Books with Betsy
Books with Betsy is a podcast that celebrates the reading life of all readers. Each week, Betsy interviews a different person about their reading life. Listen for book recommendations, reading tips, and to join in the joy that reading brings. And remember, anyone who reads is a reader.
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Episodes
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
On this episode, Caroline Pilman, a fellow Chicago Public Schools teacher, and I discuss the many ways of reading, all of which are acceptable. We also discuss a shared pet peeve in children’s literature, how a seasonal career can affect the reading life, and how Chicago Public Schools does one thing right.
American Library Association Lists
CPS Battle of the Books 2025
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Amatka by Karin Tidbeck
Devil House by John Darnielle
Books Highlighted by Caroline:
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Kristy’s Great Idea (The Babysitters Club #1) by Ann M. Martin
The Giver by Lois Lowry
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson
Monday Jun 02, 2025
Monday Jun 02, 2025
On this episode, Meara McNitt, a social media professional who loves stories of all types, discusses her love for all kinds of books, including an interest that her friends suggest she doesn’t yell about in the bookstore. She talks about a lot of books that haven’t appeared on the show yet and I go on a bit of a rant about one of my favorite hot takes.
Meara on TikTok
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
Books Highlighted by Meara:
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Matched by Ally Condie
Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots: Bailey School Kids #1 by Debbie Dadey
Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz & Stephen Gammell
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Hose of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
The Belladonna Collection by Adalyn Grace
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Severance by Ling Ma
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984 by Sandra Newman
Monday May 26, 2025
Monday May 26, 2025
On this episode, Austin Waters, a friend of mine from high school, describes how he has had lots of experience with many different types of reading and writing. We discuss reading plays, how we read so many good books in high school, and how competition in reading can be detrimental.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Books Highlighted by Austin:
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Assata: an Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon
Someone Like You by Roald Dahl
My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner
Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live by Rob Dunn
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Educated by Tara Westover
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson & GB Trudeau
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Decoded by Jay-Z
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Martin McDonagh
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
The Epic of Gilgamesh trans. Andrew George
Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
On The Calculation of Volume Book I by Solvej Balle, trans. Barbara J. Haveland
House of Fury by Evelio Rosero, trans. Victor Meadowcroft
On The Clock by Claire Baglin, trans. Jordan Stump
Monday May 19, 2025
Monday May 19, 2025
On this episode, Chelsey Stone, a freelance writer and book tour leader, describes herself as someone who reads to learn. She brings a lot of really great non-fiction books to the show, and while some of them can be a bit of a bummer, these books help Chelsey learn more about herself and the world while facing reality through reading.
NatGeo article about the Chicago River
Read and Run on the Road in DC
Guided Tour of Lemont’s Waterways
Book Talk and Signing for The Kat Bunglar with Tanima Kazi
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
Books Highlighted by:
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barabara Demick
The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of WWII by Iris Chang
Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
How to Read a Book by Charles Van Doren and Mortimer J. Adler
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Instagram for Dummies by Corey Walker, et al
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
The Address Book by Deirdre Mask
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse by Tara Nurin & Teri Fahrendorf
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
Monday May 12, 2025
Monday May 12, 2025
On this episode, Johannah @memydogandbooks who loves to shout about books on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and I discuss leaning into cozy hobbies, reading widely and eclectically, and an overlapping prize interest for us. We also discuss how horror is an underrated genre and why it works, even for scaredy-cats!
Find Johanna on Instagram
Find Johanna on TikTok
Find Johanna on YouTube
Book Talk and Signing for The Kat Bunglar with Tanima Kazi
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, & Girlboss by Kim Hong Nguyen
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Books Highlighted by Johanna:
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
Bad Habit by Alana S. Portero
Duck Feet by Ely Percy
On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, trans. Sarah Moses
Doppleganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Never Flinch by Stephen King
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, trans. Sarah Moses
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
The Return by Rachel Harrison
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
The Between by Tananarive Due
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Monday May 05, 2025
Monday May 05, 2025
On this episode, Hannah Gordon, a fellow CPS teacher and I discuss the importance of the library as a public service, how your reading life can turn around from what people expect of you as a child, and she brings some really great books to the show that haven’t been talked about yet.
Find Hannah on TikTok
Book Talk and Signing for The Kat Bunglar with Tanima Kazi
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Are You Happy? By Lori Ostlund
On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle
The Kat Bunglar by Tanima Kazi
Books Highlighted by Hannah:
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
My Death by Lisa Tuttle
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, trans. Ruth L.C. Simms
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali, trans. Maureen Freely & Alexander Dawes
Penance by Eliza Clark
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal el Sadaawi
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Severance by Ling Ma
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
Monday Apr 28, 2025
Monday Apr 28, 2025
On this episode, Christopher Hermelin, host of the podcast So Many Damn Books and I discuss his life that revolves around books, our shared love for stories on the continuum of weird, and we both go on a bit of a tear about over-comped books. You can also hear me get totally sucked in by something Christopher recommends.
So Many Damn Books
The Roving Typist
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Are You Happy? By Lori Ostlund
Books Highlighted by Christopher:
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Bear by Marian Engle
2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Heart of Junk by Luke Geddes
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
17776 What Football will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
On the Calculation of Volume Book 1 by Solvej Balle, trans. Barbara J. Haveland
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Nutshell by Ian McEwan
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Bunny by Mona Awad
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur
Mumbai New York Scranton by Tamara Shopsin
Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin
LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin
Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine by Alexandra Kleeman
Good Girl by Aria Aber
Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata
Bear by Julia Phillips
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Maniac McGee by Jerry Spinelli
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
Monday Apr 21, 2025
Monday Apr 21, 2025
On this episode, my mom, Mary Hopper Welander, and I discuss shared reading memories from my childhood, how much the library has impacted both of our reading lives, and how her reading life has changed in retirement. She also gives some great advice about how to develop a love of reading in your child.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle
Moms Like Us by Jordan Roter
Books Highlighted by Mary:
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Come, Have Breakfast: Meditations on God and the Earth by Elizabeth A. Johnson
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Black Wolf by Louise Penny
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
My Name is Barbara by Barbara Streisand
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Political Theology Based in Community by Marty Tomszak
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle
Monday Apr 14, 2025
Monday Apr 14, 2025
On this episode, Alayna Mills, a college writing teacher, discusses their love for reading everything all the time, by incorporating reading into all parts of their day. We also talk about their wide reading preferences, we get deep on a few specific books, and we find a shared notebook of book prize stress.
Follow Alayna on Instagram
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle
Audition by Katie Kitimura
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Books Highlighted by Alayna:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
What If We Get it Right: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Oye by Melissa Mogollon
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Exalted by Anna Dorn
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Prodigal Summer by Barabara Kingsolver
The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
The Details by Ia Genberg
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
Dune by Frank Herbert
All Fours by Miranda July
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta
Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn
Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar
Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond
Monday Apr 07, 2025
Monday Apr 07, 2025
On this episode, Bre @Brezzylovesbooks, a therapist who also runs the Raleigh chapter of Well-Read Black Girl, and I discuss our shared love of book communities, problematic characters, and why romance isn’t our reading preference. I also give a rare TV recommendation!
Follow Bre on Instagram
More info about Well-Read Black Girl in Raleigh
Well-Read Black Girl Raleigh Instagram
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda
On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle
Books Highlighted by Bre:
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
There There by Tommy Orange
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology ed. by Amber Flame & Elaina Ellis
Girl, Gurl, Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya Hunt
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Pushout by Monique Couvson
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan