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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday May 27, 2024
Monday May 27, 2024
A Safe Place to Have Bad Feelings with Tim Mueller
Episode 3
On this episode, Tim Mueller and I discuss his passion for collecting books, comics, and other physical media; the magic and abundance of a used bookstore; and how the darkest kinds of books can develop the most empathy. Also, Tim recommends a host of underlooked books that you probably haven’t heard of (I sure hadn’t!).
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve L. Ewing
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
Victim by Andrew Boryga
Books Highlighted by Tim:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Docile by K.M. Szpara
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
The Cook by Harry Kressing
Strange Angel by George Pendle
The Mirage by Zay N. Smith and Pamela Zekman (out of print)
The Monster Show by David J. Skal
Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Books by Stephen King:
It
Gerald’s Game
On Writing
The Stand
The Dark Tower Series
Carrie
Salem’s Lot
The Shining
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Portnoy’s Complaint by Phillip Roth
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele
Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick
High Rise by J.G. Ballard
Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix
Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Deliverance by James Dickey
Monday May 20, 2024
Monday May 20, 2024
The Beauty of Escaping into a Book with Carolyn Latshaw
Episode 2
On this episode, Carolyn Latshaw and I discuss her love of classics, select ones at least, the joy and difficulty of getting absolutely swept up into a book, and a slew of great book recommendations that are a little unusual! Listen for a huge revelation on Carolyn’s part about one of her favorite books.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
The Gathering by C.J. Tudor
Punk Rock Karaoke by Biana Xunise
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
Books Highlighted by Carolyn:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Aeneid by Virgil
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Elektra by Sophocles
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Achilles by Elizabeth Cook
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin
Ducktales by Janette Oke (out of print)
California Diaries by Ann M. Martin (out of print)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Gods and Generals: A Novel of the Civil War by Jeff Shaara
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
The Odyssey by Homer
The Iliad by Homer
Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcom X and Alex Haley
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Monday May 13, 2024
Monday May 13, 2024
Bathing in Darkness with Sam Wilmes
Episode 1
On this episode, Sam Wilmes and I discuss reading dark books including Stephen King, horror, and dark literary fiction. We find her book ick, a new-to-me source of books, and books that connect anxiety and depression and humor.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
A Better World by Sarah Langan
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
Books Highlighted by Sam:
The Shining by Stephen King
It by Stephen King
Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:
All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.
By Kristen Hannah:
The Nightingale
Great Alone
The Four Winds
By Chuck Klosterman
The Nineties: A Book
X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the 21st Century
Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Townie by Andre Dubus III
The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III
By Hunter S. Thompson
The Rum Diary
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72
By Samantha Irby
We are Never Meeting in Real Life
Meaty
Quietly Hostile
Wow, No Thank You
Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi
Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity by Dan Berger