Episode 110 - Chicagoan by Choice with Molly Page

Episode 110 - Chicagoan by Choice with Molly Page

On this episode, Molly Page, @mollypg on instagram, talks about her project visiting all of the branches of the Chicago Public Library, how her writing is how she first fell in love with words, and how adaptations drive most of her reading decisions. We also talk a lot about Chicago and how amazing it is to be a reader in the city!    100 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Die [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781681062396]   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Lost Lambs [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780374619237] by Madeline Cash  Rental House [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593545553] by Weike Wang    Books Highlighted by Molly: Trust [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780593420324] by Hernan Diaz  The Need [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781982113179] by Helen Phillips  Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781509564446] by Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan  Oona Out of Order [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250236616] by Margarita Montimore Lilian Boxfish Takes a Walk [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250151162] by Kathleen Rooney Starter Villain [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781250879394] by John Scalzi  Yearbook [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9781984825421] by Seth Rogan  Who is This City For?: Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago [https://bookshop.org/a/103140/9780226822730] by Blair Kamin & Lee Bey   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. [https://bookshop.org/lists/chicagoan-by-choice-with-molly-page]   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Odyssey by Homer, trans. Emily Wilson  A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan  Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman  All This and More by Peng Shepherd  Hum by Helen Phillips

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