Books with Betsy

Episode 61 - Never as Good as the Book with Katie Blechle

On this episode, Katie Blechle, a mom and educator, talks about her true love of reading over TV, how she incorporates reading into her life as a mom, and the books about strong women that she really loves. We also go down a shared rabbit hole that’s one of my absolute favorite non-book topics. 
 
Follow Katie on Instagram
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
 
Books Highlighted by Katie:
The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab
The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile & Ian Morgan Cron
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Reckless Girls by Rachel hawkins
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry 
The Peaceful Parenting Revolution by Kiva Schuler
Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy 
Fly Away by Kristin Hannah 
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas 
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett 

Episode 60 - Pull Your Guts out Through Your Nose with Melissa Joulwan of Strong Sense of Place

On this episode, Melissa Joulwan, author and co-host of the podcast Strong Sense of Place, discusses the way her personal reading life and work for the show overlap. We talk about her deep and varied book preferences, our shared love for diving deep into a backlist, and you get to hear the fabulous way she describes the books she loves.
 
Strong Sense of Place website
https://strongsenseofplace.com
For the podcast, extensive show notes, book lists, and travel tips and photos. 
 
For people new to the show, this is a good place to start:
https://strongsenseofplace.com/welcome
 
Substack
https://strongsenseofplace.substack.com/
Free newsletter with photos and book recommendations, behind-the-scenes stories, secret recipes, inspiring ideas, and (sometimes) silly stuff.
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
 
Books Highlighted by Melissa:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
A Room with a View by E.M. Forester
The Inn at Lake Divine by Elinor Lipman  
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery 
Circe by Madeline Miller 
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
The Trick by Emanuel Bergman
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory 
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 
Odds Against by Dick Francis
Dietland by Sarai Walker
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Well Fed Weeknights by Melissa Joulwan 
Rollergirl by Melissa Joulwan 
The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva 
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart 
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver 
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 
The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell 
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher 
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
Carmilla by Joseph Sherican Le Fanu
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn 
The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller 
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn 
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley 
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley 
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley 
2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino 
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino 
The Way Men Act by Elinor Lipman 
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer 
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh 

Episode 59 - Picked it Up Out of FOMO with Samiksha Gaur

On this episode, Samiksha Gaur, a mom and baker who has found herself enjoying dark romance recently, talks to me about her life engaging with bookish social media. We talk about a bunch of series that she loves, how she got back into reading later in life, and we give a big shoutout to Tanima Kazi for getting us connected!
 
Follow Samiksha on Instagram 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
New People by Danzy Senna 
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 
 
Books Highlighted by Samiksha:
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie Series #1) by J. Bree
A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR Series #1) by Sarah J. Maas 
The Kat Bunglar by Tanima Kazi 
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 
Quicksilver by Callie Heart
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 
Lady Iris’s Lover by Kelsey Painter
Mindf*ck by S.T. Abby 
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Famous Five by Beja & Nataël 
Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
Goosebumps by R.L. Stine 
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton 
Never Lie by Frieda McFadden 
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak 
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 
Caraval by Stephanie Garber 
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber 

Episode 58 - Challenges My Expectations with Jess Abra Sandy

On this episode, Jess Abra Sandy, a self-described lapsed opera singer and cyber security expert talks about how poetry has provided for her in different ways as her seasons of life change. We also talk about books that make us want to throw them across the room, how her reading life has changed as her kid has grown, and Jess shares a lot of very insightful thoughts about the reading life. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Devil House by John Darnielle
Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet 
Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson
 
Books Highlighted by Jess:
What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland
Priest, Turned Therapist, Treats Fear of God by Tony Hoagland
Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
I Sailed with Magellan by Stuart Dybek
The Ocean in the Next Room by Sarah V. Schweig
Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss 
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My World - And Welcome to It by James Thurber 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin 
Nancy Drew #1: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
The Wasteland, Prufrock, and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot 
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates 
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop & Amy Sherman-Palladino 
White Teeth by Zadie Smith 
Midwest Shreds by Mandy Shunnarah 
Good Bones by Maggie Smith 
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson 
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson 
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Episode 57 - It's Not Cheating with Caroline Pilman

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

Episode 56 - Feels Folkloric with Meara McNitt

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

Episode 55 - Competitive Reading with Austin Waters

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

Episode 54 - Take My Books Where They Belong with Chelsey Stone

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 

Episode 53 - Horror for Anxious Readers with Johanna @memydogandbooks

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

Episode 52 - My Entire Life is Words with Hannah Gordon

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