Books with Betsy

On this episode, Jabril Yousef Faraj, author of the Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks, a young adult fantasy series, talks about their inspiration from their favorite books, why it’s so important to have stories that children can see themselves in, and what reading can do for humanity. 

 

Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks

Jabril’s Author Site

Jabril on YouTube 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

John of John by Douglas Stuart 

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

 

Books Highlighted by Jabril: 

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis 

1984 by George Orwell 

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov 

Rosehead by Ksenia Anske 

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin 

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs 

The Odyssey by Homer 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis 

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift 

Teddy Roosevelt by Edd Winfield Parks & Gray Morrow 

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 

The Giver by Lois Lowry 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

Animal Farm by George Orwell

On this episode, Dan Santaromita, sports journalist with the Athletic, talks about his love for autobiographies, how reading for work affects recreational reading, and his birthday tradition centered on his ideal reading scenario. We also talk about his favorite writer, Wright Thompson. 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie 

The Names by Florence Knapp 

John of John by Douglas Stuart 

 

Books Highlighted by Dan: 

Open by Andre Agassi 

I Think Therefore I Play by Andrea Pirlo

The 100-Yard Journey by Gary Pinkel 

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss

Wright Thompson’s Caitlyn Clark Profile 

The Cost of These Dreams by Wright Thompson 

The Barn by Wright Thompson

Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 

Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis 

Acid for the Children by Flea

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Pappyland by Wright Thompson 

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss

The Messi Effect by Paul Tenorio 

One Jump at a Time by Nathan Chen 

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey & Pete Carroll 

Alex Ferguson by Sir Alex Ferguson

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier 

Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker 

Among the Thugs by Bill Buford 

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 

Moneyball by Michael Lewis 

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

On this episode, Sam Ali, @readwithsama on instagram, talks about how she is developing a love of reading in her daughter, recommends some amazing Canadian books, and we gush about our shared love of awards. We talk about how it can be hard to be readers with wide interests when you have so many great books available to you!

 

Sam on Instagram 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey 

The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward

 

Books Highlighted by Sam: 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 

We Measure the Earth with our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy 

Astra by Cedar Bowers

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan 

The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan 

Whistler by Ann Patchett 

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 

Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa 

How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

On this episode, David Nilsen & Emily Swank, hosts of the HopLit podcast, talk about their work combining their love for beer and books. We also talk a lot about awards, get a little spicy making a literary and beer comparison, and they share some great reading habits you might connect with! 

 

HopLit Podcast 

David Nilsen Beer

Bean to Barstool

Final Gravity, a Beer Zine 

David on Instagram 

Emily on Instagram 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

Land by Maggie O’Farrell 

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

 

Books Highlighted by Emily: 

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides 

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis 

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk  

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad 

 

Books Highlighted by David:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Watership Down by Richard Adams 

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden 

The Summer is Ended and We are Not Yet Saved by Joey Comeau

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib 

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

The Copywriter by Daniel Poppick 

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 

Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski 

The Odyssey by Homer 

Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Less by Andrew Sean Greer 

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips 

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur 

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich 

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

On this episode, Tatiana, a recent graduate, talks about how she’s renewing her love of reading after finishing school, her blog focusing on making scientific research accessible, and the ways that books have met her in exactly the right time. 

 

Tatiana’s Blog 

Tatiana on Instagram 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig 

Super Castle Fun Park by Daniel Zomparelli

 

Books Highlighted by Tatiana:

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Butter by Asako Yuzuki 

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King 

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner 

Pet Sematary by Stephen King