In this Unabridged Book Club (#unabridgedpodbookclub) episode, we discuss Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes, the amazing multigenerational novel examining two families in a planned community. We make connections to Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies, and Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, and we thoroughly discuss the intricacies of relationships over time and through generations as they are explored in the novel.

Timeline

Introduction - 00:00 - 01:35

General Discussion - 01:36- 39:48

Our Pairings - 39:50 - 46:15

Classroom Connections - 46:16 - 49:52

Our Pairings

Ashley's pick - Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere

Sara's pick - John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies

Classroom Connections and Other Mentions

Give Me One - Favorite Mixed Drink

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The hosts of Unabridged once again gathered to reflect on our year of reading and to choose some of our favorites. While Jen (as is typical) wanted to talk about all the books, Sara and Ashley did a much better job reining it in. Check out the episode to hear us talk about The Song of Achilles, Good Talk​, and The Heart's Invisible Furies. We revisit favorites from the podcast and share some of our favorite books for kids.

Our Individual Awards

Jen 

*​Best Reinterpretation of a Classic - Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles 

*Most Tear-Jerking YA Novel - Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great Is Not Okay  

Ashley

*Poignant, Hilarious, and Brilliant Graphic Memoir with a One-of-a-Kind Style - Mira Jacob’s Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

*Gripping Story that’s All about Sports, Except that It’s Really All about Life - Fredrik Backman’s Beartown

Sara

*​Best Non-fiction that Reads like a Thriller - Nick Bilton’s American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

*Best Book of My Year and on My Top 5 of All Time - John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies

Children's and Young Adult Books

*Ashley - Most Affirming Story about Accepting Oneself - Grace Byers’s I Am Enough, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo 

*Sara - Best Graphic Novel I Have Read and Also Got to Meet the Author - Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey Kiddo

*Jen - Best Series to Re-read - J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

Not My Cup of Tea

*Ashley - Alafair Burke’s The Ex

*Jen - Elizabeth McCracken’s Bowlaway

*Sara - Stephanie Land’s Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive

Favorite Book from the Podcast

*Ashley - Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

*Jen - Ibi Zoboi's Pride

*Sara - Beth Macy's Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Give Me One - A Fact People Might Be Surprised to Know about Us

*Jen - studied biology and loves science

*Sara - has an MBA and used to work in banking

*Ashley - was a white water rafting guide

*Anne Bogel's What Should I Read Next? podcast

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

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Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

The hosts of Unabridged once again gathered to reflect on our year of reading and to choose some of our favorites. While Jen (as is typical) wanted to talk about all the books, Sara and Ashley did a much better job reining it in. Check out the episode to hear us talk about The Song of Achilles, Good Talk​, and The Heart's Invisible Furies. We revisit favorites from the podcast and share some of our favorite books for kids.

Our Individual Awards

Jen 

*​Best Reinterpretation of a Classic - Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles 

*Most Tear-Jerking YA Novel - Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great Is Not Okay  

Ashley

*Poignant, Hilarious, and Brilliant Graphic Memoir with a One-of-a-Kind Style - Mira Jacob’s Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

*Gripping Story that’s All about Sports, Except that It’s Really All about Life - Fredrik Backman’s Beartown

Sara

*​Best Non-fiction that Reads like a Thriller - Nick Bilton’s American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

*Best Book of My Year and on My Top 5 of All Time - John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies

Children's and Young Adult Books

*Ashley - Most Affirming Story about Accepting Oneself - Grace Byers’s I Am Enough, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo 

*Sara - Best Graphic Novel I Have Read and Also Got to Meet the Author - Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey Kiddo

*Jen - Best Series to Re-read - J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

Not My Cup of Tea

*Ashley - Alafair Burke’s The Ex

*Jen - Elizabeth McCracken’s Bowlaway

*Sara - Stephanie Land’s Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive

Favorite Book from the Podcast

*Ashley - Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

*Jen - Ibi Zoboi's Pride

*Sara - Beth Macy's Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Give Me One - A Fact People Might Be Surprised to Know about Us

*Jen - studied biology and loves science

*Sara - has an MBA and used to work in banking

*Ashley - was a white water rafting guide

*Anne Bogel's What Should I Read Next? podcast

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

In this special holiday episode, we're wrapping up 2019 with 3 recent favorites. Stay tuned next week for our 2019 Unabridged Awards!

timeline

Click the episode title to access show notes:

*Introduction (0:00 - 2:01)

*Episode 87, "Get to Know the Hosts" (002:10 - 28:00)

*Episode 86, "Favorite Audiobooks" (28:10 - 50:11)

*Episode 91, "Book and Song Pairings" (50:22 - 72:13)

*Give Me One (72:23 - end)

give me one - favorite pizza topping

*Ashley - Bacon

*Jen - Ham and Pineapple

*Sara - Extra Cheese

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

In this special holiday episode, we're wrapping up 2019 with 3 recent favorites. Stay tuned next week for our 2019 Unabridged Awards!

timeline

Click the episode title to access show notes:

*Introduction (0:00 - 2:01)

