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
5 days ago
5 days ago
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
Monday Mar 31, 2025
Monday Mar 31, 2025
On this episode, Trevor Dykes, a fantasy reader who has written his own fantasy saga, and I discuss how he fits in reading as a father of two young kiddos, what piques his interest in a fantasy, and how much of a commitment some of the long series are. We also get into the difference between the second in a trilogy versus the second in a series - there’s a difference!
Get Trevor’s Book, Titan’s Garden Crimson Wolf here!
Support my Open Books fundraiser
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
Books Highlighted by Trevor:
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Thrawn (Star Wars) by Timothy Zahn
The Boyfriend by Frieda McFadden
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Passengers by John Marrs
Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue by Neale Donald Walsch
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony SNicket
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Monday Mar 24, 2025
Monday Mar 24, 2025
On this episode, Maggie Brennan, a loyal member of the Off Color Book Club, and I discuss the retellings she will always read, how being an oldest sister impacted her reading life, and the way that her Irish family has impacted her reading life. She also talks about her favorite fantasy and sci-fi and how these genres can tell stories that reflect our reality.
Support my Open Books fundraiser
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat
Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Books Highlighted by Maggie:
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Daughters of Temperance Hobbes by Katherine Howe
Bride of the Tornado by James Kennedy
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Trust by Hernan Diaz
White Tears by Hari Kunzru
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Monday Mar 17, 2025
Monday Mar 17, 2025
On this episode, Deedi Brown, who runs The Booker of the Month book club, and I discuss the crossover love of literary fiction and genre, getting sucked in by award lists, and how being more involved in books turns into a snowball!
Follow Deedi on Instagram
Find Deedi’s Substack here
Get more information about Booker of the Month Club
Support my Open Books fundraiser
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Books Highlighted by Deedi:
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Fed is Best: The Unintended Harms of the “Breast is Best” Message and How to Find the Right Approach for You and Your Baby by Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, B. Jody Segrave-Daly, & Lynnette Hafken
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Wisdom of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Choosing to Run by Des Linden, Bonnie D. Ford
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Lenny by Max Porter
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
Playground by Richard Powers
Bel Canto by Ann Pachett
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Circe by Madeline Miller
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Monday Mar 10, 2025
Monday Mar 10, 2025
On this episode, Meredith Turits, debut novelist, and I discuss the process of making her book come to life, how amazing her editor is, and the best ways to support friends who are writers. We also discuss her book, Just Want You Here, which I encourage anyone to go pick up!
Order Just Want You Here!
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker
The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
Books Highlighted by Meredith:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Cline
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Anthropology of the American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Wayside by Caroline Wolff
Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Monday Mar 03, 2025
On this episode, Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O’Neal of Book Riot sit down and talk to me about their reading lives. We talk about their professional work in the world of books, how Oliver Burkeman would feel about my bad bookish habit, and how any book can be interesting if you’re curious enough.
Listen to the Book Riot Podcast
Listen to First Edition
Better Living Through Books Newsletter (and the rest of the Book Riot Newsletters!)
Jeff and Rebecca Live at Powells!
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found by Christie Tate
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker
Books Highlighted by Rebecca & Jeff:
Sula by Toni Morrison
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
Lab Girl: A Memoir by Hope Jahren
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
The Street by Ann Petry
How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur
The Orchard: A Memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
Conscious Business: How to Build Value through Values by Fred Kofman
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Callum Robinson
Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchinson
Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life by Shigehiro Oishi
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Shining by Stephen King
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
All Fours by Miranda July
Passing by Nella Larsen
Monday Feb 24, 2025
Monday Feb 24, 2025
On this episode, Betsy Kipnis, a multi-hyphenate who loves a wide variety of authors, and I discuss some shared favorites, great Chicago bookstores, and she has some great stories. She discusses books that are multi-sensory and we get spicy about a beloved author.
Betsy’s Blog - Bookisshh
Barbara Kingsolver’s Recovery Center
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọláwọlé
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Books Highlighted by Betsy:
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Human Acts by Han Kang
Native Son by Richard Wright
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Hum by Helen Phillips
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
We Do Not Part by Han Kang
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Rouge by Mona Awad
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kwakami
Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
The Guest by Emma Cline
The Girls by Emma Cline
Luster by Raven Leilani
The Bean Trees by Barabara Kingsolver
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
There are Rivers in the Sky by Eilf Shafak
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Monday Feb 17, 2025
Monday Feb 17, 2025
On this episode, Jordan Hernandez, who organizes the book community Completely Booked and I discuss what diverse books means to her, how to curate a feed that provides diverse options, and so many amazing book recommendations. If you want to join Completely Booked, you can send Jordan a DM on Instagram to get added to the email list!
Follow Completely Booked on Instagram
Double Dough
HobokenGirl
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọláwọlé
Books Highlighted by Jordan:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
James by Percival Everett
Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour
Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black
Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin
More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth
You Are a Badass(r): How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin