Summary
Rachel Johns and Anthea Hodson welcome author Trisha Stringer to discuss Jojo Moyes' novel "The Giver of Stars." The conversation begins with Trisha sharing her background as a bestselling author and her experiences in rural communities, which inform her writing. The group reflects on the themes of friendship and community in Moyes' book, which is inspired by the real-life Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky.
Trisha explains her choice of "The Giver of Stars," highlighting its exploration of female empowerment and the importance of literature in overcoming societal challenges. The hosts delve into character analysis, discussing the complexities of the protagonist Alice Wright and her relationships, particularly with her husband, Bennett. They also touch on the book's historical context and the criticisms it faced regarding its portrayal of certain characters.
As the discussion progresses, the hosts rate the book using their "Kiss, Kill, Marry" system, with Trisha and Anthea giving it a "Marry" for its rich character development and engaging narrative, while Rachel offers a "Kiss," citing a lack of connection with the characters compared to Moyes' other works. The episode concludes with Trisha sharing her upcoming release and the hosts teasing their next book selections.
Show Notes
Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review. This episode's book: THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes is an historical novel inspired by the real-life Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. Set during the Great Depression, it follows a group of very different women who travel on horseback through the mountains to deliver books to isolated communities. It’s a story of friendship, courage, love and the power of books to change lives, which makes it the perfect choice for book people like us. This episode’s guest is our fabulous friend, ex-librarian and bestselling author Tricia Stringer whose brand new book, THE PARADISE RESORT releases tomorrow and she’s touring the country, check out her events at the link below. Visit Tricia's Website In this episode, we cover: Rereading book through the lens of the modern day The plagiarism scandal surrounding this book Whether titles should reflect book content What’s easier to write - historical vs contemporary Authors cloning themselves And lots more. 💋 And, of course, we rate THE GIVER OF STARS: Kiss, Kill, or Marry. Loading... 📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter Horton Hatches an Egg by Dr Suess Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope The Nurse books by Cherry Ames The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton Books by Victoria Holt Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Midwitch Cuckoos by John Wyndham Eragon series by Christopher Paolini Where the Wattle Blooms by Amy Andrews The Extraordinary Life of Florence Stoker by Karen Brooks 🎧 Books Mentioned in this Ep Unleashed - Video Podcast Double A Chattery with Amanda Keller and Anita McGregor The Secret World of Roald Dahl - Podcast ⏰ Timestamps 00.0 Welcome to RBD – Rachael and the smallest room in the house – and Tricia Stringer 2.28 Tricia and Jojo Moyes – a love story. 3.31 Anthea is keen to demonstrate her dominion over the Zoom machine with lame job titles… Tricia and Rachael discuss their work as ACTUAL librarians… 5.03 Tricia Stringer bio – ummm… are we supposed to name our husbands in our bio?? (Sorry Chris! )(Hemsworth..!) 7.17 Trish reads the Stars blurb. Olden days, books, horses and terrible weather. Anthea is going to love this – OR IS SHE?? (Yes. Of course she is.) 10.23 Jojo Moyes bio – Is 57 million even a real number? 14.13 Author scandal! Jojo v Kim – get off my horsey book mountain or I’ll see you in court! 16.14 Just checking – is the title a bit… dumb? Or is it super cool? 18.38 Rachael Johns new novel is QUEEN OF THE ROAD! No..? What is happening? Anthea gets confused and needs to take her fish oil. 21.19 Kiss, Kill, Marry – Trish hitches our horses up to a log cabin and invites us in for some moonshine. (Rach brought her own.) 25.28 The discussion goes deep into the night. We talk love and marriage, expectations, characterisation (and the need to use the long drop in the backyard.) 28.08 Tricia Stringer passes the bottle and gives her verdict. 29.38 Tricia’s chequered history pedalling sex books.. and Bennett Van Cleve. Gay? Bad at sex? In desperate need of Tricia’s sex book?? 32.18 Jojo Moyes – writing contemporary and historical (which is, historically, much harder..) Tricia agrees. Game over. (or is it?) 36.23 Is the language in Giver of Stars accurate? (As an aside, if the Victorians wanted their swearing to be accurately included in modern fiction, they should have been better at it. So there.) 40.05 We ask Tricia the hard questions. Not maths, though – we’re not animals. 44.04 Tricia brings us a dangerous blend of Peter Rabbit, Lessons in Chemistry and Sparkling Cyanide. Delicious! 45.02 A touching scene in which three middle-age women try to remember things, like the names of authors… 48.16 Roald Dahl gets
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