Books with Betsy

Episode 109 - A Slow Burn to a Big Fire with Brady Parkin

On this episode, Brady Parkin, @booksbybrady on Instagram, is a bookseller who enjoys reading broadly but focuses on literary fiction. We talk about the seemingly magical access he has as a bookseller, how awards lists impact reading, and he gives a lot of really great book recommendations.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Renovation [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780374609429] by Kenan Orhan  Stolen [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781668007167] by Ann-Helén Laestadius    Books Highlighted by Brady: Babel [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063021433] by R.F. Kuang  The Book of Luke [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781538770153] by Lovell Holder  The Poisonwood Bible [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780060786502] by Barbara Kingsolver  A Guardian and a Thief [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593804872] by Megha Majumdar  Things We Lost to the Water [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593311035] by Eric Nguyen  In Memoriam [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593467848] by Alice Winn  Giovanni’s Room [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780345806567] by James Baldwin  The Magnificent Ruins [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781643755861] by Nayantara Roy  Sisters of a Halved Heart [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781643757698] by Nayantara Roy The End of Drum Time [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250871817] by Hanna Pylväinen Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593466490] by Gabrielle Zevin  The Secret History [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781400031702] by Donna Tartt  Kaikeyi [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780759557307] by Vishnavi Patel  Middle Spoon [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593835173] by Alejandro Varela  The Emperor and the Endless Palace [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780778305231] by Justinian Huang  Orbital [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780802163622] by Samantha Harvey    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. [https://bookshop.org/lists/a-slow-burn-to-a-big-fire-with-brady-parkin]   Other books mentioned in this episode: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli  The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee  Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte  Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke  Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Episode 108 - Forced to Read with Lydia Plahn

On this episode, Lydia Plahn, a journalism student in Chicago, who talks about how she incorporates reading into her life as a student, how being a younger sister prompted her to read more as a child, and how important used bookstores are to her. We also talk about one of the classes she took entitled Millenial Fiction so lookout for that!!    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Warning Signs [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9798217059799] by Tracy Sierra  The Renovation [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780374609429] by Kenan Orhan    Books Highlighted by Lydia: Here in the Dark [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250883049] by Alexis Soloski  Slow Dance [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063380202] by Rainbow Rowell  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780307454546] by Stieg Larsson  Theater Kid [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781668064184] by Jeffrey Seller  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593466490] by Gabrielle Zevin  City of Girls [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781594634741] by Elizabeth Gilbert  Conversations with Friends [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780451499066] by Sally Rooney Life Would be Perfect if I Lived in that House [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780307454843] by Meghan Daum Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781501163883] by Francis Spufford  An American Marriage [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781616208684] by Tayari Jones   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. [https://bookshop.org/lists/forced-to-read-with-lydia-plahn]   Other books mentioned in this episode: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery  A Journey to the New World (Dear America) by Kathryn Lasky  American Girl by Sydney Hanson  Flashout by Alexis Soloski  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell  Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan  Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James  It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover Verity by Colleen Hoover  Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert  Normal People by Sally Rooney  Luster by Raven Leilani  Real Life by Brandon Taylor  Kin by Tayari Jones  Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott

Episode 107 - Book Club - Girl, Woman, Other

On this episode, Sam and Maggie from Off Color Book Club join me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, Girl, Woman, Other [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780802156983] by Bernardine Evaristo.    My Book Club Guide [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_JwAVuJH64hrf4Io2O9iqaivnT9Cfjdgkz4VxBNeacU/edit?usp=sharing] If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 16th to discuss A Visit From the Goon Squad [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780307477477] by Jennifer Egan. All are welcome!

Episode 106 - Do You Even Like Reading with Sirenna Blas

On this episode, Sirenna Blas, of @sirenbee_readsnthings on instagram, talks about how her life as a stay at home mom affords her amazing reading time. We also talk about how she is not afraid to give a spicy review, who she wants an adaptation from, and how she brings the reading life alive with her kiddos.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Kin [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780525659181] by Tayari Jones A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063419292] by Alice Evelyn Yang  Girl, Woman, Other [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780802156983] by Bernardine Evaristo    Books Highlighted by Sirenna: Mapping the Interior [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250406026] by Stephen Graham Jones  Shark Heart: A Love Story [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781668006504] by Emily Habeck Hamnet [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781984898876] by Maggie O’Farrell Joy is My Middle Name [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781324110675] by Sasha Debevec-McKenney The Undocumented Americans [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780399592706] by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Endling [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780385545310] by Maria Reva Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781662603365] by Ingrid Robeyns The Reformatory [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781982188351] by Tananarive Due  Antelope Woman [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780062375285] by Louise Erdrich  Dominion [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780374609337] by Addie E. Citchens  Enter Ghost [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780802163301] by Isabella Hammad    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. [https://bookshop.org/lists/do-you-even-like-reading-with-sirenna-blas]   Other books mentioned in this episode: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle  The WIld Robot by Peter Brown  Laleh and the Language of the Birds by Perin Gurel  Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes by Eric Litwin & James Dean  Kin by Tayari Jones Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones  The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup  Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte  Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio  The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw  The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw

Episode 105 - The Absolute Most with Vanessa Diaz

On this episode, Vanessa Diaz, managing editor with Book Riot, talks about how her reading life is affected by her job, recommends woman-led mysteries, and talks about her current favorite authors. If you like witchy books, you have a lot of really great recommendations in this episode.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Kin [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780525659181] by Tayari Jones Yesteryear [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593804216] by Caro Claire Burke  The Girls Who Grew Big [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593801123] by Leila Mottley    Books Highlighted by Vanessa: Practical Magic [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780425190371] by Alice Hoffman  Gods of Jade and Shadow [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780525620778] by Sylvia Moreno Garcia  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780385343497] by Alan Bradley  Like Water for Chocolate [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780385420174] by Laura Esquivel  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063221086] by Agatha Christie  The Scammer [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063271272] by Tiffany D. Jackson  An Ember in the Ashes [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781595148049] by Saba Tahir  The Song of Achilles [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780062060624] by Madeline Miller  Liliana’s Invincible Summer [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593244111] by Christina Rivera Garza  A Tip for the Hangman [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593311349] by Allison Epstein You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780063383234] by Vincent Tirado  Murder in G Major [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781635110579] by Alexia Gordon  Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780307279286] by Patrick Radden Keefe A Study in Scarlet Women [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780425281406] by Sherry Thomas  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781949199734] by Deesha Philyaw We Need No Wings [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781728258508] by Ann Dávila Cardinal  The Widow of Rose House [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250297853] by Diana Biller    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. [https://bookshop.org/lists/the-absolute-most-with-vanessa-diaz]   Other books mentioned in this episode: Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe  London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe  The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  The Correspondent by Virginia Evans  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt  The Secret History by Donna Tartt