It's the last episode of the season, and we're rounding it off with one of my favourite books of all time The Signature Of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, with one of my favourite people of all time, artist and photographer Gavin Day. We talk about swashbuckling dads, rivalries with Kew Gardens, how historical novels make us face contemporary issues, masturbating in closets and how we want to raise our future children the Whittaker way. Music by Harry Harris, artwork by (guest!) Gavin Day, mixed by Hannah Varrall, recorded by Acast studios in London. We're taking a break for a little while but catch me on sentimentalgarbage.substack.com to stay involved! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CW: addiction, anorexia, bulimia. They tried to make her go to rehab... and frankly, it was a good idea. This week we're talking about the most anticipated book ever on Sentimental Garbage, Rachel's Holiday. Marian Keyes' modern classic tells the story of Rachel, a deeply insecure Irish ex-pat who has developed a coke addiction while living in New York and becomes committed by her family to a rehab centre in her native Dublin. Our guest Louise O'Neill discusses her own experiences with addiction, recovery and society's expectations of what a Sober Woman should look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What came first, the music or the misery? We invite podcaster Alan Maguire on to talk about Nick Hornby's classic High Fidelity, discussing relationships, break-ups, Jack Black's animal magnetism, performing your relationship for other people, the world of record shops, the biting insight that still makes us cringe in recognition, and whether we can cancel Rob in good faith when he's trying so hard to be less objectively awful. Produced by Caroline O'Donoghue, artwork by Gavin Day, music by Harry Harris, mixed by Hannah Varrall. Recorded at Tall Tales Studios in Dublin. This episode was sponsored by The Croke Park Hotel, modern luxury in the heart of Dublin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate the release of the audiobook of Caroline's book, Promising Young Women, writer, podcaster and now audiobook star Tessa Coates comes to talk to us about Carrie Fisher's Postcards From The Edge, as well as discussing the unnervingly unsupervised world of audio books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ready to pair your Yves Saint Laurent smoking jacket with your $3 batik shorts? We're joined by publisher and writer Wei Ming Kam to talk Crazy Rich Asians, the blockbuster book series that launched a thousand think pieces. We discuss the pure heaven that is Astrid Leong, foodie culture in Singapore, identifying with British colonialism when it doesn't identify with you, the Western gaze on the Asian experience and emeralds, glorious emeralds! Music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue, mixed by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CW: Suicide. This week we're joined by author, historian and bookseller Emma Southon in the rather fitting setting of my hotel room to talk about Mhairi McFarlane's WHO'S THAT GIRL?, an extremely funny romcom about Edie, a 30-something copywriter who falls in love with Elliott, the movie star she's been sent to ghostwrite a memoir for. We talk about movie stars, Game of Thrones, terrible celebrity profiles, the role of chick-lit when trying to unpick "having it all", dating famous people and why there aren't any chick-lit books about beards. Emma Southon is the author of AGRIPPINA: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore and co-hosts the podcast HISTORY IS SEXY. Music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue and mixed by Hannah Varrall. If you'd like to support the podcast find us on sentimentalgarbage.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're live from Body & Soul Festival in Ireland talking Maeve Binchy's classic CIRCLE OF FRIENDS. This 700 page epic about a single academic school year is probably the most frequently spotted book on Irish shelves, and with good reason. We talk upwardly mobile Catholics in 1950s Ireland, the specific pains of being a Big Strapping Country lass in a Nan Mahon world, the exquisite world-building of Binchy's Ireland, and learning to embrace Irish fiction, clichés and all. Sarah Maria Griffin is the author of two novels, OTHER WORDS FOR SMOKE and SPARE & FOUND PARTS, and is the co-host of the podcast Juvenalia. This podcast was recorded at Body & Soul Festival, Westmeath. Artwork by Gavin Day, music by Harry Harris, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue and mixed by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hold onto the precious jewel trapped in your dachshund's stomach and get ready for a whirlwind post-war fairytale that will make you hum the entire Anastasia soundtrack. We talk to YA and children's author Laura Wood about A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS, a novel so profoundly magical that we both start crying by the end. After the Russian revolution, Countess Anna Grazinsky flees to England with her governess in an attempt to make a new life for herself and her family. She winds up working as a maid for the Westerholme family, a once great english country household that has been decimated by the First World War. We talk love stories, why eugenics has always been for losers, and Laura's forthcoming biography on the adored Ibbotson. Artwork by Gavin Day, music by Harry Harris, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue and mixed by Hannah Varrall. Recorded at ACAST studios in London Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gird your loins! This week wrestling podcaster and author of the I HEART series Lindsey Kelk is here to relive all your worst memories of being an entry level employee. We're talking about Lauren Weisberger's debut THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, a book that we will readily admit is not as good as the film. We discuss unlikable heroines, memoir vs fiction, the hideousness of first jobs, dragon ladies, the profound whiteness of the "girl in the city" narrative and the benefits of 'throwing the teddy in the crash'. Artwork by Gavin Day, music by Harry Harris, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue and mixed by Hannah Varrall. Recorded at ACAST Studios London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to read about the Tudors, you want to read about the SEXY Tudors, and The Other Boleyn Girl is the sexiest of all. Returning guest and author of Midnight Chicken Ella Risbridger comes by to talk about masque balls, women in history, sexual awakenings, sisters and why historical fiction is so much better when the details of that history are left niiiiiiice and loose. Music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded at Acast studios, produced by Caroline O'Donoghue and mixed by Hannah Varrall Order Midnight Chicken here: https://amzn.to/2XmvYNjPre-order Ella's poetry anthology here: https://amzn.to/305ZW5a Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.