Reading Envy

Kala and Jenny meet again about a year after our previous conversation to chat about books we've read lately, from presidential memoirs to romance to books that haven't had enough attention. We tackle backlogs and bookstacks along the way. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 216: Eloquent and Elegant. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:    A Promised Land by Barack Obama Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard Telephone by Percival Everett Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Other mentions: Becoming by Michelle Obama Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon The Talented Ribkins by Ladee Hubbard Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw Long Bright River by Liz Moore Untraceable by Sergei Lebedev, translated by Antonina W. Bouis Related episodes:Episode 096 - Not Without Hope with Yanira Ramirez Episode 143 - Reading the Pain with Kala Episode 151 - The Stories They Tell with Karen Episode 184 - Theme Night at Book Club with Kala Episode 213 - Funicular Reads with Bianca Stalk us online: Kala on Twitter Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Kala on Facebook Kala's blog, Reader then Blogger Kala is @ReaderthenBlogger on Instagram Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

I hope you have been enjoying our string of new guests, four out of the last five. Lola talks about her life as a "serial book clubber" and shares books she's read and loved lately. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 215: Lovely Pile. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Days in the Caucasus by Banine, translated by Anne Thompson-Ahmadova Deacon King Kong by James McBride Other mentions: Elizabeth Acevedo Make Me a World imprint Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson (memoir mentioned) Normal People by Sally Rooney A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Lisa Dillman The Good Lord Bird by James McBride We the Animals by Justin Torres Santino Fontana Armie Hammer The End of the Affair by Graham Greene; read by Colin Firth Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Schaffer The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah The January Children by Safia Elhillo Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi Bahni Turpin Rosamund Pike Thandi Newton Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell Rich & Pretty by Rumaan Alam The Need by Helen Philips Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins The Push by Ashley Audrain Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Long Bright River by Liz Moore Beneath the Keep by Erika Johansen Related episodes:Episode 051 - Dreaming in Books with Karen Episode 067 - Rain and Readability with Ruth(iella) Episode 147 - Bonus Poetry Recommendations with Lauren Episode 202 - Jacket Flap with Chris and Emily Stalk us online: Lola at Goodreads Lola is @ferociousreader on Instagram and @Lola on Litsy Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

New guest Mina speaks with Jenny about her 2021 reading goals, a book club with an amazing life of its own, and books we've read and liked recently. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 214: Extreme Hiking. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderesch 32 Yolks by Eric Ripert The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay Other mentions: Sea Glass by Anita Shreve The Sellout by Paul Beatty Deacon King Kong by James McBride Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn Family Ingredients (PBS show) Example of extreme hiking - Waipio Valley A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Article mentioned about Piranesi and quarantine Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Pop Sugar Reading Challenge The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce Scrawl Books KCRW Bookworm - Douglas Stuart Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart Telephone by Percival Everett Related episodes:Episode 084 - A Worthy Tangent with Bryan Alexander Episode 102 - The Reading Women Reading Envy Crossover Episode Episode 183 - Birthing Rabbits with Jessica Episode 192 - Sly Milieu with Thomas Episode 211 - Rereads and Romance with Kim Stalk us online: Mina at Goodreads Mina is @minamina0907 on Instagram Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

Bianca returns to talk about last year's reading, new goals, and comfort reads like found families and historical romance. There are a lot of geeky and nerdy characters in this episode as well. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 213: Funicular Reads. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw The Chain by Adrian McKinty White Ivy by Susie Yang One by One by Ruth Ware Other mentions: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles #readwhatyouown Pop Sugar Reading Challenge Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV The Backstagers by James Tynion IV Hawkeye: Kate Bishop by Kelly Thompson Comixology The Guild (tv show) Magic the Gathering Read or Dead podcast Article about Spotify It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart Related episodes:Episode 094 - House Arrest with Libby Young Episode 127 - The Sadness Between Books with Bianca Escalante Episode 145 - Things Get Dark with Bianca Escalante Stalk us online: Bianca is @bianca on Litsy Bianca at Goodreads Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

Vinny is technically a new guest, although his voice may be familiar from a readalong episode. We talk about books strange and weird, translated, and an exciting memoir few have heard of. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 212: Subtly Fascinating. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed: What You Have Heard is True: A Witness of Memoir and Resistance by Carolyn Forché Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link Catherine the Great and the Small by Olja Knezevic, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać and Paula Gordon The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas; translated by Michael Barnes Other mentions: The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald Claribel Alegría The Country Between Us by Carolyn Forché Get in Trouble by Kelly Link The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell Swamplandia! by Karen Russell Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell Weeki Wachee State Park Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem Black Swan Green by David Mitchell Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam The Changeling by Victor Lavalle Related episodes: Episode 137 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Golden Notebook Episode 198 - Mood Reading with Robin Episode 203 - Backlist with Marion Stalk us online: Vinny is @billypar on Litsy Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

The first regular episode of 2021 kicks off with a new guest - Kim. She talks about how she made it through 2020 by doing a lot of rereading books with disaster magnets, rich brothers, and fire cats. Jenny pitches in with one recent and one deep backlist title. We may fawn over Portland a little as well. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 211: Rereads and Romance. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor The Blue Jay's Dance: A Birth Year by Louise Erdrich Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid Other mentions: Powell's Books Annie Bloom's Books Silvia Moreno-Garcia (the book referenced is Mexican Gothic) Book Riot - Get Booked Podcast Currently Reading Podcast From the Front Porch Podcast Home Cooking Podcast Pop Sugar Reading Challenge Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Valdemar Series by Mercedes Lackey Quan Barry makes a powerpoint Doomsday Book by Connie Willis Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich Willa Cather Knitting in the City series by Penny Reid Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid Truth or Beard by Penny Reid Winds of Fate by Mercedes Lackey Burke's Law by Brian Burke The City of Brass by S.A. Charkaborty Related episodes: Episode 119 - Bread and Butter Writing with Paula Episode 181 - An Awkward Woman with Yanira Ramirez Episode 184 - Theme Night at Book Club with Kala Episode 190 - The Good Life with Alex Stalk us online: Kim at Goodreads Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors.

Jenny reports back on how she did on her 2020 reading goals in the midst of challenging circumstances, then sets goals for 2021. Then a handful of podcast and reading friends share their reading goals for 2021. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 210: 2021 Reading Goals Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  Or listen through Google Podcasts Jenny’s Goals Focus on reading Europe Catch up on books with music as a central theme Authors to try list Keep up with subscriptions Participate in challenges Audrey (@dreesreads in Instagram) Be more relaxedOne big non-fiction readBooker International long/shortlistNational Book Award Poetry LonglistContinue listening to audiobooks Laurie Pop Sugar 2021 Reading Challenge Back to the Classics 2021 Challenge (Books and Chocolate blog) Ellie (@shatterlings in Instagram) Russian classics Vassily Grossman buddy reads  Scott  Emphasis on reading, continue checking off TBR Shakespeare plays Presidential biographies  Courtney Read 40 booksRead 20 books she already owns  Robin Be consistent about journaling about books read Slow down and be more reflective after finishing More classics, more Willa Cather, maybe Proust Authors around the world Read more from physical TBR  Karen Naughton (@BarkerForBooks in Instagram)Complete reading Thomas Hardy, hopefully 1 book a month Paula This year's theme will be nature books Books discussed:  The Ensemble by Aja Gabal Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel The Student Conductor by Robert Ford Music and Silence by Rose Tremain Songbook by Nick Hornby Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita Compass by Mathias Enard War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Devils by Fyodor Dostoevsky Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Neverness by David Zindell The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin Wilson by A. Scott Berg A Full Life by Jimmy Carter Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively At Hawthorne Time by Melissa Harrison Station Life in New Zealand by Lady Barker Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui  Other mentions:Two Lines Press Restless Books Graywolf Galley Club ND New Classics Erin and Dani's Book Club on Instagram ReadtheWorld21 in Instagram Rainy Day Bites Cookbook Club The Free Black Women's Library on Instagram The Free Black Women's Library Stalk us online: Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy If you want to hear more from one of the guests who appeared on this episode, go to the episode guide and do a search. All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate.

Jenny invited past guests and members of the Reading Envy Readers group in Goodreads to contribute their best reads of 2020. In true Reading Envy fashion, books were not necessarily published in 2020. We always like to hear if you read a book because you heard about it on the podcast! Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 209: Best Reads of 2020 Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  New! Listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  Jenny's full list of 5-star reads for 2020 Sovietistan by Erika Fatland The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Deacon King Kong by James McBride Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tolkarzcuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones One Hundred Twenty One Days by Michèle Audin, translated by Christiana Hills The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili, translated by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica translated by Sarah Moses Mama Day by Gloria Naylor Milkman by Anna Burns The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky Born a Crime by Trevor Noah War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste Fiebre Tropical by Juliana Delgado Lopera The Last Best League by Jim Collins The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackman Lauren The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart, translated from the French by Barbara Bray How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico Before and After the Storm ed. by Yarimar Bonilla and Marisol LeBron Letters: Summer 1926 by Boris Pasternak, Maria Tsvetaeva, and Rainer Maria Rilke, translated from German and Russian by Margaret Wettlin and Jamey Gambrell Other mentions: Discussion of The Only Good Indians on the Shelf Wear Podcast Discussion of Drive Your Plow... on the Book Cougars Podcast Discussion of Drive Your Plow... on the Book Cougars Goodreads group   Stalk us online: Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy If you want to hear more from one of the guests who appeared on this episode, go to the episode guide and do a search. All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate.

It's the last regular episode of the year, featuring frequent guest Lauren. We talk reading around the world, different ways of interacting with other readers, poetry, and more. I know there is a slight sound issue and we think it is internet connection related. I took out of it as much as I could but every once in a while it arises mid-sentence. We will try to do better next time! Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 208: Thriving in Marginalia. Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  New! Listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:  On a Truck Alone, to McMahon by Nabaneeta Dev Sen Reading the Ceiling by Dayo Forster Ursula K. LeGuin: The Last Interview edited by David Streitfeld My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo Other mentions: #readtheworld21 Dune by Frank Herbert Dune (feature film, forthcoming) The Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Chef by Jaspreet Singh The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin National Book Award - Lifetime Achievement Award, Ursula K. Le Guin Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (documentary) *Columbus, GA (I called it Columbia the first time, sorry) The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Books on the Go podcast - American Sunrise Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo When the Light of the World was Subdued edited by Joy Harjo Want by Lynn Steger Strong Related episodes: Episode 083 - Slowing Down and Rereading with Julie Davis Episode 097 - Blank Spaces with Lauren Weinhold Episode 123 - Godlets and Forests with Lauren Weinhold Episode 133 - To Understand the World with Lauren Weinhold Episode 138 - Shared Landscape with Lauren Weinhold  Episode 147 - Bonus Poetry Recommendations with Lauren Episode 161 - Women in Translation Month Recommendations with Lauren Episode 163 - Fainting Goats with Lauren Episode 186 - This is Gravity with Jeff Episode 189 - Surreal Superpowers with Tim Episode 197 - Surly Magnificence with Lauren Stalk us online: Lauren at Goodreads Lauren is @end.notes on Instagram Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors.

Jenny records across the sea to talk to artist and English teacher Tricia Deegan. If you hear any words that seem stretched out, blame the internet under the ocean! I did what I could in the editing but there are a few unavoidable blips. Nothing too bad, so please enjoy this new guest to the show. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 207: Innocent and Ruthless Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe Or listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via Stitcher Or listen through Spotify  New! Listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Farewell, Ghosts by Nadia Terranova; translated by Ann Goldstein Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Mackintosh-Smith The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Other mentions: Leila Slimani Maupassant Delpine De Vigan The Years by Annie Ernaux Blindness by Jose Saramago Dracula by Bram Stoker Elena Ferrante Grimm's Fairy Tales The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Darwin Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier (William Blake) The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier Native Son by Richard Wright Caste by Isabel Wilkerson Becoming by Michelle Obama These Truths by Jill LePore Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi Stamped! Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X Kendi and Jason Reynolds A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross Kim JiYoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, translated by Jamie Chang City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab Related episodes: Episode 071 - Bad Priest, Good Priest, No Priest with Scott Episode 098 - Just a Bunch of Stuff that Happened with Bryan Bibb Stalk us online: Tricia is @trishadeegan on Instagram Jenny at Goodreads Jenny on Twitter Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors.