Books with Betsy

• Episode 45 - TBR Snowball with Deedi Brown

  On this episode, Deedi Brown, who runs The Booker of the Month book club, and I discuss the crossover love of literary fiction and genre, getting sucked in by award lists, and how being more involved in books turns into a snowball!    Follow Deedi on Instagram  Find Deedi’s Substack here  Get more information about Booker of the Month Club   Support my Open Books fundraiser   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat  Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis    Books Highlighted by Deedi: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo  The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller  The Actual Star by Monica Byrne The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez  Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton Fed is Best: The Unintended Harms of the “Breast is Best” Message and How to Find the Right Approach for You and Your Baby by Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, B. Jody Segrave-Daly, & Lynnette Hafken  Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Wisdom of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Choosing to Run by Des Linden, Bonnie D. Ford  The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride  Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann  Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo  Lenny by Max Porter  The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead  Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James  Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips  Trust Exercise by Susan Choi  Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange  This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud  Playground by Richard Powers  Bel Canto by Ann Pachett  The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht  Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros  Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros  Circe by Madeline Miller  Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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• Episode 44 - Bad Decisions and Good Sex with Meredith Turits

  On this episode, Meredith Turits, debut novelist, and I discuss the process of making her book come to life, how amazing her editor is, and the best ways to support friends who are writers. We also discuss her book, Just Want You Here, which I encourage anyone to go pick up!   Order Just Want You Here!   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden   Books Highlighted by Meredith: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Wedding People by Alison Espach The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Cline The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Watership Down by Richard Adams  East of Eden by John Steinbeck A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving  American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis  Anthropology of the American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann  The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer  Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer  Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka The God of the Woods by Liz Moore  The Wayside by Caroline Wolff  Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake  Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

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• Episode 43 - Insatiable Curiosity with Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O'Neal

  On this episode, Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O’Neal of Book Riot sit down and talk to me about their reading lives. We talk about their professional work in the world of books, how Oliver Burkeman would feel about my bad bookish habit, and how any book can be interesting if you’re curious enough.    Listen to the Book Riot Podcast  Listen to First Edition Better Living Through Books Newsletter (and the rest of the Book Riot Newsletters!)  Jeff and Rebecca Live at Powells!   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found by Christie Tate  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker   Books Highlighted by Rebecca & Jeff: Sula by Toni Morrison  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro  The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt  Lab Girl: A Memoir by Hope Jahren  Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes  We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry The Street by Ann Petry How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur The Orchard: A Memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman  When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams  Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott  Conscious Business: How to Build Value through Values by Fred Kofman    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson  House of Cotton by Monica Brashears  Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy  Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros  Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Callum Robinson  Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchinson  Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life by Shigehiro Oishi  Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman  Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card  The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien  The Shining by Stephen King  Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro  My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover  All Fours by Miranda July  Passing by Nella Larsen

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• Episode 42 - Working on Your Brain with Betsy Kipnis

  On this episode, Betsy Kipnis, a multi-hyphenate who loves a wide variety of authors, and I discuss some shared favorites, great Chicago bookstores, and she has some great stories. She discusses books that are multi-sensory and we get spicy about a beloved author.    Betsy’s Blog - Bookisshh Barbara Kingsolver’s Recovery Center    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọláwọlé Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis     Books Highlighted by Betsy: Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris  How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold  Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak  The Vegetarian by Han Kang  Human Acts by Han Kang  Native Son by Richard Wright  Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Chocolat by Joanne Harris  Annie Bot by Sierra Greer  Hum by Helen Phillips  The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood  Colored Television by Danzy Senna We Do Not Part by Han Kang  Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews  Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume  Rouge by Mona Awad  Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah  Yellowface by R.F. Kuang  Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano  Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu  Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kwakami  Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka  Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance  Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy  Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover  The Guest by Emma Cline The Girls by Emma Cline  Luster by Raven Leilani  The Bean Trees by Barabara Kingsolver  The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan  There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz  Oedipus Rex by Sophocles  There are Rivers in the Sky by Eilf Shafak  Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee  Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

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• Episode 41 - Completely Booked with Jordan Hernandez

  On this episode, Jordan Hernandez, who organizes the book community Completely Booked and I discuss what diverse books means to her, how to curate a feed that provides diverse options, and so many amazing book recommendations. If you want to join Completely Booked, you can send Jordan a DM on Instagram to get added to the email list!   Follow Completely Booked on Instagram Double Dough  HobokenGirl   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Less by Andrew Sean Greer  The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọláwọlé   Books Highlighted by Jordan: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas  Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams  James by Percival Everett Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson  The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero  Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen  On the Come Up by Angie Thomas  This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan  Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan  Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan  Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour  Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black  Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black  The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese  Finding Me by Viola Davis  Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth  You Are a Badass(r): How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero  Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin

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