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The Book Up with Verdell Walker | Book Reviews & Book Recs
The Book Up with Verdell Walker | Book Reviews & Book Recs episodes
- Book Review: "The Naturalist Society" by Carrie Vaughn | Fiction, Cozy Academic & Historical Fantasy
Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.
Today’s featured book is The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn. In this academic fantasy, a young widow taps into a world-changing power and fights to discover herself.
If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon
(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books)
Other featured books:
- The Glass Slide World (The Naturalist Society) by Carrie Vaughn: Bookshop.org | Amazon
This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!
P.S. Looking for a playful way to tend to your reading life? Join the community newsletter and receive a free The Book Up Bingo Card to add a little more cozy to your bookish goals and TBR pile! Sign up here: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/#bingo
CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP
Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody.
Instagram: @thebookuppod
YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast
Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/
Shop: The Book Up Bookshop
If you'd like to support the show, please visit The Book Up on Ko-fi to give a one-time or monthly gift. And if you can’t give financially right now? Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!
8 min - Book Review: "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore | Fiction, Literary Thriller, Mystery
Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.
Today’s featured book is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. In this literary thriller, the worlds of a privileged family and a blue collar town collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp.
If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon
(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books)
This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!
P.S. Looking for a playful way to tend to your reading life? Join the community newsletter and receive a free The Book Up Bingo Card to add a little more cozy to your bookish goals and TBR pile! Sign up here: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/#bingo
CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP
Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody.
Instagram: @thebookuppod
YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast
Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/
Shop: The Book Up Bookshop
If you'd like to support the show, please visit The Book Up on Ko-fi to give a one-time or monthly gift. And if you can’t give financially right now? Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!
10 min - Book Review: "Blood Over Bright Haven" by M.L. Wang | Fiction, Dark Academia Fantasy
Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.
Today’s featured book is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. In this dark academic fantasy, the first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages and her janitor-turned-assistant unravel a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic in her world forever.
If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon
(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books)
Other featured books
- Babel by RF Kuang: Bookshop.org | Amazon
This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!
P.S. Looking for a playful way to tend to your reading life? Join the community newsletter and receive a free The Book Up Bingo Card to add a little more cozy to your bookish goals and TBR pile! Sign up here: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/#bingo
CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP
Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody.
Instagram: @thebookuppod
YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast
Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/
Shop: The Book Up Bookshop
If you'd like to support the show, please visit The Book Up on Ko-fi to give a one-time or monthly gift. And if you can’t give financially right now? Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!
11 min - Introducing The Book Up! 📚 A Book Review Podcast [Trailer]
Welcome to The Book Up! 📚🎙️
Hey bookworms! I’m Verdell Walker, and I’m so excited to introduce The Book Up, a weekly book review podcast where I share my honest, unfiltered thoughts on my latest reads—all in 15 minutes or less.
If you love books and want quick, insightful reviews to help you decide what to read next, this podcast is for you! Hit follow now so you don’t miss the first episode dropping on April 22, 2025.
🎧 Listen, subscribe, and get ready for your next great read!
This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music.
1 min
About The Book Up with Verdell Walker | Book Reviews & Book Recs
From the publisher's feed
Welcome to The Book Up, your thoughtful guide to discovering great books that aren’t on the end cap - but should be.
I’m your host, Verdell Walker, a Harvard…
MBA who’s blazed a trail at companies like The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs, Scholastic, and Sesame Street. I’m also a Black Southern belle raised by books, and a published writer who knows how stories work.
Books are my passion, and my mission is to help you find the stories you'll love to read — and dodge the ones you won't. Whether you're looking for your next great read or just need a trusted source for book recs that actually deliver, you've found your place.
Each week, I review a book, and in just 15 minutes, you’ll know whether it belongs at the top of your TBR pile or is destined for a DNF.
Think of me as your personal book matchmaker — here to give you reading recs that will rock your world, and save you from wasting your time, money, and library holds along the way.
Stories bring us together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Whether you're a lifelong reader, someone crawling out of a reading slump, or a book lover who just needs a trusted voice to help them find a great story — you're exactly who I built this for.
New episodes drop weekly on Tuesdays. Come on in, get cozy, and let me give you The Book Up!
P.S. Looking for a playful way to tend to your reading life? Join the community newsletter and receive a free The Book Up Bingo Card to add a little more cozy to your bookish goals and TBR pile! Sign up here: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/#bingo
CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP
Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/
Instagram: @thebookuppod
YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thebookuppodcast/
Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/
Shop: The Book Up Bookshop* and Amazon
Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify! Thanks for sharing The Book Up's story!
*Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!