Reading Envy 224: School's Out with Elizabeth

Elizabeth is back, and on a school break, when she can read more of the books she has been meaning to get to. We also solve a literary mystery before the end of this episode.

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Reading Envy 224: School's Out

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Books discussed:

 

The Push by Ashley Audrain
The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein (Knight)
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle

Other mentions:

The Overstory by Richard Powers
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
The Heartbeat of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Tides by Jonathan White
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Helen Keller
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Nick by Michael Farris Smith
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Mink River by Brian Doyle
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
How to Carry Water by Lucille Clifton
Rememberings by Sinead O'Connor
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

Related episodes:

Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and Elizabeth
Episode 051 - Dreaming in Books with Karen
Episode 061 - Never Do That to a Book with Elizabeth
Episode 136 - Six Pack with Elizabeth
Episode 160 - Reading Plays with Elizabeth
Episode 201 - Wrestling with Complexity with Elizabeth and Laurie
Episode 202 - Jacket Flap with Chris and Emily

Stalk us online:

Elizabeth at Goodreads   
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: While Justice Sleeps

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every time I teach my Reading class, I ask my students to read a book from a genre they don't usually read, and then I try to do the same, although I've done this enough I'm now turning to subgenres. I've read thrillers, but never a legal thriller!

Avery Keene is the law clerk for one of the Supreme Court justices, and when he falls into a coma, she finds herself named his legal guardian. She is thrown into international intrigue and a string of hidden documents that only she can solve.

The audiobook includes an intro by Abrams, where she talks about the publishing journey that began in 1995, where publishers felt some of the characters were too unrealistic - a president out for his own financial gain, justices of questionable character, etc.

If you don't know who Stacey Abrams is, you should. She's a major political player, and I like this somewhat more distant profile of her at the BBC. She also writes romance novels under a pen name, Selena Montgomery.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me eBook access through NetGalley, even if I ultimately went for this in audio. It's out and ready for a listen/read.

View all my reviews

Reading Envy 220: Pronunciations with Scott

Scott returns from a coastal vacation and three recent reads. We also discuss group reads via BookTube, the appeal of series, and more.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 220: Pronunciations

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Books discussed:

 
Njal's Saga by Anonymous
True Story by Kate Reed Perry
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha Blaine
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

Other mentions:

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh
The Sagas of the Icelanders by Various
Sagalong on Youtube, episode 1
Tournament of Books - Yu
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin
How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
Freedom is a Constant Struggle  by Angela Y. Davis
The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Children of Ash & Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross
Even as we Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related episodes:

Episode 055 - Too Late for an Autopsy with Julie Davis
Episode 087 - Going Native with Bookclub Social with Amanda and Grace
Episode 088 - Author Head Space with Sara Moore
Episode 126 - Bernice Bobs her Hair with Jon Laubinger
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Episode 198 - Mood Reading with Robin

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. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

Review: Shelter

Shelter by Jung Yun
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A random act of criminal violence to an older Korean American couple quickly reveals cracks in the larger family system - financial and emotional, violence and secrets - I remember when this first came out and everyone insisted it was unputdownable and I have to agree! It's been sitting in my Audible library for a while.

One theme that interested me is looking at how people build community, who is there for you when bad things happen? Who are you beholden to? Whose feelings come first? Do you overlook past grievances when family is in crisis?

The Korean immigrant community is definitely an important force in this book, as well as how different generations of that community experience America.

View all my reviews

Reading Envy 213: Funicular Reads with Bianca

Bianca returns to talk about last year's reading, new goals, and comfort reads like found families and historical romance. There are a lot of geeky and nerdy characters in this episode as well.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 213: Funicular Reads.

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Books discussed: 

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
White Ivy by Susie Yang
One by One by Ruth Ware

Other mentions:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
#readwhatyouown
Pop Sugar Reading Challenge
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge
Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV
The Backstagers by James Tynion IV
Hawkeye: Kate Bishop by Kelly Thompson
Comixology
The Guild (tv show)
Magic the Gathering
Read or Dead podcast
Article about Spotify
It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Related episodes:

Episode 094 - House Arrest with Libby Young
Episode 127 - The Sadness Between Books with Bianca Escalante
Episode 145 - Things Get Dark with Bianca Escalante

Stalk us online:

Bianca is @bianca on Litsy
Bianca at Goodreads
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 170: Permission to Read with Joshua Greer

Joshua Greer has known Jenny since he worked for her in the music library as a new college student, and since then has gone on to become a librarian. We have been talking about having him on the podcast for a while, so I'm glad it finally worked out!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 170: Permission to Read with Joshua Greer

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Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify


Books discussed:

 

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
Crossing by Pajtim Statovci
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate


Other mentions:

Beaufort County (SC) Library
Bahni Turpin (narrator)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Frazer Douglas (narrator)
The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller
Tuvan throat singers
Russian Doll (tv show)
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Jim Dale (narrator)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
The Guardian Books podcast interview with Lucy Ellmann
Booker Prize Podcast


Related Episodes:

Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 100 - 100 Reasons Why
Episode 139 - Stocking Stuffer (Best Reads of 2018)
Episode 162 - Heat Rating with Sara DeSantis
Episode 167 - Book Pendulum with Reggie


Stalk us online:

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

Some of these links are Amazon affiliate links, where I do get a minor kickback when people click on them. Since I never beg for donations, I don't feel too bad about it.

Reading Envy 134: A Pastiche Romp with Ruthiella

Ruth, often known as Ruthiella, returns to the podcast to talk about several long books she has read and enjoyed lately. Jenny joins in with surprising selections. We talk about the pull of book lists for our own reading, and books we need to give a second chance.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 134: A Pastiche Romp with Ruthiella.

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Listen via Stitcher
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Books Discussed:



Possession by A.S. Byatt
Florida by Lauren Groff
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
Annie Muktuk and Other Stories by Norma Dunning


Other Discussion:

Man Booker Prize
National Book Award
Tournament of Books
Possession (film)
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Charles Dickens
Wilkie Collins
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
The Observations by Jane Harris
Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Kate Morton
Milkman by Anna Burns
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Rashaman (film)
Arcadia by Iain Pears
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Jonathan Argyll series (art history) by Iain Pears
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Books on the Nightstand podcast
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Books and Chocolate  blog - Back to Classics challenge
The Tin Drum by Günter Grass


Related episodes:

Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and Elizabeth
Episode 067 - Rain and Readability with Ruth(iella) 
Episode 085 - An Acquired Taste with Thomas Otto  
Episode 105 - Best Reads of 2017 
Episode 131 - Tartan Noir and More with Claire Duffy

Stalk us online:

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

Reading Envy 091: Watching Our Stories

Jenny talks Tracy into returning to the Reading Envy Pub, and to share what she is reading for the summer. We discuss HEA endings and why everything happy happens in Cornwall. There are a lot of ocean and beach reads on this list, plus a handful of others from Jenny's darker reading.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 091: Watching Our Stories.

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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:



The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe
Just This Once by Rosalind James (Escape to New Zealand Series #1)
Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan (Bell Harbor Series #1)
Ill Will by Dan Chaon
Escape for the Summer by Ruth Saberton (Escape Series #1)


Other mentions:

Sword and Laser Hum and Shiver discussion
Joanna’s shelf
Shall We Gather by Alex Bledsoe
The Two Weddings of Bronwyn Hyatt by Alex Bledsoe
Mandie books by Lois Gladys Leppard
Foxfire series
Haka by the NZ All Blacks
Man Booker Prize
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Marina Adair
Tournament of Books summer reading
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Love Between the Covers (film)
The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
Summer at the Little Wedding Shop by Jane Linfoot
Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop by Jane Linfoot
The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe
Harry Potter audiobooks narrated by Stephen Fry
Fran Rizer
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

Related Episodes:

Episode 063 - Desolation Road (book speed dating and books on grief)
Episode 064 - Reading Down the Rabbit Hole with guest Tracy Landrith
Episode 085 - An Acquired Taste with Thomas Otto
Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Tracy is maintaining stealth status

Books I Read in August 2016 (197 - 222)

Pictured: 5-star reads in August

197. Falling by Jane Green (review copy audiobook; my review)
198. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (library book; my review)*
199. Watching Edie by Camilla Way (review copy audiobook; my review)
200. Xala by Ousmane Sembene (interlibrary loan; my review)
201. Meat by Opal Carew (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
202. The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)*
203. The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Sambach (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
204. Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves (library book; my review)
205. Indelible by Adelia Saunders (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
206. Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (library book; my review)
207. Mathilda by Mary Shelley (Serial Reader; my review)
208. Angel Catbird Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
209. The Girls by Emma Cline (own from BOTM; my review)
210. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (library book; my review)
211. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (own; my review)
212. The Seventh Elephant by Alexis Stamatis (own; my review)
213. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (own in audio; my review)
214. My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber (interlibrary loan; my review)
215. My Antonia by Willa Cather (interlibrary loan; my review)
216. The Last Wish by Andrzei Sapkowski (own; my review)
217. Indiana by George Sand (own on Kindle; my review)
218. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
219. The Rain in Portugal: New Poems (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
220. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (interlibrary loan; my review)
221. Lady Susan by Jane Austen (Serial Reader; my review)
222. The Many by Wyl Menmuir (library book; my review)


Abandoned:
The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish
Hystopia by David Means
Eileen by Ottesa Moshfegh
Storm Rose by Corina Bomann

Reading Envy 059: Are You Inspired Yet?

Jenny follows through on her 2016 reading goals and brings you another book speed dating project! This time, she is determined to be more cutthroat.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 059: Are You Inspired Yet.

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Or listen on Google Play (new!)  


Books discussed:

Heart of the Original by Steve Aylett
Murder in the Stacks by Marion Havighurst
The Curfew by Jesse Ball
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman
The Believers by Zoë Heller
Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman
Ophelia and the Great Idea by Deborah Levy
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

Related Episodes:
Episode 015 - The Time for Exclaiming Over Costumes with Jean and Karen
Episode 036 - The Reader Sense of Ann VanderMeer with guest Ann VanderMeer
Episode 035 - Speed Dating Books
Episode 047 - Sex with Elvis: Bonus Book Speed Dating Episode 
Episode 050 - Open to Suggestion bonus episode 
Episode 056 - The Wall of Romance 
 
Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny on Instagram
Jenny on Litsy (search for ReadingEnvy)

Library Books Mid-May 2016

The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
The Front Seat Passenger by Pascal Garnier
You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories by Alice Walker
The Door by Magda Szabo
Some Day by Shemi Zarhin
The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston
Upstairs at the Strand: Writers in Conversation by Jessica Strand
Hotels of North America by Rick Moody
The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Arcadia by Iain Pears

I am teaching a reading class in the month of May for our May Experience term. Two of these books are in genres I haven't yet read - sports and Amish romance. I haven't decided which way to go so I may go both ways and read the Bissinger and the Clipston.

The McKenzie is on the Baileys shortlist, the Okorafor is on the Arthur C. Clarke shortlist (but I have read other books by her, and The Book of Phoenix is the prequel to my favorite, Who Fears Death.) The Moody just jumped out at me while at the public library, as did the Pears (I had tried the audio and couldn't get into it but still was intrigued by the description... I suspect this author may just not be for me....)

I requested the McCarry, the Garnier, the Walker, and the Zarhin through interlibrary loan. I loved the first Paul Christopher novel, and came across the Zarhin on a publisher's website sale. The Walker is the May read for a feminist book club in Goodreads; I've read poetry by Walker before but not short stories.

I have been wanting to read the Szabo but haven't cracked it yet. Robyn, my amazing co-worker with impeccable book taste, thought I might want to read the Strand so she saved it for me. I've dipped into one interview and enjoyed it, so I will likely read it in chunks between other things.

Reading Envy 054: Retired Pirates

Jenny is joined by Jason, a welcome repeat guest who comes on the podcast before and after the long gardening season. Jenny's two dogs are also in the background in the first half, gnawing on some bones. They meander downstairs by the end. Join us in the pub where we discuss pirates, dragons, sparse prose, and marriage.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 054: Retired Pirates.

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Book selections:



Black River by S.M. Hulse
You by Caroline Kepnes; Read by Santino Fontana
The Quiet Season by Jerry Apps
Wedlocked: A Memoir by Jay Ponteri
The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson-Smith
Uprooted by Naomi Novik


Other books mentioned:
Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr
A Night Without Armor by Jewel
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
We Have Raised All of You by Katy Simpson-Smith

Other mentions:
Deckle Edge Literary Festival
Open Book Series (Columbia, SC)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (tv show)
Frozen (film)
Scratch 'n' Spin (Columbia, SC)
Mary Oliver
A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (PBS show)
Paul Yoon
Nebula Awards

Related podcast episodes:
Reading Envy Episode 014: Flannery O'Connor with Zombies
Reading Envy Episode 025: Mule and Plow
Reading Envy Episode 042 - It Begins with Rain
Reading Envy Episode 046 - Books for Your Kitty Party (The Best of 2015) 

Stalk us online:
Jason on Twitter
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter