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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 82 A Novel Remedy transcript

August 13, 2018 The Allusionist
A82 logo A Novel Remedy.jpg

When you’re not feeling well, which books do you turn to to make yourself feel better?

I asked this question on the Allusionist Facebook and Twitter, and hundreds of you responded, but a few answers came up again and again:
Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien.
Makes sense. Science fiction, fantasy: what’s more escapist?
Jane Austen. PG Wodehouse.
Also escapist, thanks to period setting - and, rich people problems not health problems.
Things you read when you were a child: Moomins, What Katy Did, Anne of Green Gables…
Taking you back to a time in your life that perhaps felt safer, or simpler...
...Harry Potter.
Boarding school shenanigans! Wizard problems not real life problems!
And, Agatha Christie.
Poison! Gunshots! Stabbing! Hang on, why would stories about murder make us feel better?

Well, they’re kind of supposed to make you feel better.

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In transcript Tags words, language, linguistics, education, comedy, entertainment, society & culture, psychology, OCD, mental health, books, fiction, audiobooks, novels, reading, amusement, distraction, wellness, illness, health, psychological, history, writers, authors, detectives, PI, sleuths, WW1, WW2, World War One, First World War, Second World War, World War Two, PTSD, trauma, personal, sickness, hospital, cortisol, childhood, kids, children, escape, escapism, nostalgia, Agatha Christie, mysteries, murder mystery, Hercule Poirot, crime, Miss Marple, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, James Bond, Ian Fleming, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, science fiction, fantasy, Alison Light, literature of convalescence, convalescents, convalescence, jougs, Helen Zaltzman, Jane Gregory, Guy Cuthbertson
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live tour of the UK!
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Creative Commons Licence
The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.