Today we’re recommending books for Holly and her husband Brandon. Holly enjoys historical fiction books that are a good mixture of character and plot driven, fantasy series where the setting is so strong it almost becomes a character itself, and books where the story is told from different characters’ perspectives. Brandon is just starting to become a reader and really enjoys plot driven stories, thrillers that lean towards horror, and sports. Tune in to find out which books we recommend for this bookish couple, plus what we’re currently reading.

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Books Mentioned:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Gunslinger by Jeff Pearlman

Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss

The Institute by Stephen King 

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.J. Carey

Ali by Jonathan Eig 

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

The true story of Theranos is stranger than fiction. From its conception to its downfall, this Silicon Valley startup reveals truths about human nature and questions about its founder. In Bad Blood, John Carreyrou exposes Elizabeth Holmes as a fraud and crafts a narrative about the power of FOMO, the fear of missing out. You don’t have to like nonfiction, business, science, or medicine to enjoy this story. It’s a page-turning tale about human nature, privilege, and justice. We read and loved Bad Blood over summer, and it got us thinking about the appeal of investigative journalism in general.

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Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga

Unbelievable: My Front Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur

Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss

All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

Spotlight (Film)

All the President's Men (Film)

State of Play (Film)

Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright 

The Looming Tower (Hulu)

The Black Count by Tom Reiss

We're celebrating ONE YEAR of He Read She Read in your podcast feed today with an Ask Us Anything episode. We've got behind the scenes details, funny stories, and - of course- book recommendations for you. We've been having so much fun creating this project together and still can't believe that y'all listen to us talk about books every other week. Thank you for your kind messages, reviews, and bookish enthusiasm!

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WSIRN 164

WSIRN 200

Dorion & Harmony Interview 

Rich & Brit Interview Part 1

Rich & Brit Interview Part 2

Manuary SSR The Phantom Tollbooth

SSR Tuck Everlasting

The Trial of Lizzie Borden Discussion

Our first episode!

Auto-Buy Authors Episode

The Song of Achilles Episode

A detective and a neuroscientist grapple with memory, the pain of loss, and the limits of science in Blake Crouch’s most recent time-travel thriller, Recursion. Crouch is known for cinematic plots, and Recursion is reportedly being adapted for Netflix. But did we think it lived up to the hype? Is it as good as Dark Matter? Or did Blake Crouch trick us into reading the same book twice?

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The Rook by Daniel O’ Malley

The Travelers by Regina Porter

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Time Travel Stories

Today we’re answering MORE listener questions about “classic literature” (heavy air quotes), sharing which classics have inched their way up our to be read lists, and recommending some classics to read in the Fall. We also have some reminders: In order to win 3 months of free audiobooks, please take a minute to write a review on Apple podcasts and help more bookworms find our show. We’re so grateful for those reviews, and we’d really like to hit 100 reviews by our one year podcast anniversary in October. We'll draw the winners and announce them on the show in October. We’re also collecting questions for an Ask Us Anything episode in October to celebrate one year of podcasting together. Send your questions via email or DM.

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Show Notes:

Shakespeare

The Odyssey

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Episode 24

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Pronounce Alexander Dumas

The Black Count by Tom Reiss

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

On War by Carl von Clausewitz

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

Edgar Allan Poe short stories

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Mandalorian

Star Wars Episode 9

Leavenworth

The Source of Self Regard by Toni Morrison

The Rendezvous by Daphne Du Maurier

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

On Episode 164 of What Should I Read Next, Anne Bogel recommended Montana 1948 by Larry Watson as a buddy read for us. Its strong sense of place, small town drama, and sparse but powerful prose appealed to both of our tastes. The story is about a 12 year old boy and his family and how the summer of 1948 changes, and unravels, them all. Listeners should be aware that this book discussion will cover topics like sexual assault, racism, and suicide. Take care of yourselves and skip this episode if you need to. 

Show Notes

WSIRN Episode 164

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Milkweed

American Boy by Larry Watson

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

LaRose by Lousie Erdrich

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

(On the episode, we grouped Richard Wagamese with Native American authors, but he is one of Canada's most important Indigenous authors. We highly recommend his book to all readers!)

Mindhunter

Grace and Frankie

How Did This Get Made

Seattle, Washington Stories of Native Women

NPR on Justice for Native Americans

We love a good bookstore date, especially used bookstores! Today we’re sharing five tips to maximize your used bookstore experience. We’re also talking about the off-the-beaten-path titles we’ve picked up at used bookstores this summer. What are your used bookstore tips? Post and tag us @hereadsheread on Instagram. 

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Books Mentioned:

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn

The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

The Color of Water by James McBride

Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston

Rock Needs River by Vanessa McGrady

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence 

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt 

What Happened to Anna K. by Irina Reyn

The Future is History by Masha Gessen

Between the World and Me by Ta Nehesi Coates

The Water Dancer by Ta Nehesi Coates

Today we have a very special bonus mini episode in which we are recommending books to one of our best friends from college. This episode is all about books for Katie, one of the kindest and smartest people we know. Katie is in our long distance book club that we run on Facebook, so we were able to use a little more information than what Katie gave us in order to recommend books for her. If, like Katie, you like plot-driven novels and inspirational true stories, then get your TBR lists ready. 

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Books Mentioned: 

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Darren Matthews is a Black Texas Ranger, and he’s all too aware of the deeply embedded racial tensions in East Texas. His personal life is in turmoil, and he's supposed to turn his badge in, yet he can't help but get wrapped up in a small town mystery. Decades-long grudges and hatred surface as he investigates, but it seems like everyone except for Darren just wants to push the racism and prejudice down instead of rooting it out. This award-winning mystery is the first in Attica Locke’s Highway 59 series. Today we’re discussing Bluebird, Bluebird. (Our discussion episodes contain spoilers). 

Show Notes:

The Importance of OWN Voices Reviews

Review of Bluebird, Bluebird by Esi Edugyan

Attica Locke on her “love letter to Black Texans

Attica Locke: “In America, We Walk ‘Side by Side’ With Our Past”

First Black Texas Ranger

The First African-American Woman Texas Ranger

The Real Lone Ranger

We didn’t fully address the heavy use of racist language in Bluebird, Bluebird in our discussion and couldn’t find any reviews or interviews that focused on it. Here are two resources on the importance of learning the history behind racist terms:

Teaching Tolerance

The Root

Recommendations: 

The Dry by Jane Harper

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Pronto/Raylan by Elmore Leonard 

Today we’re answering listener questions about reading “the classics.” How do we define “classic literature?” And which classic books are on our to be read piles? In addition to defining and discussing the importance of certain “cultural touchstone” books, we recommend classic literature to read in the summertime. 

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Show Notes:

“Why Read the Classics” by Italo Calvino

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson

Emma by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Passing by Nella Larsen

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier 

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery 

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde