Books with Betsy

Episode 112 - You Need the Right Person with Grace Hughes

On this episode, Grace Hughes, author and avid fantasy reader, discusses her specific criteria for naming genres, how her work as a writer affects her reading life, and we talk about a lot of fantasy series. If you’re ready to pick up a fantastical tome, this episode has a lot of recommendations. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Canon by Paige Lewis 
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
 
Books Highlighted by Grace:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Vinyl Cafe Unplugged by Stuart McLean
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig 
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova 
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari 
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 
Alchemisd by SenLinYu 
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas 
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig 
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski 
American Gods by Neil Gaiman 
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones 

Episode 111 - Book Club - A Visit From the Goon Squad

On this episode, Nicole from Off Color Book Club joins me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book,  A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. 
 
My Book Club Guide
 
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21st to discuss Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. All are welcome! 

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
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash 
Rental House by Weike Wang 
 
Books Highlighted by Molly:
Trust by Hernan Diaz 
The Need by Helen Phillips 
Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It by Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan 
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Lilian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Starter Villain by John Scalzi 
Yearbook by Seth Rogan 
Who is This City For?: Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago by Blair Kamin & Lee Bey
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode 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 by Kenan Orhan 
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius 
 
Books Highlighted by Brady:
Babel by R.F. Kuang 
The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder 
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar 
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen 
In Memoriam by Alice Winn 
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin 
The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy 
Sisters of a Halved Heart by Nayantara Roy
The End of Drum Time by Hanna Pylväinen
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt 
Kaikeyi by Vishnavi Patel 
Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela 
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang 
Orbital by Samantha Harvey 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
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 by Tracy Sierra 
The Renovation by Kenan Orhan 
 
Books Highlighted by Lydia:
Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski 
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 
Theater Kid by Jeffrey Seller 
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert 
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Life Would be Perfect if I Lived in that House by Meghan Daum
Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York by Francis Spufford 
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
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 by Bernardine Evaristo. 
 
My Book Club Guide
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 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 by Tayari Jones
A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang 
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 
 
Books Highlighted by Sirenna:
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones 
Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Joy is My Middle Name by Sasha Debevec-McKenney
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Endling by Maria Reva
Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth by Ingrid Robeyns
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 
Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich 
Dominion by Addie E. Citchens 
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
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

Episode 105 - The Absolute Most with Vanessa Diaz

On this episode, Vanessa Diaz, managing editor with Book Riot, talks about how her reading life is affected by her job, recommends woman-led mysteries, and talks about her current favorite authors. If you like witchy books, you have a lot of really great recommendations in this episode. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Kin by Tayari Jones
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 
The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley 
 
Books Highlighted by Vanessa:
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman 
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Sylvia Moreno Garcia 
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley 
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 
The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson 
An Ember in the Ashes by Saba Tahir 
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Christina Rivera Garza 
A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein
You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado 
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon 
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas 
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal 
The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe 
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe 
The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe 
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans 
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

Episode 104 - Screen to Page with Jeff Jones

On this episode, Jeff Jones, a fan of graphic novels, talks about how he comes to reading through his interest in sci-fi movies. We talk about his favorite weekly read, how he manages his very small TBR, and his discovery of some favorite authors through their work in comics. 
 
Books mentioned in this episode: 
 
What Betsy’s reading: 
Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaeffer 
Suddenly Light by Nina Dunic 
 
Books Highlighted by Jeff:
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
The Darkseid War: The Green Lantern by Tom King & Evan “Doc” Shaner
Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 
Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt 
Exhalation by Ted Chiang 
 
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Shonen Jump 
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 
Strange Adventures by Tom King & Evan Shaner 
Vision: The Complete Collection by Tom King 
Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda 
Far Sector by N.K Jemisin & Jamal Campbell 
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin 
All About Love by Bell Hooks 
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Episode 103 - Book Club - True Biz

On this episode, Ben from Off Color Book Club joins me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, True Biz by Sara Novic. 
 
My Book Club Guide
 
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 19th to discuss Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. All are welcome!