Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on Inside The New York Times Book Review: Colson Whitehead and Jeffrey Toobin
Gilbert Cruz discussed The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, American heiress by Jeffrey Toobin, and The noble hustle by Colson Whitehead. Colson Whitehead discussed One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Wesley Morris discussed White trash by Nancy Isenberg and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. John Williams recommended Look at me by Anita Brookner, The debut by Anita Brookner, and Should you leave? by Peter D. Kramer, and discussed Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Pamela Paul discussed The examined life by Stephen Grosz. Also mentioned: The Stand by Stephen King, Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me by Javier Marías, and Black Gold by Marguerite Henry.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historical fiction novel that reimagines the antebellum South by turning the secret network of abolitionist routes into a literal subterranean railway system utilized by an enslaved woman named Cora seeking freedom.
Discussed“Coulson Whitehead is here to talk about his new novel The Underground Railroad”
Where to get it
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American heiress
American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin is a gripping true crime account documenting the dramatic kidnapping, radicalization, and subsequent criminal trial of Patty Hearst.
Discussed“author Jeffrey tubin is here to talk about American arists”
Where to get it
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The noble hustle
The noble hustle by Colson Whitehead is a non-fiction humor book about poker and personal reflection.
Discussed“that was The Noble Hustle Noble Hustle”
Where to get it
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One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is a landmark novel that chronicles the multi-generational history of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo and stands as a masterwork of magical realism.
Discussed“and then I just reread and it's mentioned in the review I was very glad to see it 100 Years of Solitude which I read when I was in high school and had a bit impact on me”
Where to get it
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Beloved
Beloved by Toni Morrison is a powerful historical fiction novel that tells the harrowing story of Sethe, an escaped enslaved woman haunted by the trauma of her past and the literal ghost of her daughter.
Discussed“I had an idea to reread r beloved and the known world and Middle Passage”
Where to get it
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The Stand
Stephen King's monumental post-apocalyptic epic The Stand details the devastating sweep of a weaponized influenza strain that wipes out the vast majority of humanity, leaving survivors to choose sides in a final conflict between good and evil.
Discussed“I was in between my freshman and sophomore years of college and picked up a Stephen King novel The Stand”
Where to get it
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Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me by Javier Marías is a complex and haunting novel by the acclaimed Spanish author that investigates themes of memory, death, and unexpected tragedy.
Discussed“in the summer of 2005 I had just gotten back home to Sweden after spending a year in Spain and I had brought a book back with me called tomorrow in the battle think of me by the Spanish author kavier maras”
Where to get it
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Black Gold
Black Gold by Marguerite Henry is a classic children's horse novel based on the true story of the legendary thoroughbred racehorse.
Discussed“margarit O Henry's Black Gold still stands out as the story of a thoroughbred racehorse that broke his leg during the Kentucky Derby”
Where to get it
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White trash
White Trash by Nancy Isenberg is a historical examination of class, poverty, and social stigma in America across four centuries.
Discussed“so I'm reading the the Nancy Eisenberg book White Trash the 400 year Untold History of white people in America”
Where to get it
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Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful, epistolary memoir structured as a letter from a father to his teenage son regarding the realities of growing up Black in America.
Discussed“tanas book came out you know a year ago a couple weeks ago and I think I might have looked at it the week after it came out the the book”
Where to get it
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Evicted
Evicted by Matthew Desmond is a rigorous sociological study that follows low-income families and their landlords in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shedding light on the devastating systemic cycle of poverty and housing instability in American cities.
Discussed“and I was reading if you read the Matthew Desmond book the most shocking evicted the most shocking thing in that book to me”
Where to get it
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Look at me
Look at Me by Anita Brookner is a poignant psychological novel that examines loneliness, self-deception, and the quiet struggles of a perceptive young librarian trying to navigate the demands of London's social and intellectual circles.
Recommended“um I actually want to talk although the book is called look at me well that's true the non- self-reflective one is called look at me so I get it in somehow in every book I read”
Where to get it
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The debut
The Debut is a poignant and sharply observed novel by Anita Brookner that explores the solitary life of an English literature scholar.
Recommended“so I read actually earlier this week her first book which was called published in the US as the debut appropriately enough”
Where to get it
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Should you leave?
Should You Leave? by Peter D.
Recommended“it's called should you leave it's by the psychologist r Peter Kramer who everyone knows for listening to Prozac”
Where to get it
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The examined life
The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz is a compelling collection of psychoanalytic case studies written by an American-born psychotherapist practicing in London, exploring how people lose and find themselves through therapy.
Discussed“last week you gave me a copy of the book that you recommended the examined Life by Steven gross”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (11) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Whitehead is the author of many books including Zone one and Sag Harbor and he's also received a MacArthur genius Grant and many other Awards”
“Whitehead is the author of many books including Zone one and Sag Harbor and he's also received a MacArthur genius Grant and many other Awards”
“I don't think people people walk around think about slavery in a deep way all the time in our daily lives um obviously exposed to Roots”
“obviously there was roots and there was beloved but in the last decade or so have almost reexamined it”
“I had an idea to reread r beloved and the known world and Middle Passage”
“I had an idea to reread r beloved and the known world and Middle Passage”
“there's the JD Vance book which I haven't Hill I haven't gotten it yet”
“and then you have hillbilly elegy but I really feel like”
“and then you know two down you have between the world and me”
“it's called should you leave it's by the psychologist r Peter Kramer who everyone knows for listening to Prozac”
“I did finish the Coulson Whitehead”