Reading Envy 246: Unsettling Endings with Yanira

Yanira shares why she deleted Goodreads and how it's improved her reading life, and we talk about rereading books before we dig into books we've read and liked lately.

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Reading Envy 246: Unsettling Endings

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Books discussed:

 

Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso
End of the World House by Adrienne Celt
A Very Nice Girl by Imogen Crimp
The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe, Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, and Sheree Renee Thomas
Joan is Okay by Weike Wang

Other mentions: 

A House of My Own: Stories from My Life by Sandra Cisneros
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The Hating Game (film)
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Conversations with Friends (tv adaptation)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Dirty Computer (album)
Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture]
Chemistry by Weike Wang
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
The Possessed by Elif Batuman
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, read by Miranda Raison

Related episodes: 

Episode 070 - Words Like Weapons with Yanira Ramirez
Episode 096 - Not Without Hope with Yanira Ramirez
Episode 108 - Venn Diagram with Yanira Ramirez  
Episode 141 - Profound and Tedious Work with Yanira Ramirez
Episode 181 - An Awkward Woman with Yanira Ramirez

Stalk us online:

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


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.

Reading Envy 242: Dark and Gloomy with Claire

I was happy to sit down and talk to Claire, a reader from the upcoming generation. She likes dark and gloomy books! Jenny also took the opportunity to read a few YA books she had not yet gotten to, and went dark and gloomy too.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 242: Dark and Gloomy

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Books discussed:

 

Took by Mary Downing Hahn
Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Other mentions: 

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Maus by Art Spiegelman
The Hunger Games series
Divergent series
Maze Runner series
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Related episodes: 

Episode 010 - YA Literature: Death and Mayhem with guests Alex and Carissa
Episode 022 - Gods and Cannibals with guest Chris
Episode 173 - Expecting a Lot from a Book with Sarah Tittle
 

Stalk us online:

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


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.

Reading Envy 223: Cicada Season with Rachel Mans McKenny

Jenny and Rachel discuss books that didn't get as much attention as they deserved during the early days of the pandemic, science in fiction, a new podcast, and more.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 223: Cicada Season

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Books discussed: 

 

Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams, narrated by Adenrele Ojo
Lakewood by Megan Giddings
Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Other mentions:

The Butterfly Effect by Rachel Mans McKenny
Blind Date with a Book Podcast (first episode posts June 30, 2021)
@bookmeetcute on Instagram and Twitter
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
Selena Montgomery
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Bunny by Mona Awad
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Related episodes:

Episode 008 - Gone Rogue with guests Steve Richardson, Libby Young, and Mike Winiski
Episode 150 - Rife with Storytelling with Sara
Episode 164 - Character Driven with Carol Ann
Episode 186 - This is Gravity with Jeff
Episode 190 - The Good Life with Alex

Stalk us online:

Rachel's website
Rachel is @rmmckenny on Twitter; @rachelmansmckenny on Instagram; @rachelm on Litsy
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy

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: The Marrow Thieves

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally read this YA dystopian novel where people perceived as being indigenous are kidnapped in hopes their bodies will help everyone else regain the ability to dream. The novel is more about the groups of people living on the run and the ways they connect and build community - very little is about the mad scientist component (this is okay but was a bit surprising based on how much it is included in most summaries of the book.) Also in the background are the history of the "residential schools," climate change, and human-directed environmental destruction. It's set in the future so California is gone, the Great Lakes are toast, etc.

If you waffle on YA, there is much less angst than in the Hunger Games or Divergent. The majority of the novel features characters from a broader range of ages.

I had a strange experience (twice!) where I fell asleep while reading it and sank into deep dreams, so beware!

This was the January 2021 pick for Sword and Laser with guest co-host Mallory O'Meara. It was also discussed on Episode 202 of the Reading Envy Podcast with the Book Cougars.

View all my reviews

Reading Envy 116: Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again

Jeff Koeppen returns to the Reading Envy Pub, stamping the snow from his boots so we can chat books. We cover poetry for National Poetry Month, science in tribute to his first episode, North Korea, Scotland, apocalypse, and a new modern classic.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 116: Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again.

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I have just a few spaces left for the second half of 2018! If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ

Books Discussed:



Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Díaz
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas


Other Mentions: 

Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr
Forgotten Superheroes of Science podcast episodes
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
What Should I Read Next? podcast
Modern Mrs. Darcy
Stoner by John Williams
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner
Flowers of the Forest (song)
Cloud Howe by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Gray Granite by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Farewell Navigator by Leni Zumas
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The Wilds by Julia Elliott
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
Syncing Forward by W. Lawrence
Apocalypse Whenever Goodreads Group


Related Episodes:

Episode 086 - The Queen of Bailing with Shawn Mooney  
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 093 - Spewing Science with Jeff Koeppen
Episode 099 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 111 - Emotional Dipsy Doodles with Shawn Mooney
Episode 112 - Reset Button with Eleanor Thoele


Stalk us online:

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

Reading Envy 109: Stuxnet Pancakes with Scott Danielson

Scott Danielson stops by to share some of his recent non-fiction reads, and Jenny accidentally has the theme of female power from different genres and eras.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 109: Stuxnet Pancakes

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I am scheduling guests for the second half of 2018! If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ

Books Discussed:

 
Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon by Kim Zetter
Other Men's Daughters by Richard Stern
Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France by Craig Carlson
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry
The Power by Naomi Alderman


Other Mentions: 

A Good Story is Hard to Find (podcast)
SFF Audio (podcast)
Wired Magazine
Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick
Gatekeepers (film)
Mr. Robot (tv show)
The Cubs' Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Leibovitz
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Bailey's Women's Prize (now just the Women's Prize for Fiction)
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Broadchurch (tv show)
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
The Crown (tv show)
The Dry by Jane Harper
The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman

 
Related Episodes:
Episode 014 - Flannery O'Connor with Zombies with Jason and Scott
Episode 052 - The Man with the Eyebrows with Philip and Scott
Episode 058 - Wishing for a Sequel with Scott
Episode 071 - Bad Priest, Good Priest, No Priest with Scott
Episode 082 - Reading Envy Envy with Scott


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

Reading Envy 092: Reading Friends Sarah and Preston

Sarah makes another visit to the Reading Envy Pub, and this time she brought the reading friend she mentioned on Episode 072. We chat reading friendships, books we've read recently, and the difference between mystery and true crime. Cats are the bonus!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 092: Reading Friends Sarah and Preston.

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Listen via Stitcher

I am starting to schedule guests for 2018! If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ


Books featured:



Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese O'Neal
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
Marlena by Julie Buntin
While the City Slept by Eli Sanders
The End of Eddy by Edouard Louis
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Other mentions:

Liza Marklund - Annika Bengzton series
S.J. Bolton
List of female detectives on The Guardian, 2010
Karin Slaughter - Grant County series
Karin Slaughter - Will Trent series
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Boing Boing
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
For the Win by Cory Doctorow
The Center for Fiction -  First Novel Prize
Tournament of Books Summer Reading Challenge
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Rumpus book club
"The Bravest Woman in Seattle" by Eli Sanders
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Colm Toibin review of The End of Eddy (NYRB)
The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Camino Island by John Grisham

Related Episodes:

Episode 072 - Books Are My Bag with Sarah K
Episode 089 - Hodge Podge with Jenny alone 
Episode 091 - Watching Our Stories with Tracy Landrith  


Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Sarah on Facebook
Sarah is @SJTedford on Instagram and @SarahK on Litsy
Preston is not available on the internet

Reading Envy 086: The Queen of Bailing

How often do you set a book aside before finishing? Shawn DNF Mooney knows a little something about bailing on books, and so we tackle that issue before chatting about recent reads and more.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 086: The Queen of Bailing.
Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
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Or listen through TuneIn
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Listen via Stitcher

If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ

The first Reading Envy Readalong is coming in May next started this week!

Books featured:



Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
Island Home: A Landscape Memoir by Tim Winton*
The Bookshop that Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Other mentions:

Moonglow by Michael Chabon
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Book Lust by Nancy Pearl
Music and Silence by Rose Tremain
By the Book Column in NYRB - Ali Smith
Breath by Tim Winton
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Sharon Butala
The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich
Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale on HULU (not a paid advertisement)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke
Hard Light by Elizabeth Hand
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Related episodes:

Episode 077 - No One Messes With a Wolf with Shawn Mooney
Episode 085 - An Acquired Taste with Thomas Otto 
 
Stalk us online:

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

And for something super-meta, here is Shawn's Goodreads shelf labeled Reading Envy Podcast Recommends. 

*Jenny discovered this book comes out a week AFTER the posting date for this episode. My apologies; I really thought I had it right!