Books with Betsy

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

On this episode, Kate Sutton, owner of the Lit Wagon in the Chicago area, talks about how she brings books to people all over the city, how her work as a therapist influences her book choices, and the kinds of emotional wreckage she expects from a read. She also gives tips on how to be a good customer of the Lit Wagon! 

 

Follow the Lit Wagon

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly 

 

Books Highlighted by Kate:

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 

All Fours by Mrianda July 

Fractured by C.S. Dodds

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy 

Birdie and Harlow by Taylor Wolfe

The Best Dog in the World by Alice Hoffman 

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey & Bruce Perry 

The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff 

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green 

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

The Rainbabies by Laura Krauss Melmed

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney 

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

On this episode, Grace Hughes, author and avid fantasy reader, discusses her specific criteria for naming genres, how her work as a writer affects her reading life, and we talk about a lot of fantasy series. If you’re ready to pick up a fantastical tome, this episode has a lot of recommendations. 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

Canon by Paige Lewis 

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

 

Books Highlighted by Grace:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged by Stuart McLean

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig 

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova 

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari 

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig 

 

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 

Alchemisd by SenLinYu 

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas 

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig 

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski 

American Gods by Neil Gaiman 

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones