Get Booked – Books To Cuddle Up On The Sofa With

Hello, I'm Hazel and welcome to today's Get Booked radio show here in Covent Garden, supporting women's emotional well-being, opening discussions and offering support by the incredible writers and listeners out there. Regular listeners will know I am a huge fan of reading. There's so many, so much you can get from reading a book, whether it's fiction, a memoir, or it's just there to kind of help you through something that somebody else has experienced and they want to impart their knowledge, their experience, or just help you to understand a different scenario or different perspectives. And that is the joy of being able to read about, you know, what somebody wants to impart to you. Um, likewise in blogs as well. We did do a section recently on the incredible blog writers out there that are helping, uh, with mental health and mental well-being. You can go and check out our previous shows at the Women's Radio Station SoundCloud channel, and they're all listed up there. Alternatively, you can go on to my website at hazelbutterfield.com, and there's lots of bits and pieces on there. And throughout today's show, I want to be telling you about those books that kind of help you through the winter months. You know what it's like when it's a little bit interesting out there weather-wise. Don't get me wrong, there's beautiful winter crisp days where you just want to be out in the leaves and going for a walk and just going out to see people. It can be quite festive, but there are those days where it's cold and windy and rainy and you just want to hide from the world. You want to cuddle up on the sofa with a hot water bottle, possibly a glass of wine, alternatively maybe a cup of green tea, and drag in the dog to give you a bit of a cuddle as well. And today's show is all about those books to cuddle up on the sofa with, things that are gonna give you that kind of feel-good factor. Because whether you like the winter months or not, they can appear to be quite, um, hard work, let's say that. The, the days seem shorter, and therefore you want something to kind of brighten up those dark and gloomy evenings. So today I am going to impart to you some of my favorite books to cuddle up with, and first up on this list is Mummy Jojo Uncut. This is a book by Jojo Fraser I love the way that her book, the strapline is, "Move over Botox, it's time for a Mojo injection." Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. It was such a refreshing book. It was uplifting, real, funny, and covering an array of issues. This book gives you a chance and the toolkit to rationalise, accept, and let go of guilt. Overthinking and to just be who you are. This isn't a book just about being a mummy, it's about just living in the social world and how sometimes people want to bring you down or we're living in a constant comparative state and it's brilliant. The kind of vivacity that Jojo has just seeps through the pages, I love it to pieces. But you know, she does focus on parenting and everyone has their way of parenting and just being. We are individuals and that is what we should embrace. Wasps that want to judge and buzz around you, I absolutely love that term, wasps, who like to buzz around you with criticism are not the people you should be aiming to please. You don't have to be that mum that makes perfect scones, you know, there might be something else that you're really good at, although do you know what, Tesco's do a great premix, So it's so much easier, he's just gonna like add milk and turn the oven on, it's great. But don't focus on what you can't do, find what makes you unique. One of the main issues with the mental health endemic is based around loneliness. If we open up about our sadness, then what does that mean for those who say, you know, surround yourself by positive people? Sometimes, you know, it's a bit like a problem shared is a problem halved, and sometimes just knowing that somebody else is going through that as well, it's, it's quite comforting. And I know that it's one of those things where sometimes people just think, oh, I just need to save my sanity. But you know what, if the altruism of just being there for people, it is uplifting, and we need to kind of change the narrative. If we admit we're not feeling positive, though, yes, there is that very real fear of being ousted, but the more open and real we become in society, the less people will suffer in silence. And do you know what, implode. You can be a positive person and still suffer with mental health issues, it's just a case of not being on your own with it, you know. Please get involved with Jojo's podcast at mommyjojo.com/thepodcast and you can also listen to our interview at Women's Radio Station that we did, I think it was earlier this year, go and check it out, she is absolutely fantastic. But she's just, you know, she talks about being the champagne of the party rather than the Lamborghini. And yet people going, oh look, look at them, they're always going on. And she's like, do you know what, if they don't like you, there will be somebody who does like you. Do not waste your time with people that want to bring you down. That is not what life's about. And don't waste your energy on people that just aren't that bothered about you. There are plenty of people who are. I love the book. It is uplifting. It's thrilling, absolutely loved it. Please go and check that one out. And just to remind you, that was Mummy Jojo Uncut by Jojo Fraser. Now another one that I've been loving recently, we did an interview with her on Women's Radio Station last month. It is My Life in 37 Therapies by Kay Hutchison. This was such an interesting selection of therapies, some of which are now on my list one of which is the— and I'm gonna call it the Fudgit Retreat because we can't swear, it's the daytime— but it's a yoga retreat in Italy where you eat Italian food, you eat, drink, eat, drink Italian wine, you do yoga, you chat to people, you have fun, and you say the F word quite a bit. Just— and it's a powerful word sometimes. Some of you don't like swearing, and that is absolutely fine. There's another 36 therapies that don't involve that word. But you know what, I'm a bit of a fan, and I've even actually been on the website to go and check out the latest retreats, and there's quite a few of my friends that are going, "Please can we come with you?" And I'm like, "Yeah, bring it on." It's better than just doing it in the local pub and forgetting the yoga. But there are other therapies that Kay discusses in her book that do absolutely fill me with Dread, a 10-day silent retreat with things like an orange or an apple being classed as a full meal. I mean, the theory is to detox, but I mean, that's not something for me. I know that that is not gonna float my boat, which is absolutely fine. But this is what the book's all about. Kay has tried all these different therapies and told you about them and what she got from them, and it's like if you don't know what therapy is going to work for you, read the book, see what she has to say, and just go from there. It's like she's done all the hard work for you. It's absolutely brilliant. But the theory of exploration and openness to try new treatments, um, and why is what this book is really about. And what is good to see that not only are there a variety of methods out there, you don't need to try one fail and give up. Some people just think there's counselling and they don't want to talk to somebody. That is fine. There are hundreds of therapies out there, but you know what, maybe counselling does work, but it's just not ticking all the boxes. You can try 2, 3, 4, 5 therapies all at once, you know, it's completely up to you. We are individuals, we are all different. You just, you know, our options are many and varied, and not only do we have a variety to embark upon, but as Kay shows us, they can complement each other and fill gaps where other therapies aren't quite cutting it. Some are more long-term, others one-offs. You won't know what is good for you until you give something a go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say. Uh, this book is a great opportunity to read about and decide for yourself from Kay's experiences what may work for you, to learn about the breadth of therapies available and how they work. And yet one of my favorite reasons to read books such as My Life in 37 Therapies is to go on a journey with someone, to share that we all have our crosses to bear, that we don't always know who we are, what we want, or even understand what should be important to us. This was, it was a journey of exploration. What Kay did is suddenly realise, wow, something isn't right, I've not been looking after myself, I don't know what's right, I don't know in what way I haven't been looking after myself, but I'm gonna go on a journey to find out what I should be doing. And that is what she did. And when you embark on therapy, if it's because of something that's happened in the previous couple of years, It's not always this— your state of mind isn't down to what happened those couple of years ago. It goes all the way back. And I know it is that issue that, yes, it quite often stems from childhood, but it forms who we are and how we react to events. And some people are more equipped to deal with life's events and some aren't. And therapies sometimes help us to understand more. And the more we understand, the more we can deal with life. If we know we behave in a certain way because of it, we can then make the choice to either accept it or work around that. And this is the joy of therapies and all the varied therapies out there. Such a fantastic book, so many different ones to try. Voodoo, it turns out, was not the answer, but I think we all knew that was going to be the case anyway. But yeah, there's my first couple of books. We are shortly going to be going off to our first break, and then I will be back in a few minutes to tell you about some other books that I've been reading and absolutely loving at the moment, just to kind of, you know, as a bit of a distraction. And a book, sometimes a good book is like a good old hook. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is, that is just the joy of escaping into somebody else's world. Right, let's just go over to a couple of messages, and I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Welcome to Women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Julie May Is Listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting women's well-being and we're talking all things autism. Women The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula and mum of 3, and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show, From Tummy to Mummy, here on Women's Radio Station. Every week I'll be here with an expert guest talking about women's reproductive health Everything fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby related, right through to the menopause and beyond. 