80 episodes
Diving In Virginia Seymour and Louise Jones
-
- Arts
-
-
4.9 • 172 Ratings
-
Diving In is a conversation you will want to be part of - Louise and Virginia have been best friends since university - they share a passion for story telling and read loads of good books. Make yourself a cup of tea and listen in as they share the books they’ve been loving, and also the films, TV series, podcasts and articles they’ve enjoyed.
-
73: The Ghost of Charles Dickens sitting on Barbara Kingsolver’s Shoulder
Virginia and Louise do a deep dive into Barbara Kingsolver’s Pullitzer Prize winning and compelling novel Demon Copperhead and talk all things Charles Dickens as well as adding some shameful new entries to the infamous Ick Register.
Books
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, 1838
Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, 1854
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 2023
More Deep Dives
Emma, by Jane Austen
Television
Emma, mini series, 2009
Slow Horses, series 1-3 Apple TV+
One Day, Netflix 2023 -
72: This Is A Bit Embarrassing… (books we’ve never read)
Louise and Virginia thought it might be fun to do an episode on books that they feel a bit embarrassed to have never read (until now). There were a lot of books to choose from, but they discuss four in this conversation.
During this chat they also create an Ick Register for authors who use words that give the ick, so that readers can be warned in advance (kind of like a trigger warning, but more basic).
Books
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Television Shows
Scrublands - Stan
Boy Swallows Universe – Netflix
Podcasts
The Children of Rutherford County – Serial
The Queen’s Reading Room -
71: The Next Diving In Book Club – Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt
Louise and Virginia have a great conversation about a lovely Western Australian novel. Salt River Road by the very talented debut author Molly Schmidt captures the large Tetley family at the worst time of their lives. Their wife and mother, Elena, has died after a long illness and left them all devastated. Although the book looks at grief through the eyes of several different characters, it has a forward-moving arc, plenty of heart, and a wonderful ending, with an authentic Western Australian, 1970s feel.
Book
Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt, 2023, published by Fremantle Press
Binge TV
Strife
Netflix
The Crown -
70: A Spotlight on Early Australia
Louise and Virginia have a conversation about two books with many overlaps, one fiction and one non-fiction, and reflect on the fact that none of this information was taught in the classroom when they were at school.
Books
Killing for Country by David Marr
Edenglassie by Melissa Lukashenko
TV Show
The Crown – Netflix
Podcasts
The Rest is History – Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland
The Rest is Entertainment – Richard Osman and Marina Hyde -
69: It's the very best time of year! It’s new release time and there is a publishing frenzy.
Virginia and Louise dive into four new releases some of them from our favourite authors!
They also encourage everyone to get their hands on Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt for a bookclub deep dive episode coming up.
Books
The Fraud, Zadie Smyth, 2023, Hamish Hamilton Penguin
Normal Rules Don’t Apply, Kate Atkinson, 2023, Penguin Random House
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett, 2023, Harper Collins
Pearl, Sian Hughes, 2023 UQP
London’s Number One Dog-Walking Agency: A Memoir, Kate MacDougall, 2021 William Morrow
Salt River Road, Molly Schmidt, 2023 Fremantle Press
Streaming
Welcome to Wrexham, Disney
Podcasts
The Whistleblowers, ABC Background Briefing -
68. Literary Scandals, Hoaxes and Controversies
Louise and Virginia have finally had a conversation about six literary controversies/hoaxes/scandals and it’s a lot of fun! This is a Topic they both find fascinating so it was great to select three stories each and dive in.
Authors
Norma Khouri
John Hughes
Carmen Mola
Antonio Mercero
Agustin Martinez
Jorge Diaz
Harold Stewart
James McAuley
Dawn Dorland
Sonya Larson
Helen Demidenko/ Darville
Books
The Dogs by John Hughes
Forbidden Love by Norma Khouri
The Hand that Signed the Paper by Helen Demidenko/Helen Darville
Article
Who is the Bad Art Friend? by Robert Kolker – The New York Times Magazine 2021
Customer Reviews
Exceptional bookish podcast
Diving In is such a smart, fun, informative podcast about books you may not hear about from other podcasts. I love their accents and the dynamic between these good friends. Great summaries without spoilers. Thank you for the quality, entertaining content!
Always engaging
I absolutely love listening to Louise and Virginia. Not only are their Aussie accents so pleasant to listen to, they are both super intelligent and well read. They seem to respect one another enormously and have great chemistry. I feel like I learn a lot from each episode, they offer more than just the standard books being pushed in book circles and often do deep dives and go down bookish rabbit holes. I’d rate this podcast 5+ stars if I could, it’s just that good.
Well Done!
Thank you for yet another great episode. When I see a new episode is available, I know I’m in for a great “visit “.