Big Little Books

Hello fellow bibliophiles, it has been a while! Hosts Yuli and Sam spend each episode chatting about books while hopefully adding to your always growing TBR list.

Happy Friday!

 

The world has turned upside down. Thankfully for us here at BLB, and for most of our listeners, books are a comfort. Unplugging from reality and getting lost in a story can deter your attention from everything that’s been going on. In today’s shorter episode, Yuli and Sam chat about Escapes in Literature.

To match the world being upside down, we start off this episode backward with Besides Books. Next, we dive into each of our top escape books for when you are stuck at home. These are stories of nerve and endurance that continue to captivate readers. We might even read an entertaining excerpt to help suck you into a story! After intermission, we have a few quizzes to help us figure out what to read next. Make sure to check out Books Spotted, as sadly this will be our last one for a little while.

Library's and stores are closed and you can’t get to a book? Check out your library’s website and see what the options are for digital copies or audiobooks

Stay healthy, stay informed, and stay kind!

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

00:01:20 - Books bring us comfort.00:04:01 - Escape Book #1: STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor00:05:38 - Escape Book #2: ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card00:06:30 - Escape Book #3: THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adam00:07:35 - Yuli reads from Hitchhiker's Guide00:12:50 - Escape Book #4: ANGEL'S AND DEMONS by Dan Brown00:14:28 - Escape Book #5: THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS by Ursula K. LeGuin00:15:50 - Sam reads from The Left Hand of Darkness

00:21:41 - Quiz #1 / Escape Book #6: THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt 00:23:45 - Quiz #2 - Which Classic Is Your Perfect Match? Yuli: TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf00:26:30 - Quiz #2 - Which Classic Is Your Perfect Match? Sam: 1984 by George Orwell

00:27:32 - Books Spotted: WE ARE THE WEATHER by Jonathan Safran Foer00:29:30 - Books Spotted: SON OF A TRICKSTER by Eden Robinson

00:31:59 - Currently Reading: SAINT X by Alexis Schaitkin 00:34:20 - Currently Reading: HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD (CRESCENT CITY #1) by Sarah J. Maas00:37:15 - Read Next: THE BOOK OF DISQUIET by Fernando Pessoa00:39:25 - Read Next: WHO FEARS DEATH by Nnedi Okorafor00:40:20 - Read Next: THE CITY WE BECAME by N.K. Jemisin 

00:41:50 - Conclusion

This is a podcast about loving books and getting lost in stories. We start off this episode with a short recap of 2019 reading stats. Yuli wins for longest book read and Sam wins for the shortest (6 pages totally counts…)

We also ponder an important book-related question: Can you really say you are reading if you are listening to an AudioBook? Further discussions include Ottawa's future downtown Public Library/LAC joint facility. We delve into both topics before switching over to some regular programming. Tune in after the intermission to find out what we are currently reading and which books we spotted out in the wild.

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or email  us at [email protected]

We would love to hear from you about any comments or feedback.

 

Happy reading!

Join Yuli and Sam as they interview Ottawa-based author Frances Boyle. Prairie-raised, Frances is a writer of fiction and poetry who has been creating stories since before she could hold a pen.  She has cultivated her craft by working in the legal field and raising a family; now writing full-time, she speaks to the value of rejection that has transfigured over time. We chat about past works, her newest book of poetry This White Nest, and her upcoming short story collection Seeking Shade.

We hope you enjoy this special edition of Book Ends as we break in the new decade!

Find Frances on Instagram and twitter @francesboyle19, or on her website at www.francesboyle.com

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Missing Yuli and Sam’s usual (and dare we say, hilarious) banter? Next month you can look forward to a brief recap of our 2019 reading, book goals for 2020, and what we're looking forward to in the year ahead for BLB. As always, thank you for joining us on this literary journey.

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or email us at [email protected] with feedback, comments, or books you think we ABSOLUTELY MUST read in 2020.

Happy reading!

Big Little Books is excited to be bringing back Book Ends, our special edition of interviews. From Ottawa, ON, Sam chats with her old friend Wyatt Danowski from his home in Winnipeg, MB. Join them as they discuss Wyatt’s tales of teaching English across multiple continents before returning home to teach at his old high school. We dig into how he encourages his students to read more, his love of Canadian literature, poetry, and why you should consider rereading The Catcher in the Rye.

Get cozy as Sam and Wyatt take you on a journey of literary friendship!

Big things are coming in 2020! Sam & Yuli will be back in January for another special edition of Book Ends with an interview featuring Ottawa based author Frances Boyle. In the meantime, find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello.

Happy Reading and have a wonderful New Year!

The holiday season is upon us! With that comes a late-night sleepy Yuli and Sam episode fuelled by tea and popcorn. Join us as we discuss fiction vs nonfiction, revisit our popular segment Books Spotted, discuss a juicy book from our local book club, and get excited about a Blind Date with a Book Exchange.

Early on in the episode, we learn that no matter how tired we are from work, school and the busy season, we will always find the energy to talk about books. 

 

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod

Email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. 

Happy Reading!

 

EPISODE GUIDE COMING SOON.

Here we are at Episode 9! Sam & Yuli discuss the Margaret Atwood event they attended recently in Ottawa, then dive into an overview of the books they've read by the Canadian legend. Join us as we then get into our regular programming: Long Reviews, Currently Reading, Books Spotted, and Read Next. 

 

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod

Email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. 

Happy Reading!

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

00:01:20 - Discussing Margaret Atwood's event in Ottawa. 00:11:22 - Review: THE TESTAMENTS by Margaret Atwood00:18:30 - More Margaret Atwood!00:29:20 - Long Reviews: SELECTED SHORT STORIES by H.G. Wells00:32:10 - Long Reviews: TRICK MIRROR: Reflections on Self Delusion by Jia Tolentino00:36:43 - Long Reviews: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern00:40:48 - Long Reviews: THE BONE HOUSES by Emily Lloyd Jones 00:44:07 - Currently Reading: STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor 00:47:34 - Currently Reading: PERSONAL DEMON (Women of the Otherworld #8) by Kelley Armstrong00:49:20 - DNF (Did Not Finish): ACE OF SHADES (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody00:52:30 - Books Spotted: A REAPER AT THE GATES (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir00:56:20 - Read Next: QUEEN OF NOTHING (The Folk of the Air) by Holly Black00:57:45 - Read Next: DEAD BLONDES AND BAD MOTHERS: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle01:00:30 - Read Next: FOR SMALL CREATURES SUCH AS WE: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan01:03:45 - Conclusion + Themes for Episode 10

Fall is in the air! As such we bring to you our dear listeners a seasonally themed episode featuring a Crash Course in Horror. The genre of horror is intended to frighten, scare, and disgust. Join Yuli and Sam as they (very briefly) discuss how horror came to be and where it’s at now. They discuss all things Mary Shelley and HP Lovecraft, to Stephen King and R.L. Stine. Is our obsession with horror a means to find out who we are through a reflection of our innermost selves? We hope to find out. Or at least be frightened a bit along the way...

 

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod

Email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. 

Happy Reading!

 

EPISODE GUIDE:PART 1: All About Horror

00:00:49 - Housekeeping Duties00:06:25 - Romanticism & the Gothic Horror Genre: THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO by Horace Walpole00:07:55 - Sam's Favourites: FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley00:10:35 - Sam's Favourites: DRACULA by Bram Stoker 00:13:05 - American Horror: Edgar Allen Poe00:15:17 - American Horror: H.P. Lovecraft00:16:45 - Henry James, M.R. James, Shirley Jackson00:18:15 - Where are we now? Anne Rice, James Herbert, Peter Stroub00:19:01 - THE SHINING by Stephen King00:20:02 - Sam divulges one of her biggest fears ...00:22:18 - Yuli divulges some of her fears00:24:15 - THE MIST by Stephen King00:25:07 - INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE by Anne Rice00:25:57 - Postmillennial Horror: PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen00:27:12 - MAPPING THE INTERIOR by Stephen Graham Jones00:30:16 - Yuli's Favourites: HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES by Carmen Maria Machado 00:32:30 - Yuli's Favourites: THE GRIP OF IT by Jac Jemc00:35:40 - Sam's Favourites: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN by John Ajvide LindqvistPART 2: Regular Programming00:39:26 - Long Reviews: PLANET OF EXILE by Ursula K. LeGuin00:43:08 - Long Reviews: THREE WOMEN by Lisa Taddeo00:49:38 - Long Reviews: Y, THE LAST MAN Volume 1: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan.00:55:54 - Currently Reading: TRICK MIRROR: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino00:59:08 - Currently Reading: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern01:03:18 - Currently Reading: THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson01:06:55 - Read Next: THE BONE HOUSES by Emily Lloyd Jones01:07:30 - Read Next: THE EYE OF THE WORLD (The Wheel of Time #1) by Robert Jordon01:09:05 - Read Next: THE UNDYING: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care by Anne Boyer01:10:07 - News: We're going to a Margaret Atwood event!

The seasons are inevitably changing, which means Yuli and Sam are due for a mid-year review and book goal evaluation. Join us as we discover what type of book reader we are according to Bustle.com, go over our yearly book goals (numerical and otherwise), and cover familiar segments such as 30 Second Recaps, Long Reviews, and Currently Reading. 

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod

Email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. 

Happy Reading!

EPISODE GUIDE:

0:01:20 - Mid-year Recap0:03:20 - Our Reading Goals (Numerical)0:14:09 - 30 Second Recaps0:18:40 - Long Reviews: THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller 0:22:19 - Long Reviews: BROKEN (Otherworld #6) by Kelley Armstrong0:28:20 - Long Reviews: ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong0:33:10 - Long Reviews: PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee0:37:47 - Currently Reading: THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood0:40:41 - Currently Reading: MERMAID IN CHELSEA CREEK (Chelsea #1) by Michelle Tea0:43:13 - Currently Reading: THE HOUSEGUEST by Amparo Dávila0:46:00 - Read Next: THE BONE HOUSES by Emily Lloyd-Jones0:47:20 - Read Next: GIDEON THE NINTH (The Ninth House #1) by Tamsyn Muir 0:48:55 - Read Next: OVAL by Elvia Wilk0:50:21 - Read Next: SABRINA & CORINA: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine 0:51:05 - Read Next: KINGDOM OF ASH (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas0:52:04 - Besides Books: Inspire555, and more!

Summer has been fun and busy! Yuli and Sam have been going on many adventures, some through books, some in beautiful, real-life nature. Join us as we discover which Middle Earth Characters we are, cover familiar segments such as Books Spotted, 30 Second Recaps, and Currently Reading, and lastly, discuss the most recent escapades we've been embarking on this summer. 

Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod

Email us [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. 

Happy Reading!

 

 EPISODE GUIDE:

0:01:20 - Which Middle Earth Characters are we?0:04:43 - 30 Second Recaps0:08:54 - Long Reviews: THE ART OF DYING by Sarah Tolmie0:10:50 - Long Reviews: PALACES FOR THE PEOPLE by Eric Klinenberg0:14:48 - Long Reviews: THE PARCEL by Anosh Irani0:23:44 - Long Reviews: EMPIRE OF STORMS (THRONE OF GLASS #5) by Sarah J. Maas0:36:27 - Did Not Finish0:39:35 - Q: How can we retain more details on the books we've read?0:42:55 - Books Spotted: THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous0:45:06 - Books Spotted: EATING DIRT by Charlotte Gill0:47:27 - Books Spotted: BLOOD CHILD by Octavia E. Butler0:51:25 - Currently Reading: NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney0:56:05 - Currently Reading: PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee1:01:14 - Currently Reading: GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier1:04:22 - Read Next: WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power1:05:45 - Besides Books: Summer Adventures!