Episode · The Book Review · 2020-06-05
A.O. Scott on The Book Review: books mentioned
A.O. Scott on the Work of Wallace Stegner
A.O. Scott discussed Mormon country by Wallace Stegner, The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner, and All the little live things by Wallace Stegner. Pamela Paul recommended Remembering laughter by Wallace Stegner and others, Recapitulation by Wallace Stegner, and A shooting star by Wallace Stegner, and discussed Angle of repose by Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan, and The Mothers by Brit Bennett. David Camp discussed Free to Be You by Dr. Fred Antonelli. Elizabeth Harris discussed How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo, White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Jennifer Szalai discussed Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Parul Sehgal discussed The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Mormon country
Discussed“he wrote a really fascinating book in the' 40s called Mormon country about Utah and the settlement of Utah and the conflicts between Mormon and non-mormon populations and and Native Americans there”
Where to get it
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Angle of repose
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner is a sweeping historical fiction novel that follows a historian researching his grandparents' lives on the nineteenth-century American frontier.
Discussed“Wallace star feels like in many people's minds like a tiar below that people know of Wallace stegner they know the title usually angle of repose and cring to safety both books that sold very well as in addition to being critical successes”
Where to get it
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Crossing to Safety
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner is a critically acclaimed novel that explores the enduring, decades-long friendship between two couples navigating the complexities of marriage, academic life, and personal ambition.
Discussed“Wallace star feels like in many people's minds like a tiar below that people know of Wallace stegner they know the title usually angle of repose and cring to safety both books that sold very well as in addition to being critical successes”
Where to get it
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The Big Rock Candy Mountain
The Big Rock Candy Mountain is a sprawling, semi-autobiographical novel by Wallace Stegner that chronicles an itinerant American family's struggles and wanderings across the West through decades of marriage and changing economic times.
Discussed“so in Big Rock Candy Mountain Bo and Elsa Mason are the main couple and it's about their Decades of marriage they're very much based on stegner's own parents”
Where to get it
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Remembering laughter
Remembering Laughter is a poignant novella by Wallace Stegner that explores the tragic consequences of a forbidden romance on an isolated Iowa farm family.
Recommended“she said TR stegner's remembering laughter his first book recapitulation and a shooting star all are great”
Where to get it
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Recapitulation
Recapitulation by Wallace Stegner is a deeply resonant novel that serves as a sequel to Big Rock Candy Mountain, following the younger son of the central couple as he returns to Salt Lake City later in life.
Recommended“she said TR stegner's remembering laughter his first book recapitulation and a shooting star all are great”
Where to get it
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A shooting star
A Shooting Star by Wallace Stegner is a mid-century novel that explores the restless life of Sabrina Castro, a wealthy California woman grappling with marital disillusionment and a search for personal meaning.
Recommended“she said TR stegner's remembering laughter his first book recapitulation and a shooting star all are great”
Where to get it
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All the little live things
Discussed“the other book that I think is really interesting which is kind of a mixed bag but an interesting window into stegner's sensibility is a book he wrote from the 60s called All the Little Live things and it's a kind of grumpy old man book about the 60s and hippies and kids”
Where to get it
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Free to Be You
Discussed“the founders of these programs and and will Loop in free to be you and me which was a book and a a program into that”
Where to get it
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How to Be an Antiracist
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X.
Discussed“I mean there's how to be an anti-racist came out last year wasn't on the bestseller list at all two weeks ago and is now number five in hard cover non-fiction so that's a ibram kendi book”
Where to get it
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Me and White Supremacy
Discussed“me and white supremacy was also not on the hard cover nonfiction list and is on there this week which helps readers understand their participation in white supremacy”
Where to get it
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My Vanishing Country
Discussed“my Vanishing country which is a memoir by barari Stellar about the black working class”
Where to get it
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The New Jim Crow
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is a groundbreaking sociological study arguing that the American war on drugs functioned as a deliberate system of racial control, driving mass incarceration and stripping millions of African Americans of their basic civil rights.
Discussed“the new Jem Crow is now on the ebook print combined list and that came out in 2010 that's from Michelle Alexander”
Where to get it
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So you want to talk about race
Discussed“so you want to talk about race is also one that's on the combined list which has sections for white people who want to understand the way race functions in America”
Where to get it
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White Fragility
White Fragility by Dr.
Discussed“white fragility by Robin D'Angelo debut at number one”
Where to get it
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Just Mercy
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is a powerful and widely acclaimed memoir by the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative that documents his legal career defending society's most vulnerable individuals.
Discussed“Jess Mercy which is Memoir by Brian Stevenson who a who founded the Equal justice initiative that's number six”
Where to get it
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The Color of Law
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein is an influential historical examination that exposes how local, state, and federal government policies deliberately imposed racial segregation in American cities and neighborhoods.
Discussed“and the color of law which is about how segregation and American cities were the result of deliberate laws rather than people making individual personal choices and that's by Richard Rothstein”
Where to get it
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The Great Influenza
The Great Influenza by John M.
Discussed“yeah i mean the the great influenza is still on the list it's number two on the paperback non-fiction list”
Where to get it
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Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a bestselling fiction novel that combines a coming-of-age narrative with a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the North Carolina marshes.
Discussed“you know there's where the croad sings dilia Owens um is number one”
Where to get it
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Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere is a contemporary novel that explores the intertwined fates of families in an idyllic Ohio suburb, touching on themes of race, class, and motherhood.
Discussed“and hard cover fiction little fires Everywhere by Celeste in is number one on the trade paperback list”
Where to get it
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Entangled Life
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake is a captivating exploration of the hidden kingdom of fungi and its profound influence on our world, minds, and futures.
Discussed“I mean if anything you so the book is called entangled life and the subtitle is how fungi make our worlds change our minds and shape our futures and the author is Merlin sheld Drake”
Where to get it
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How to Change Your Mind
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is a comprehensive exploration of the history, science, and cultural renaissance surrounding psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Discussed“the other book that I thought of and there are shades of this in in his subtitle was how to change your mind by Michael pollen which came out a few years ago”
Where to get it
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The Vanishing Half
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a compelling contemporary novel that examines family, racial identity, and the choices that shape our lives through the lives of twin sisters who choose to live in very different worlds.
Discussed“I reviewed Britt Bennett's second novel The Vanishing half which is about two sisters who grew up in a small town in Louisiana that is established for light-skinned black people”
Where to get it
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The Mothers
The Mothers by Brit Bennett is a compelling contemporary debut novel set in a southern California community, exploring love, friendship, community secrets, and the lingering choices of youth.
Discussed“how did this compare with the mother's her first novel”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“AO Scott is a Critic at large for the New York Times he has been a longtime co-chief film critic for the times and he is the author of the book Better Living Through criticism”
“so you've written a number of books on a wide range of subjects food and film and wine um the United States of arugula what brought you to 70s television as a subject”
“that you know going back to Cod the mark kolansky book you know the fish that Chang the world that sort of are these deep dives into this one creature”