Reading Envy 232: Barkskins Readalong

I am joined by Nadine, Vinny, Laurie, and Bryn to discuss Barkskins by Annie Proulx. We bring in some of the discussion in Goodreads as well as some fresh eyes on this text.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 232: Barkskins Readalong

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Books discussed: 

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

Other mentions:

Love Medicine series by Louise Erdrich
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
London by Edward Rutherfurd
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
First Americans Museum
Thirty Nine Restaurant
Meridian by Alice Walker
Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstaya, translated by Jamey Gambrell

Related episodes: 

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Episode 185 - The Loyal Swineherd (Odyssey readalong)
Episode 193 - And I Feel Fine (Ducks, Newburyport READALONG)
Episode 221 - Joint Poetry Readalong with the Book Cougars
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Braiding Sweetgrass
Books on the Go - Ep. 121 - American Sunrise with Jenny Colvin 

Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Reading Envy Readers in Goodreads


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.

Readalong Announcement - joint readalong with the Book Cougars

Book Cougars - Reading Envy
Joint Readalong





Reading Envy Readalong hosts:

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Joy Harjo
Bonus read: A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

Ongoing weekly discussion in the Reading Envy Readers group, starts April 4
Listeners discussion of When the Light of the World - hosted by Jenny/Reading Envy, 5/8/21, time TBD
Jenny/Reading Envy and Book Cougars discussion of When the Light of the World plus just poetry in general, 5/12/21
Recorded discussion with Book Cougars posted 6/1/2021
Recorded group discussion of WtLofW posted 6/8/2021, tentative

If you'd like a schedule for suggest reading to keep pace, please scroll down.

Book Cougars will host:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

| Link to Book Cougars GoodReads group for discussion |

Listeners discussion of Braiding Sweetgrass - hosted by Book Cougars, 5/30/21
Book Cougars and Jenny/Reading Envy discussion of Braiding Sweetgrass, 6/2/21
Recorded discussion of Braiding Sweetgrass will take place on Episode 131, dropping 6/8 

***

Suggested Reading Schedule for When the Light....

Blessing, Intro, Northeast and Midwest
1-98
April 4-10

Plains and Mountains
99-170
April 11-17

Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Pacific Islands
171-265
April 18-24

Southwest and West
267-355
April 25-May 1

Southeast, Outro, Acknowledgements
357-423
May 2-8

Reading Envy 204: BookTube Season with Scott

While a lot of readers have struggled during the pandemic, Scott had a reading breakthrough this past year. We talk about BookTube, places for readalongs, and books we've read and liked recently.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 204: BookTube Season

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
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New! Listen through Google Podcasts


Books discussed:

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Last Call by Tim Powers

Other mentions:

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
Coode St. Podcast with Arkady Martine
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
Sistah Scifi
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Great & Secret Show by Clive Barker
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Get Booked Podcast
Hugos There Podcast
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Everyone who Reads Must Converse (YouTube)
Endymion by Dan Simmons
A Case of Conscience by James Blish
Welcome Home: An Anthology of Love and Adoption edited by Eric Smith

Related episodes:

Episode 009 - Pirates and Noonday Demons
Episode 039 - Paranoid Squint with Fred
Episode 058 - Wishing for a Sequel with Scott D. Danielson
Episode 123 - Godlets and Forests with Lauren Weinhold
Episode 202 - Jacket Flap with Chris and Emily

Shelf Wear - Book 3 - The Only Good Indians
 

Stalk us online:

Scott on A Good Story is Hard to Find (podcast)
Scott on Shelf Wear (blog and podcast)
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, and less to Jeff Bezos. I only link to Amazon in cases where Bookshop.org does not carry a backlist title, which took place a few times for this list.

Reading Envy 193: And I Feel Fine (Ducks, Newburyport Readalong)

In the midst of protests and a pandemic, Jenny hosts a bonus readalong discussion of Ducks, Newburyport. What seems like the random thoughts of a pie-making Midwestern woman turn out to be so much more, and we untangle only a few of the threads in this complex tome. Spoilers Inside.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 193: And I Feel Fine

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
Or listen via Stitcher
Or listen through Spotify 
New! Listen through Google Podcasts


Books discussed:



Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann


Other mentions:

Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Bibliography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
JennyBakes - lemon drizzle cake disaster
JennyBakes - tarte tatin
Reading Envy Readers (Goodreads group)
After the Cuyahoga River Fire - Great Lakes Now (video)
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick
Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Apocalypse Whenever (Goodreads group)
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
The City and the City by China Mieville
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
Marchpane review of Ducks, Newburyport
It's the End of the World by R.E.M.


Related episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 093 - Spewing Science with Jeff Koeppen
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 116 - Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again with Jeff Koeppen
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook
Episode 148 - Multiple Lives with Jeff 
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Episode 185 - The Loyal Swineherd (Odyssey readalong)
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl
 

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  

Upcoming Reading Envy Readalong

The last episode of the Reading Envy Podcast included a brief announcement of the next Reading Envy Readalong title: Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann. (Join in on the weekly conversations in the Reading Envy Readers Goodreads Group.)

Buy me on Amazon
Buy me on Audible (45 hours)
Find me on Hoopla (as of this posting, a bonus download)
Order from Bookshop.org (linking to one of my local stores)
Order from Malaprops (another favorite local store)

You may wonder, why this book?

For one thing, it is massive, at 1040 pages. I need a group to help me through! And I understand it to be very few sentences, and it just goes on in a stream of consciousness style. It's written by a female author, it's about a woman, it's in the woman's head.

For another thing, it received a lot of acclaim. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (I expected it to win!), winner of the Goldsmiths Prize, listed on year-end lists for many publications not to mention the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Time Magazine.

I also understand it to be the internal dialogue of a very busy woman who is juggling children and housework while feeling deep concern for the political landscape and more. In some ways it seemed like this might be a good read while we are all feeling extra domestic.

A few items you can look at to further acquaint yourself:


The Guardian Books Podcast Interview with Lucy Ellmann (I was charmed!)

WhatKamilReads review of the book (one of my favorite BookTube accounts)

LitHub Interview with the author, 2019 (calls her the Great American Novelist, but she moved to the UK in 1970)
Vogue interview about the Twitter controversy over her comments on motherhood (ooh, controversy!)

Reading Schedule

This is a hard one but I'm going to push us a little harder than we pushed on The Odyssey. Since you just have to jab a bookmark in and interrupt the flow regardless, you might as well immerse into the narrative 175 pages at a time. Right? Right!

April 19-25 1-174
April 26-May 2 175-349
May 3-9 350-524
May 10-16 525-659
May 17-23 700-824
May 24-30 825-1040 (just slip those last few pages in here)

I'm hoping we can record a readalong discussion on the 31st. I feel we waited too long with The Odyssey and I want us all to be fresh. I hope you can join in! Details for the online discussion will be in the Goodreads group.

Reading Envy 185: Loyal Swineherd (The Odyssey Readalong)

Jeff, Nadine, Robin, Nikki, Lindy, and Elizabeth joined me on a Saturday afternoon to discuss the most recent Reading Envy Readalong - The Odyssey by Homer, most of us reading the translation by Emily Wilson, some reading the translation by Wilson as narrated by Claire Danes. We reflected on favorite moments, memorable characters, and our own experiences with this (literally) epic work. Did you readalong or have more to share? Please leave a comment!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 185: Loyal Swineherd

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
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Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify

Other mentions:

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Alexander Pope
The Odyssey by Homer, graphic novel adaptation by Gareth Hinds
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
House of Names by Colm Toibin
Ulysses by James Joyce
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
Orfeo ed Euridice by Wilhelm Gluck (opera)
Hadestown (musical)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
ODY-C by Matt Fraction
Memorial by Alice Oswald
Black Odyssey by Marcus Gardley (play)
Ransom by David Malouf


Related Episodes:
 
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl


Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
All readalongs are #readingenvyreadalong on all social media

Reading Envy 180: Readalong Announcement

We have read some great books together over the last few years. For the first Reading Envy Readalong of 2020, we will be reading The Odyssey by Homer, as translated by Emily Wilson. I talk about it oh so briefly on this micro episode, and there are links and more information below. We commence February 16th! I will be doing a combo of reading the hardcover and listening to the audio.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 180: Readalong Announcement.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
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Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify

Book links:



The Odyssey by Homer, as translated by Emily Wilson (Hardcover)
The Odyssey by Homer, as translated by Emily Wilson (Paperback)
The Odyssey by Homer, as translated by Emily Wilson, narrated by Claire Danes (Audible)


Readalong links:

Reading Envy Readers (Goodreads Group)
Please use #readingenvyreadalong when you post about it in social media so I will catch it!


Readalong Schedule:

It looks like the (Emily Wilson translation at least) has 24 books plus a lengthy introduction. I'm a weirdo who saves intros for last so my schedule will reflect that.

February 9-15: Acquire book
February 16-22: Books 1-6
February 23-29: Books 7-12
March 1-7: Books 13-18
March 8-14: Books 19-24
March 15-21: Intro, maps, catch up
March 22-28: Readalong discussion (recorded for podcast episode, specific date TBD)

This looks like a lot of pages every week but what I've learned in previous readalongs is that momentum tends to be better with larger chunks for most readers. I have allowed for a catch-up week before our final discussion. Last year we had no group discussions and I really missed it, so we will definitely do that this time. It's not required but the more the merrier!


Related episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl

Stalk me online:

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

Reading Envy 177: An Unnamed Middle Eastern Country (Goals 2020)

Jenny starts off the year by discussing reading goals - how did her reading goals end up for 2019, what additional goals did she end up adding, and what goals has she set for 2020? As always I love to hear about your goals for the year. As the Reading Envy Podcast rolls over into its sixth year, there are many more reading adventures to explore.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 177: An Unnamed Middle Eastern Country (Goals 2020).

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


Episode 140 - Woman Greets Bear (Reading Goals 2019)
Back to the Classics wrap-up post
Reading in Asia 2019 wrap-up post
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl
Recommended Reads in Memoir (April 2019)
Recommended Reads in Poetry (April 2019)
Recommended Reads in Music (May 2019
Recommended Reads for Women in Translation Month (July 2019)
Recommended Foodie Reads (November 2019)
Episode 174 - Cozy Holiday Reads and TBR Explode 4

Middle East TBR 2020

Books under consideration for readalongs:

The Odyssey as translated by Emily Wilson (592)
Possession by A.S. Byatt (576)
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (1040)
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko (786)

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

Mid-Year Reading Goal Checkpoint

You can check out my original goals post to see what I was thinking of doing this year. The main reading project I took on that isn't mentioned is the TBR Explode project, which I've been updating every three months.

1. Read Asia

I'm currently reading two more books that will count for this challenge, but here is what I've read so far:

Burma/Myanmar
The Long Path to Wisdom: Tales from Burma by Jan-Philipp Sendker

China
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation edited by Ken Liu
Double Awesome Chinese Food by Margaret Li

Japan
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
My Brother's Husband V. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame  

My Brother's Husband V. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame

Laos
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

The Philippines
America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
The Body Papers by Grace Talusan
Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Singapore
Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu

Thailand
Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana
The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

Vietnam
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

2. Host two readalongs

Right on time with this. I participated in two joint readalongs with the Book Cougars, and hosted the one for Gone with the Wind on Reading Envy. We have started discussing the fall readalong in the Goodreads group.

3. Six themed recommendations episodes

I'm not sure if I'll make it to 6! But here are the three we've done so far:

April - Poetry with Lauren
Late April - Memoir with Karen
May- Music with Thomas

4. Back to the Classics Challenge

Since I read almost exclusively new and upcoming stuff (whoops,) this is an attempt to read more classics! I gave myself the easy goal of only fulfilling half these categories, so 6, and I've done 5. I'll only list books I have completed, removing the books I might read from my original list in December. In the end I may rearrange some of these, because I'm likely to read more than one classic book from the Americas, but maybe only Gone with the Wind will count for the really long one.

1. 19th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1800 and 1899.

2. 20th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1900 and 1969. All books in this category must have been published at least 50 years ago. The only exceptions are books that were published posthumously but were written at least 50 years ago.
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West (1956)

3. Classic by a Woman Author.
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

4. Classic in Translation. Any classic originally written in a novel other than your native language. You may read the book in your native language, or its original language (or a third language for all you polyglots!) Modern translations are acceptable, as long as the book was originally published at least 50 years ago. Books in translation are acceptable in all other categories as well.
The Popul Vuh (new translation by Michael Bazzett)

5. Classic Comic Novel. Any comedy, satire, or humorous work. Humor is very subjective, so if you think Crime and Punishment is hilarious, go ahead and use it, but if it's a work that's traditionally not considered humorous, please tell us why in your post. Some classic comic novels: Cold Comfort Farm; Three Men in a Boat; Lucky Jim; and the works of P. G. Wodehouse.

6. Classic Tragic Novel. Tragedies traditionally have a sad ending, but just like the comedies, this is up for the reader to interpret. Examples include The Grapes of Wrath, House of Mirth, and Madame Bovary.

7. Very Long Classic. Any classic single work 500 pages or longer, not including introductions or end notes. Omnibus editions of multiple works do not count. Since page counts can vary depending on the edition, average the page count of various editions to determine the length.

8. Classic Novella. Any work of narrative fiction shorter than 250 pages.

9. Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean). Includes classic set in either continent or the Caribbean, or by an author originally from one of those countries.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia). Any classic set in one of those contents or islands, or by an author from these countries. Examples include Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt); The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki (Japan); On the Beach by Nevile Shute (Australia); Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria).

11. Classic From a Place You've Lived. Read locally! Any classic set in a city, county, state or country in which you've lived, or by a local author. Choices for me include Giant by Edna Ferber (Texas); Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Chicago); and Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Germany).

12. Classic Play. Any play written or performed at least 50 years ago. Plays are eligible for this category only.
A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen (audio)

Reading Envy 157: Joint Readalong - Gone with the Wind with the Book Cougars

Jenny received Chris Wolak and Emily Fine (known as The Book Cougars) at the Reading Envy Pub for mint juleps and a discussion of Gone with the Wind, a book many of us have been reading along in May and June.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 157: Reading Envy Joint Readalong: Gone with the Wind, with the Book Cougars

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Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify 

Book discussed:



Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell


Other mentions:

Reading Envy Goodreads Group - Gone with the Wind discussion
The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall
Ruth's Journey by Donald McCaig
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel (documentary)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
O Pioneers by Willa Cather
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Carol Burnett Show: "Went with the Wind" 
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather (upcoming readalong over on Book Cougars!)

Book Cougars Goodreads Group - Sapphira and the Slave Girl discussion


Related Episodes:

Episode 085 - An Acquired Taste with Thomas Otto
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook


Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Book Cougars website/podcast
Book Cougars are @bookcougars in Instagram

Reading Envy 149: TBR Explode!

Jenny kicks off a short bonus episode with a joint readalong announcement, and covers three months of her TBR Explode project.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 149: TBR Explode!

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
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Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify

Just a few of the books in the TBR Explode Project!

Books mentioned:

Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, A History by Lewis Buzbee
The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegard
Standing in the Light by Sharman Apt Russell
My Life at First Try by Mark Budman
When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Karnak Cafe by Naguib Mahfouz
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon
Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
The Vegan Monologues by Ben Shaberman
Ask the Dust by John Fante
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Lady Vernon and her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Omega the Unknown by Jonathan Lethem
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux
Symmetry by Marcus du Sautoy
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams

Other mentions:
Book Cougars Episode 73
Book Cougars Goodreads discussion board
Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta
Reading Envy Readers in Goodreads (for weekly discussions of readalong)

Related Episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden
Episode 099 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World 
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook 


Stalk us online:

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

Reading Envy 140: Woman Greets Bear (Reading Goals 2019)

Reading goals, old and new!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 140: Woman Greets Bear (Reading Goals 2019)

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
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Listen via Stitcher
NEW! Listen through Spotify

Reading Goals 2018


1. Read Canada and Alaska
Canada and Alaska Reading Roundup

2. Complete six book speed-dating projects
I did five!
Episode 113 - Speed Dating 2018, round 1
Episode 117 - Speed Dating 2018, round 2
Episode 120 - Summer Reading; Speed Dating 2018, round 3
Episode 128 - Poetry and Whale Guts (Bonus episode; Speed Dating 2018, round 4)
Episode 135 - Speed Dating 2018, Round 5 

3. Host two Reading Envy readalongs
Complete!
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook

4. Reading challenges

Reading Women Challenge
Complete!

Unread Shelf Project 2018 (found in Instagram)
Not really! I talk about it during the episode.

5. Keep book data outside of Goodreads
Planner and Google spreadsheet.

Reading Goals 2019

1. Read Asia

Books set in Asian countries I still need to tackle, from my collection

2. Host two readalongs
3. Six themed recommendations episodes
4. Back to the Classics Challenge (see my potential choices)

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

Reading Envy 137: Readalong - The Golden Notebook

Vinny and Jenny discuss the last Reading Envy Readalong for the year, and we picked a challenging one! This is Vinny's second read of the novel, while Jenny is still trying to make sense of her first reading experience. We touch on form, history, feminism, "women's literature," Instagram culture, and more.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 137: Reading Envy Readalong - The Golden Notebook.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
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Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
NEW! Listen through Spotify


Books Discussed:

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

Other Discussion:

Bio and facts from Nobel Prize website
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell by Doris Lessing
Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian
The Golden Notebook joint read (with annotations, entire text online)
Survey about readalongs in 2019

Related episodes:

Episode 085 - An Acquired Taste with Thomas Otto
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World

Stalk us online:

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

Reading Envy 128: Poetry and Whale Guts

It's a bonus hodgepodge episode, including a wrap-up of Reading Envy Summer Reading, my fourth round of book speed-dating for 2018, and an announcement of the fall Reading Envy Readalong.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 128: Poetry and Whale Guts.

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

Summer Reading Wrap-Up:

Reading Envy Roadtrip

Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities, and the Pleasures of Solitude by Stephanie Rosenbloom
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
The Last Cruise by Kate Christensen
Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite
Grey Granite by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre
Republic of Dirt by Susan Juby

Reading Envy Picnic
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
The Late Bloomers' Club by Louise Miller
1-2-3-4 Cake
Burnt Sugar Cake with Maple Icing

Canada and Alaska
The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban
Home to Woefield by Susan Juby
Alaska by James Michener
Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Light reads, funny reads
Stray City by Chelsey Johnson
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Speed Dating, Round 4 of 2018 - #scienceseptember

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd by Karsten Heuer
The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell’s Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears by Nick Jans
Leaving Resurrection: Chronicles of a Whale Scientist by Eva Saulitis
The Last Light Breaking: Living Among Alaska’s Inupiat Eskimos by Nick Jans
The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky by Ellen Meloy
The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben
Travels in Alaska by John Muir
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
Coming into the Country by John McPhee

Reading Envy Readalong for Fall 2018
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Reading Women Challenge 2018
The Guardian - 50 Years On 
NPR - Fresh Air Remembers The Golden Notebook
LitHub - Reading The Golden Notebook During a Summer of Too Many Weddings

Related Episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff 
Episode 113 - Speed Dating 2018, round 1
Episode 116 - Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again with Jeff Koeppen
Episode 117 - Speed Dating 2018, round 2
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World 
Episode 120 - Summer Reading; Speed Dating 2018, round 3 


Stalk me online:

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

Reading Envy Summer Reading

Ahoy! I have posted the official rules for Reading Envy Summer Reading in Goodreads, but wanted to post it elsewhere on the internet to allow for more participation. This isn't the same as a Readalong but there will be another one of those in the fall.

Instead, we are going to have a summer road trip and a summer picnic, only in the books we read!

Reading Envy Roadtrip Rules

1. Read a book about a place that isn't where you are. And yes, you may interpret this however you want. It can be any genre.
2. Bonus points for reading it in that actual place, like on vacation or a business trip.
3. Bonus points for a book about a trip.
4. Go to the Goodreads group (optional) and share your roadtrip read, and Jenny will create a map at the end of the summer.
5. If you post about it in Instagram or Litsy, please also add #readingenvyroadtrip


Reading Envy Picnic Rules

1. Read a foodie book. It can be a memoir, a mystery (or other genre) with recipes, a cookbook, etc.
2. Bonus points for making a recipe from that book.
3. Go to the Goodreads group (optional) and share your picnic read, and Jenny will create a menu at the end of the summer.
4. If you post about it in Instagram or Litsy, please also add #readingenvypicnic

Happy reading!

(When does summer start/end? Well, I'm on an academic calendar that rushes the lunar/solar calendar, so I'm calling summer June through August.)

Reading Envy 118: Readalong - To the Bright Edge of the World

Vinny, Jeff, Nadine, AmyB, and Carol join Jenny at the table in the corner of the Reading Envy pub to discuss our latest readalong. There are a few sounds from the resident pets but what can you expect?

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 118: Readalong 3.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
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Book Discussed:



To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

Other Mentions:

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
American Army History Museum - Colonel Allen expedition (historical basis of novel)
Interview with author and her editors 
Two Old Women by Velma Wallis
Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock

Related Episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff 
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 104 - Uppity Lives and Jelly Melons with Jason Roland  

Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Jeff at Goodreads
Jeff on Twitter
Jeff is @jeffkoeppen on Litsy
Carol Ann is @thebookandbeyond on Instagram
Vinny is @billypar on Litsy
Nadine is @nadine on Litsy
Amy is @bookchipmunk on Litsy

Reading Envy 099: Readalong of The Secret History

Our first readalong was so much fun that we had another one just a few months later. This time the vote was between four books by women, and this one swept the vote with almost 43% (see the chart below.) The book must have been in the air, because Book of the Month randomly offered it as an add-on (not a paid advertisement) and it felt like a bunch of people were reading it even before the readalong started. The book is 25 years old and still holds up, and we had a lot to talk about. I was joined by Carol Ann, Jeff, Ellie, Vinny (in text), and Sue near the end. What a great group with which to talk about this mighty tome!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 099: Readalong of The Secret History.

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

If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ

Look at all the posts from the readalong in social media!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Books discussed, other than The Secret History:

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt


Thanks to everyone who read along! Feel free to take the survey about the readalong if you have feedback or want to nominate a book for next time.

Related episodes:

Episode 081 - Reading Envy Readalong
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff 

Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Ellie is @elliedottie on Litsy
Jeff at Goodreads
Jeff on Twitter
Jeff is @jeffkoeppen on Litsy
Carol Ann is @thebookandbeyond on Instagram
Vinny is @billypar on Litsy

Take Poll for Reading Envy Readalong No. 2

It's time to plan for the next Reading Envy Readalong! There is no fee or participation level requirement. This is to tackle another mighty tome along with other readers.

How to participate:

1. Read descriptions (below)
2. Join Goodreads group for discussion
3. Take poll to select book (by August 10)
4. Purchase book by September 1
5. Participate using #readingenvyreadalong in Instagram or Litsy; participate in discussion in Goodreads or by joining in on final episode recording (watch for call.)


Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871, 904 pages)

By the time the novel appeared to tremendous popular and critical acclaim in 1871-2, George Eliot was recognized as England's finest living novelist. It was her ambition to create a world and portray a whole community--tradespeople, middle classes, country gentry--in the rising provincial town of Middlemarch, circa 1830. Vast and crowded, rich in narrative irony and suspense, Middlemarch is richer still in character, in its sense of how individual destinies are shaped by and shape the community, and in the great art that enlarges the reader's sympathy and imagination. It is truly, as Virginia Woolf famously remarked, 'one of the few English novels written for grown-up people'.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992, 559 pages)

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962, 640 pages)

Anna is a writer, author of one very successful novel, who now keeps four notebooks. In one, with a black cover, she reviews the African experience of her earlier year. In a red one she records her political life, her disillusionment with communism. In a yellow one she writes a novel in which the heroine reviles part of her own experience. And in the blue one she keeps a personal diary. Finally, in love with an American writer and threatened with insanity, Anna tries to bring the threads of all four books together in a golden notebook.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006, 433 pages)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie weaves together the lives of three characters swept up in the turbulence of a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s, and the chilling violence that followed.

Reading Envy 090: Readalong of East of Eden

For the past few months, readers have been participating in the first-ever Reading Envy Readalong, of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Two of those readers, Ellie and Jeff, were brave enough to join Jenny on a rainy evening to discuss the book. This conversation contains spoilers and no summary of East of Eden, so you may want to catch up before you listen.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 090: Readalong of East of Eden.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via iTunes by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher

If you are interested in appearing on the podcast: FAQ

Thanks to everyone who read along! Feel free to take the survey about the readalong if you have feedback or want to nominate a book for next time.

Books discussed, other than East of Eden:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Loved Ones by Sonya Chung
The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
The Long Valley by John Steinbeck
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters by John Steinbeck
Genesis 4

Related episodes:

Episode 074 - The Books We Didn't Love in High School with Blaine DeSantis
Episode 077 - No One Messes With a Wolf with Shawn Mooney
Episode 081 - Reading Envy Readalong

Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Ellie is @elliedottie on Litsy
Jeff at Goodreads
Jeff on Twitter
Jeff is @jeffkoeppen on Litsy