Time for another books episode with my co-host Haley Stewart! As it tends to happen—completely unplanned—one of us has picked a classic, the other a newer release. (I promise we don’t coordinate this in advance.)

Haley shares her recent discovery of old world mysteries, particularly the Lord Peter Wimsey series from Dorothy Sayers, who was a fascinating character in her own right. And I chat about my newfound love for writer Chris Cleave and his release from last year, Everyone Brave is Forgiven.

We chat about character-driven novels and why we like them so much, why it’s good to try a genre we normally aren’t into, and the significance of new books set in World War II. We also talk about why sometimes it’s good to read about the horrors of war, especially when the writing is so on point.

Listen here:

Links from this episode:

• Haley’s blog, Carrots for Michelmas
• Haley’s podcast, Fountains of Carrots
• Haley on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
• Tsh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
• Strong Poison and Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
• All of Dorothy Sayers’ books
• Letters to a Diminished Church, also by Sayers
• Sherlock, Luther, Longmire
• Agatha Christie
• I Let You Go, by Clare Mackintosh
• Homefires
• Everyone Brave is Forgiven, by Chris Cleave
• Cleave talks about Everyone Brave
• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
• Brandon Flowers (of The Killers) solo album, The Desired Effect
• Tsh’s Deep Work playlist, especially the soundtracks The King’s Speech, The Theory of Everything, A River Runs Through It, and Pride & Prejudice
• Lila, by Marilynne Robinson
• Atheist Delusions, by David Bentley Hart
• A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket
• Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
• Still Life, by Louise Penny
• North! Or Be Eaten of The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson

For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here!