Episode · The Book Review · 2018-12-14
Books mentioned on Poetry & Politics
Greg Cowles discussed Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith, Hey, Marfa by Jeffrey Yang, Evolution by Eileen Myles, and Museum of the Americas by J. Michael Martinez. Maria Russo recommended The wall in the middle of the book by Jon Agee, The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier, Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and discussed Milo's hat trick by Jon Agee, Life on Mars by Jon Agee, Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol, A year without mom by Dasha Tolstikova, Mr. Wolf's class by Aron Nels Steinke, and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Pamela Paul discussed It's only Stanley by Jon Agee, Hello lighthouse by Sophie Blackall, They say blue by Jillian Tamaki, Night job by Karen Hesse, The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld, Anya's ghost by Vera Brosgol, The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, Brazen by Pénélope Bagieu, and Crowded hours by Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Alexandra Alter discussed Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Gal Beckerman discussed Those who knew by Idra Novey. Concepción De León discussed Kindred by Octavia Butler. John Williams discussed He Held Radical Light by Christian Wiman and My bright abyss by Christian Wiman.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Wade in the Water
Discussed“and also in her own most recent book weight in the water she balanced questions of the personal and the political in a way that felt very much of the moment”
Where to get it
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Hey, Marfa
Discussed“he does also include at least one major book that we did review this year that's we in the Water by Tracy K Smith a book by a poet named Jeffrey Yang called Hey Marfa”
Where to get it
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Evolution
Discussed“and so is Eileen miles nle who is doing very much traveling that same path right now and has been for 30 years and and still is now kind of evolving the the name of the book under review is evolution that book is reviewed by Natalie Diaz”
Where to get it
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Museum of the Americas
Discussed“um and we reviewed in this issue a book called Museum of the Americas by J Michael Martinez it's again a hybrid book”
Where to get it
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The wall in the middle of the book
The Wall in the Middle of the Book is a whimsical and inventive picture book by Jon Agee that explores themes of boundaries, perspective, and preconceived notions through clever visual storytelling.
Recommended“my favorite overall I would say is a book by John AG who I know you like too it's called the wall in the middle of the book this is a funny picture book that's also kind of weirdly precient and really good”
Where to get it
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It's only Stanley
Discussed“this actually is even though we both love it's only Stanley which has a great kind of twist at the end”
Where to get it
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Milo's hat trick
Discussed“Milo's hattick is a great one and Life on Mars is another one with a that he he likes to have a big surprise at the end which I think is great for small children”
Where to get it
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Life on Mars
Discussed“and Life on Mars is another one with a that he he likes to have a big surprise at the end which I think is great for small children”
Where to get it
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The Party and Other Stories
The Party and Other Stories is a charming, character-driven picture book by Sergio Ruzzier that delights young readers with its gentle humor and engaging visual storytelling involving delightful animal friends.
Recommended“um well one great one is called Fox and chick the party the party and Other Stories actually by Sergio ruser and this one is what I like about this one is that it's a picture book”
Where to get it
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Hello lighthouse
Discussed“so your next book is by Sophie blackall who is really star of illustration she's fantastic she won the calicot Medal a few years ago this book is called hello Lighthouse”
Where to get it
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They say blue
Discussed“the next book is by Jillian Tamaki who we love at the book review she's the artist who does the portraits in our by the book series but is also really an incredible children's book author she is she's done graphic novel illustration before you know with her cousin Maro tamak they they collaborated for this one summer um but”
Where to get it
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Night job
Discussed“you have another book on your list of picture books here night job this is kind of a a sleeper book because it it seems like a sort of small and quiet book but I found it extremely powerful and profound the author is Karen Hess and the illustrator is G Brian Carris”
Where to get it
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The Rabbit Listened
Discussed“which is the rabbit listens by Corey derfel oh that's an important book”
Where to get it
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Inkling
Inkling by Kenneth Oppel is an imaginative middle-grade novel featuring illustrations by Sydney Smith that tells the whimsical story of a living inkblot coming to life.
Recommended“well I have to say My overall favorite middle-grade novel is called inkling it's by Kenneth oel and it's illustrated by one of our favorite illustrator Sydney Smith”
Where to get it
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Be Prepared
Discussed“the first one is called be prepared it's by Vera brosgol this is one of those middle-grade novels that also I think skews on the older side”
Where to get it
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Anya's ghost
Discussed“I was a huge fan of bro's debut graphic novel which was ya so for kids older yet probably 14 or 15 and up called Ana's ghost which came out I think about six or seven years ago”
Where to get it
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A year without mom
Discussed“there's actually another great graphic novel by Dasha tsova is that her name called a year without Mom which another great one”
Where to get it
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Mr. Wolf's class
Discussed“it's a new graphic novel series called Mr Wolf's Class by Aaron Nell stanky”
Where to get it
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The Poet X
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a celebrated young adult novel in verse that follows a Dominican-American teenager in Harlem who uses slam poetry to understand her world and find her voice.
Discussed“well of course we have on our list the national book award winner for young people's literature the poet X by Elizabeth asedo”
Where to get it
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Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone is a bestselling young adult fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi that draws heavily on West African mythology, culture, and Yoruba traditions.
Recommended“um and then I would say if you're looking for a fantasy a fantasy the book of the year is Children of Blood and Bone by Tommy adami”
Where to get it
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The Hazel Wood
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a dark young adult fantasy novel centered on magic, fairy tales, and storytelling.
Discussed“well regular listeners of the podcast know that I'm a fan of another book that made your ya list which is Melissa Albert's the Hazelwood also a very dark fantasy also about magic and storytelling”
Where to get it
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Brazen
Discussed“well another book on your list that I also loved which I think bends a little bit blurs the lines is certainly AC crossover ya was Penelope baj Brazen Rebel ladies who Rock the world was that published a grownup book”
Where to get it
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Homegoing
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is an epic, deeply moving debut novel that traces the divergent paths of two half-sisters from Ghana across three centuries, examining the devastating legacy of slavery, violence, and multigenerational trauma.
Discussed“and yah Jesse the debut novelist whose novel homegoing I think made a huge impact it traces the impact of slavery across 300 years”
Where to get it
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Those who knew
Those Who Knew is a novel by Idra Novey that examines collective complicity, silence, and the reckoning with abuse in a fictional island nation.
Discussed“I'm reading uh those who knew which is a novel by idra Novi it's actually her second book her earlier book was called ways to disappear”
Where to get it
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Kindred
Kindred by Octavia Butler is a classic science fiction and time-travel novel that examines slavery, history, resilience, and human connection.
Discussed“I am reading a book that has been on my list for a while Kindred by Octavia Butler and I'm really enjoying it”
Where to get it
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He Held Radical Light
Discussed“it's a new book by the poet Christian Wyman who these are not poems although he's written several collections of poems this is a memoir SL bookof criticism SL literature itself called he held radical light”
Where to get it
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My bright abyss
Discussed“the other book of his I've read other than some poems here and there in in the various collections is a very intense Memoir called my bright Abyss which was about his relationship to sort of the possibility of his impending death”
Where to get it
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Crowded hours
Discussed“I recently finished reading crowded hours by Alice Roosevelt Longworth”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (4) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“her earlier book was called ways to disappear and I guess you could call this a political thriller”
“is this her second novel it is yeah her earlier one was called Ways to Disappear”
“I I think I was thinking about beloved you have some time to go there might be ghosts coming up”
“so I had read earlier this year a backward glance by Edith Wharton and she of course was an incredible powerful literary figure”