Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on John Grisham on 'The Whistler'
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Whistler
The Whistler is a legal thriller centering on judicial corruption and a whistleblower uncovering massive financial crimes in Florida.
Discussed“and um new at the top John Grisham who was uh just on the podcast uh his new novel The Whistler uh is right there at the top of the hard cover fiction list”
Where to get it
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Rogue heroes
Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre is a gripping historical account that details the origins and daring operations of the SAS, Britain's secret special forces unit that sabotaged Nazi lines during World War II.
Recommended“Ben McIntyre's latest book is Rogue Heroes the history of the SAS Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit that sabotaged the Nazis and changed the nature of War”
Where to get it
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The Innocent Man
Discussed“The innocent man was a story handed to me by an obituary in the New York Times in December of 2004”
Where to get it
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The Children Act
The Children Act by Ian McEwan is a compelling contemporary novel that examines complex legal, ethical, and personal dilemmas surrounding a judge presiding over a delicate family court case involving a refusing minor.
Discussed“Ian McKuen said um before writing the children act not his most recent novel but the one before uh the current novel that he spent a lot of time in Family Court”
Where to get it
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A Painted House
Discussed“the first time I did it was a childhood Memoir called a painted house that was published I know 15 years ago”
Where to get it
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Skipping Christmas
Discussed“and so I wrote a book called skipping Christmas which was my first effort to be just as funny as I wanted to be”
Where to get it
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A Spy Among Friends Kim Philby And The Great Betrayal
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre is a gripping historical non-fiction account detailing the treason of British intelligence officer Kim Philby and his betrayal of his country alongside the notorious Cambridge Spy Ring.
Discussed“so readers know you from your many books a spy among friends being the most recent one about Kim filby double cross operation mince meet agent zigzag”
Where to get it
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The Mothers
The Mothers is a compelling debut novel by Brit Bennett that explores friendship, community, and difficult choices within a contemporary Black church congregation in Southern California.
Discussed“the mothers as you mentioned today will be different um by Maria simple”
Where to get it
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Shaken
Discussed“in non-fiction um the highest ranking new title is Tim tbo's Memoir shaken talking partly about being cut from the Denver Broncos”
Where to get it
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A lowcountry heart
Discussed“the other maybe notable title this week is uh by Pat Conroy who died this past March um there is an essay collection called a low country heart”
Where to get it
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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“there is the Underground Railroad of course Coulson Whitehead's book”
Where to get it
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Today will be different
Today Will Be Different is a darkly comedic novel following a frantic woman trying to transform her life and manage her chaotic family over the course of a single day in Seattle.
Discussed“the mothers as you mentioned today will be different um by Maria simple”
Where to get it
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Commonwealth
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett is a sweeping novel that explores the complex dynamics of two intertwined families over several decades following an unexpected kiss at a christening party.
Discussed“and then we have Commonwealth”
Where to get it
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Brief lives
Brief lives by Anita Brookner is a poignant and psychological novel exploring themes of loneliness, memory, and the quiet complexities of human relationships.
Recommended“the first book that I read was called brief lives”
Where to get it
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Hotel du Lac
Discussed“and so then I followed that up with um Hotel Dak which was her Booker prize winning novel from the late ' 80s”
Where to get it
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Amsterdam
Discussed“and given the fact that it won the booker it kind of reminded me of Ian mcan's Amsterdam in that way which is it was sort of a prize given to her after many books that people really loved and admired but maybe isn't her considered widely her best by people”
Where to get it
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The year of reading dangerously
The year of reading dangerously by Andy Miller is a humorous and engaging memoir chronicling one man's obsessive journey to rediscover the transformative power of literature.
Recommended“he wrote a book called The Year of reading dangerously which is terrific”
Where to get it
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Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë's timeless masterwork Jane Eyre follows the harrowing and triumphant journey of its spirited titular orphan as she overcomes a bleak childhood, secures employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall, and confronts the dark secrets of Edward Rochester.
Discussed“I know that earlier this year you read Jane a um and see we're friendly and competitive”
Where to get it
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a celebrated post-colonial novel that serves as a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, set in the Caribbean.
Recommended“um am reading a book that I had never gotten around to uh and it's a wide saraso by Jee Reese the the Caribbean British writer”
Where to get it
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Good morning, midnight
Discussed“so he had tweeted about um a book called good night midnight”
Where to get it
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Great Expectations
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a classic Victorian coming-of-age novel that follows the orphan Pip as he navigates social class, ambition, guilt, and personal reinvention in 19th-century England.
Discussed“I went through a little phase um some years ago of reading these kind of updated or or or spin-offs of classic Works um Peter krey has a novel called Jack mags that is all about the character mag witch from Great Expectations”
Where to get it
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Jack Maggs
Discussed“I went through a little phase um some years ago of reading these kind of updated or or or spin-offs of classic Works um Peter krey has a novel called Jack mags that is all about the character mag witch from Great Expectations”
Where to get it
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Beowulf
Beowulf, translated brilliantly by Seamus Heaney, is an enduring foundational epic poem of Old English literature that chronicles the legendary hero's epic battles against monsters like Grendel and a fearsome dragon.
Discussed“John Gardner uh did a take on Beowolf that was completely from the monsters perspective”
Where to get it
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Grendel
Grendel is a brilliant philosophical novel by John Gardner that reimagines the classic Old English epic poem Beowulf entirely from the perspective of the titular monster.
Recommended“John Gardner uh did a take on Beowolf that was completely from the monsters perspective the novel grindle great book”
Where to get it
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Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a meticulously researched, sweeping biography that chronicles the tumultuous life and immense political legacy of America's first treasury secretary, ultimately inspiring the blockbuster musical.
Discussed“Pamela how about you this week I am still reading Hamilton”
Where to get it
