Reading Envy 226 - Cucumber Sandwiches with Lindy Pratch

Lindy joins me to talk books, where we discuss Canadian lit, vignettes and white space in writing, and what really makes a monster.

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Reading Envy 226: Cucumber Sandwiches

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Books discussed: 

 

You're Eating an Orange. You are Naked. by Sheung-King
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
The Centaur's Wife by Amanda Leduc
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
What Willow Says by Lynn Buckle

Other mentions:

Shadow Giller Prize
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
Giller Prize
Kuessipan by Naomi Fontaine
Tournament of Books
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Jeanette Winterson
Atmospheric Disappearances by Rivka Galchen
The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager
Disfigured by Amanda Leduc
LitFest Alberta
The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2019 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal report about Indigenous children
When the Light of the World was Subdued.... edited by Joy Harjo
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep by Jocelyn Saucier
Come Together, Fall Apart by Cristina Henriquez

Related episodes: 

Episode 095 - Lose the Outside World with Lindy Pratch
Episode 124 - Mush Creatures with Lindy Pratch
Episode 159 - Reading Doorways with Lindy
Episode 196 - Miscommunication with Lindy
Episode 221 - Joint Poetry Readalong with Book Cougars
Episode 223 - Cicada Season with Rachel Mans McKenny

Stalk me online:

Lindy Reads and Reviews (blog)
Lindy on Twitter
Lindy is @Lindy on Litsy
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Follow ShadowGiller on Twitter


All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

Review: Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my last read for the Tournament of Books Camp ToB, and I think this is my favorite, although none were five-star reads for me.

Johannes Kepler is known for his astronomy discoveries but the context of that work is the era of the plague, and people not understanding disease, much less the universe. His mother Katharina is accused of being a witch in her old age and this is the (fictionalized) story of the trial, largely told through testimonies of her neighbors, who looking back now blame all ailments, failures, and deaths on her. There are also letters from Katharina to her son and others. It is historical fiction, recentering a female character, with some humor and conjecture. The ending was rather fun.

The audiobook is narrated by Natasha Soudek she does a lot of different voices for the characters.

And kudos to me for making it through a historical fiction novel, which is just usually not my thing. 🥴

View all my reviews

Reading Envy 160: Reading Plays with Elizabeth

Elizabeth is fresh a teaching seminar on plays so we talk about that for a bit before delving into books we have read and enjoyed recently. We have some books traversing the wild parts, books for pride, and more.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 160: Reading Plays
with Elizabeth
Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify


Books discussed:



In the Distance by Hernan Díaz
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
The Line Tender by Kate Allen
Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong


Other mentions:

Common Ground - University of Houston
Venus by Suzan-Lori Parks
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle
Sun Sisters by Vasanti Saxena
In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl
Cost of Living by Martyna Majok
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli
Books on the Go podcast - Lost Children Archive
Tell Me How it Ends by Valeria Luiselli
Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Chiang
Camp ToB
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Devotions by Mary Oliver
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
Sounds like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
Lot by Brian Washington
Bangkok Walks to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddney Ratner



Related Episodes:

Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and Elizabeth
Episode 061 - Never Do That to a Book with Elizabeth
Episode 136 - Six Pack with Elizabeth


Stalk us online:

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

Books Read June 2019: 134 - 159

Pictured: June's 5-star Reads

134. The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
135. When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy, my review)
136. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible audiobook; my review)
137. The Ash Family by Molly Dektar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
138. If the Church Were Christian by Philip Gulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
139. Condomnauts by Yoss ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)
140. Passing Strange by Ellen Klages ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (free download from Tor.com; my review)
141. Split Level by Sandra Berger ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
142. Wild Horses of the Summer Sun by Tory Bilski ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
143. Lanny by Max Porter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
144. How to Forget by Kate Mulgrew ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
145. Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
146. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy; my review)
147. Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana, translated by Mui Poopoksakul ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla eBook; my review)
148. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
149. The Bobcat by Katherine Forbes Riley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from author; my review)
150. Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
151. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy; my review)
152. Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)
153. The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
154. The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
155. 100 Times: A Memoir of Sexism by Chavisa Woods ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
156. All City by Alex DiFrancesco ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
157. Magic for Beginners by Sarah Gailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
158. The Body Papers by Grace Talusan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy via Restless Books subscription; my review)
159. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)

Total books: 26

Audio: 5
eBook: 15
Print: 6

Purchased: 5
Library: 8
Review: 13

Asia 2019: 4
Camp ToB: 2
Joint Readalong: 1
TakePrideinReading: 6
TBR Explode: 3