Paperback Readers

Paperback Readers, Episode 89

Joe and Julie

Our March reading has been a lot of fun, and we are happy to get to share it with you! Our shared read was One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake, and our next one will be Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed.

All the books we discussed are below. Let us know what you’ve been reading!

Wire-to-Wire Reds by John Erardi and Joel Luckhaupt

Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner

Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Right on Cue by Falon Ballard

Why We Read by Shannon Reed

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

The Getaway List by Emma Lord

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

Paperback Readers, Episode 88

Joe and Julie

The Super Bowl is over, and baseball is here! At least, that’s how it feels in our house. Today we’re talking about Joe Posnanski’s new book, Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments. We’re also catching up on everything else we’ve been reading! Join us next time when we talk about One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake.

I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

Get the Picture by Bianca Bosker

A Moment in Time by Ralph Branca

Not a Game by Kent Babb

Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members by Ray Padgett

Why We Love Baseball by Joe Posnanski

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

Paperback Readers, Episode 87

Joe and Julie

It’s a new year of books, and we are so happy to get to talk to you about what we’ve been reading. This week, our shared read was How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks.

We’re catching you up on highlights from what we’ve read in the month of January. Join us next time when we talk about Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski.

Wilson by A. Scott Berg

The World’s Largest Man by Harrison Scott Key

Smart, Wrong, and Lucky by Jonathan Mayo

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

The Upstairs Delicatessen by Dwight Garner

The Joy of Snacks by Laura Goodman

Red Sauce, Brown Sauce by Felicity Cloake

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

Why We Love Baseball by Joe Posnanski

Paperback Readers, Episode 86

Joe and Julie

It’s here! We’re discussing our favorite books of 2023, and we’re joined by our friend Haley (on Instagram @readanyways and also on her Substack, titled Anyways) sharing her faves too. We had so much fun with this conversation! Be sure to let us know what your favorites were.

All our favorite books are listed below. Join us next time when Joe and Julie discuss How to Know a Person by David Brooks.

Julie’s Books:

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith

Jane & Edward by Melodie Edwards

How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Somebody’s Fool by Richard Russo

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last by Wright Thompson

Joe’s Books:

Pappyland by Wright Thompson

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Somebody’s Fool by Richard Russo

The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series by Tyler Kepner

Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey by Robert Johnson

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key

All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore

Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective by Pat Summit with Sally Jenkins

(Honorable mention nods for Hello Beautiful and Twilight in Hazard)

Haley’s Books:

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

Stealing by Margaret Verble

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Florin

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel

The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland

We Were Once a Family by Roxanna Asgarian

Paperback Readers, Episode 85

Joe and Julie

Welcome to the last episode of 2023! We have loved getting to talk about books with you again this year. Thank you for listening, emailing, and commenting. It’s always so much fun to share books with you, and to track down your recommendations.

We are ending 2023 with a book we loved—Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last by Wright Thompson, and we are catching you up with the reading that has finished out our year. All the books we discussed are listed below. Next time, we’ll be cataloging our favorite reads of 2023, and sharing some of our plans for 2024.

Happy holidays!

Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

The Shepherd, The Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry

Singled Out by Andrew Maraniss

Pappyland by Wright Thompson

Paperback Readers, Episode 84

Joe and Julie

We are big fans of Michael Lewis, and we’re excited to talk to you about his latest book, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, which is our shared book this week.

All the books we discussed are listed below. Join us next time when we discuss Pappyland by Wright Thompson.

The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson by Jeff Pearlman

Basketball: A Love Story by Jackie MacMullan, et al.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis

Pappyland by Wright Thompson

Paperback Readers, Episode 83

Joe and Julie

Welcome back! We’re so happy to get to talk about Wright Thompson’s essay collection, The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business, as well as everything else we’ve been reading.

All the books we discussed are listed below. Please join us next time when we talk about Michael Lewis’s latest book, Going Infinite.

Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Michael Burlingame

This Must Be the Place by Jami Nato

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Cost of These Dreams by Wright Thompson

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis

Paperback Readers, Episode 82

Joe and Julie

We are so happy to be back and talking books with you. Our shared read this week was I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt. All the books we discussed are below. Come back next time when we talk about Wright Thompson’s book The Cost of These Dreams.

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Court Stevens

Start With Hello by Shannan Martin

Beach Read by Emily Henry

We Came, We Saw, We Left by Charles Wheelan

Man on Spikes by Eliot Asinof

Abraham Lincoln: A Life (12 volumes) by Michael Burlingame

I Take My Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt

The Cost of These Dreams by Wright Thompson

Paperback Readers, Episode 81

Joe and Julie

We are huge fans of this week’s shared read: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith and have looked forward to sharing it with you! All the books we have been reading lately are listed below. Join us in two weeks when we talk about I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt.

Baseball: The Early Years by Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills

Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Michael Burlingame

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary

Crafting a Life by Donald M. Murray

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt

Paperback Readers, Episode 80

Joe and Julie

Late once again, but you don’t want to miss the book we’re talking about this week: Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, which is another book in line for our favorites of the year. Join us in two weeks when we’re talking about The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith.

All the books we discussed are listed below. Let us know what you think we should be reading by emailing us at [email protected].

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Unearthing Joy by Gholdy Muhammad

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

Can’t Help Falling by Courtney Walsh

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

Lebron by Jeff Benedict

Got Your Number by Mike Greenberg

100 Things Royals Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die by Matt Fulks

Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Michael Burlingame (multiple volumes)

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett