Reading Envy 183: Birthing Rabbits with Jessica (ToB2020)

Jessica and I are superfans of the Morning News Tournament of Books, and have participated as readers for several years. We are not official partners of the Tournament, nor does it belong to us, but we are hopeful that all involved will take this as a fancast and that readers who haven't heard of it will participate next time. Both of us have encountered books through the Tournament we would never have read otherwise. In this bonus episode, we focus on the books from this year's Tournament (both the long and shortlist) but also end up talking about some highlights from previous years. Ready your brackets, this is the only madness happening in March!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 183: Birthing Rabbits with Jessica.

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Books discussed:

Most books will be best viewed here on the Tournament of Books site
2020 bracket
ToB 2020 Shortlist
ToB 2020 Longlist (this is your 2020 reading list!)


Other mentions:

Cantoras by Carolina di Robertis
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
White Tears by Hari Kunzru
May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
Hill William by Scott McClanahan
Crapalachia by Scott McClanahan
The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
A Girl Returned by Donatella di Pietrantonio
Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kaji Fajardo-Anstine
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky
Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett


Related episodes:

Episode 110 - The Accidental Love Episode with Casey Stepaniuk
Episode 150 - Rife with Storytelling with Sara
Episode 163 - Fainting Goats with Lauren
Episode 166 - On Brand with Karen
Episode 167 - Book Pendulum with Reggie
Episode 175 - Reading on Impulse with Marion Hill
Episode 178 - Precarious Pile with Ruth(iella)


Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jessica at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Jessica is @the bluestocking on Litsy

Reading Envy 168: TBR Explode 3

Jenny uses part of her Fall Break to record a bonus episode that has some end of the year stuff but is almost all the third part of her 2019 TBR Explode Project. Jenny mocks herself for thinking she'd ever want to read philosophy, and tries to use less harsh language to talk about an author she doesn't care for.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 168: TBR Explode 3.

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Link to Best of 2019 contribution form


Books Discussed:

July

The Jung Cult by Richard Noll
Eros and the Mysteries of Love: The Metaphysics of Sex by Julius Evola
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
American Genius: A Comedy by Lynne Tillman
The Master by Colm Toibin
The Infinities by John Banville
Mortals by Norman Rush
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

August

The Statement by Brian Moore
The Animal-Lover's Book of Beastly Murder by Patricia Highsmith
Islandia by Austin Tappan WrightThe Accordionist's Son by Bernardo Atxaga
Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music by Greg Milner
Divine Music by Suruchi MohanEverything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
Concrete Island by J.G. Ballard
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Egan, Timothy

September

The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh
Family Pictures by Sue Miller
The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
Flatterland by Ian Stewart
The Wind in the Woods by Rose Senehi
Vurt by Jeff Noon
Night Sky Mine by Melissa Scott
Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun
Come to Me by Amy Bloom (September)
Princess Noire by Nadine Cohodas


Other Mentions

Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett 
 

Related Episodes:

Episode 149 - TBR Explode!
Episode 158 - TBR Explode 2

Stalk me online:

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

Reading Envy 151: The Stories They Tell with Karen (bonus memoir recommendations)

Karen reads memoir for connection; Jenny reads memoir to live her alternate lives. We discuss favorite memoirs, memoirs we've read recently, and memoirs we are excited to read. It's all memoir, and we hope we can recommend something for you! (Please leave a comment to tell us which memoirs are your favorites.)

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 151: The Stories They Tell with Karen

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
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Books featured:



Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard
Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi
After Visiting Friends: A Son’s Story by Michael Hainey
Becoming by Michelle Obama


Also discussed:

The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Interview with Dani Shapiro on the New York Times Book Review Podcast
Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone and Praline (Ruth Reichl)
Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes
Dumb: Living without a Voice by Georgia Webber
The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May
How to Forget by Kate Mulgrew
The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit In by Ayser Salman
Hotbox: Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Wild Horses of the Summer Sun: A Memoir of Iceland by Tory Bilski
No Walls and the Recurring Dream: A Memoir by Ani DiFranco
Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir by Kwame Onwuachi


Related Episodes:

Episode 004 - Home, Frightening and Banned with guest Karen Acosta
Episode 015 - The Time for Exclaiming Over Costumes with Jean and Karen
Episode 051 - Dreaming in Books with Karen Acosta
Episode 066 - When Time Stops with Karen Acosta
Episode 100 - 100 Reasons Why 
Episode 101 - A Different Kind of Time Travel with Karen Acosta
Episode 114 - Raised by Wolves with Karen Acosta 
Episode 145 - Things Get Dark with Bianca Escalante
Episode 146 - Complicated, Crazy, and Loud with Karen 


Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy