Episode · The Book Review · 2021-04-16
Books mentioned on Celebrating Our 15th Anniversary
Sam Tanenhaus recommended To the Finland station by Edmund Wilson, and discussed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Tina Jordan discussed The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. Alexandra Alter discussed The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman. John Williams discussed The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. Pamela Paul recommended The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro, Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon, and Daniel Deronda by George Eliot, and discussed Middlemarch by George Eliot.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a dystopian young adult novel set in a ruined nation where children are forced to compete in a televised death match.
Discussed“It was Suzanne Collins the children's book or ya author who wrote those hugely successful novels The Hunger Games The Hunger Games”
Where to get it
-
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a haunting dystopian novel that explores the poignant lives of students at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school who slowly discover a dark and tragic truth about their engineered existence.
Discussed“we're alternating two books I had never read uh Never Let Me Go by uh isig Guru which our daughter liked so we're reading that”
Where to get it
-
To the Finland station
To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson is a classic work of intellectual history that traces the development of socialist thought and the lead-up to the Russian Revolution through the lives of various European thinkers and revolutionaries.
Recommended“and we're also for me for the um th time reading or rereading Edmund Wilson's to the Finland station which is a fantastic book”
Where to get it
-
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is a classic detective novel that introduced the brilliant Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot to the world and launched the author's legendary career.
Discussed“the book review reported an interesting story is told about how the mysterious Affair at styles by Agatha Christie a detective novel announced for fall publication came to be written”
Where to get it
-
The Hill We Climb
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman is the stirring inaugural poem that captured international attention when it was recited at the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden.
Discussed“Amanda Gorman who made a big splash at the presidential inauguration with her inaugural poem the hill we climb released that as a book and it sold more than 200,000 copies in its first week”
Where to get it
-
The Interestings
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer is a sweeping contemporary novel that follows the lives of a tight-knit group of friends who met at a performing arts camp as teenagers, tracing their relationships, ambitions, and disappointments over several decades.
Discussed“and I think in that first episode you talked to Meg walitzer about her novel The interestings do you have any memory of kind of going into that episode”
Where to get it
-
The Warmth of Other Suns
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson is a powerful and extensively researched historical account that chronicles the decades-long Great Migration of black citizens leaving the American South for northern and western cities.
Recommended“the first time I interviewed her when she had reviewed Michelle Obama's Memoir but also talked about the warmth of other Sons which is a book I really admire”
Where to get it
-
The Power Broker
The Power Broker by Robert A.
Recommended“with Bob I think everyone who either is from New York or becomes a New Yorker Bob Carol is part of New York even just through the power broker alone”
Where to get it
-
Far From the Tree
Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree is a comprehensive non-fiction exploration of how parents and children who are significantly different from each other navigate their relationships.
Recommended“and I think maybe reading Andrew Solomon's excellent book far from the tree was probably helpful in thinking about that in a more compassionate or nuanced way”
Where to get it
-
Middlemarch
Middlemarch by George Eliot is widely celebrated as a masterwork of Victorian literature, chronicling the lives and aspirations of provincial society in the fictional town of Middlemarch.
Discussed“and probably unlike most people Middlemarch is is is not my favorite I love it”
Where to get it
-
Daniel Deronda
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot is a sweeping Victorian novel that explores complex themes of identity, morality, and cultural heritage through the lives of its diverse characters.
Recommended“but I really love Daniel dond was one of those people who was endlessly curious and taught herself Hebrew and pushed herself in interesting ways”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (6) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I was looking forward to the hot new history book The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire because I was still convinced it was going strong”
“I was looking forward to the hot new history book The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire because I was still convinced it was going strong”
“but in that first installment I remember I had a book called food in history like I remember that first installment”
“well and in that first installment was path to power which was the first volume in what will be presumably five volumes of his Lynden Johnson biography”
“I had finally read Master of the Senate shortly before his most recent book was published which was the short volume working”
“and here right before you is the author Leo Tolstoy ready to answer your questions about Anna Karina”