Tea or Books‪?‬ Simon and Rachel

A delightful podcast. Listening to the pleasure Simon and Rachel take in books is entertaining and educating. I love the concept of the show—all their debates are excellent conversation starters for book clubs. Thankfully I haven’t heard them diss any of my favorites in the 10 or so episodes I’ve listened to since I just discovered the podcast.

The female host was unbelievably judgmental of Virginia Woolf being a classist. She kept bringing it up, at least three times in the little portion that was left actually dedicated to VW. The male host tried to bring it back to the literature without much success, but I’m glad he did. Although no great insight came from either of them. Both seemed impressed by the terrible plagiarizing film The Hours. Also, do we really need to “skip over her questionable morals”?! God almighty. Do you actually know how poor the Woolfs were? How they survived through the sheer amount of articles that Virginia had to write just to make rent? Yes, they had servants but they were employing people/women otherwise unemployed. And Nelly, one of them, tormented them by leaving every other day and then returning and putting them through anxiety after anxiety. She wrote an essay “Am I a Snob?” which addresses precisely her privilege. So in the end you come off as ignorant. Listen to the BBC Radio 4 podcast with Sara Pascoe to find out how to do an episode on VW. Finally, Virginia Woolf didn’t die at 65. Do a minimum of research.

I love listening to Simon and Rachel discuss their reading and (sometimes widely differing) opinions of what they’ve read, concentrated especially in mid 20th century domestic fiction. Their combination of lighthearted teasing and serious consideration hits the sweet spot for me. Give them a listen, you may find a new favorite!