Books with Betsy

• Episode 52 - My Entire Life is Words with Hannah Gordon

  On this episode, Hannah Gordon, a fellow CPS teacher and I discuss the importance of the library as a public service, how your reading life can turn around from what people expect of you as a child, and she brings some really great books to the show that haven’t been talked about yet.    Find Hannah on TikTok Book Talk and Signing for The Kat Bunglar with Tanima Kazi    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Are You Happy? By Lori Ostlund On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle  The Kat Bunglar by Tanima Kazi    Books Highlighted by Hannah: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson My Death by Lisa Tuttle  The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, trans. Ruth L.C. Simms  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner  Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali, trans. Maureen Freely & Alexander Dawes  Penance by Eliza Clark  Woman at Point Zero by Nawal el Sadaawi I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Severance by Ling Ma  How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu  Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado  In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado  Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai  Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros  Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

  --------  

  59:19
• Episode 51 - More Beautiful Thoughts with Christopher Hermelin of So Many Damn Books

  On this episode, Christopher Hermelin, host of the podcast So Many Damn Books and I discuss his life that revolves around books, our shared love for stories on the continuum of weird, and we both go on a bit of a tear about over-comped books. You can also hear me get totally sucked in by something Christopher recommends.    So Many Damn Books The Roving Typist    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Are You Happy? By Lori Ostlund   Books Highlighted by Christopher: Skippy Dies by Paul Murray  Earthlings by Sayaka Murata  Bear by Marian Engle 2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino  Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli  Heart of Junk by Luke Geddes The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters 17776 What Football will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois Bluets by Maggie Nelson   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio  On the Calculation of Volume Book 1 by Solvej Balle, trans. Barbara J. Haveland  Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal  Nutshell by Ian McEwan  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Redwall by Brian Jacques  The Twits by Roald Dahl  The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender  Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender  Bunny by Mona Awad  We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad  The Magicians by Lev Grossman  The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman  Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link  Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur  Mumbai New York Scranton by Tamara Shopsin  Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin  LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin  Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino  Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino  Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino  You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine by Alexandra Kleeman  Good Girl by Aria Aber  Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman  Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang  The Bee Sting by Paul Murray  The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray  Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata  Bear by Julia Phillips Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli  Maniac McGee by Jerry Spinelli  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  The Secret History by Donna Tartt  If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio  The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin  The Martian by Andy Weir  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern  The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas 

  --------  

  1:01:58
• Episode 50 - How to Raise a Reader with Mary Hopper Welander

  On this episode, my mom, Mary Hopper Welander, and I discuss shared reading memories from my childhood, how much the library has impacted both of our reading lives, and how her reading life has changed in retirement. She also gives some great advice about how to develop a love of reading in your child.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle  Moms Like Us by Jordan Roter   Books Highlighted by Mary: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny  Bel Canto by Ann Patchett A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Pachinko by Min Jin Lee  Trust by Hernan Diaz  Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson  The Women by Kristin Hannah Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Come, Have Breakfast: Meditations on God and the Earth by Elizabeth A. Johnson The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg  Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell  The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun  The Black Wolf by Louise Penny  The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis  My Name is Barbara by Barbara Streisand  Animal Farm by George Orwell  Political Theology Based in Community by Marty Tomszak  Rules of Civility by Amor Towles  The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles  The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict  Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson  Gilead by Marilynne Robinson A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle  Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle 

  --------  

  52:21
• Episode 49 - Read Everything All the Time with Alayna Mills

  On this episode, Alayna Mills, a college writing teacher, discusses their love for reading everything all the time, by incorporating reading into all parts of their day. We also talk about their wide reading preferences, we get deep on a few specific books, and we find a shared notebook of book prize stress.    Follow Alayna on Instagram   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle  Audition by Katie Kitimura  Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah    Books Highlighted by Alayna: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab What If We Get it Right: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte  On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe  Oye by Melissa Mogollon Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke Ghosts by Dolly Alderton Exalted by Anna Dorn Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown Prodigal Summer by Barabara Kingsolver  The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave  The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver  The Details by Ia Genberg  Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa  Dune by Frank Herbert  All Fours by Miranda July  Heir by Sabaa Tahir  All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir  Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon  Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond

  --------  

  1:01:55
• Episode 48 - A Community of Problematic Characters with Bre @Brezzylovesbooks

  On this episode, Bre @Brezzylovesbooks, a therapist who also runs the Raleigh chapter of Well-Read Black Girl, and I discuss our shared love of book communities, problematic characters, and why romance isn’t our reading preference. I also give a rare TV recommendation!    Follow Bre on Instagram More info about Well-Read Black Girl in Raleigh  Well-Read Black Girl Raleigh Instagram   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle    Books Highlighted by Bre: Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson  There There by Tommy Orange  Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology ed. by Amber Flame & Elaina Ellis Girl, Gurl, Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya Hunt   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats  Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain  Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe  A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri  The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri  Heavy by Kiese Laymon  Pushout by Monique Couvson The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones  Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange  Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan 

  --------  

  54:53

More Arts podcasts

Trending Arts podcasts

About Books with Betsy