Show Notes
It was such a pleasure today to be joined by Olivia Kate Menzies - aka Liv - for this Season 3 finale, as we looked back on what has been a rich and varied run of conversations on Lit With Charles. Liv has played a key role behind the scenes this year – researching, preparing, and occasionally conducting interviews – so it felt only right to bring her in for a proper recap. In this episode, we revisit some of our standout moments: the interviews that stayed with us, the books by our guests that we most admired, and the recommendations that have gone right to the top of our TBR lists. We also touch on broader themes that emerged across the season, from the psychology of certain literary tropes to the changing nature of reading and travel today. We’ll be taking a little break before Season 4, where we’re going to be trying out a more conversational format, alongside a couple of very special interviews. So, you can expect more of Liv in the upcoming series! It was a pleasure to reflect on the season together, and I hope you enjoyed listening.
More from Lit with Charles
Religion, artificial intelligence and a particularly terrifying lunch date are on the menu this week. Liv has been reading Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, while Charles tackles Pope Leo XIV’s thoughts on AI and the relationship between humanity and technology.
Marguerite Duras and Philip K. Dick make for an unlikely pairing this week, as Charles and Liv compare notes on The Lover and A Scanner Darkly. Then, things get stranger with a trip through the extraordinary life of Victor Hugo – a man whose habits involved live bats, raw lobsters and some deeply questionable party tricks.
This week, Charles and Liv discuss Gisèle Pelicot’s harrowing memoir A Hymn to Life and Alan Bennett’s brilliantly subtle Talking Heads.
This week, Charles and Liv discuss Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Kamel Daoud’s controversial novel Houris, exploring the Algerian Civil War and the strange story surrounding the book.
This week, Charles and Liv discuss Ian Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only, Clarice Lispector’s strange and brilliant The Hour of the Star, and why some books are better read like poetry. They also uncover John Steinbeck’s unpublished werewolf novel and debate whether authors’ work should ever be published against their wishes. Plus, they answer a listener question: what would you change about contemporary book culture? From endless “best books” lists to the pressure to read 100 books a year, Charles and Liv have a few complaints.