In this inaugural episode of Get Booked, host Hazel Butterfield welcomes listeners to her new show dedicated to all things books. From thrillers to comedy memoirs, Hazel shares her passion for reading across multiple formats and genres, encouraging listeners to explore the diverse world of literature. She discusses how important it is to mix up your reading diet—balancing heavy psychological thrillers with lighter, humorous reads to keep your mind engaged and entertained.
Hazel kicks off by reviewing Obsession by Amanda Robson, a gripping thriller about a woman who confesses to murdering her twin sister. She praises the dual narrative structure and the way the flawed characters hook you from the start, making it impossible to put down. Then she shifts gears completely to discuss Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett, a comedic memoir she devoured in one afternoon while lounging on a Greek beach. The contrast between these two reads perfectly illustrates her philosophy on building a balanced reading routine.
Beyond the book reviews, Hazel advocates for different reading formats—from traditional paperbacks to Kindle and Audible—explaining how each has its place in a busy modern life. She also makes a passionate case for supporting local libraries, reminding listeners that these free resources are invaluable for book lovers on a budget. Whether you’re commuting, at the gym, or relaxing on holiday, there’s a format and a book waiting for you.
Main Topics
Obsession by Amanda Robson is a compelling psychological thriller told from multiple perspectives that explores how one flawed person can destroy an entire family and friend group
Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett is a hilarious comedy memoir best experienced through Audible narration by the author himself, perfect for lighter reading after heavy thrillers
Mixing up your reading diet—alternating between thrillers, self-help, comedy, and other genres—keeps your mind engaged and prevents mental exhaustion
Different reading formats serve different purposes: physical books for the tactile experience, Kindle for discretion and portability, and Audible for multitasking during commutes or exercise
Local libraries are free resources that shouldn't be overlooked, offering book borrowing, extensions, and community benefits that help keep these vital institutions alive
Audiobooks narrated by the authors themselves, particularly comedians and memoir writers, deliver added value through authentic delivery and timing of jokes and anecdotes
Building a sustainable reading habit requires finding ways to fit books into a busy lifestyle through various formats and settings
Full TranscriptHello, I'm Hazel Butterfield, and welcome to my new show here at Women's Radio Station, all about my love of books, clev...▼
Hello, I'm Hazel Butterfield, and welcome to my new show here at Women's Radio Station, all about my love of books, cleverly entitled Get Booked. You see what we did there? Yeah, it's brilliant, isn't it? Throughout my shows, we will talk about what I've read, What I'm reading, new releases. We're gonna chat to authors, publishers, and just book enthusiasts. Not just book enthusiasts, 'cause we're what it's all about. We keep the book world going around and around. Many of my book reviews go on my website too, hazelbutterfield.com, and you can follow me @nuttybutty on Twitter, or you can use the Wandsworth Radio Twitter, Or if you want to access my website to send me book recommendations, ask to come on the show for a chat, or maybe you're releasing your own book or just want to say hi, why not? Brilliant. Today's show is entitled Frogs, Boys, Obsession, and Parsnips. Perfect, perfect. I mean, stick with me on this. It will make a little bit more sense. To kick off today, the first book I want to talk about is Obsession by Amanda Robson. She's an author that's local to me who was brought to my attention by my podiatrist, uh, mid-corn removal, as you do. Uh, this thriller starts off with a woman admitting she has just murdered her sister to the police, over the phone while standing over her dead sister's body. Um, the story then goes through the stages that lead to, um, the— what happens, and it's all from the perspectives of each of the different characters in the book, which was quite a nice twist because it's good to get other people's opinion and idea of kind of what they think is going on. And then it further goes on to the proceeding court case while she is tried for the murder of her sister, her twin sister may I add. So there's that extra special bond there as well. Is she guilty? You'll have to read it to find out. But it was beautifully written, showing us how one defective person can infiltrate and destroy a whole family, a friendship group, work, everything. It was brilliantly written. It was quite a thrilling read which hooked you by making the characters so infuriatingly flawed. Their decisions, their reactions, and vain attempts to be protective, which we all know about. We're all humans. It's what we do. Do you know what? I'd love to get Amanda in on the show, and watch this space, and I'll see what I can do. Make sure that if you ever come across a book that you think you'd like to recommend to me, please do get in touch. You can tweet me @NuttyButty. That's N-U-T-T-Y B-U-T-T-Y. I've actually just started reading Michael Ondjatje's, I think I've pronounced that correctly, his book Warlight. He also wrote The English Patient, some of you may know. That was a recent recommendation. And it's not something actually that I would've normally gone for, 'cause I'm not normally a fan of the kind of 1940s, 1950s books, but I'm loving it already. It's excellent. So, keep your recommendations coming in. And, and, Come in and maybe chat to us one day. Be brilliant. And another book that I want to talk to you about, completely in contrast to my first book, is Parsnips Buttered by Joe Lycett, the comedian. Love him to pieces. If you are a fan of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, you will know who he is, and he is that sort of comedian. I do, I need to mix in humour to a lot of my books that I read in a month. I generally read 4 in a month and it can't all be too hard going, it can't all be self-help, it can't all be comedy, it can't all be thrillers. Mix it all up. That is one of the best recommendations I can give to you. Otherwise my brain just gets a complete hammering and I kind of like the roller coaster effect of going up and down and you're giggling and you're crying and you're scared and a bit of everything. But Parsnips Buttered was one of those suggestions through my Audible subscription while I was on a beach in Greece. I quite like these suggestions because they suggest things based on, you know, algorithms, things that you've been searching up, and some of the things that come up, I think one of the ones that came up once was Why Mummy Drinks. Rude, Audible, rude. Anyway, so I'm on a beach in Greece and I decide to read, no, listen to Parsnips Buttered. I just finished the fourth book in the Stieg Larsson Millennium series, the psychological thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and all that. It's the fourth one that was there. And that one, I went through it so quickly 'cause when you get to the fourth book, you are so invested in the characters. But it was hard going and I needed something lighter, and Parsnips Buttered was that. I listened to this book in one afternoon and giggled my way through, embarrassing the boyfriend as I cackled away. And even when he went off to go and have a bit of a swim, I was just sitting there giggling to myself. Didn't want to get a tan line, so obviously the headphones are behind me. So nobody could actually tell I was listening to anything and there was no book in front of me. So yeah, I just looked crazy, which, that's the excuse I'm going to stick with. Anyway, it is without a doubt the best way to listen or read these books is through Audible because they quite often, especially the autobiographical, autobiographical, can I say that 3 times in a row? Probably not. Should I try it? No, I won't try it. I won't try it. It's better when it's done by the authors themselves because they just give that added edge. And Joe Lycett does narrate this one and it gives his droll sense of humour. It just, he delivers what he has to say in exactly the way he wanted it to be put across. He's timing and relaying his anecdotes and email campaigns and interactions. If you don't know who Jo Lycett is, go and check him out on YouTube so you can kind of understand a little bit about what you're about to embark on. He makes complaining sound like the best pastime ever, ever. The guy's a nutjob, a mad as a box of frogs, and deliciously sarcastic, which is probably why I like him. And it ties me quite nicely to my favourite related book quote of the day. It is a Theodore Roosevelt phrase. It is, "I am part of everything that I have read," which I think is brilliant. You've got to love what you're reading because you're going to take a little bit of that person away with you. And it's just, yeah, I do find that when I read things like "Jolaisip's Parsnips Buttered," I take on more of a sarcastic persona for a while, and I'm Northern anyway, so that's pretty extreme. And I apologise to everybody who encountered me just after I read that book. Read? I said read, see, it's just automatic. Listened. I know some book fans really struggle with venturing away from books, the typical book that you can hold in your hand, but You know, all the different forms have a time and a place. Audible, it's good for multitasking. I know people like to feel the book in your hand, but you can, you can do it while you're walking, commuting, at the gym. And for those of you who are a little bit like me and you love the gym, you love getting fit, but you get bored. If you're reading a book, listening to a book, see, I'm doing it again, then it just means that 40 minutes later, you've done 2 or 3 chapters and you've hit 10K. Brilliant. Well done, you. Multitasking is what we do. We are so busy these days. We need to find ways to squeeze in as much as possible. And again, the Kindle, there's a lot of you that haven't been converted yet, but it keeps you bag light and it keeps your reading to yourself. Those of you that like to read interesting books, maybe the Fifty Shades, things like that. Although some people just really don't care. I generally don't care, but just in case you don't want people to know, maybe you're reading a self-help book and you just don't want people to know that you're reading a self-help book. This is what Kindle and Audible are absolutely great for. And you know what, another thing that I really want to push throughout this show is give your local library a visit. As with most things, if you don't use them, we will lose them. And if you like reading as much as I do, it gets expensive. I mean, a good book is anything between £5 and £15. The library is free, absolutely free. If you struggle getting through a book in the 3 weeks they give you, You can just extend it. It is that easy. They have most books. You can check online for your local library to see who has what or when it's coming back in again. It's absolutely perfect. So there you go. You can, you can borrow, be part of a book club, Kindle, Audible. There's so many different ways, especially on Amazon, where you can find cheaper ways because the Audible books, they are quite expensive. Expensive, but if you pay, I think it's like $7.99 a month, you can have one every single month for that, which is brilliant. Right, we have more book reviews to give you right after these messages. I will be back in a jiffy. WRS, Women's Radio Station, voice of women worldwide. Sarah's Universal Soul Show. What does your soul or spirituality mean to you? Welcome to Future Classical Woman Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Woman's Radio Station. Welcome back, I'm Russ Caine. You're listening to In Conversation With on Woman's Radio Station. I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy. And we're open. To see what other programs we have on Woman's Radio Station, head to our website womansradiostation.com. I'm Isabel Manvey, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website, call me on 07 49 49 49 984 422 171. I'm listening. Miraie Bill Limited. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database, we take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077 868 48 998 for further information. Mireille B Limited, making the life of the business owner successful. Let Women's Radio advertise your brand or business. It's so affordable and effective, reaching out to all women. Call us on 020 7437 7066 now. Are you struggling with money? Turn2Us is a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness, or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship, or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turn2us.org.uk. I'm Angie and I'm Patsy and we're open to share our own personal stories dealing with life events, staying positive through the tough times. Share your stories too, what worked, what didn't. Join us each week for Open. We know you're gonna love it. Women's Radio Station is a not-for-profit community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Let me tell you about Jermyn Street Theatre. This is a secret theatre in the heart of the West End, once found, never forgotten. This is where careers ignite, where playwrights take risks, where great actors perform just feet away from the audience. This is where magic happens. We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.germinstreettheatre.co.uk. What you are listening to there is the new theme tune to my show Get Booked. You are listening to my first ever show here at Woman's Radio Station. I'm Hazel Butterfield. You can find the majority of my book reviews up at hazelbutterfield.com. We are on the second half of today's show. We have already been discussing Obsession by Amanda Robson and Parsnips Buttered by Jo Lycett. And third on the list, it is a self-help book. It's Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. Um, I actually heard about this book initially, uh, while they were talking about it on the latest season of Orange Is the New Black. They wanted, she wanted her girlfriend to eat that frog and get on with life. There was another book that was recommended to me of a similar nature as well, The Chimp Paradox. So, I had these two books recommended to me and I couldn't decide, ironically, which book I should read. I don't want to read two self-help books self-help books at the same time, because that's just too taxing. So, ironically, deciding which mind management book to read proved too hard, so I put it to a Twitter vote, as most sane-minded people do, obviously, which returned a 50/50 result. Thanks, Twitter, you're really helpful. The prices were similar, and I got fed up of procrastinating. That eventually chose to read the aforementioned Joe Lycett's Parsnips Buttered instead, which then left it to the fate of the local libraries. Whichever had the book available first was the one I was going to read. Thank goodness they both didn't come available at the same time, otherwise we would have been in trouble. We being Me, of course. So, I read the book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. It is slightly idealistic. It's all very well saying our biggest frog is the most productive and don't fuss over the small stuff, but if you do forget to pay that bill, it may be a small thing that takes, you know, 5 minutes or whatever, you will be penalised and we can't afford to be penalised. The kids will tantrum if you forget to text Susie or whatever her name is about the playdate. And as for buying that cleanser, you know you'll break out without it. So it's all very well saying your biggest frog is writing your CV or whatever, but there's certain things that take more time and we do procrastinate. But this is what the book's all about. It's about trying to focus, getting things done. And quite frankly, there is a balance that needs to be reshuffled. And when I stopped being I was so sceptical. It's the politest way I can put it. I got more involved and started making progress. I found it easier to work through a chapter at a time to fully benefit, as it can also be quite hard going. And there's 21 chapters. The book is not big. It's easy to get through. But you can kind of, you know, one of the things that you have to do is you have to assess your weaknesses and realise just how much you've been busying yourself for years with what subjectively could be termed as procrastinating rubbish. Facing the reality that I've pretty much been working at 10% of my capabilities and being given the tools to assess how to change that, it was a bit of a journey. So all these different 21 chapters are ideas that he gives you, tools that he gives you to try and assess what you're doing, what you're good at, and Instead of having 20 things on your to-do list, have a look and think, you've got to assess which 3 are the ones you actually need to do to be able to achieve what you want in life. And is making sure that number 10 and number 9, if they're done, do they make any difference to your world? And do you really need them on that list? Why don't you simplify things and focus on what matters? And, It's, yeah, the journey was incredible. The only thing is I found that I was writing lists of things that I needed to actually work through, like figuring out what my strengths and weaknesses are, figuring out, you know, what my, hmm, what I was doing, what I was busying myself with doing to distract myself from doing what really needs to happen. And it's a bit like trying to focus your 5-year plan and, you know, A lot of what Brian Tracy had to say, it was incredible. It was common sense. And sometimes we just need that common sense brought to the fore so you can kind of address it. And yeah, it was good. You know what? You can actually buy workbooks for this self-help book. Go and check it out on Amazon to work your way through. But I've actually still got lists somewhere saying, "I need to assess the 10 things I need to achieve in the next 5 years." I kind of know what they are, and I just still haven't got anywhere with it yet. So, um, possibly I need to, I need to be told. You know what, maybe you should read Eat That Frog with a buddy and make sure that you both work through it together over a bottle of wine or something. There you go, I've given you an interesting evening thing to do. Do it, please let me know how it goes. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. Now, um, this Final book recommendation is probably the best one out of all of the ones I'm going to discuss in today's show. It is How Not to Be a Boy by Robert Webb. And yes, I know a lot of you are going to groan when I say this, but I did it on audiobook because he's brilliant. His voice is just incredible anyway. And also it came at that time in the month where I just got a new token through my subscription and And I was trying to get fit and healthy and I just thought, if I listen to him while I'm running around or at the gym, and it was brilliant. And it just had something extra, more of a conversational quality. It felt like he was just chatting to you. Seriously, if you're not an Audible fan, please, if you're gonna give it a whirl, give it a whirl on this book. How Not to Be a Boy is incredibly funny. Do you know what, deliciously honest, which you don't get in a lot of autobiographies. Katie Price. But has also made me very aware of his astute and poignant comments, his narrative on what it is to be a boy, supposedly, and how girls and boys are differentiated. The phrase man up and that was such a girl throw and throwaway comments and descriptions we use without much thought to their meanings. They're common and, well, archaic phrases like many idioms we use without knowing their true origins. When my youngest son returned to school recently after the school holidays, I was waiting at the door to see him settle into his new desk position, and he took absolutely ages chatting away by the hooks to his friends that he'd missed over the 6 weeks, you know, and I muttered to one of the friends, 'Oh, he's taking ages gossiping away. He's such a girl.' Wow. I kind of caught myself and I actually felt stupid. Well, because it is a stupid thing to say. I felt stupid for a reason. And it was said as a joke. It was well-meaning. But does that excuse sound familiar? It's not okay. And I've not made any comments. I mean, it's just a silly kind of sarcastic comment. That's not okay. And he kind of, the way Robert Webb put it, it wasn't preachy, but he's like, yeah, stop referring to each other in this way. We're just people. And it's just, yeah, I'm so happy with myself for catching myself and I won't do it again. But I also call other people upon it as well. And not in a way that I'm that person that you don't want at the dinner party anymore. In a nice way, I promise. Ish. But Robert Webb recounts his life. There's nothing, nothing untouched, literally. And it's narrated beautifully. He's awkward, he's messed up, he didn't fit in. He is clever, freakingly funny, and real. How Not to Be a Boy deserves all the praise it's getting, and I thoroughly loved it. You don't need to know how to be a boy or a girl, you just need to know and be allowed to be you. And that is the main point. This is why the book's getting so much praise. It is brilliant. Anyway, all these books were great. They opened my eyes. I hope they will entertain you too. I'd love to know if you have read them on my recommendation. Please do get in touch. Yeah, my— that was my month in books. How was yours? Get in touch. What have you been reading? Get in touch at presenters@womensradiostation.com if you want to be featured on Get Booked or have a book recommendation. That was, my lovelies, my first ever show here at WRS. Thank you for listening, and catch me next week for more book reviews, news, interviews. I'm Hazel, and you are listening to Get Booked. Please make sure you follow my new Instagram page on @getbookedwrs and get involved. All you book lovers out there, Love you too. Have a great day. Thank you. Bye! I'm Angie and I'm Patsy and we're open. As a trans woman living in the centre of London in 2018, the show's about all the barriers I face on a daily level, but it's also about our life stories, how we got to where we are, How we stay positive in the face of adversity. And being more than just a label, it's about finding one's true authentic self. But it's also about your stories too, so send us a tweet, send us an email at presenters@womensradio.com. The voice of women worldwide. WRS, Women's Radio Station, voice of women worldwide. This is Amy Liu, voice of China at Women's Radio Welcome to Future Classical Woman Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Woman's Radio Station. After a long day, I like to sit in my bath with a glass of wine and listen to Woman's Radio. I'm Russ Cate, you're listening to In Conversation With on Woman's Radio Station. To see what other programs we have on Woman's Radio Station, head to our website, womensradiostation.com. Do you need mediation? We are the A-Project Charity. We provide conflict resolution and community engagement services. Our services include community mediation for neighbour disputes, family mediation for separating couples, special education needs for parents, carers, and their children and young adults, as well as workplace mediation and restorative services. To find out more, head to womensradiostation.com or theaaproject.co.uk. Mireille Bill Limited. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar. We update your client database. We take care of your property in France and in London. We also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077 868 48 998 for further information. Mireille Bill Limited. Making the life of the business owner successful. Would you like to host your own radio show? Would you love to be doing what I'm doing right now and be a radio presenter on women's radio station? If you're passionate on your subject or topic, we'd like to hear from you wherever you are in the world about what's happening in your country, town, or city. It's your station, your voice to women with the world. So contact us, send an email to involved@womensradiostation.com. I'm Isabel Manley, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 07984 422 171. I'm listening. Women's Radio Station is a not-for-profit community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help.
