You're Booked

Catherine Gray - You're Booked

You're Booked

Show Notes

Our series 15 cavalcade of champions continues with the wonderful Catherine Gray! Catherine is an award-winning author, editor and podcaster whose writing has been seen in the Guardian, Stylist, Telegraph, Grazia and Stella. Catherine's hit debut book, The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, became a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller, followed by the acclaimed The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single and Sunshine Warm Sober. Her debut novel Versions of a Girl has just been released. We talked to her about sobriety memoirs, formative reads, historical troublemakers, David Sedaris writing advice and more on the often fraught Fanny Price debate.Find out more about all the books Catherine mentioned by visiting our Bookshop.org store. Order your copy of Daisy's new novel Pity Party RIGHT HERE and enter the Pity Party competition and see book tour dates at Daisy's Substack - Creative Confidence Clinic... BOOKS Catherine Gray - Versions of a Girl Catherine Gray - The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca Augusten Burroughs - Dry Sarah Hepola - Blackout Mark Williams and Denny Penman - Mindfulness Sasha Scoblic - Unwasted Rolad Dahl - James and the Giant Peach Lois Lowry - Anastasia Krupnik The School of Life - How To Overcome Your Childhood Jilly Cooper - Rivals Philip Pullman - Northern Lights Anne Helen Petersen - Can't Even Vendela Veda - We Run the Tides Catherine Newman - Sandwich Celeste Ng - Little Fires Everywhere Coco Mellors - Blue Sisters Kiley Reid - Come and Get it Jane Austen - Mansfield Park Jane Austen - Emma Nikki May - Wahala Nikki May - This Motherless Land Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice Sylvia Townsend Warner - Lolly Willowes Katherine May - The Electricity of Every Living Thing Elspeth Barker - O Caledonia Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary Daisy Buchanan - Insatiable Jean Rhys - Good Morning Midnight Jay McInerney - Bright Lights Big City Jay McInerney - The Story of My Life George Eliot - Middlemarch Katherine Heiny - Early Morning Riser Catherine Newman - We All Want Impossible Things Gabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Curtis Sittenfeld - American Wife David Sedaris - The Best of Me Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Joan Didion - Let Me Tell You What I Mean Clare Keegan - Foster Frances Quinn - That Bone Setter Woman Jodi Picoult - By Any Other Name Bonnie Garmus - Lessons in Chemistry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from You're Booked

Jun 1, 2026

To celebrate the release of Daisy's new novel, a modern retelling of the classic Little Women entitled All Grown Up, here's an exclusive reading from the first chapter from the author herself! After thirty long years, Louisa’s daughters can finally look after themselves… or so she thinks. Because suddenly, they’re back – apparently for good. Meg’s second-guessing her marriage. Jo’s career hangs in the balance. Amy has inexplicably quit university. None of them empty the dishwasher. Louisa knows it’s time for some life lessons. She adores her girls, but if she’s ever going to get her (sex) life back, they’ll have to grow up – and go. But maybe they’re not the only ones with lessons to learn… And Louisa might just discover that her daughters have something to teach her about being an adult too. All Grown Up is out on June 4th and available from Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and wherever great books are sold. The audio version of the books features Harriet Kemsley, Isy Suttie, Stevie Martin and Helen Bauer is available from Audible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 2, 2026

To celebrate the paperback release of Daisy's new book Read Yourself Happy: How a Book Habit Can Make You Feel Better, here's an exclusive extract just for you! In a hectic world that can feel uncertain and overwhelming, Read Yourself Happy offers the perfect source of anti-anxiety, inviting you to discover the literary worlds that have helped and inspired Daisy. As well as interviews with authors (and YB favourites) like David Nicholls and Emma Gannon, Daisy provides personally curated reading lists and over 200 book recommendations to help you process your emotions and find more peace with every page. Read Yourself Happy is out now and available from Bookshop.org, Waterstones, Audible and wherever great books are sold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 3, 2025

It's Jane Austen's 250th birthday! And we can't think of a better way to celebrate than a conversation with the fabulous stand-up, actor, improviser and author Rachel Parris! Rachel's Austen credentials are acute. As well as being a founding member of the amazing Austen-inspired improv group Austentatious, alongside former YB guests Cariad Lloyd and Andrew Hunter Murray, her first novel, Introducing Mrs Collins, is a sequel, of sorts, to Pride and Prejudice. We talked to Rachel about Jane Austen (a lot), regency sex scenes, bookish palate cleansers and an adult version of the Jolly Postman. Discover more about the titles mentioned at our Bookshop.org shop. Find out more about Daisy's upcoming live events at her Creative Confidence Clinic. BOOKS Daisy Buchanan - All Grown Up Rachel Parris - Introducing Mrs Collins Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen - Persuasion Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre Monique Roffey - Mermaid of Black Conch Jennie Godfrey - The List of Suspicious Things Ambrose Parry - The Way of all Flesh: A Raven and Fisher Mystery: Book 1 George Eliot - Middlemarch Julie Owen Moylan - Elizabeth and Marilyn Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary Jilly Cooper - Rivals Jackie Collins - Vendetta: Lucky's Revenge Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffanys Winifred Watson - Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day Nikki May - This Motherless Land Jane Austen - Mansfield Park Louisa May Alcott - Little Women Curtis Sittenfeld - Eligible Curtis Sittenfeld - Prep Curtis Sittenfeld - American Wife Graydon Carter - When the Going Was Good Tina Brown - The Vanity Fair Diaries Andrew O'Hagan - Caledonian Road Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperhead Louise Candlish - Our House Adele Parks - Just Between Us Lucy Foley - The Paris Apartment Lucy Foley - The Hunting Party Holly Bourne - So Thrilled For You J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst - S Janet and Allan Ahlberg - The Jolly Postman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 11, 2025

It's the final episode of our Beach Reads series and we're finishing style... and snot. As this week Daisy has selected a collection of books designed to have you blubbing in your deckchair and drying your tears with a towel. These are titles with a passionate edge, a tragic element or just a feeling of sheer joy that will have you reaching for your hankie as fellow beachgoers worry about your emotional state. Discover more about the titles mentioned at our Bookshop.org shop. Find out more about Daisy's upcoming live events at her Creative Confidence Clinic. BOOKS Jack London - Call of the Wild Emily Henry - Beach Read AJ Pearce - Dear Mrs Bird Hanya Yanagihara - A Little Life Gabrielle Zevin - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Laurie Colwin - Happy All the Time Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 4, 2025

We're turning up the heat for this week's selection of beach reads! Daisy has selected some holiday books with a distinct side of raunch. These are titles to make you blush, gasp and get even hotter under the collar (if your swimsuit happens to have a collar). There are books with an erotic edge, and some that are flat out filth. But which one has a character that makes 'Christian Grey look like Dougal from Father Ted'? You'll have to listen to find out. Discover more about the titles mentioned at our Bookshop.org shop. Find out more about Daisy's upcoming live events at her Creative Confidence Clinic. BOOKS Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Tom Bissell and Greg Sestero - The Disaster Artist Susi Wyss - Guess Who is the Happiest Girl in Town Balli Kaur Jaswal - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Jilly Cooper - Polo Daisy Buchanan - Insatiable Daisy Buchanan - Read Yourself Happy Daisy Buchanan - Pity Party Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See all episodes →