Today, Sara and Chelsey share the backlist books they're putting on their To Be Read lists for the next few months. We speculate on which books will carry us through the early days of motherhood and which reading formats might work best in a totally unpredictable season. This episode is for anyone who wants to read more backlist, readers who have a hard time focusing right now, and bookworms eager to add overlooked titles to their book stacks.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk, join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links!

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Amazon)

The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power (Amazon)

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin (Amazon)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Suzanna Clarke (Amazon)

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Amazon)

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn (Amazon)

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan (Amazon)

A Quiet Life in the Country by T.E. Kinsey (Amazon)

Poldark by Winston Graham (Amazon)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Amazon)

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (Amazon)

Middlemarch by George Eliot (Amazon)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Amazon)

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (Amazon)

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (Amazon)

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (Amazon)

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper (Amazon)

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor (Amazon)

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Amazon)

Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel (Amazon)

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Amazon)

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James (Amazon)

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers (Amazon)

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Amazon)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Amazon)

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Amazon)

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemain (Amazon)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (Amazon)

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian (Amazon)

Also mentioned:

Marlon and Jake Read Dead People