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In the previous section, we were talking about books to cuddle up to. Yes, it is getting cold We want to hide away from the elements, and I've got so many more incredible books to tell you about throughout today's show to kind of keep you company when you're hiding on the sofa with your hot water bottle and a blanket and possibly a nice little glass of red wine. And next up we have What's Left Unsaid by Deborah Stone. When Sasha's son accidentally hears a disturbing slip of the tongue from his dementia-ridden grandmother, he embarks on a fact-finding mission through the guise of stating he wants to create a family video diary as a memento for later years. The whole family uncover more than the lies they thought they had hidden in the cupboard. We can't, and often don't, always know the truth or extent of someone's circumstances, nor do we see the life experiences. Similarly, we are entitled to our privacy, of course we are, our secrets and everything, but what is left unsaid can cause heartache and confusion. It's not always a case of you just not wanting to tell somebody, but sometimes it explains your behavior, explains how you've had to lead your life, which is what I mean by heartache and confusion. And it's, uh, this book is very much along the lines of Oh, What a Tangled Web Weave Weave when first we practice to deceive. See, I nearly couldn't even say it then. Tongue twister. I was hooked very quickly, and I do like the whole different perspective format when telling a story, which is exactly what Deborah Stone does in What's Left Unsaid. So you keep on hearing the story from different angles and from different periods in their lives, and it just kind of filters through the information perfectly. And I especially love it when you're going back in time as well. And she just made this book flow absolutely perfectly. And it's also— a lot of these books are great suggestions for stocking fillers as well, gifts for other people. But if you want to go on to my website at hazelbutterfield.com, you can find nice and easy links to all of these books, and quite often I've done an interview with them as well if you want to find out a little bit more about the author or hear more about the book before you decide to make the investment. Now, another one that I am loving at the moment, and I'm probably going to try and get her latest book as well, which I can't believe I haven't read yet, but the one I want to tell you about right now is Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon, the columnist. She is funny, she's flawed, she's honest, she's bonkers, which is pretty much everything I want in a best friend. So yes, I absolutely loved it, which is quite bizarre to say of a woman who's basically telling her story of a lifelong struggle with depression, anxiety, OCD. But stick with me, stick with me, it's not doom and gloom. She covers a variety of issues issues and life stages, milestones to overcome, and it's in a non-preachy but brutally honest way. And as I said, it's just bonkersly hilarious. The way she explains her involuntary thoughts that overtake any rationale, how she distracts herself from what is painfully obviously an issue that will just— it's not going to pass, and I now think that my OCD, which if, you know, this wasn't radio, you'd be able to see my air quotes, is potentially not just wanting a tidy home. You know, when people say, oh, I've got a touch of OCD, I need to keep my shoes tidy, it goes much deeper and explains more of my actions and issues I've needed to overcome or find coping mechanisms for. It's not that I have to have this a certain— it's not that I need to see that you know, the tins are facing the wrong way around. It's, it's the desire for order, and it's not the simplistic specific item that you may have OCD about, which I guess was one of her goals in writing this book, to open up discussions and awareness about anxiety and depression. And the more we know and share, the less stigma there is and the more opportunity to raise support for quite frankly a failing mental health system currently in place in the UK. And do not get me wrong, the NHS is absolutely fantastic. There's not enough money to go around or it's not being spent properly, and there's just many, many issues that contribute to it. By no way, shape, or form am I saying that the fantastic people that work for the NHS are not trying their absolute best, but unfortunately it's a growing issue that, you know, there is just not enough help out there. Um, And at one point, this book, I was so engrossed that like buses were passing me by at the bus stop I was reading at, and I was like, I've completely forgotten why I was even there, funnily enough. But you know, you just, you're just completely embroiled, and I absolutely loved it. Mad Girl is funny, it's insightful, with a bizarre and unexpected kind of feel-good ending. And if you like this, for a slightly more intentional, laugh out loud autobiographical part of her life, try Bryony Gordon's other bestseller, The Wrong Knickers. Regardless of any mental illness, she is unapologetically mad as a box of frogs. But you know what? All the best people are a little bit bonkers. Now, another one that I want to tell you about now I say cuddle up on the sofa, but this is one of those ones that kind of gets you thinking, and you can't always read these kind of books out in a cafe or on the train or whatever because you need to concentrate, or you sometimes need to be able to sit in your own headspace and kind of digest what you've just read and relate it to certain actions that you've done as well. And it's one of those ones that's kind of feel-good as well because there's something about having one of those moments where you just go, oh, Oh man, that's what I've been doing. This is one of those books. It is absolutely just enthralling. The Art of Decision Making by Joseph Baikart. What he does is he looks at the complicated theory behind events, such as when making a decision and how by choosing one option you are rejecting and losing another. It is the loss that we are scared of. The indecision that lies there, it's kind of— it's a need to not experience loss. So it's not that we want to choose who we should stand up for, or, or, you know, when something happens, maybe if a friend, a couple, a coupley friend break up and you don't really know who to go for, even if you're in that situation, it's the loss of the other one. Or it's just, you know, sometimes we like to procrastinate because the joy of just not having to make a decision means, you know, we have lost anything necessarily, or we haven't potentially made the wrong decision. A little bit of a bizarre example there, to be honest, but if you procrastinate over decisions with the view that more information may become available to make an effective decision, then either source information via research rather than wasting time. If you don't think you know enough to make a good decision, find out more information, you know. He comes up with a great point, Actually, I think it was somebody else's point, but he kind of brought it to the fore where he just kind of said, you know, you've got to think about how you would feel about this decision in, you know, 10 minutes, in 10 hours, and in 10 weeks, and, you know, even 10 years. You know, some decisions in 10 years, would you really even be that bothered, or would you want to make sure that you weren't in this position in 10 years? It's great to kind of break things up like that a little bit. And it's just, it's such an incredible concept just to read about, you know, breaking down what's going on in our brains, you know. Indecision, it is a time waster and it's a psychological drain. This book is a tool of understanding our motivational factors behind decisions, whether consciously or not, keeping in mind that pretty much 95% of our brain is, that's active, is unconscious. It's just absolutely crazy. And not all inability to make a decision is down to fear or failure or loss. It's due to the fear of success. What if I do succeed? You know, that's a change. What responsibilities will that give? What will happen to my current aspirations? You know, if you've reached a goal, Do you then have to create more? If you make the right decision and you have to go down a different path, it's, you know, again, I suppose that does go back down to fear again, but it also means that we have to attain even higher and higher. And what is an interesting element discussed in this book is the use of language that we use on others and to ourselves to present a decision to be made, and how rephrasing and reframing a predicament is such a useful tool. Exploring many concepts, much such as that of monoliving, in its endeavor to lessen the decisions we need to make, and breaking down our indecision, our fears of making the wrong decision, and therefore choosing not to make said decisions. So we procrastinate. It's just, you know, it's just excellent the way he puts the concept of indecision and just breaks it down beautifully and explains that once we've planned for potentially all eventualities of said decision, it's not that scary. If you know that your decision goes wrong and you know that this could happen and this could happen and this is how you plan for it, it just makes life a little bit easier to take, really. It's a remarkable, sorry, an intelligent book. I cannot wait for his next book, which is going to be Scrutinizing the Concept. Concept of lying. As we all know, sometimes we lie for good. Sometimes there are people that are lying all the time for incredibly terrible reasons. But there's so many different forms to it. You can also check out my interview which I did a couple of months ago on Women's Radio Station with Joseph Breckhardt. You can go and check it out at the Women's Radio Station SoundCloud channel. 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For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com. Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Hello, I'm Hazel, and welcome back to the second half of today's Get booked here at our lovely Women's Radio Station, all based around supporting women's emotional well-being, opening discussion, and offering support via the incredible writing community out there. Come and join us and get involved. If you ever want to catch up on previous shows, you can do at womensradiostation.com/shows/getbooked, or you can go on to our Women's Radio Station SoundCloud channel and catch up on everybody else's fantastic shows here at Women's and Men's Radio Station. Right now we have been talking about all the kind of books that you can cuddle up with over the winter months when we suddenly go, "Ah, Christmas is coming, I'm scared, I want to stay in and find something else to do," or it's rainy and windy and you just want to cuddle up with your cat, your dog, your bottle of Merlot. Find your favourite blanket and just completely absorb yourself in some of the incredible, incredible books out there at the moment. And just to give you a little bit of a heads up as to what's coming up on the Get Booked schedule over the next few months, we do have Rose Elliott coming in to chat about her new vegan cookery book. Now she knows what she's talking about when it comes to books. She has written over 50 vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. So, you know, she knows a little bit about what she's doing. Can't wait to have her in the studio and chat away to her. Also, we will be having Dr. Esther Ramsey-Jones, who's going to be talking to us about her book Holding Time, which is about human need and relationships in dementia care, where she's actually— she goes into care homes and she talks about case studies and what she's learned. And what she's found is is, is problems within the system, fantastic things within the system, what she thinks is the best way to try and help your loved ones and keep that relationship that is so hard when people are struggling with illnesses like dementia. And quite similarly, we also have Deborah Stone who's coming into the studio soon to talk about her book that's not yet released. It's going to be called 'Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People.' So especially when the winter months come by and people need a little bit more looking after, and I think it's nice to know the best things that you could be doing. We're all very busy at the moment. Sometimes it's nice just to make sure that we are armed with the right information and we are, rather than wondering whether we're doing the right thing, it's nice when you can have a little bit of help along the way. Another book that we're going to be discussing over the coming months is Samantha Hurst's book Pourings of Love, which is poetry and snippets and short stories about falling in love. So, you know, Christmassy vibe. And we would then have the incredible Russ Kane from women's and men's radio station. We're going to be talking about his book The Gatekeeper. I have just finished I'm going to tell you a little bit more about it shortly, which will just hopefully whet your appetite to want to tune in to our show. You will, it is absolutely fantastic. And then we are also going to be getting Sarah Leonardi, who is coming in to talk about her book, Ticking Off Breast Cancer. And I've read this book as well, it's just unbelievable. It's not just for people who have cancer, for people, we all know somebody who is going through something similar, and she just, she offers advice on what to do if you have cancer, or if your friends or your family have cancer, things to say, things to take with you, things to try and offer to help, to do. It's just an incredibly informative, but quite light book as well. It's not, it's not scary, it's just It's kind of like a cross between a memoir and a to-do list, which is just— she's just brilliant. She's an absolute delight to read about. Now, another book I want to tell you about that I came across recently is— now, this book is about infertility, and I haven't personally had infertility issues, But this book, it seems so wrong. It had me in stitches right from the beginning. Absolutely fantastic. It was informative. It was ridiculous. She had blue language, which is exactly my kind of book. It's called Hilariously Infertile by Karen Jeffries. You can go and check out a bit more of her work on hilariouslyinfertile.com. And do you know what? When you hear there's a hilarious book to read about, about being infertile, do you know what? There's a little bit of reticent intrigue, but oh my goodness, does Karen have my kind of sense of humor. But by sense of humor, I must state that my sense of humor is a kind of, you know, offend somebody at a dinner party, kind of, you know, you know, you know, you haven't really pushed the boundaries of humor if someone's not offended. But, you know, she has this ability to just laugh at a really rubbish situation with such intricately bonkers details. Reining in on emotional and physical conflicts to deal with during the fertility treatment process. Some books just go by in the blink blink of an eye, and this is one of those books. And she keeps on going on about the 4 men that she's potentially lost as she's talking more and more about the female genitalia and things that happen and things that you have to go through when going through infertility treatment. And she's, she's certain only 4 people, 4 men tried to read the book. And do you know what, I do hope that all 4 men that she predicts tried to read this book stuck it through to the end because it is just fantastic. Absolutely love it. If you know of anybody that's going through the whole process and you think that maybe they would appreciate some solidarity, it's brilliant. Please do go and check it out. And also, if you have read any books and you think, oh, I just want everybody else to know about this book, it's fantastic, maybe it's just not as well well known, or maybe you saw something slightly different in the book, a different kind of underlying theme that you want to tell us about, you can send over a 1-minute, couple of minute clip, whatever suits you. You can email it to me at hazel@womensradiostation.com, and we'll get them played out over the next couple of months of shows. And it's nice, it's sharing is caring, isn't it? And just a quick reminder as well that all the books that I do talk about, they do go up onto my website at hazelbutterfield.com with some nice and easy links because I just want to make life incredibly easy for you. It's just what I do. Now for this next book, I will admit I think I may have mentioned this book before on this show here at Women's Radio Station, but it is one of those ones that I think is a definite in terms of cuddling up on the sofa and just absorbing yourself in something that's just quite different. It was one of those books, you know, one of those books that just remains with you for a very long time, if not forever. They kind of— the author drills into a certain kind of bizarre thing that happens in life and they put a different perspective on it. And this is that book. It is the book that I went round telling everybody about. I was just completely bowled over by it. It's called The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. It was incredibly haunting. Haunting is the best word I can come up with for it. The Luckiest Girl Alive relates to a girl that experiences a series horrific events during high school. She survived a massacre shooting and has since turned her life around and become a particular character deemed as hard-hitting and successful. But when she comes back as part of a documentary on the shooting atrocity, she gets more than what she bargained for. The clever twists in this book just encapsulated me. It took me a matter of days to read this, and the only reason I put the book down sometimes was to get my head around the psychological elements, the resonance of her life and why she needs to be who she is now, to no longer be a victim, a power struggle of who we are, what we should be, who we should be, who we need to be. Maybe you can identify with that whole desire to need to prove people wrong, or maybe just prove something to yourself. This concept, one of the many concepts, just runs through this book, and it just really explores the deepest, darkest kind of psyches. And then there is the careful approach to the other side of these ever-increasing atrocities in US schools. Please read this book. And do you know what, I do gather it's actually going to be released as a movie, possibly at the beginning of next year. I'm not completely sure, double-check on the dates. They always change on IMDb. But the way that they— if you've watched 13 Reasons Why and you see what very nearly happened in that school and how these events came about, and by no way is it an excuse, it's just to to see how sometimes these atrocities can unfold, and it is just, it is scary. It's about just trying to understand what happens in other people's brains, with any reason, sometimes just so we can hopefully stop what keeps on going on. But the fact that she was the luckiest girl alive, she was favored in a way, but also how much you could possibly blame her for what happened. It is an interesting concept. It is— it will mess with your head, but it is fantastic. It is beautifully written, and it just delves into so many different psychological elements. It's a fantastic book, honestly. Now we are going to go over to our last set of ads, and when we come back, we are going to be talking about our very own presenter, Ruth Caines, The Gatekeeper. I cannot wait. I've just finished this one and I still just— I can't get it out of my head. It's brilliant. Back shortly. Welcome to Women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan, and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women's Radio Station. Hello. Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Julie May Is Listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting women's well-being and we're talking all things autism. Women, the possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula and mum of 3 and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show, From Tummy to Mummy, here on Women's Radio Station. Every week I'll be here with an expert guest talking about women's reproductive health— everything fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby related, right through to the menopause and beyond. Please join us for an informative and fun hour. My name is Ingrid Marsh and I host the Radical Wellbeing Show, supporting women's wellbeing. On my show, I bring you ordinary women like me and you who are sharing their unique stories. Women who have refused to be defined by their pains, to be silenced by stigma, or crushed by stereotypes, and who are taking back their power. And together, our mission is a simple one, and that's to inspire you to kick away the roadblocks too, to don your wings and be the person that you were born to be. Hi, I'm Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book lover, and mental health advocate, and you can listen to my show Get Booked here at Women's Radio Station daily at 5 AM and 5 PM. Throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers, and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well-being. If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presenters@womensradiostation.com. Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring, and empowering? At Nurturing Birth, we offer approved doula training courses across the UK, which are facilitated by an award-winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role, and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more at nurturingbirth.co.uk. You're listening to Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station's creating a global network for the empowerment of women, and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter at Women's Radio Station, that's Women's Radio STN, or Facebook Women's Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programs. Welcome back to the final section of today's Get Booked with me, Hazel Butterfield. Our aim here at Women's Radio Station is to support the well-being of women, and over on Men's Radio Station, support the well-being of men. And today we have been telling you about books to cuddle up to, books to just relax with. Maybe you're trying to save money, maybe you're trying to just stay away from the cold, or you're hiding. Just as much as we like to hibernate in the winter months, and I find that one of the reasons that I love reading is it's escape. Whatever you're escaping from, whether it's the mundanity of life or the hectic nature that the chaos of life. Maybe you just want to live somebody else's life or understand somebody else's life, whether it's fiction, nonfiction, or self-help. You know, there's so many books out there that can just bring so many different levels of wellbeing and joy to our lives. And do you know what? At times when I've not been able to stop my brain going into negative thought patterns, training yourself to read, Training yourself to focus is just an excellent quality, an excellent skill to have to just help you phase out of the chaos at times. And this is why I put together this selection of books to just cuddle up with, to feel comfortable, to learn something new, to experience something new, to laugh a little bit, and to just B. That is just the joy of reading. And the book I want to tell you about right now, that is the book I've recently finished, and it's quite a thick one, but it just— the words just jump off the page. It is excellent. And I'll be honest, right, this book has a paranormal genre to it, and I would normally be a complete and utter no for me, but the juxtaposition of humor, personality, and sheer intricacy of knowledge, it just had me hooked. Now, the book I'm going to tell you about is our very own presenter here at women's and men's radio station, Russ Kane, and his book The Gatekeeper. Uh, it's so deep, I really don't even know where to start. The Gatekeeper is a mixture of sarcasm, politics, paranormal activity, theology, travel, a history lesson, and a dollop of global warming to finish things off with. The precision and the detail in which Russ goes into is unbelievable. The places he visits, the history, The methodology when he's talking to people about what they're up to and how, how they live their lives, these scrupulously defined characters and their independent knowledge of their field. I found myself constantly stopping to Google what I'd just supposedly learned to confirm its authenticity. And you know what? It was constantly confirmed. The idiosyncratic conspiracy theories were quite frankly incredible, and how Russ Kane managed to cobble this all together is outstanding. And as I said before, sarcasm, I mean, it just fit me like a glove. Um, I just— the thing is, there were so many different places. The Gatekeeper is about, you know, looking after the gates to hell. And I don't want to ruin the story for you, but the places that this character has to go to and how it's all described, I was like, that sounds like— how can he even come up with such a fire crater and all these different things that are going to be around in the Hieropolis and whatnot? But you know what, I Googled every single one of them. All the myths existed. It's like he stumbled across about 200 or 300 different myths and put them all together and made them into one story. And I actually feel like I've learned something as well as just a load of quips and sarcasm. And it was like dark humor with horror, the way that he talks about certain members of Parliament and politics and how it all gets messed up and Then he brings together people and prominent figures in the past and all the different kind of cultures together, both past, present, and future. And it was just very cleverly put together. I cannot wait to have Urs in the studio for a proper conversation to kind of peel away like an onion how he managed to come up with these ideas. Yet I did kind of envision him as being the main guy in this, but it isn't him, and yet it is at the same time. If you listen to his shows, you'll know he's very quick-witted, he's very intelligent, he's got a dry sense of humor. This all came through in The Gatekeeper. I can thoroughly recommend it. I'm one of these ones that I don't even particularly like I'm not a Harry Potter fan, I don't like the kind of fantasy world, so the paranormal is completely a no-no for me. Even The Walking Dead, after knowing who's in it cast-wise, that's— and that's— they're incredible. I still haven't watched that, but this, it's completely got it. It was addictive, it was quick, clever, the research was impeccable, and And unfortunately, I'm gonna have to say that the devil really is in the detail. It's, yeah, it's a horror comedy. Yeah, how about that? So if you fancy something quite different or you want to get something for somebody that you think is quite different, then yeah, go for The Gatekeeper. Now, before we finish up today's show, I do want to remind you that you can get in touch with me at