The Secret Library Podcast Read Yourself Happy with Daisy Buchanan
*This podcast is made possible by the generous support of Book Alchemy’s paid membership. To support the show, please consider upgrading your subscription.
Ready to Read Yourself Happy?
In this engaging conversation, Daisy and I explore the profound impact of reading on personal well-being, the joy of rediscovering old favorites, and the importance of embracing diverse reading preferences. We discuss the comfort found in rereading beloved books, the slow reading movement, and how literature can serve as an antidote to anxiety. The conversation also touches on the radical nature of reading for pleasure and the evolving language used in book discussions, culminating in a celebration of the intimate relationship between readers and books.
This conversation could have gone on MUCH longer than we had time for, but I very much hope you have fun eavesdropping on our love fest with books and how not only reading, but rereading has been an instrumental part of our writing education.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Excitement for Reading03:31 The Joy of Rediscovering Old Books06:29 Rereading as a Path to Comfort and Craft09:02 The Importance of Slow Reading11:21 Reading as an Antidote to Anxiety18:38 The Role of Books in Understanding Perfection and Vulnerability26:04 The Quest for True Desires26:51 Life Lessons from Literature28:39 Cultural Differences in Literature29:34 Books to Movies: Anticipation and Adaptation32:19 The Aesthetic of Book Covers35:18 Language and Its Evolution37:46 Reading as a Radical Act40:23 The Joy of Reading for Pleasure
Books Mentioned:
*to the best of my ability - if we missed any, please ask for details in the comments!
* Read Yourself Happy, Daisy Buchanan
* Expiation, Elizabeth von Arnim
* Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim
* Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfield
* Invitation to the Waltz, Rosamund Lehmann
* The Motherless Land, Nikki May
* Consider Yourself Kissed, Jessica Stanley
* Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel (slow read is on Footnotes and Tangents)
* Tolstory Together, Yiyun Li
* Bleak House, Charles Dickens
* Middlemarch, George Eliot
* Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding
* Swann’s Way, Marcel Proust
* The Guermantes Way, Marcel Proust
* Gone Fishing, Bob Mortimer + Paul Whitehouse
* Beyond Anxiety, Martha Beck
* American Psycho, Brett Easton Ellis
* Alison, Lizzie Stewart
* Rachel’s Holiday, Marian Keyes
* Peter Hujar’s Day, Linda Rosenkrantz
* The Light Years (Cazalet Chronicles), Elizabeth Jane Howard
* Camp! The Story of the Attitude That Conquered the World, Paul Barker
* Rivals, Jilly Cooper
* By Grand Central Station, I Sat Down and Wept, Elizabeth Smart
SLP Episodes mentioned:
About Daisy:
Daisy Buchanan is an award-winning journalist, author and speaker. Her work includes the non-fiction books How To Be A Grown Up and The Sisterhood, and the novels Insatiable, Careering, and Limelight. She regularly contributes to every major UK newspaper and magazine, from the Guardian to Grazia, and the Times radio book show.She is a TEDx speaker and the host of the chart-topping literary interview podcast You’re Booked, as well as the Daisy Is…podcast series. She appears regularly on TV and radio speaking about everything from pop culture to feminism. Her latest book, Read Yourself Happy, is out now.
Connect with Daisy:
* Get your copy of Read Yourself Happy
* Daisy’s Substack: Creative Confidence Clinic
Work with Caroline:
* Join the waitlist for the next Your Writing Year Intensive
* Learn more about individual course options
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