Books with Betsy

Episode 28 - Intellectually Affectionate with Annette LaPlaca

On this episode, Annette LaPlaca, a self-proclaimed church lady who loves mysteries and thrillers, discusses her career in editing, how she developed a love of reading in her children, and why it’s ok to have a lot of books. We also discuss the moral and empathetic benefits of a murder book and why people shouldn’t shy away from them. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Dearest by Jacqui Walters 
Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda 
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix 
 
Books Highlighted by Annette:
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton 
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers 
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt 
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman 
The Storied Life A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis 
Matilda by Roald Dahl
1984 by George Orwell 
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 
Leap Over a Wall by Eugene H. Peterson 
The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta 
Puritan Pleasures of the Detective Story by Erik Routley
Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott 
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger 
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger 
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson 
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton 
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle 
Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard 
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt 
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne 
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun 
Moby-Dick by Herman Mellville 
Trust by Hernan Diaz 
The Chosen by Chaim Potok 
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt 
Life of Pi by Yann Martel 
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey 
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey 
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman 
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
Silas Marner by George Eliot 
Middlemarch by George Eliot 
Emma by Jane Austen 
The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen 
The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell 
Father Brown: The Essential Tales by G.K. Chesterton 
Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker 
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro

Episode 27 - Nobel Prize in Reading with Amie Medley

On this episode, Amie Medley, who loves a long book, discusses her big reading project, which is reading every author who has won a Nobel Prize in Literature, and what she has discovered through that endeavor. We also discuss the ups and downs of book clubs, the benefits she finds from ereaders, and her love for a book that I can’t help but roll my eyes at. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda
Nora Goes off Script by Annabel Monaghan 
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 
 
Books Highlighted by Amie:
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein 
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich 
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Faith, Hope, and Carnage by Nick Cave and Seán O’Hagan 
Satantango by László Krasznahorkai
Beloved by Toni Morrison 
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 
North Woods by Daniel Mason 
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
2666 by Roberto Bolaño 
Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White 
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle 
Animal Farm by George Orwell 
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson 
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen 
The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk 
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante 
Erasure by Percival Everett 
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid 
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesamyn Ward 
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk 
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich 
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 
Verity by Colleen Hoover 
The Melancholy of Resistance by László Krasznahorkai 
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño 
M Train: A Memoir by Patti Smith 
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Episode 26 - Challenging for Some, Liberating for Me With Cat Shieh

On this episode, Cat Shieh, a Caliornian transplant to Chicago and former ethnic studies professor, discusses her hesitancy when people ask for recommendations and recommend books to her. She’s not afraid to drink the haterade, give a hot take, and make me guess what her answer is going to be to my questions. We talk about sad books (about reality) and some of our shared pet peeves about the reading world. 
 
Here is the Claudia Rankine excerpt that Cat read on the episode. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson, trans. Saskia Vogel 
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio 
 
Books Highlighted by Cat:
High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris
NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette by Nathan Pyle
A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata
Red State Revolt: The Teacher’s Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics by Eric Blanc
Pruitt-Igoe by Bob Hansman
Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue by Nicholas Teich
White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America by Margaret Hagerman 
The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall  
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chan 
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 
I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib 
Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Rick Bayless 
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen 
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo 
Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side by Eve L. Ewing 
Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle 
How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi 
We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina Love 
Serve the People; Making Asian America in the Long Sixties by Karen L. Ishizuka & Jeff Chang 
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas 
The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race by Anthony Christian Ocampo

Episode 25 - Be a Dear, Unflip Your Dogears with Jennifer Moe

On this episode, Jennifer Moe, a professor and former bookseller, discusses her love for books that fully envelop the reader in a setting. We reminisce about our adventures with Twilight, our shared love for library magazines, and when it might be ok to leave a note or two in a library book. She also gives some 
 
Preorder Nobody’s Perfect, the book in which Jennifer has a chapter. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
My Friends by Hisham Matar 
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner 
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo 
 
Books Highlighted by Jennifer:
The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen 
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 
The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Open Book by Jessica Simpson
Educated by Tara Westover 
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 
Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment by Charles Taylor 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer 
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling 
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder 
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen 
Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny 
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 
Becoming by Michelle Obama 
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Episode 24 - Always Been a Fan of a List with Ian Gillham

On this episode, Ian Gillham, @criticalgayze on Instagram, and I discuss our shared love of book lists, book awards, and reading these lists. We also discuss Ian’s Substack project focusing on the Pulitzer Prize and how it has morphed throughout the years. Also, stick around for some hot takes about super popular books!
 
Here is the link to Ian’s Substack so you can follow along with his prize project. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
My Friends by Hisham Matar 
Colored Television by Danzy Senna 
Summerdale by David Jay Collins 
 
Books Highlighted by Ian:
Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet
Any Person is the Only Self by Elisa Gabbert
Wolfsong by T.J. Klune
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Devil House by John Darnielle 
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzalúda
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
All Fours by Miranda July 
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun 
The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon 
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell & Emily Arnold McCully 
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket & Brett Helquist 
The Giver by Lois Lowry 
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix & Cliff Nielsen 
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead 
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud 
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange 
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips 
Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park 
Wednesday’s Child: Stories by Yiyun Li 
Trust by Hernan Diaz 
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob 
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 
James by Percival Everett 
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain 
Blake; Or the Huts of America by Martin R. Delany, Sandra M. Grayson, & Patty Nicole Johnson 
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar 
Telephone by Percival Everett 
Orbital by Samantha Harvey 
11/22/63 by Stephen King 
The Long Walk by Stephen King 
The Institute by Stephen King 
The Shining by Stephen King 
Matrix by Lauren Groff 
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff 
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff 
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 
The Running Man by Stephen King 
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara 

Episode 23 - Genre Promiscuous with Nina Li Coomes

On this episode, Nina Li Coomes, who was once described as genre promiscuous by a professor, discusses her traumatic early reading experiences, and how her identity as a writer has developed. We also discuss some shared favorites, how much she loves a hate-read, and why it can be good to read books you might not like. 
 
Click here to support Eman Alhaj Ali, the writer in Palestine that Nina has been working to support. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliot
Trust by Hernan Diaz 
My Friends by Hisham Matar 
Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías, trans. Heather Cleary
 
Books Highlighted by Nina:
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee 
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
A Play for the Living in the Time of Extinction by Miranda Rose Hall
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 
Grimm’s Fairytales by Grimm Jacob and Wilhelm 
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee 
The Searcher by Tana French
In the Woods by Tana French 
The Best Possible Experience: Stories by Nishanth Injam 
The Aeneid by Virgil 
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka 
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka 
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville 
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 
Homeland: Dungeons & Dragons: Book 1 by R. A. Salvatore 
The Magicians by Lev Grossman 
The Duke and I: Bridgerton by Julia Quinn 
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple 
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Episode 22 - A Little Bit of Everything with Leah @DishingonBooks

On this episode, Leah, @Dishingonbooks on Instagram, and I discuss our shared love of intense reads, how to find more books that open up the world, and her love for the Women’s Prize. We also give a lot of recommendations for books that are not for everyone but hit both of us in just the right spot. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliot
Trust by Hernan Diaz 
 
Books Highlighted by Leah:
The Street by Ann Petry 
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, trans. Sarah Moses 
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagahara 
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie 
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 
The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. 
The Color Purple by Alice Walker 
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagahara 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
Men we Reaped by Jesmyn Ward 
Girls Burn Brighter by Shoba Rao 
The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood 
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin 
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews  
Little Girl Lost by Drew Berrymore 
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach 
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi 
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi 
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi 
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, trans. Megan McDowell 
Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken 
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam 
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam 
White Tears by Hari Kunzru 
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata 
Yr Dead by Sam Sax
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen 
The 1618 Project: A New Origin Story by Caitlin Roper, Irena Silverman, et al
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Keisha N. Blain & Ibram X. Kendi 
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Iasbel Wilkerson

Episode 21 - The Story Sits in Your Bones with Sam Luchsinger

On this episode, Sam Luchsinger, an eclectic reader and artist, talks about their love of picking up whatever strikes their interest, beautiful book covers, and the joy of reading children’s books into adulthood. They also discuss their love of graphic novels and some tips on how to get into the format that might feel a little overwhelming. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
If you want to get ahead and join us at Off Color Book Club: 
October 15 - Trust by Hernan Diaz 
November 19 - Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 
January 21 - The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliot
 
Books Highlighted by Sam: 
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock 
Moby Dick by Herman Melville 
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe 
The Brendan Voyage: Sailing to America in a Leather Boat to Prove the Legend of the Irish Sailor Saints by Tim Severin
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews 
Swing Low: A Life by Miriam Toews
Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake and Jon Klassen 
Brazen: Rebel Ladies who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu 
The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 
The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode: 
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 
Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
Bimwili and the Zimwi by 
The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 
The Bells of London by Ashley Wolff
Sloth’s Birthday Party by Diane Redfield Massie 
The Brave Brushtail Possum by Diane Redfield Massie 
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki 
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki 
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 
Clever Girl: Jurassic Park by Hannah McGregor 
Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond Productivity Culture by Jenny Odell 
The Forgetting Room by Nick Bantock
If We Were Villans by M.L. Rio 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt 
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 
The Magicians by Lev Grossman 
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate 
Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert MacFarlane
Runes of the North by Sigurd F. Olson 
Twists of Fate by Paco Roca 
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel 
Wrinkle inTime: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson and Madeleine L’Engle 
Perpetua’s Journey: Faith, Gender, and Power in the Roman Empire by Jennifer A. Rea and Liza Clarke 
March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, et al. 
Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug 

Episode 20 - Based in Reality with Jordan Cross

On this episode, Jordan Cross, a resource librarian for a large interior design firm, discusses her love of audiobooks, books that are based on something true, and how memoirs about hard topics are important and meaningful. She also brings a topic to the show that I hadn’t thought to ask about!
 
The big list of books from NPR - best of the year since 2013!
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 
Mister Magic by Kiersten White 
The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu
 
Books Highlighted by Jordan: 
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
The Shining by Stephen King
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley 
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy 
Know my Name by Chanel Miller 
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage 
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller 
Work in Progress by Leanne Ford & Steve Ford
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode: 
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner and L. Kate Deal 
Kristy’s Great Idea (the Baby-Sitter’s Club #1) by Ann M. Martin
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 
Left Behind the Kids by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and Brett Helquist 
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 
1984 by George Orwell 
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Tom Lake by Ann Patchet 
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King 
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King 
The Push by Ashley Audrain 
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls 
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover 
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty 
The Green Mile by Stephen King 
Misery by Stephen King 
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple 

Episode 19 - I Can't Put it Down with Kathy Donofrio

On this episode, Kathy Donofrio, an artist from the Chicagoland area, discusses how she came to enjoy reading later in life. She provides some amazing, fun book recommendations, including an impressive laundry list of favorite authors. Also, I finally get to hear the Pope Book story that my mom has been telling me about!
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Mathhew Hongolz-Hetling
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet 
 
Books Highlighted by Kathy: 
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross 
Step on a Crack (Michael Bennet) by James Patterson 
Relic (Pendergast Series) by Preston & Child
Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 
The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn
Louisiana Longshot (Fortune Series) by Jana DeLeon
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Kathy’s List of Favorite Authors: 
Louise Penny
Ann B. Ross 
Annie Hansen 
C.J. Harris
Caleb Carr 
Catherine Coulter 
Craig Johnson
Daniel Silva 
David Baldacci 
David Ellis 
Donna Leon
Harlan Coben
J.D. Robb
James Patterson 
Janet Evanovich 
Jeffrey Archer 
Kate Quinn 
Lee Childs 
Michael Connelly 
Preston & Child
Mitch Albom 
Robert Dugoni 
John Grisham