It's not sent to the pigeon. She doesn't know who's alive. 20 years, she waits for him. Have you had the Penelope ad? That one. Margaret Atwood wrote a version. Margaret at the Penelope ad is Margaret Atwood's version of Penelope waiting. Oh, I did read that long time ago. I remember reading it. They're doing it. Yeah, I remember reading it. I read Hagseed that Margaret Atwood wrote, which was her version of the Tempest. Oh, Tempest. Okay. Yeah, so I remember really enjoying it. But especially if you've had to study those books and they are so fucking male, they are nice to be like someone to visit. Yeah, all the stories fantastic, but you do think I wish I heard more from other characters. - Yeah, she's a great character, pretty. - Yeah. - Or she up to, they're 20 years. - Yeah. - I'd just be relieved to have the whole bed to yourself. - The bed's really special because they built, it's inmovable, it's around a tree root and the roots are still in the ground. - Doesn't sound bad, can't be, does it? - No, but when it's all to yourself. - Yeah, she's spending her own husband. - This is the days before showers. - Oh, they bathed. - Yeah, they probably had a little bit of a wash. - Oh no, they're quite into it. - Do you reckon? - Yeah, yeah, certain civilizations. - Oh yeah. - I've just got confused. - Well, they ain't shank Greek. - Oh, Greeks, yeah. - Oh, they think the Greeks were pretty into it. - Do you think so? - My daughters just had to do ancient Greece and they'd done ancient Roman ancient sparta and she was like, mum, sparta, best place to be a woman. - All right. - They educated the women, they were allowed to be outside of the house without a man. So, you know, like the culture itself at the time was not, yeah. - Right. - Yeah. - So the wife is not gonna be like, "Hey, I don't know if he's doing." - No, exactly. - "Could not care less." - Yeah. - She's at home. (upbeat music) - I have been reading, well, I've been reading for the women's prize. It's a lot of reading, but I've also been reading lots of kids books and graphic novels. - I love the post you did. - You like it. - Recommending the graphic novels for kids. - Took a really long time to do so, thank you. - Of course it does. - Well, that kind of content people can share, they can save. You just, it's just a gift, it's a generous gift. - So this is the national year reading and it's obviously if you work in children's books. - But oh god, if you're getting into it just 'cause it's the big year of it, all right. - Some of us were here all along. - I was just reading it. - Oh my god, it goes. - Sonny, it's so cool. - Oh, 'cause some of us were doing it when it was do we be. - Yeah, and we'll still be. So yeah, it's national year reading, which if your in children's books is a big deal 'cause obviously that is where, if you can get a child into reading early, they are more likely to read. And so I was asked to, well, they were just sort of generally asking people like for no money, but just like post about national year reading. And so I did a post on Instagram about graphic novels 'cause my daughter is dyslexic. She really doesn't like reading books, like we have no pictures. And I'm a kid that would obsessively read books with no pictures. I just was just like in a box literally with a like do way over my head reading. And so it's been quite hard journey for me because I didn't really like graphic novels. I just found them a bit bright and noisy. And so I've had to stop being so fucking snobby. And then I've read some really amazing graphic novels recently and I wanna shout out to, so I recommended loads on my Instagram post. Which look, go look at it, there's the usual, right? There's the dog man, the bunny versus monkey, bumble and snag, Gordon the goat. - Sounds like you're making things up now. - Gordon the goose, the red one before. Oh, I don't want to look at the post. There's some amazing graphic novels, but there's two American ones that were recommended to me on the post. I love readers and I love parents who care about reading 'cause so many people commented on that post being like, oh this is a good one, this is good, don't forget this one, don't forget this one, don't forget Donal Squad. There's one called L Defo, which is like, these are like award-winning American graphic novels. So I think much bigger. I had to order it in for the library. L Defo is this amazing story, it's like, is it, she's a rabbit. It's basically based on her true story of being deaf in the '70s. So she had like quite big hearing aids and like they had cords coming down and like the box. Do you remember people having that? Well I was a primary school girl, had it and it meant the teacher has to wear the box around them as well. It's called a funic ear. And I think nowadays you wouldn't have to do that like hearing aids have improved. And it's quite a thick graphic novel, but it's about her being, she had been a gyster as a kid and became deaf. And it's about like going to school and trying to make friends and people like being mean to her but also like not being able to like, to like a like a not very nice girl decides that they will be friends. And it's like when you're 12 and you're like, oh, I don't know if I want to be your friend, but she's like, wait, I've chosen you, guess what? Even in your deaf, I'm gonna be your friend. And she's like, oh no. And she keeps writing lists of like, pro, she doesn't want to be my friend. Like, con, she is mean. (laughing) And it's so good. And it's just, oh, I would really recommend it for like nine to 12, especially girls. And there's another one called Roller Girl. I'm sorry, I can't remember who they're by. Which again, it's about like a 12 year girl and like her best friend, they've been friends since they were like little girls. They go to a roller der, derby, derby. And she joins them and the other friend, like, does ballet and they kind of have a falling out. So just one of those like really great nine to 12, what it's like when you're-- - There's big feelings. - Big feelings and that's the first time I've found like, it's like I might not like the same things as you. And we can't just like watch Telly and laugh because you snorted like Coke. Not Coke. - Wow, okay, that really took a turn. That's why you're so good at roller derby because you're on Coke all the time. - I can say Pepsi, but I was like, that sounds really weird. I think that's-- - You don't mean like you can't. - You don't have like Steve Poverse and just talk about-- - We are not children anymore. - We are not children. And both of those books really deal with finding a new thing and being okay with change in a really like, I sat and read both of them in one sitting and I was like, oh my god, if I would have, if that had been available when I was a kid, I would have like, laughing novels, but they just, they didn't really existed. It was like Tintin or Asterox, that was it. - I liked Tintin. - And Asterox actually, I liked both of them. - But it was very busy. - And my daughter's read all of the Tintins and obviously some of them, well not all of them, 'cause some of them are so offensive. - And the Asterox, some of the Asterox are so unbelievably sexist. - Yeah, I think that's probably why I'm so sexist now. - Do you think it's the Asterox? - Yeah, I'd like to have something to blame it on. I'm just gonna pick that. - Was your role model Oblix? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Looking back, it does all fall into place. I was just sort of look at those early reading. - So yeah, I just, yeah, shouting out for books that, yeah, encouraging reading in a way that's not, basically child-led, they call it, and say, what are they interested in? 'Cause that's the main reason they're gonna like, not watch Telli or get off a phone. - Yeah. - And then they think they've tricked you into doing something that's really fun for them. - Well yeah, and I went, when I, she saw me reading El Defo and she was like, why are you reading it? I said, oh, I just wanted to see, was that? Why? I was like, and then I said, oh, I finished it. What did you think? I was like, oh, yeah, I liked it. Yeah, I liked it. But you can see she was like, oh, okay. I thought that's nice. There is that. It can be like, I can read your books too. And they were great books. "Tor Freeman, Shirley versus the Great Menace or Shirley versus the Underworld, Bosses the Underworld." Was it, my favourite graphic novel of last year? I wanted to shout out to Tor Freeman. (upbeat music) I haven't done any research into this. Okay. Did I tell you that I got to go backstage at the Natural History Museum? No. So I did a radio show for Superkins. And then one of the women there, she walked in, named Erica and she said, sorry, I can't hug anyone, I've got maggots in my pocket. Which is the best entrance line I've ever heard anyone have. I don't know about the best, but it's, it's, it's, it's really strong. It's strong. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so she's a fly expert and she works at the. A fly expert. Well, this is the thing. I haven't done enough research into what books exist about flies. Okay. Well, it all exists, I'll have to do a live show, but the sex lives of flies is the most amazing. She told us about this marine fly that she latches on and she likes to have sex face to face. Latch on with her mouthpiece into the male's eyes, injects a fluid which liquidizes his organs so she can suck it all out. And then that's the food for her eggs. So this stuff, it was, it was really truly. I'm then even about women today. I know. Dayton Paul today. So there was, I mean, flies are just so squids, but anyway. So she took us, first of all, we were looking at flies and beetles and oh my god, all these amazing things that have evolved over millennia to do incredible jobs that look like nothing you've ever seen. But then we went, they kept saying, "Do you want to go and see the pickles?" And I thought they meant actual pickles. It's not, it's the pickle animals. I saw a fox in a jar. I saw a jar full of a kidness. I saw an absolutely massive squid. You know, it's gigantic, like really, really long ones. Sometimes we put a bookstown and we go out and about. Oh, you do, you go on about it. So why, they've got them backstage. Why are they not frontstays in that tree tree? I've seen them, I can't put everything out. It's just stuff that's not going to change you. But they've got a whole wall of stuff from the beagle that's Darwin's in his handwriting. Yes. And this is backstage. This is like members, this is their staff room, essentially. Can I say I love it when performers talk about things that we, like when we call a break in a football game in interval. And you just call it backstage, rather than like. Just in boxes. I don't know what the real words are. The store rooms, probably. Behind the curtain. The world I have not seen. Oh, we're not doing show business back here. That's what I say. So they've got his. They've got a clap for when I walked in the room. Just some kind of private space. Next time, guys. Next time. So they've got his stuff. Yeah. I guess, of course they have. And they're studying everything. It's amazing. They have, they've got these moth balls everywhere because there's this sort of kind of tiny beetle mite that eats old flies. And they have to be worried because it's kept on the building because they use it to eat all the meat of bones when they need in another place, when they're sort of stripping. Things down. So why did she have maggots in her pocket? Because she was showing them to us on the radio show. Oh, what was the radio show? Two Perkins has a nature show. Well, the nature table. Oh, yes, I have heard that. Yeah, it's really interesting. That's nice. What were you talking about? That's just listening. I think they sometimes just like to plot comics on things so that you go, "What?" "Oh, me goodness." "Through their eyes." Like that. Just the voice of the listener. Yeah, they do really love comedians to do that. They do. They know that radio for listeners are really, really clever. And they'll feel clever if the community's going, "Oh, she's having me timbers, I know what it is." That's what I feel like I do on QI. It's going, "What?" Yeah, that's what it's that very, very similar vibe. They need someone to be like, "That's interesting." Yeah, I went around John Lloyd's house. You went around John Lloyd's house? That's another thing I did. You said that was amazing. Yeah. So he's got this view of the terms, obviously. Don't robin. Don't go around there. I haven't narrowed it down longer. - Tens is big, tens is big. - But it's got this amazing desk, which is made from Australian wood, which was used to make railways in Africa. - Wow. - That's sort of white, blonde, polished, incredible. - And you went on Tizhas for a radio for a documentary, didn't you? - Yeah, different one, yeah. - You open and it's long way for, I think, I'm middle-class now. - Oh, you were so middle-class now. - I think I'm middle-class now, yeah. - Remember when you, at my mums, when you lived with us and you were eating hummus, and I think I came in, - Call me. - You were eating hummus, and I turned the radio on and you said no. And I was like, oh, and you were like, I'm not eating hummus and listening to radio for. Like, I'm not, I'm not middle-class now. - Yes, and I still don't, and I still won't. - I was like, oh. - I've probably heard that at Latitude, and thought, okay, that's what middle-classes, I must never do it. But now that's a very common conception of what middle-classes, then it really wasn't. People never had named it. - No, it's lazy, yeah. And also, it's just people who know what they like. Isn't it? - I think that's what it is. - I think people who listen to the radio, I doesn't seem to be a class thing. It doesn't seem to be to exclude anyone. - It's free. - It's free. - You know, it's free. You can have a nap. BBC Sounds, it feels, you know, there's no adverts on it. God, I guess I do love radio for. But it's for people who are interested in things. - Oh, yeah, that is it. I remember at the time thinking, that's weird, 'cause she would like what was on there. - Yeah. - I don't know if you can listen to anything really, but I guess I listen to podcasts now. - Yeah, maybe I do this. - This is pre-pock-o. I'm talking pre-pock-o. - Yeah, absolutely. - When you would just have to listen to it. That's the one thing I say that is sad is someone who's a eternal radio listener. It's the joy of it was that sometimes you would happen upon a madness and be like, what is this I'm listening to? And then you're just stuck still not moving. 'Cause you're like, oh my god, this is amazing. It was with podcasts, you're so you curate yourselves. You never discover. But can I just shout out to, I told you about this, where the Jesse Armstrong's Desert Island Discs. - I'm really sorry. - Oh my god, if you're a Desert Island Discs fan. - Do they get to take books on Desert Island Discs? - You get given the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare. - Can you take, and then you'll choose a book? - Yeah. - But Jesse chose the Northern Anthology of poetry. And he said, if someone's not choosing an Anthology of poetry, they should be like, have like points taken away. 'Cause he was like, you're on a Desert Island. You can't keep coming back to a book. He's like, but poetry, you can come back to endlessly. - Okay, I would argue I would come to it never. (laughing) - I would never. - I know, he was very convincing, but yeah, I don't know. I thought in my head, I actually think I would take pride in prejudice 'cause I think I could keep coming back, so it would be such joy. - On 1984, because I would want a book that maybe go. - Oh, I want a sad book. - Yeah, because if I had to be quite sad on the island, and then I'd read '90s and if I could go, it could be worse, it could be prisoned with a rat cage on your face, given up your one true love. - Goodby-was. - That's what I would need. - Everyday speaking to your football with a face on. - Goodby-was. - Goodby-was. - Goodby-was. - Could I have a rat cage on my face? Look, it's sunny. - I just want to disappear. - I'd want to disappear. - No, no. - But then I have noticed that's my reaction to things that are difficult is to just, sorry. - Distraction. - Okay, this is really off topic. - Oh, lovely, I don't think we're on topic. Have this about 20 minutes. (laughing) - Stay for the books that we haven't read. Or we can't talk about something that I can't. - Yes. - I've read 60 books, I can't talk about them. - My next question, you tell me this thing first, but then I want to know if that was an enjoyable experience and how you feel about it. - Well, we should do a separate episode about that. - All right, so then I won't ask them. - Okay. - Okay, now what are you gonna say? - I don't know, I should go into it. I had to attend recently a parent, I shouldn't say this. I had to attend a parent Zoom course for parents of newer divergent children. - Lovely. - So just to be official, I have a newer divergent diagnosis. My children do not. Let's just say, maybe we think. - You just love Zooms. - I just love Zooms. Anyway, I had to recently attend. It was my choice, I thought it'd be useful. And it's very interesting to ending it with my newer divergent husband. Because this is something I shouldn't say on the podcast, I would normally just say to you, - Okay. - But it's just coming out. So it was on Zoom, they said you have to have your camera. We want to see everybody. - It's all just a bunch of very desperate parents trying to figure out how to help their child. It's fun of love. I feel so bad, 'cause the woman might know. My instant reaction, five minutes in, was to put my head on my table and try and sleep as if I was at school. I was like, God, that is so bad that my instant reaction is like, I'm checking out, 'cause I have to sit still. You're talking a lot about something, there's lots of slides. I'm not really understanding quite what's going. - Okay. They did with neurodivergence. - They did not approach this. - But surely. - In a new divergent way, it was amazing. - But when we all know that neurodivergence is hereditary, your first thing would be, how do we help people take this information in? - Believe me, we had a long chat about it myself and my husband often when we turned the camera off. - Muted, I see. - And then his reaction was to be absolutely present for, I would say, 99% of the entire hour and hour. - So performatively present. - He was absolutely a perfect student. Five minutes for a go. He was like, I can't fucking do this anymore. He just stormed off. And I was like, oh wow, is that interesting when you're like forced back into like a school situation? Where like my reaction was like, I won't leave, but I will not be a useful student because I am bored. And so I am, I'm not engaging. I'm having, I had to turn the camera off to like stand up, move around. And his engagement was like, I'm gonna be really, really present. But then he just couldn't. - Yeah, because masking is exhausting. - He's exhausting and also lots of stuff was being said. Was like, what? What were you? So it wasn't just that. And I don't know why I've gone off on this run. So. (laughing) Just like that. I feel like we were accidentally catching up. (laughing) We're micrified in front of our faces. - Ah, this is wicked. - Yeah. - So like listening on the radio. - So yes. - So if I'm not, that's thing, I am a good listener, but my school life maybe feel like I was a bad listener. It's like, no, if I'm interested. - Yeah. - And radio for sometimes has such interesting things in it, you know. Oh, and the BBC sounds up. - Yeah. - It's amazing what you do on that. - And they do have lots of book shows. Not that we should be advertising other book shows, but also it is a world where probably people who isn't allowed podcasts do also love other book podcasts. It would be weird if we were the only book podcast. They loved, even though I prefer that. (laughing) - I prefer that and look, if you like it, there's a Patreon. - I like it if you like, I didn't even know I was into books until Sarah and Carried started talking about them. And now, I learned to read. - I learned to read. - She went off about her parenting course and I'm not gonna listen to any episodes anymore. I'm here for the books. Maybe they're here for the books. - Maybe they are. - Subsstak is another new part of my life, which is very literary. - If you're not reading Classco, subscribe. You're not doing subsstak, right? - I barely started and that's not the thing. - You're not doing subsstak so great. - But the fact that people, so many people on there are fantastic writers, isn't that means? Some of them are professional writers, some of them are celebrities, but who cares? I love that the substak has this sort of inverted hierarchy, which is like, what are you famous for? Oh, and you thought you'd come in here, did you? - Did you see what happened to Glenn and Doyle? - No. - And then Doyle wrote, she's like, "I don't know who Glenn and Doyle is." - Which is American, she wrote that book. Oh my god, like that self-help book, like called The Tiger or something about women like coming into their own strength. - Oh, lovely. - She was like a Christian, she wrote a book about, when someone has an affair in a marriage and you stay with a marriage because you believe in marriage, that was very successful. And then she came out as queer, that's the answer. - Oh yes, yes, yes. - I don't know who you're talking about. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - We talked once on the podcast about controversy. Can't remember what episode, go back and listen to all of them. - Go listen. - But she went substak very much like, oh, I'm really mega famous. I've got some people, I'm really so like. - So like if, and there's this Gilbert was sort of revived. - Yeah, because Gilbert's been a great agent. - Exactly, so he's been turned up. And they kind of ran around town. People were like, no, you cannot just come up here and think, ask for money for your writing, like a professional writer. - Just leave it. - How strange. - I don't know if she's come back and apologies 'cause someone else would know, but she actually did a post of like, I'm leaving 'cause it was so vitriotic. - 'Cause it felt like Lizzo coming, had a really mixed response from people. - Well, actually, just think people are writing things that can be whatever length, short or long. Well, and there's so much a bit of book appreciation. - Yeah, there's no book. - I've run about a really wonderful book. - Oh, but the guy's one is so funny. - But the guy's probably my favorite person. - Oh my God, just you read her recent, "Wuthering Heights," what's she gonna say? - Oh my God. - So he might not have read any, but it's fontasisters, isn't it? The fontasisters, but you would read, Gwania's really, really funny, scathing, I think about the, - She said, it's giving, - It's giving top-shop courses. - Yes. - Just the best. - And then you might think, "I do want to read it," or again, I'm not excluded, which is our big thing. Is it is for everyone. - And also it's pretty the adaptations, but it's not actually saying anything about Emerald. - No, it was about the trailer. It was like, and because, and also she writes very strongly of like, she is obsessed with "Wuthering Heights," - Yeah. - "Abcess for the Brontes." And the reason I love her stack so much is she often talks about Jane Austen fans, obviously. I'm in the Austen camp. - And so she had this thing about how Austen fans are really well put together. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - You put your lives together and Brontae fans. - Like really fucked up. And also Austen fans are like, "Oh, a new adaptation. Oh, reworking of a classic. Oh, a modern version of it. How cute, how nice. Come on, you see it. Brontae fans are like, "I'm going to kill you. Why have you touched my book?" - And Emerald just did a clit, interview recently talking about, so "Wuthering Heights," the film, she's put it in quotations. - Oh, God. - And she said the reason I've done that is, this film is not the book. It's the book I remember reading. - Oh, we're not to do that. - Well, obviously it's controversial 'cause people love that book. - Oh, no, but I think the quotation marks is controversial because that's what we do around things that we're making fun of. - No, she's doing it like it's not. - I know, but when we do that, when we're talking, is a good dad. (laughing) - Wuthering Heights. - You were on time. - Yeah. (laughing) - Do you say, oh, and then we would see, "Wuthering Heights." - Well, maybe she's getting in there before the haters. - I know, but. I think maybe this is too much. - It was interesting to hear us big. Obviously, Nidah was just in the film. 'Cause she did say she loves that book so much. - And also, she's a super bright. - Yeah, she's incredible. - Really, you know, what would you say? Her productivity, her creativity, her ideas. We're lucky to have her, but also she's a kind of person who's very privileged, white, beautiful, and really easy to take. - Yeah, and it's like, - Also you go, you know, the volunteers are Northern working like, like, it's a difficult mix. - Yeah. - It's not like Emma Thompson's adapting Jets and Sensibility. There's a kind of like, oh, but Grona is really very, very, very, very, very, very. - Have you seen Emma Thompson's notes on the first script? - The first script, he knows. - It's really great. It's online. - What is it? - Yeah, so, and she's done a pass on other films. I think she did a pass on Pride and Prejudice. Emma Thompson's notes on, yeah, it's really great. And I think if you watch the Netflix version that with the subtitles on, it's different to what they have to say, and you can see where she's been updating stuff from the script. They've got the script is from the subtitles are from the script. And sometimes they say extra things, and it's so much more naturalistic. - Oh my God. (upbeat music) - Tote was having a good year. - You're reading. - Well, it's National Year reading. - National Year reading. - It's reading, that's for something else. - Very good. - Reading's having a good year. - Oh, I would love it if just, this is the kickback to AI and all this technological stuff that we didn't give consent for and doesn't benefit humanity and takes up a huge amount of carbon and energy. The people just get back into like, "Oh, what are you reading?" - This is what they're trying to do. And also the government, it's a government back scheme. - Oh, it's the government doing it. - Yeah, sorry. - It's for people. - It's for cool people. - It's for going in or something like that. And I think what's nice is they're trying to say, "Doesn't matter what you read." If it's a newspaper at magazine, a book about your favorite footballer, middle mark, like it doesn't matter. It's trying to be like read just the active reading. - I'm gonna do an enemy one, which is it does matter. I'm coming man to check. And I'm telling you whatever I think is good or not. - That I'm sorry, that book that you read doesn't count. - I'm sweating. - It's very nice. - Very nice. - But look how well-behaved we're being. - Yeah, yeah. - There were not actually referencing real books that we would say. - Yeah, we don't. - Anyway, look, what's that? - It's a serious thing. (laughing) - No, I would have aligned somewhere. Like absolutely, of course, newspapers, magazines, these are all written by writers. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I guess also it's especially. - There's no, there's no, you can read about. - Yes. - About your favourite football art, - Yes. - Read a book by Jerry Fish. - Autobiographies, people sharing their lives, all of these things. - Just the active reading. - Yeah. - What, I'm afraid we're about to lose. - Do you think we're about to lose it? - I think we're in danger. - I think the grids are about to go down. (laughing) And people have stopped piled libraries like ourselves. - We'll be right. - They'll be outside. - When you read the stats, it's terrible. - Yeah. - It's like, yeah, yeah, reading's decreasing you and you. - I don't know. - People aren't reading, they're just not picking up books. And if you speak to people with teenagers 20 years, they don't read, it's not a hobby. - And how do you think people could help with that by joining our Patreon? - I think they joined the Patreon. (laughing) They would support us as writers. They'd support the show. And it would benefit. I think it would benefit. - And then we would tell more people that they should read. - I think it would benefit reading. - Yeah. - I didn't know it was just, do what you liked mate, but I saw why. - Why do they keep making here's a question? Because you know about this stuff. Why do they keep making films of books then when people aren't reading any bloody books? - Oh, this is it. This is some madness. - Get your own stories then. - Reading goes down. - Everyone in the cinema should get a book as they go in and then put the lights up first. If you have to prove you've read a bit of "Wuthering Heights" before you get the move. - I think it should be allowed into Hamlet unless you fucking read it. - And you can talk about the flea bit. - Yeah. - Before you go in the flea bit. - Yeah, do you remember the flea bit? - I remember flea bit. - Oh, what's the flea? - When she talk about how it's spread. - Oh, the honest. - It goes best of the flea. - Oh, oh, oh. - It's so brilliant. And obviously in the film they don't do those bits. - They can't do it. - Yeah, they can't do it. Oh, wow, wow, wow. - Yeah. - Oh, wow. - And Kirsten, who's Anne-Anne, she went to see Hamlet against my advice. - Did she like it? - She looked absolutely lovely. - I have to say it's amazing. - And as I said, she was amazing. It was sort of out of date now. But to see a film of such a book, a book that you'd all so much, and it was then got obviously critical success. One, all of the awards. Everyone who read it could not be moved and changed what. Does then see a movie done so well. It's such an incredible film director. - Jesse Druckler is astounding. - I think, man, she came second in Nancy's. - That's when I first saw her. I've been her fan since Nancy's. I've said that to you, haven't listened. - Okay. Oh, my God. - I'm so sorry I haven't listened. That is my, but really sorry. Whenever anyone mentions about her, I'm like, excuse me, I thought she should have won. - Yeah. - I'll do anything. - And she turned down being the understudy. You know this? - Yeah. - I'm sorry I'm telling you things to know. - Excuse me, she turned down all me to go through to work and she said I'm going to work. - Go to school, switch to school. - I have had this conversation with you. - I'm so sorry, it didn't lodge. - I'm so sorry. - What am I saying? - I wasn't listening. - No, no, it didn't lodge. - No, because I think it's a bit like your husband on the Zoom. I do, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, you're my, wait and to talk. - Wait and to talk. - Yes, and sometimes this thing just don't stick. My dad when he was over said, you know, she's a classically trained singer. And that's the first ahead of that. And then I saw some stuff on Instagram. - There's a good clip on her going around on Instagram, on RT program, an Irish program singing a Shnado Connison. - Oh yes, that's what Shnado Connison does. - So I watched every episode of I'll do anything. I was fascinated by it. And when they, when they lost, all got kicked out, they had to give their red shoes to Andrew Lloyd Webber. - Yeah. - And that was a door of sorry, they were right on the moon. - The Dorothy one, they had to give their red shoes to Andrew Lloyd Webber. And they went up, they sat on the moon and they went up for sealing. And people waited at them as if they had died. And then at the end they spoke about them as if they had died. Like, she was so amazing. It's such a shame. - I always miss her. She meant so much to me. - She tried her best. - And they would never, and then once they'd said goodbye, they'd never been mentioned again. - Yeah. - And I'll do anything was the Nancy show, which our friend was on. - We knew Sarah, yeah. - We knew Sarah. - And she did really well. - She did really well. And I watched it obsessively because I love BBC reality shows where everyone's fine and nothing bad happens. And I remember saying, saying it, and then going, "Fucking hell, it goes amazing." The girl who won was good as well, but she had, she was amazing. And then years later she turned up and said, "Oh, that's that girl from all do anything." - Amazing, isn't it? - That's why I used to think she was. - She is, she is just a stonishing woman. - And everything she says in interviews, so interesting. The fact that she's recently become a mom. - Yeah, after doing that film. - And that film made her become a mother, what? But the rawness, I think it was before. - No, it's not. - She said it was doing the film made her realize there was a calling. She needed to become a mother. But becoming a mother, then she did one of those, I'm like Hollywood reporter round tables, the other day. - Yeah, she's amazing. - She's amazing. - She is amazing. - I know you haven't seen it yet, but like. - I probably won't see it, it's a thing. It was a shame, 'cause I know. - I think you should, I think it would be okay. - Okay, do you think I should, okay? - I actually do think it should. - Custom the Nanny, backtracked to her. I think like, over did that it would be too awful. And she was like, no, it puts you through something. - Okay, can I tell you something might be for Bella. My mom, strong Essex lady went to see it. - Yeah. - She's been going like, "Oh, Dean?" I said, "I'm just on it." And she came out and I said, "Oh my God, she's crying." I said, "I think crying." What are you crying at? What? - She didn't cry. She had to, "Oh, my friend Jill, so it shouldn't cry." I was like, the boomers are not moved by this. That's what it was like in the early ages. - I was like, "You didn't cry." - Yeah. - She's like, "He looked like Prince George." He looked so much like Prince George. - Wow. - Okay. - Do you think it's weird that he cast someone like Prince George? I was like, "Mom, it's not what is happening." - What? - Anyway, I think you should see it 'cause her performance is extra ordinary. And yes, there is a bit in the middle that is, I think is worth it. - Yeah. - But it's worth it. It's worth sitting through that, yes, you're crying, yes, you're going to cry. - And it's done on purpose in control by people who are absolutely at the top of their game. - And it's done with like, it's just people trying to show you a very pure story of what happens in that situation. - And not to be just like a detail in someone's biography. This is a lived experience and living person. - It's not lost either. It really is how do parents go through the worst thing possible. But the ending, the bit they do at the end, which you've read the book, you know, when they go, when she goes to the theatre. - To the theatre. - To the theatre. - That bit, oh my God. - Yeah, it's 100% each go through it. - Yeah, okay, great, okay, good, okay. - But just, I think I saw you that evening after you had seen it anywhere. - I was a bit rocked. - You were pale. - You were really pale. - Wasn't I well that day? - No. But I did, I sort of blamed the film. I thought she just lost all the blood. - I was a bit pale. - Yeah. - It is an extraordinary film. And he's brilliant as well. - With that, it's a bit okay. So I take it all back then, why do they make films about books? Because sometimes that happens. And that's why you do it. - Exactly, is it, sometimes it happens? Or like 1995 PMP, man. I wouldn't be doing our centaurous without that. - Maybe a farrow, I should say. - Yeah. - It's coming up on the series. - We should at least throw that in. With all of our appreciation of genius. - We're very excited about that. - And she wrote this script. - She wrote the script. - I know she did. - So maybe that again is why it's so brilliant. - Yeah. - If you can read the book, and we'll be able to ask her about this, about having an adaptation on that level. - Imagine that episode guys look forward to it. Imagine if she's like, "Yeah, it's alright." Did the beautiful decisions. - Like, come on, we've got to stop. - We've got to stop. - I'm sorry, I've been trying to say we stopped, but I couldn't do that funny. - Goodbye. - Goodbye. - From Wixlink. - What do we do? - And my- - What's the name? - And Winters. - And a Winter. - And a Wintersson. - And a Wintersson. - And a Wintersson. (laughing) - And a Wintersson. (upbeat music)