A Book at Breakfast

You've heard plenty from us over the years about why we love Middle-earth, but toady we're sitting down with two fellow podcasters who've written a book on just that topic! We're absolutely honoured to welcome Alan and Shawn from The Prancing Pony Podcast to A Book at Breakfast to discuss their new book 'Why We Love Middle-earth: An Enthusiast’s Book about Tolkien, Middle-earth...

We're back! And we're following Sue Townsend as she leads us into non fiction... Revisit our previous Adrian Mole Episodes. Check out the new official Adrian Mole site!

To mark the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of The Return of the King - we're returning to some unfinished business from last year: a discussion of The Lord of the Rings on screen. Joining us to discuss all things Peter Jackson and Middle-earth is the wonderful Jess of the Shire! Check out her YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Jess_of_the_Shire Support her on Patreon: https...

Merry Christmas! Every December, an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for the children of J.R.R.Tolkien. Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful coloured drawing or some sketches. The letters were from Father Christmas. This December, we're learning all about Father Christmas, the North Polar Bear and the Elves as we read reproductions of the...

In this Whovember bonus episode, we're reading a Comic Book at Breakfast! In anticipation of the upcoming 60th anniversary special, 'The Star Beast', we're looking back to the 1980 Fourth Doctor DWM comic of the same name which Russell T Davies has adapted for screen. Who - and what - is Beep the Meep? Who are Sharon and Fudge? What are the Wrarth Warriors - and what does all of this mean for the...

Who is the Toymaker? Ahead of the return of "the greatest enemy the Doctor has ever faced" for Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary, we're raiding our bookshelves to find out everything we know about The Celestial Toymaker! We discuss The Celestial Toymaker, The Nightmare Fair, and Doctor Who: Tales of Terror!

IT'S WHOVEMBER! To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, we're time travelling back to 2013 to eat Fishless Fingers and Custard as we revisit the 50th anniversary episode in the form of Steven Moffat's epic Target novelisation of his masterpiece. Check out our previous Doctor Who episodes here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1B9X9mCYrvFSRjzQoc58aL?si=pRvFTFOQTxmWnPftk-eSDQ

Happy Halloween! We're celebrating Spooky Season by staying in a cemetery setting... with a bonus episode on Neil Gaiman's Carnegie Medal winning children's book.

It's Spooky Season, so we're heading to Highgate Cemetery to discuss Audrey Niffeneggar's macabre masterpiece over pancakes!

But what about second breakfast? We're continuing our discussion on JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit by diving into Peter Jackson's film adaptations and wondering whether or not they "perceive where the core of the original lies"!

It's September! There is an autumn-like mist white upon the ground and Mark is embarking on an adventure across the misty mountains of the Camino de Santiago - what better time to discuss JRR Tolkien's masterpiece, The Hobbit?

To celebrate Mark's birthday, we're having breakfast aboard the Orient Express itself! Or, at least, Bassenthwaite Lake Station Cafe, in the Agatha Christie Lounge of the carriage used in the 2017 movie adaptation of Christie's most famous novel. Oh là là! https://www.basslakestation.co.uk/

50 years ago today, Target Books republished David Whittaker's 'Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks' under the snappier title 'Doctor Who and the Daleks', with new iconic cover art by Chris Achilléos. It was the beginning of a beloved Doctor Who institution which continues to this day! EOFFTV's Kevin Lyons joins us to talk about the golden age of Doctor Who novelisations!

EKO, EKO, AZAL! We're celebrating May Day with breakfast in The Cloven Hoof by revisiting the Target Books novelisation of The Best Doctor Who ever - the Dæmons! Check out another of Chris's Spooky Isles articles about all things Dæmons and Devil's End at https://www.spookyisles.com/dr-10-things-might-not-know-daemons/

Hail Seitan! This month, we're double locking our doors and discussing mock meats, Hammer Horror and a very problematic author as we delve into Dennis Wheatley's occult classic 'The Devil Rides Out'. Check out Chris's Devil Rides Out Book vs Film article for Spooky Isles here: https://www.spookyisles.com/the-devil-rides-out-film-book/

We're back, and celebrating World Book Day with the return of our favourite literary character in The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend! Don't forget, you can follow and support A Book at Breakfast here - https://linktr.ee/abookatbreakfast

Not a red rose or a satin heart. We give you a Valentine's Special in which we discuss Carol Ann Duffy's fourth collection, Mean Time. 

Whilst we're between series, what better time to share this discussion of The Little Book of Vegan Poems by Benjamin Zephaniah? Try vegan this January at www.veganuary.com Find out more about Benjamin's rhymes at www.benjaminzephaniah.com

Some novel adaptations can't be summed up in 5 minutes - some need an episode all of their own! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Greatest Film Ever Made, we sat down to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol together and recorded a live commentary track. To watch along with our conversation, press play on the "In Loving Memory of Jim Henson" title.

Merry Christmas! For our first series finale, we're reading the Greatest Book Ever Written -  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Or, to give this novella its full title: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Listen to our Book at Breakfast Series 1 playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1GQWWpmtZG7pxXXSOjuglW?si=WL80OTZrQX-igjnj9-7owg&utm_source=copy-link&pt=c...

It was on a dreary... morning in November when we beheld the accomplishment of our toils: an episode dedicated to the Greatest Book ever written,  Mary Shelley's 1818 masterpiece: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. 

As a Halloween Special we're sharing the audio from an episode of Chris's podcast, Morningside FM, in which Mark joined him for a discussion on Kate Coscarelli's long out of print novelisation of the classic 1979 sci-fi horror film 'Phantasm'. (With a special, newly recorded breakfast section, obviously...)  Love Phantasm? Subscribe to Morningside FM at https://linktr.ee/phantasmpod Love vegan rec...

Happy Hallowe'en! We're journeying into the October Country with a deep dive into Zowie Swan's ghostly novel set in England's Host Haunted House: Chingle Hall in Goosnargh, Lancashire. Buy the book at www.safetypinpublishing.co.uk Listen to Zowie's Chingle Hall playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0yw9Mf7NQdML9Od8RqfGde?si=lAd0lpbNR_O9HTmcOW3DnA&utm_source=copy-link

In our third and final episode on 'The Lord of The Rings' we are joined by the hosts of 'A Sacred Fellowship' to discuss the new Amazon show: The Rings of Power!

Today it's A Book at Second Breakfast as we return to J.R.R. Tolkien’s 'The Lord of the Rings' for the second part of our discussion of the ultimate fantasy novel. Any excuse to eat some of Farmer Maggot's Mushrooms on Toast.