

Ep 496: Warm and inviting stories of hearth and home
Sep 30, 2025
Jemima Welsh, an avid reader from Brisbane, shares her love for warm, domestic fiction and memoirs. She explores charming themes like rambling houses and found families, revealing how these stories provide comfort in tough times. Jemima discusses favorites such as 'Darling' by India Knight and the witty 'Excellent Women' by Barbara Pym. She also reflects on her current reading preferences, seeking immersive tales that evoke cozy domesticity. Listeners will find a delightful mix of recommendations to enrich their book collections.
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Episode notes
Home Library As Family Centerpiece
- Jemima described building a library wall in her Queenslander cottage by roping in a builder cousin to help.
- She contrasts friends' kids' toys with the family's books to show a lived domestic reading culture.
Suburban Cottage Full Of Life
- Jemima lives in a wooden Queenslander cottage on Brisbane's outskirts and wakes to kookaburras and cockatoos.
- Her household includes a dog and four chickens named after the March sisters, illustrating domestic charm.
Microcosm Of Domestic Life Drives Reading
- Jemima realized she prefers immersive, domestic novels focusing on homes and inner lives.
- That microcosm of the family home became her defining reading preference.