Episode · The Book Review · 2017-11-21
Books mentioned on O Pioneers!
Pamela Paul recommended The Idiot by Elif Batuman, and discussed Prairie fires by Caroline Fraser and The Dawn of Detroit by Tiya Miles. Caroline Fraser discussed Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Alexandra Alter recommended Stay with me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò and Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika, and discussed Every day is for the thief by Teju Cole. John Williams discussed Killer on the Road by Ginger Strand. Concepción De León recommended The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu and others. Jennifer Szalai discussed In Praise of Shadows.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Prairie fires
Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser is a meticulous, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography that reinterprets the American dreams and complex life of beloved author Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Discussed“she is the author of prairie fires the American Dreams of Laura Eng Les Wilder reviewed this week on our cover”
Where to get it
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Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a classic children's novel chronicling pioneer life on the American frontier.
Discussed“yes I mean I've I've been writing about Wilder for a while but the thing that really sparked this biography was when I edited the library of America's edition of the Little House books which gave me the opportunity to to revisit the books”
Where to get it
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Little House in the Big Woods
Discussed“the series was eight volumes which were published during her life and they began with a book that was designed really for somewhat younger children called Little House in the Big Woods”
Where to get it
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Farmer Boy
Discussed“and there's one volume Farmer Boy that was about her husband Almanzo Wilder in his childhood”
Where to get it
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The First Four Years
Discussed“it's called the first four years and it was published in the 1970s”
Where to get it
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The Dawn of Detroit
Discussed“she is the author of a new book The Dawn of Detroit a Chronicle of slavery and freedom in the city of the streets”
Where to get it
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Stay with me
Stay with Me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò is a deeply emotional and gripping novel set in Nigeria that explores marriage, tradition, fertility pressures, and the complex dynamics of love and loyalty.
Recommended“it was published by knoff in the US and her name is ayobami Edo and her novel stay with me I think got a ton of critical praise when it came out here”
Where to get it
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Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika is a vibrant and compassionate novel that follows an aging Nigerian woman living in San Francisco, capturing her daily interactions, independence, and reflections on life.
Recommended“one that covo Republic published in the US this year was called like a mule bringing ice cream to the sun which is such a great title and that was by Sarah laido mana and it's about an older Nigerian woman living in San Francisco”
Where to get it
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Every day is for the thief
Discussed“she was the first person to publish T Cole for example she published every day for the thief and he's gone on to become”
Where to get it
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Killer on the Road
Discussed“so I started very arbitrarily with this short book called killer on the road violence and the American Interstate by Ginger strand”
Where to get it
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The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu is a powerful novel exploring the immigrant experience, displacement, and isolation in America through the eyes of an African-born man running a store in a gentrifying Washington, D.C.
Recommended“I don't know if it's seasonal though I I think the part that I'm uh in the book right now is actually like around a holiday but I'm reading the Beautiful Things That Heaven bears by now mangusu”
Where to get it
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In Praise of Shadows
In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki is a classic essay collection that explores traditional Japanese aesthetics, architecture, and the subtle interplay of light and darkness.
Discussed“gave me this to read and it's called In Praise of Shadows and it's basically like a long essay on in Praise of Shadows and also on Japanese Aesthetics”
Where to get it
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The Idiot
The Idiot by Elif Batuman is a brilliant coming-of-age novel that follows a young woman navigating her freshman year at Harvard and her nascent, epistolary romance with an older student.
Recommended“um so I did get a little distracted but I am reading still El Batum man's book The Idiot which is really enjoyable”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“so last last week we I I was talking about devils in Daylight by junichiro tanaki and as it turns out I didn't realize it but when my husband saw I was reading that he said that he had read a book of tanizaki in one of his aesthetic classes in college”