hazel@womensradiostation.com. Maybe you're about to release a book, or you've come across a book, or you're just a book fan and you want to come in and wax lyrical a little bit like I do, um, for an hour with me here at our studio in Covent Garden, then please do get in touch. And you could maybe tell me about what books you want to talk about, or you can get in touch and I could read your book and we could review it and have a bit of a, have a bit of a chinwag together. And now the final book that I do want to tell you about is Pivotal by Nikki Valance. This is fictional, it's a bit of an escape, but it's quite a unique perspective as well. I like a book that leaves you thinking long after it's finished, mulling over the implications of how each day can be a pivotal moment in our lives. —the choices we make, the people we trust, and the people we leave behind. Pivotal follows the lives of 4 people who receive a bizarre and interesting potential inheritance which involves needing to take a leap of faith, a leap that not all of us want to take, can take, or need to take, or even dare to, um, when faced with indecision, we can't always deal with it on our own for reasons what we may not even understand. Um, a bit like when I was talking before about, um, The Trouble of Decisions with Joseph Beichart's book. Decisions are very hard to make, and sometimes we need a little bit of help. Um, so the 4 people in question enlist the help of a hypnotherapist to unpack what is going on in their head. And quite bizarrely, this book came at a time that I too was about to embark on hypnotherapy, and it was actually quite a welcome guide as to what to expect, rather than the Paul McKenna-esque preconceived ideas and notions of me like clicking like a chicken when somebody said "rosebud" or some such nonsense. And just, um, it Nikki Villance, the author of Pivotal, she helps you to, through her research, understand what hypnotherapy is for, how the different— what the different ways in which it can be used. And you do know what's going on. It's more like a trance, and she kind of describes it as, you know, it's not like you're completely not in control. Imagine a little bit where you've been a little bit away with the fairies and you've been driving in a car and you're on autopilot, and you know you've done the journey and you know you've been safe, but you don't really remember remember much of it, but you know where you've been. That is a bit like the trance state of hypnotherapy. And it was quite nice to just know that going into my own hypnotherapy. And again, this is the joy of books like this. We started off at the beginning of the show with Kay Hutchinson's 37 Therapies. Books where you just learn something different and open your mind and just give you another concept to think about. I think it's absolutely fantastic. Now, in the case of Pivotal, I can't say much more without giving too much away, but it's definitely an interesting and intriguing perspective on life and the paths we take and just the difference of one simple decision and how it can be pivotal in our life. Where is exactly— that's exactly where the title of the book came from. And so I just want to remind you that we are here and you can listen to Get Booked every day of the week at 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Throughout my shows, we talk about what I've read, what I'm reading, new releases. We chat to authors, bloggers, publishers, and book enthusiasts. If you're any one of those, please do get in touch with me at hazel@womensradiostation.com, and maybe we can get you in on the show or feature your book in some way. We here are aimed with all the different shows that we do at Women's Radio Station and Men's Radio Station. It's about supporting men and women's emotional well-being, opening discussions, and offering support. And we just want to make sure that we're all here for each other. And if you have any subjects that that we should cover, then we always welcome your suggestions because we're all here to help each other and make sure that we all get the best help and varied help as is possible. And the more that we work together, the more incredible our lives can be. Thank you for joining me here today, and hopefully you'll join me next week for our next Get Booked show. I'm Hazel Butterfield. This is Women's Radio Station. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity, from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and most importantly, women's well-being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website, women'sradiostation.com. Www.moneyradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. At empowerandenrich.org, you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and let and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me at empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring, and empowering? At Nurturing Birth, we offer approved doula training courses across the UK, which are facilitated by an award-winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role, and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more at nurturingbirth.co.uk. Hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on Women's Radio Station. It's Mother's Hour. If like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories, it will be a refreshing, honest, and funny look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? 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