Reading Envy

Jenny asked previous podcast guests to chat about their top reads of the year, whether or not they were published in 2021. Jenny also chimes in with her own obscure categories. Please enjoy hearing from Tina, Tom, Lindy, Trish, Andrew, Kim, Jeff, Elizabeth, Audrey, Scott, Robin, Mina, Emily, Chris, Nadine, and Ross.

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Reading Envy 236: Best Reads of 2021

(duplicates removed)

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram x. Kendo and Keisha N. Blaine
Broken Horses written and read by Brandi Carlile
Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
When the Light of the World was Subdued edited by Joy Harjo
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells
Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera, narrated by Sean Christen
Fight Night by Miriam Toews
Nervous Conditions trilogy by Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deeshaw Philyaw, read by Janina Edwards
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Seasonal Quartet by Ali Smith
How to Be Both by Ali Smith
MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss
Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss
Ladivine by Marie Ndiaye
To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters by Amy Binns
Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon
Dune by Frank Herbert
One Long River of Song by Bryan Doyle
Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience edited by Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
Sparrow Envy by J. Drew Lanham
Home is not a Country by Safia Elhillo
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichy
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernandez
Peach Blossom Paradise by Ge Fei
The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree Jeffers
Summer Brother by Jaap Robben; translateld by David Doherty
Njal’s Saga by Anonymous
Brood by Jackie Pollen
Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End: A Memoir by Lizi Levine
Nancy by Bruno Lloret; translated by Ellen Jones
Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers  
O Beautiful by Jung Yun
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams, narrated by Adenrele Ojo
Shelter by Jung Yun
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Love and Saffron
 by Kim Fay
Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto and Ann Xu
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Telephone by Percival Everett
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut; translated by Adrian West; read by Adam Barr
To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek
The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire by William Dalrymple
A Spare Life by Lidija Dimkovska, translated by Christina E. Kramer
Mud Sweeter than Honey: Voices of Communist Albania by Margo Rejmer, translated by Antonio Lloyd-Jones
Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Flatland, translated by Kari Dickson

Related episodes: 

Episode 046 - Books for Your Kitty Party (The Best of 2015) with Libby Young and many other guests
Episode 075 - After the Year We've Had (Best of 2016)
Episode 105 - Best Reads of 2017
Episode 139 - Stocking Stuffer (Best Reads of 2018)
Episode 176 - Best of 2019
Episode 209 - Best Reads of 2020
Episode 210 - Reading Goals 2021

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Reading Envy 235: Nature of Humanity

Wrestling with the Angel by Michael King
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
The Owl Service by Alan Garner
Sovietistan by Erika Fatland, translated by Kari Dickson
Chronicle in Stone by Ismaeil Kedare, translated by Arshi Pipa and David Below

Other mentions:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
An Angel at My Table by Janet Frame
Faces in the Water by Janet Frame
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Small Island by Andrea Levy
The Swing in the Summerhouse by Jane Longton
The Border by Erika Fatland
The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Embers by Sandor Marai

Related episodes: 

Episode 045 - Worlds Collide with Ross O'Brien
Episode 119 - Bread and Butter Writing with Paula
Episode 154 - Is If If with Paula
Episode 187 - Sentient Snails and Spaceships with Paula
Episode 210 - Reading Goals 2021
Episode 231 - Psychological Terrorism with Reggie
Episode 234 - Punctuation Marks with Nadine

Jenny and Nadine reconvene to talk about reasons not to set reading goals, look back on the year, and discuss which books we've read and enjoyed lately.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 234: Punctuation Marks

Mr. Eternity by Aaron Their

Other mentions:

Cloud Atlas

Related episodes: 

Episode 008 - Gone Rogue with guests Steve Richardson, Libby Young, and Mike Winiski
Episode 038 - Monica Byrne Wants to Make People (Want to) Scream with guest Monica Byrne
Episode 129 - Coming Back to Books with Nadine

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 233: Get Into Trouble

Other mentions:

Tournament of Books' Tournament of Favorites
Booker Prize
National Book Award
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Version Control by Dexter Caldwell
Amelia Peabody series
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Orfeo by Richard Powers
Hillary Mantel
Dissolution (play)
Patricia Cornwell
The Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

Related episodes: 

Episode 012 - Some Bookers and Some Madness
Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and Elizabeth
Episode 067 - Rain and Readability with Ruth(iella)
Episode 130 - All the Jennifers with Fern Ronay

I am joined by Nadine, Vinny, Laurie, and Bryn to discuss Barkskins by Annie Proulx. We bring in some of the discussion in Goodreads as well as some fresh eyes on this text.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 232: Barkskins Readalong

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

Other mentions:

Love Medicine series by Louise Erdrich
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
London by Edward Rutherfurd
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
First Americans Museum
Thirty Nine Restaurant
Meridian by Alice Walker
Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstaya, translated by Jamey Gambrell

Related episodes: 

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden
Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 118 - Reading Envy Readalong: To the Bright Edge of the World
Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook
Episode 157 - Joint Readalong of Gone with the Wind with Book Cougars
Episode 185 - The Loyal Swineherd (Odyssey readalong)
Episode 193 - And I Feel Fine (Ducks, Newburyport READALONG)
Episode 221 - Joint Poetry Readalong with the Book Cougars
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Sapphira and the Slave Girl
Book Cougars - Joint Readalong of Braiding Sweetgrass

Reggie is back for a horror-specific episode, just in time for the second half of October. We discuss what works for us in horror (and what doesn't) and share a few books that have gotten under our skin.

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Reading Envy 231: Psychological Terrorism

Other mentions:

The Missing by Sarah Langan
Nos4A2 by Joe Hill
Bonkers Romance Podcast
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Podcast
Professional Book Nerds Podcast
Books in the Freezer Podcast
Earth Fathers are Weird by Lyn Gala
Rewind or Die Series, Unnerving Press (Reggie recommends volumes 2-6, 12-14, 16)
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones
@SincerelyWinona in Litsy
The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Shining by Stephen King
Under the Dome by Stephen King
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James
Hild by Nicola Griffith
A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Related episodes: 

Episode 041 - Grotesque Beauty with Nathan Ballingrud
Episode 045 - Worlds Collide with Ross O'Brien
Episode 070 - Words Like Weapons with Yanira Ramirez
Episode 167 - Book Pendulum with Reggie
Episode 191 - Stealthy yet Sparkly with Gail Carriger

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 230: Iron Bubble

Other mentions:

Robert Burns Night in Hong Kong
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
Booker Award
Camp ToB
Kazuo Ishiguro - Nobel Prize
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Wall-E (film)
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Maybe Esther: A Family Story by Katja Petrowskaja

Related episodes: 

Episode 028 - The Room of Requirement with David Galloway
Episode 045 - Worlds Collide with Ross O'Brien

Author and podcaster Tom Merritt joins Jenny to talk about books, mostly science fiction and fantasy, and Tom shares about his newest book, Project V.E.R.A. Jenny knows Tom from the Sword and Laser Book Club and Podcast, but it's not his only project!

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 229: Second Contact

Other mentions:

Daily Tech News
Know a Little More
Cord Killers
Sword and Laser Podcast
East Meets West
Tech Republic Top 5
Current Geek
Let's Talk About Star Wars
It's a Thing
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
The Expanse (series by S.A. Corey)
NaNoWriMo
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Wayfarers (series by Becky Chambers)
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel

Related episodes: 

Episode 008 - Gone Rogue with guests Steve Richardson, Libby Young, and Mike Winiski
Episode 013 - The Secret Central Force with Josh Lawrence and terpkristin
Episode 038 - Monica Byrne Wants to Make People (Want to) Scream with guest Monica Byrne
Episode 055 - Too Late for an Autopsy with Julie Davis
Episode 087 - Going Native with Bookclub Social with Amanda and Grace
Episode 126 - Bernice Bobs her Hair with Jon Laubinger
Episode 154 - Is If If with Paula
Episode 191 - Stealthy yet Sparkly with Gail Carriger
Sword and Laser guest host - Episode 408
Sword and Laser guest host - Episode 409 

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Reading Envy 228: Full of Secrets

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
A Spare Life by Lidija Dimkovska, translated by Christina E. Kramer
In the Lateness of the World by Carolyn Forché
The Woman from Uruguay by Pedro Mairal, translated by Jennifer Croft
That Time of Year by Marie Ndiaye, translated by Jordan Stump

Other mentions:

Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Readalong information
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichy
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar
The Employees by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut, translated by Adrian Nathan West
In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
Consent by Annabel Lyon
Summer Brother by Jaap Robben
Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastasic
What You Have Heard is True by Carolyn Forché
Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
The Missing Year of Juan Salvatierra by Pedro Mairal
Census by Jesse Ball
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Varghese
Beyond Babylon by Igiaba Scego
Adua by Igiaba Scego
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Sorrow by Claribel Alegria
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

Related episodes: 

Episode 088 - Author Head Space with Sara Moore
Episode 112 - Reset Button with Eleanor Thoele
Episode 195 - Muchness with Nadine
Episode 207 - Innocent and Ruthless with Tricia Deegan
Episode 212 - Subtly Fascinating with Vinny

Jenny is joined by Ed Needham, who has singlehandedly been producing a literary magazine in the UK. We talk about books we've read recently!

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Reading Envy 227: Strong Words

Other mentions:

Strong Words Magazine
Gossip Girl (tv)
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Discussion of East of Eden on the Literary Disco podcast
Milkman by Anna Burns
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Great Beauty (film)
Meltdown Festival
Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher by Max Allan Collins and A. Brad Schwartz 
Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastasic, translated by the author

Related episodes: 

Episode 012 - Some Bookers and Some Madness
Episode 088 - Author Head Space with Sara Moore
Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 112 - Reset Button with Eleanor Thoele
Episode 129 - Coming Back to Books with Nadine
Episode 130 - All the Jennifers with Fern Ronay
Episode 192 - Sly Milieu with Thomas