Something to Eat and Something to Read

We have talked about dinner parties in literature before, but none have been quite so much of a struggle to sit through as this one! Happiness and Love by debut author Zoe Debno is a treat for the senses … in quite a different way. And via this book, and the conversation it sparked, we experience how appetites can be lost and food can be nauseating depending on the company we keep.This is about becoming curious about our reactions to a book, how food creates atmosphere and adds to character and how wealth, class and education can be a cover for the emptiest of internal lives. As ‘the actress’ says in Happiness and Love;“You act like all you want to do is have serious conversations about art and about literature, and that only a select group of people who have studied enough, who have the credentials you think are important, are smart enough to engage with you, but what is even inside of a book but people’s thoughts and feelings. Everyone can understand thoughts and feelings. Everyone can read a book and understand it.” Bibliotherapy in action! We hope you enjoy this conversation as we join our narrator on the “white linen sofa” for a long night ahead.Show notes are coming soon, featuring lists of all the books and topics we discuss.In the meantime, thank you for listening, and thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.Germaine and Sophie xWe acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

What books will you never let go of? What recipes will you cook forever? In this episode, we talk about letting go, holding on and the recipes and books that we turn to when we need to fall in love with cooking or reading again. We share the books that ‘wallpaper’ our minds and the things we’re cooking, reading and loving this month.Show notes are coming shortly, with lists of all the books and things we talk about, plus Sophie’s heart-shaped sponge recipe.Thank you for listening, and thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.Germaine and Sophie xWe acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

‘Lonely mouth is a Japanese expression. It means, like, you feel like you want to eat something, but you don’t know what it is. You’re looking for just the right thing. But maybe there is no right thing. Maybe you don’t need anything at all.’This episode, we are talking and thinking about Jacqueline Maley’s latest novel, Lonely Mouth. It begins with two young girls being abandoned by their mother at the Big Merino just out of Goulburn and goes on to be the story mostly of the elder sister Matilda, her hungers, losses, relationships, relationship to her sister Lara and her body. And it sparked this conversation which we hope you enjoy listening to. And as always, you don’t have to have read the book to listen along, we deal more with the themes of the book than the plot (no spoilers we promise).Show notes with all the links and a soup to soothe and calm are coming to our wonderful subscribers shortly.Germaine and Sophie xThank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.Thanks for reading Something to Eat and Something to Read! This post is public so feel free to share it.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

What do you read before you go away? Do you research your trips/holidays through ‘place-rich’ novels? What genre do you prefer while ‘in transit’? How does travel affect the ‘shape’ a book or meal leaves on you (how can it not?). This episode meanders through the above and more, and we hope you enjoy it. We would love to hear about the books you love to read while dreaming of, planning for, and during your own travels.The afternoon we recorded this episode, Germaine had just arrived back from a trip to Germany and the UK, and Sophie was heading to the airport to visit Italy and Slovenia.Thank you for listening; we hope you enjoy this one. Show notes are coming to our subscribers shortly.Germaine and Sophie xThank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.Thanks for listening to Something to Eat and Something to Read! If you know of someone who might also enjoy our podcast, please do share with them. Thanks so much xWe acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to another episode of Something to Eat and Something to Read, a podcast for people who love cooking, reading and talking about both! Hosted by food writer Sophie Hansen and Germaine Leece, psychotherapist and bibliotherapist.This episode, because we think we all need it, we’re talking about optimism and the books and foods we reach for when we want/need to be reminded that everything is going to be ok in the end. Here below are some of the books that came up in this one.From baking to re-reading, poetry and the inherent optimism of leftovers, we have a list of 20 things to be optimistic about. We hope you enjoy them. We’re optimistic you will! Show notes will be sent out to our subscribers shortly.Germaine and Sophie x Thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to another episode of Something to Eat and Something to Read, a podcast for people who love reading and eating, and talking and thinking about both. In this episode, we're wondering if reading and cooking too much—is there such a thing?—can ever stop us from living. Maybe sometimes we need a pause to give us time to respond to all the stimuli (and there's a lot out there at the moment). After we've had that pause, we've got some good things to read and cook and ways to approach both so they're as nourishing as possible.We loved this chat, flipping the narrative a little on our passions and hope you do too.Thank you for listening. Show notes are coming to our subscribers shortly.Germaine and Sophie xThank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to the 2025 season of Something to Eat and Something to Read!!! This is a podcast for people who love to eat and read and talk about both, hosted by bibliotherapist Germaine Leece and food writer Sophie HansenWe all, thanks to writer Katherine May and her book of the same name, are familiar with the idea of Wintering. Of recognising and resting through fallow seasons, of re-grouping, healing, hibernating through days when the light is low, as she says, “doing these deeply unfashionable things — slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting — is a radical act now, but it is essential.”.For our first episode of the year, we’re talking about the idea of ‘Summering’ and what that means for us in terms of reading and eating. Plus there are loads of good things to read and cook as we share our top five good things from this summer.We hope you enjoy listening. Show notes with all the links and things mentioned will be sent to our subscribers shortly.Sophie and GermaineThank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been a year… and in the past we have made our Christmas episodes about anticipating good food, extra reading time and getting into the festive spirit. But some years even that can feel too big an ask and the idea of escaping into a magical festive stories where snowman come alive (hello Christmas Days) or a Christmas movie where everything magically works out in the end, or sinking into a quiet thoughtful book of everyday miracles at the table…well that seemed like just the ticket.So we thought we would dedicate this year’s Christmas episode to the idea of miracles - everyday miracles of taste that give us an opportunity to escape into a different time or memory. And book that does this in a gentle, whimsical way is this episode’s ‘guest’, a Japanese novel, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai.We hope you enjoy this episode and will be sending show notes with links and recipes to our subscribers later today.Thank you. Happy listening and see you next year.Sophie and Germaine x Thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

After dedicating an entire episode to Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals earlier this year, we were quick off the mark to watch the tv adaptation the second it dropped. And we had so many thoughts we thought we’d jump in and do an emergency debrief, plus a catch up on what we’ve been reading and eating since the last episode.Happy listening, reading, watching and eating! Germaine and Sophie x Something to Eat and Something to Read is a monthly podcast and fortnightly newsletter all about and celebrating cooking, reading and reading about cooking.Hosted by Bibliotherapist/Psychotherapist Germaine Leece and food writer Sophie Hansen, who both believe you should never go anywhere, or for long, without something to eat and something to read.We are a listener supported podcast and newsletter, and while every episode will always be free to listen to, our show notes, recipes and recommendations will be available to paid subscribers only. So if you’d like to support us to the tune of $5/month and help us continue recording for and writing to you, please click below. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

What do you cook and read when feeling all the feels? This special episode is a recording of a panel discussion on cooking and reading with our emotions at a special lunch last month at Logan Wines as part of the 2024 Mudgee Readers Festival. Our chat ran the gamut from love to nostalgia, stress to turbulence and what we cook and eat when experiencing each one. We (your regular hosts!) Sophie Hansen and Germaine Leece, were joined on the panel by Tamara Howorth, chef and owner of Mudgee’s fantastic The Little Cooking School and Commissary and James Findlay, Breakfast presenter at ABC Western Plains. Thank you so much to you both for your time and all you shared.We hope you enjoy this conversation about the best things in life—books, pasta, chocolate, and baking! All the links, recipes and shownotes will be sent to our subscribers separately. Thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

On comfort food, the power of a wooden spoon, the only diet, rituals, crunch and the things we cook to anchor and soothe. Our book guest this week is The Secret of Cooking by Bee Wilson.Show notes, links and more will be sent to our paid subscribers shortly. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode. And Bee, if you’re listening/reading - thank you for this book.Germaine and Sophie xThank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Our book this episode is Butter, by Asako Yuzuki (translated by Polly Barton). And it sparked a very ‘alive’ conversation on appetites, cake boundaries and whether a bowl of rice, butter and soy sauce can truly awaken an appetite for life.As always, you don’t have to have read the book to follow along. Although, we both did love it and would recommend you do! It’s a very layered, clever and thought provoking read.Here’s the publisher’s synopsis;Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back.Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer", Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.Show notes with links, recipes, and more will be sent to our subscribers separately.Thank you. Happy listening! And please try the butter and rice dish as per Kajii’s instructions. It really is excellent!Thank you to our wonderful producer, Kristy Reading, for putting this and every episode together so beautifully.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

For a little light relief in a heavy time, in this episode, we are talking about Jilly Cooper’s Rivals and the many Shepherd’s pies, Dover soles, and bottles of Sancerre that keep its glamourous (enormous) cast of characters fuelled for all that romping around in stables and meadows.Links and recipes from this chat will be sent to our wonderful subscribers shortly.Happy listening! Germaine and Sophie xThank you to our wonderful producer Kristy Reading for putting this, and every episode together so beautifully. We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

This episode is mostly about psychological thrillers, and how food and scenes around food can build words, develop characters, turn our stomachs and sometimes if we’re lucky, give us a moment to catch our breath. We love table scenes in books - the table provides a reason and a place for everyone to be together and is a great canvas for a showdown or perhaps to introduce the characters, to flesh them out. This episode’s book, None of This is True, by Lisa Jewell provides us with a few pivotal ‘table scenes’ that propel the narrative and tell us so much about every character.We have a lovely time diving into this, chatting about the book and meandering through related subjects such as - books as a warm hug, the magic of finding the right book at the right time and the joy of a flaky croissant in the warm sunshine. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode! Shownotes are coming separately to our beloved subscribers.Thank you to our wonderful producer Kristy Reading for putting our episodes together so beautifully. And for finding our fab new music which we think feels a bit ‘Great British Bake-off’-ish. In a good way. Germaine and Sophie We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

We hope you enjoy this episode of Something to Eat and Something to Read, a podcast for people who love to eat and read, and to think and talk about both!In this episode, we chat about eight very different books and the ‘shape’ of summer reading. Then we read and answer a beautiful letter asking for nourishing things to read and eat in difficult times. Thank you so much to our subscribers for their support of this pod, your show notes are incoming via the newsletter.Thank you also to our wonderful producer Kristy Reading for putting our episodes together so beautifully. We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Merry Christmas from us both! We hope you enjoy this episode where we talk about our doorways into Christmas this year, thanks to our patron saint Jeanette Winterson and her book Christmas Days. She helps us in more ways than just festive ones. Her understanding of the importance of creativity and imagination leads us into a conversation about the ways art and culture offer us bridges back to our humanity.We need this to fuel our imaginations and inner worlds as much as we need food to fuel our bodies. Our wish to you all this Christmas is that you find the time to ignite your imaginations whether that be with something new (can be short!) to read, cook or eat. We hope this episode nourishes you the way that creating it nourishes us!Show notes with links, books and a Christmas recipe will be sent to our wonderful subscribers later today.And we will be back in your ears after the summer holidays.Thank you so much to musician Tom Donald, for the music on this episode and thank you to our wonderful producer Kristy Reading for bringing it all together.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people.Thank you, and Merry ChristmasSophie and Germaine Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Our book for this episode is Karina May’s Duck à l'Orange for Breakfast, and the conversation it sparks floats around how romantic comedies feed us, how this genre, especially in good hands (hey Karina) is so soothing because it is inherently optimistic. You just know love will triumph in the end. And in a world where nothing much makes sense at the moment, that is a welcome comfort. We really enjoyed this book, talking about and around it. Hope you do too!Other things we cover in this episode;* Our favourite food-focussed rom coms.* Ikea (it’s our protagonist’s happy place) as a one-dimensional version of home.* Food as a key to a character finding themselves.* The perfect ‘welcome cake’.* And the perfect book for when we need to make big choices and reconcile them in ourselvesAll the recipes, recommendations and show notes will be sent to our subscribers later today. To join them, please click below!Thanks, Germaine and Sophie xSomething to Eat and Something to Read is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people.Thank you as always to our producer Kristy Reading and to Smith and Jones for generously allowing us to include your beautiful song Small Town Woman at the beginning and end of this episode. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Something to Eat and Something to Read, a podcast for people who love reading and cooking and reading about cooking. In this episode, we’re talking about Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, the shape it left on us, and the comfort and joy it brought us.This book, this episode is all about celebrating the small happinesses;“The things that are important in life, are the things that are so easy to overlook: family and kindness and homework and lunch and conversation.” Ann Patchett in conversation about Tom Lake on the New York Times podcast The Book Review.And then we’ll answer a listener ‘letter’ with a book and recipe ‘prescription’.Recipes and show notes will be sent to our subscribers shortly. Join them here!A quick note - we don’t think you have to have read the book yet to enjoy this episode but wanted to flag that we do chat about what happens in it quite broadly. So perhaps not a full-blown ‘spoiler alert’ just something to be aware of!We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people.Thank you as always to our producer Kristy Reading and to Smith and Jones for generously allowing us to include your beautiful song Small Town Woman at the beginning and end of this episode. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

Hello! And welcome to our episode dedicated to the joys or otherwise of cooking and/or eating on our own. This one is rich in books celebrating, observing and offering advice for the art of feeding ourselves and ourselves alone. It’s full of stories about how people eat, what they cook for themselves, how they feel about eating alone - how some relish in it, some avoid it, some do it beautifully and some gleefully have marmalade on toast for dinner when she’s home alone (that’d be me/Sophie). We each bring two books to the table and chat about how the authors use the idea of eating and cooking solo to make a point, develop character or evoke emotion.We hope you enjoy this one and as always, all the links and shownotes will be sent to our subscribers shortly. Thank you, Germaine and Sophie We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation (Sophie) and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation (Germaine). We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people.Thank you as always to our producer Kristy Reading and to Smith and Jones for generously allowing us to include your beautiful song Small Town Woman at the beginning and end of this episode. Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe

This episode is in honour of dinner parties - with all their stress, drama, and magic, all for that perfect moment, when you’re all at the table, the candles are flickering and good food is smoothing the edges of life. We cover small miracles, kitchen disasters, dinner party scenes in books we love and the wonder of a good repertoire. We hope you enjoy this mini-episode. Shownotes with recipes, links and all the books we cover will be sent to our subscribers. Join today if you’d like to receive them! Get full access to Something to Eat and Something to Read at somethingtoeatandsomethingtoread.substack.com/subscribe