Reading Envy 136: Six Pack with Elizabeth

I wanted to call this episode "Raised by Wolves" for obvious reasons, but Episode 114 already did that! Whoops. Both Elizabeth and I seemed to be in an animal reading mood lately, and that permeates our picks. Elizabeth talks about some YA book events she attended in Houston, and Jenny talks about her home library, and both of us talk about books we've read and enjoyed lately.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 136: Six Pack with Elizabeth.

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Books Discussed:




Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Far from the Tree by Robin Benway
American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee
Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd by Karsten Heuer
Foe by Iain Reid
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones


Other Discussion:

Tweens Read - Houston
Lumberjanes chapter books version (first one is Unicorn Power!)
Rick Riordan
Storm Runner series by J.C. Cervantes (first one is The Storm Runner) - this is the Mayan myth series Elizabeth mentions
Becky Albertelli
Adam Silvestri
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
Ron Rash
George Singleton
Carmelo by Sandra Cisneros
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathy Appelt
The Underneath by Kathy Appelt
Maybe a Fox by Kathy Appelt
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean
Kings of the Yukon: One Summer Paddling Across the Far North by Adam Weymouth
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Dogsong by Gary Paulsen
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
In the Distance by Hernan Diaz
And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
More Than This by Patrick Ness
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Saturday by Ian McEwan


Related episodes:

Episode 010 - YA Literature: Death and Mayhem with guests Alex and Carissa
Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and Elizabeth
Episode 061 - Never Do That to a Book with Elizabeth 
Episode 065 - Creeping through the Uncanny Valley with guest Bryan Alexander 
Episode 098 - Just a Bunch of Stuff that Happened with Bryan Bibb
Episode 114 - Raised by Wolves with Karen Acosta
Episode 128 - Poetry and Whale Guts (Bonus episode; Speed Dating 2018, round 3)

Stalk us online:

Elizabeth at Goodreads   
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy 

Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman

Birds of a Lesser Paradise: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got a review copy of this audiobook from the publisher. I wasn't sure what to expect; I was new to the author (this is her first book, although she has previously published short stories) and had no expectations. The book came out in print in March 2012, but the audiobook was new in November.

The title is apropos - while the stories aren't about birds exactly, most of them do seem to include animals in some way - many birds, but also ferrets, dogs, sheep, cats, even a chinchilla.

The author is at her strongest when she writes about relationships, particularly when they have failed because of issues the people can't control - death, disease, savior complex, you name it. The most powerful story to me was the first one - Housewifely Arts - that tells the story of a woman and her young son, driving to visit her deceased mother's bird, just to hear her voice one more time. Wow. I will remember it for a long time. It also takes place in a city that I know well on the coast of South Carolina, which also brought it to life.

Yesterday's Whales demonstrates what happens when your life deters from your Values, while Every Vein a Tooth demonstrates what can happen when you stick to them. Both are heartbreaking and memorable. The Right Company, with the weird salve of the obese food writer, is one story with unique, super southern characters.

The Artificial Heart was probably my least favorite story, because the vision it attempts of a post-fish dystopic Florida was not quite as successful as the painful realities of the other stories.

Most of the stories are set in the south, which is where Bergman grew up, with one set in Vermont where she lives now. The stories are read by Cassandra Campbell, who does a great job with subtle changes in accents, vocal tone, and pacing. (I've heard her before, as one of the readers for the Cloud Atlas audiobook.)

View all my reviews

The Call by Yannick Murphy

The Call: A Novel by Yannick Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was on the Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2011 List, so I decided to give it a whirl despite not being overly interested by the description (large animal veterinarian in new england).

The technique used at first seemed repetitive, with each little mini section starting with whichever call the vet was getting. The vet, by the way, is dealing with his own health with "high levels" and an accident with his son.

Midway through, "the call" takes on a new meaning, and brings an interesting twist to the book. Suffice to say the second half was more interesting and went more quickly than the first!

This will probably only be interesting to music lovers, but because of the name of this book, I've been humming Ralph Vaughan Williams song "The Call" all week!