What You Should Read

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What recent releases are we looking forward to this holiday season? Tune in to the advent minisode to find out!

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It’s the holiday season! We love Christmas so we thought we’d put together a series of short advent calendar “minisodes” for our listeners. These episodes will be about all the things we love about Christmas—recipes, movies, and of course, lots of book recs. 

Our first episode is a juicy one. We’re talking balls! Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, that is. Rachael and Julia’s mom Becky gives her famous recipe: Mix Peanut Butter, crushed graham crackers, and powdered sugar until smooth, form into balls and harden in the fridge. Dip in melted chocolate or almond bark. 

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In this episode, we talk about how the pandemic has affected our reading habits. We also chat about ways to read more and what to do (or not do!) when we’re reading less. So here's some tips on how to read more and why not to feel guilty about choosing to not prioritize your TBR for a little while. 

LINKS:

Book of the Month Club https://www.bookofthemonth.com/the-best-new-books

Romancing the Runoff has raised almost half a million dollars to help the Senate go Blue in Georgia's runoff elections in January. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/romancingrunoff to donate.

Penguin Random House may acquire Simon & Schuster. It's a deal worth over $2 billion and is subject to government approval. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/25/media/simon-schuster-penguin-random-house/index.html for more

Lola & Pear Publishing: https://www.lolaandpear.com/

THE BOOKS:

Currently Reading:

Julia: The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult) and A Promised Land Barack Obama)

Kelly: Valentine (Elizabeth Wetmore)

Rachael: Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel)

You Know What You Should Read:

Bekki: Devolution (Max Brooks), Sex & Vanity (Kevin Kwan), Mommy Didn't Say That (Allison McGill and Charla Everhart; illustrated by John Paul Snead), Rosie to the Rescue (Angela Kissel; illustrated by John Paul Snead) and The Adventures of Duke the "Therapy Dog" (Allison McGill; illustrated by John Paul Snead)

Julia: Dreams From My Father (Barack Obama)

Kelly: Ready Player Two (Ernest Cline) and Secret Santa (Andrew Shaffer)

Rachael: Smile, Sisters and Guts (all by Raina Telgemeier)

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We do a deep dive into JK Rowling's anti-trans comments and how that has affected our feelings about Harry Potter. Can you separate the art from the artist and should you try? How do you balance something you love with the harm its creator is doing to people? There aren't easy answers but it's a subject worth grappling with. And, as a bonus, we recommend books you can read instead of hers. (Well, not The Casual Vacancy; people are already not reading that one.)

LINKS:

Joan He and her publisher's seeming breach of contract: https://twitter.com/joanhewrites/status/1325893647267729409 (Twitter thread)

Romancing the Runoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RomancingRunoff 

Donate to them on ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/romancingrunoff 

The auction starts on Wednesday, November 18. 

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YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Don't forget about our book club! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on December 8! You can email your thoughts or find us on social media! We're really excited for our debut pick.

BOOKS DISCUSSED:

Kendell: Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo)

Julia: The Seep (Chana Porter), A Hat Full of Sky (Terry Pratchett), the Veronica Speedwell series (Deanna Raybourn)

Rachael: The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult), A Promised Land (Barack Obama), The Keeper of the Lost Cities (Shannon Messenger), The Poacher's Son (Paul Doiron)

Kelly: The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune) and the VI Warshawski series (Sara Paretsky)

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We're joined by Stephanie Fowler, author of Chasing Alice, a nonfiction account of the life and murder of Alice Davis. Mrs. Davis was Stephanie (and Kelly's!) AP English teacher and her life had a powerful impact on her family, as well as many of her friends, students and fellow teachers. We discuss the way she balanced discussing Alice's life and death, the lessons she learned and why she never stopped writing this story.

LINKS:
Buy Chasing Alice: https://www.saltwatermedia.com/shop/chasing-alice-by-stephanie-l-fowler-1
The Shaded Choice Awards (voting starts today!): https://www.shadedchoiceawards.com/ 

Follow Stephanie Fowler:
Twitter: @StephLFowler
Instagram: @stephanie_fowler 
Salt Water Media: https://www.saltwatermedia.com/ 

Follow What You Should Read:
Twitter:  @wysr_podcast
Instagram:  @wysr_podcast
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Don't forget about our book club! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on December 8! You can email your thoughts or find us on social media! We're really excited for our debut pick.

BOOKS DISCUSSED:

Chasing Alice (Stephanie Fowler)

Stephanie: Keeping On (Gemma Hoskins)

Julia: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid), Sanctuary (VV James), White Ivy (Susie Yang), This Time Next Year (Sophie Cousens) and Memorial (Bryan Washington).

Rachael: The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult)

Kelly: The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult), Instant Karma (Marissa Meyer), Pretty Little Wife (Darby Kane), The Answer Is... (Alex Trebek)

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First, you should know that this episode was taped on Sunday, so we don't know anything about the election's outcome. If you listen to this after Tuesday and you're wondering why we sound the way we do, that's why. It's Schroedinger's Podcast, where the election both is and is not over.

Also, we're not entirely sure who thought that an episode devoted to politics the same week as the election was the best idea, but if you want to see what existential dread sounds like and also learn a little about how we ended up where we are now, this episode is for you. 

LINKS:

Babysitters Club season 2! https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/the-baby-sitters-club-renewed-season-2-netflix-1234818370/ 

BSC singing theme song from first show: https://twitter.com/WaldenMedia/status/1321587947175583747?s=20

Mindy Kaling adapts and stars in Good in Bed: https://ew.com/movies/mindy-kaling-good-in-bed-jennifer-weiner-hbo-max/

Time Magazine picks 100 best fantasy books ever: https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/ 

Time Magazine explains how they picked those books: https://time.com/5900236/how-we-chose-100-best-fantasy-books/ 

Get a book planner like Rachael's: https://www.etsy.com/listing/653609965/the-bookworm-life-reading-planner?ref=shop_home_active_7&crt=1 

Follow Dr. Jeff Willis
 Twitter: @TlknBout_Willis
Instagram: @tlknboutwillis

Follow What You Should Read:
Twitter: @wysr_podcast
Instagram: @wysr_podcast
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Don't forget about our book club! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on December 8! You can email your thoughts or find us on social media! We're really excited for our debut pick.

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Welcome to the spookiest episode of the year! We're joined by Emma Beaven (her debut novel, Where the Briars Sleep, is out next summer) to talk about all things creepy. We discuss adaptations, atmospheric horror and, as it turns out, we all have very strong opinions about vampires.

Follow Emma Beaven:
https://emmabeaven.wordpress.com/
Instagram: @authoremmabeaven
Preorder Where the Briars Sleep: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Briars-Sleep-Emma-Beaven-ebook/dp/B08DDK6LZJ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=emma+beaven&qid=1603642591&sr=8-1

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Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Don't forget about our book club! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on December 8! You can email your thoughts or find us on social media! We're really excited for our debut pick.


CURRENTLY READING:
Julia: Chasing Alice (Stephanie L. Fowler)
Rachael: The Stand (Stephen King), Such a Fun Age (Kiley Reid) and Akata Witch (Nnedi Okorafor)
Kelly: Hoax (Brian Stelter)

What You Should Read:
Emma: A Head Full of Ghosts (Paul Tremblay), Collected Ghost Stories by M.R. James (especially A Warning to the Curious and Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book), The Old Nurse's Tale and Other Stories (Elizabeth Gaskell)

Rachael: Hench (Natalie Zina Walschots)

Julia: Every Heart a Doorway (Seanan McGuire)

Kelly: Someone's Inside Your House (Stephanie Perkins), The Shining (Stephen King), The Cabin at the End of the World (Paul Tremblay)

What You Should Watch:
Emma: The Possession of Michael King, The Exorcist and Host
Kelly: cosigns all of Emma's picks and adds Misery, Last Shift and The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

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We're discussing more of our favorite books by Black authors and this time, we're joined by poet and playwright Dr. Sherna Phillips (known to her students as Dr. Nae)! Sidebar topics include how long Kelly sticks to book bans (not long), how our fall TBR challenge is going (not well) and which celeb book club we like the most.

Links: 

S.E. Hinton and graphic novels: https://www.themarysue.com/s-e-hinton-the-outsiders-new-bad-opinion/

Julie Murphy and Disney's new adult line: https://www.nerdsandbeyond.com/2020/10/09/if-the-shoe-fits-by-julie-murphy-to-launch-new-disney-publishing-line/#:~:text=Julie%20Murphy%2C%20author%20of%20the,make%20a%20name%20for%20herself.

Ava DuVernay to direct Caste: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/ava-duvernay-caste-feature-film-adaptation-netflix-1234804513/ 

Follow Dr. Nae:

Twitter: @DrNaePhillips

Instagram: @drnaephillips

Follow What You Should Read:
Twitter: @wysr_podcast
Instagram: @wysr_podcast
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Don't forget about our book club! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on December 8! You can email your thoughts or find us on social media! We're really excited for our debut pick.

CURRENTLY READING:

Julia: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (VE Schwab) and The Evening and the Morning (Ken Follett)

Rachael: The Troop (Nick Cutter)

Kelly: Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas)

RECENT ACQUISITIONS: 

Kelly: On a Good Horse (Darby Karchut; the book releases November 10) and Ring Shout (P. Djeli Clark)

Rachael: still observing her book buying ban but she had an unused credit from Libro.FM that she turned Redhead by the Side of the Road (Anne Tyler)

Julia: The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)

What You Should Read:

Dr. Nae: Genesis Begins Again (Alicia D. Williams), Slave Play (Jeremy O. Harris) and the collected works of Tayari Jones but especially Silver Sparrow. 

Rachael: The Nickel Boys (Colson Whitehead), Get a Life, Chloe Brown (Talia Hibbert) and The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (Anissa Gay).

Julia: The Space Between Worlds (Micaiah Johnson), Transcendent Kingdom (Yaa Gyasi) and Such a Fun Age (Kiley Reid).

Kelly: Before the Ever After (Jacqueline Woodson), Now That I've Found You (Kristina Forest) and When No One is Watching (Alyssa Cole).

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Hello and we are finally back! This week, we discuss Indigenous authors and the books you absolutely cannot miss. Sidebar topics include an update on our reading TBR challenge (suffice to say we are slightly behind), Christmas cookies (enjoy how smoothly Kelly was able to demand some) and how wonderful it is to be back together, taping the podcast. We also briefly discuss our upcoming Halloween episode, which one of us is VERY EXCITED FOR (Kelly. It's Kelly).

(And don't forget our first book club is approaching! We're discussing The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult on the episode that drops December 8! Make sure to read it and share your thoughts with us via email or on IG and Twitter.

Follow What You Should Read:
Twitter:@wysr_podcast
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Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com

Books discussed in the episode:

CURRENTLY READING:

• Rachael:  Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Joanne Fluke), All Boys Aren't Blue (George M. Johnson) and Anne of Avonlea (LM Montgomery)
• Julia: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 
• Kelly: There's Someone Inside Your House (Stephanie Perkins)

RECENT ACQUISITIONS:

• Julia: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (VE Schwab), A Deadly Education (Naomi Novik), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid), The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult) and Spoiler Alert (Olivia Dade).
• Kelly: The Science of Stephen King (Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence)
• Rachael: a gorgeous set of the Anne of Green Gables series (LM Montgomery), The Book of Two Ways (Jodi Picoult), The Troop (Nick Cutter), Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) and Summer of 69 (Elin Hilderbrand).

Books by Indigenous authors:

Kelly recommends: 

• There There (Tommy Orange)
• Carry (Toni Jensen)
• Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManus)

Rachael recommends:

• Winter Counts (David Heska Wanbli Weiden)
• Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
• Future Home of the Living God, The Round House and Love Medicine (Louise Erdrich)

Julia recommends: 

• Black Sun (Rebecca Roanhorse)
• Elatsoe (Darcie Little Badger)
• Future Home of the Living God (Louise Erdrich)
• Blood for the Sun (Errick Nunnally)

LINKS MENTIONED:

1) Akwaeke Emezi and the Women's Prize: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/05/akwaeke-emezi-shuns-womens-prize-request-for-details-of-sex-as-defined-by-law?fbclid=IwAR1zowWz6RAfnN0zie1w2_eLFb73B0IhFnlSPVzxjRxFzocXCQgtxig02NM

2) Our interview with Errick Nunnally: http://www.whatyoushouldread.com/1101233/4646714-10-you-should-read-all-the-dead-men-with-author-errick-nunnally

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You know what you should read? Julia, Kelly and Rachael make a bold declaration of five books they will each read before the end of the year. Can we do it? We've got a forking good points system to help keep us accountable (but the smart money is not on Kelly). 

We've also decided to start a book club! We are very excited to announce our first pick: The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult! We'll discuss it in the episode that drops on December 8, so you have plenty of time to read it with us and email your thoughts or chat with us on social media (links are below).

Follow What You Should Read:
Twitter:  @wysr_podcast
Instagram:  @wysr_podcast
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/115539912-what-you-should-read-podcast
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfNtid_b0R14otSPRZTkmQ
www.whatyoushouldread.com 

Books discussed in the episode:

Romance novels by Selena Montgomery (find out more in the book news segment!) https://selenamontgomery.com/

CURRENTLY READING: 
Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis (Kelly)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Rachael)
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (Julia)

RECENT ACQUISITIONS:
We all got The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult! 
The Seep by Chana Porter, Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson and A Blade So Black by LL McKinney (Julia)
A Blade So Black by LL McKinney, My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman, Chasing Alice by Stephanie Fowler and Not Your #LoveStory by Sonia Hartl (Kelly)
Into the WIlderness by Sara Donati (sequel to The Gilded Hour), Girl Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo and The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson (Rachael)

OUR FIVE FALL TBR PICKS:

Rachael:
The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos (sequel to A Winter's Promise)
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer
The Stand by Stephen King
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

Julia:
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan Maguire (#5 in the Wayward Children series)
Toil and Trouble edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (third book in the Broken Earth trilogy)

Kelly:
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Sanctuary by VV James
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
Riot Baby by Tochi Anyebochi
Or What You Will by Jo Walton

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