*Episode 87, "Get to Know the Hosts" (002:10 - 28:00)

*Episode 86, "Favorite Audiobooks" (28:10 - 50:11)

*Episode 91, "Book and Song Pairings" (50:22 - 72:13)

*Give Me One (72:23 - end)

give me one - favorite pizza topping

*Ashley - Bacon

*Jen - Ham and Pineapple

*Sara - Extra Cheese

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

The Unabridged debate over what makes a holiday movie gets a little contentious as Jen and Sara face off (primarily) about Love Actually. Poor Ashley serves as moderator (sorry, Ashley!).

movie mentions

*Love Actually

*Elf

*Christmas with the Kranks

*Deck the Halls

*Jingle All the Way

*Notting Hill

*The Polar Express

*The Family Stone​

*Christmas Shoes

other mentions

*The Popcast 

*The Atlantic articles on Love Actually 

--> ​From 2004 - The Movie Review: 'Love Actually'

--> From 2013 - I Will Not Be Ashamed of Loving Love Actually / Love Actually Is the Least Romantic Film of All Time / Love Actually: Still Awful

give me one - a toy you loved when you were a kid

*Jen's pick - Barbies (organized by name and age) 

*Sara's pick - Roller Skates

*Ashley's pick - my teddy bear Fuzzy

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

The Unabridged debate over what makes a holiday movie gets a little contentious as Jen and Sara face off (primarily) about Love Actually. Poor Ashley serves as moderator (sorry, Ashley!).

movie mentions

*Love Actually

*Elf

*Christmas with the Kranks

*Deck the Halls

*Jingle All the Way

*Notting Hill

*The Polar Express

*The Family Stone​

*Christmas Shoes

other mentions

*The Popcast 

*The Atlantic articles on Love Actually 

--> ​From 2004 - The Movie Review: 'Love Actually'

--> From 2013 - I Will Not Be Ashamed of Loving Love Actually / Love Actually Is the Least Romantic Film of All Time / Love Actually: Still Awful

give me one - a toy you loved when you were a kid

*Jen's pick - Barbies (organized by name and age) 

*Sara's pick - Roller Skates

*Ashley's pick - my teddy bear Fuzzy

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

Unabridged is back with more unpopular opinions! For our second Unpopular Opinion Alert, we take on Where the Crawdad Sings, Verity, and The Female Persuasion.

works mentioned

*Ashley's Pick - Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion

*Jen's Pick - Colleen Hoover’s Verity

*Sara's Pick - Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing

give me one: Instagram accounts to follow

*Sara's pick: NYC Book Girl

*Ashley's pick: We Love Big Books and We Cannot Lie

*Jen's pick: Bookish Ladies Club

--> @reading_mom.me

--> @kb.reads19

--> @jessicasbookjourney

--> @the_reading_bee

--> @bradeighgodfrey

--> @musingwithmeirys

--> @chill_jilland_read

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

Unabridged is back with more unpopular opinions! For our second Unpopular Opinion Alert, we take on Where the Crawdad Sings, Verity, and The Female Persuasion.

works mentioned

*Ashley's Pick - Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion

*Jen's Pick - Colleen Hoover’s Verity

*Sara's Pick - Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing

give me one: Instagram accounts to follow

*Sara's pick: NYC Book Girl

*Ashley's pick: We Love Big Books and We Cannot Lie

*Jen's pick: Bookish Ladies Club

--> @reading_mom.me

--> @kb.reads19

--> @jessicasbookjourney

--> @the_reading_bee

--> @bradeighgodfrey

--> @musingwithmeirys

--> @chill_jilland_read

Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

Check out our Merch Store!

Become a patron on Patreon.​

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

Like and follow our Facebook Page.

Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check us out on Podbean.

Friends, for our Unabridged Book Club book this month, we're reading Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb's epistolary novel ​Last Christmas in Paris. This book, set predominantly during World War I, unveils the relationships of two characters, Evie and Tom, through the letters they write to each other and to friends and family. Through the lens of their very personal letters, readers also gain an understanding of other concerns of the time, including the growing role of women in Great Britain, concerns of journalism in telling the truth and supporting patriotism, mental health of soldiers, and (of course!) finding love and companionship in the midst of war. ​It's a novel of friendship, of fraternity, and of passion, set over the course of years.

timeline

*Introduction and General Discussion: 00:00 - 38:03

*Book Pairings: 38:04 - 43:34

*Classroom Connections: 43:35 - 45:18

*Give Me One: 45:20 - 47:45

book pairings

*Ashley - Ruta Sepetys’s Salt to the Sea

*Jen - Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network

*Sara - Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See​

other mentions

*Alice Walker's The Color Purple

*Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's Dangerous Liaisons 

*The Hamilton Soundtrack

give me one - musician to try

*Jen's pick - Red Hot Chili Peppers

*Sara's pick - Maroon 5

*Ashley's pick - The Chainsmokers

*Check out what's coming up next.

want to support unabridged?

*Check out our Merch Store!

*Become a patron on Patreon.​

*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.

*Like and follow our Facebook Page.

*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.

*Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

*Check us out on Podbean.