Episode · The Book Review · 2018-08-17
Books mentioned on Rethinking the 'Tangled Tree' of Life
Pamela Paul recommended The tangled tree by David Quammen, After the Education Wars by Andrea Gabor, Better Living Through Criticism by A. O. Scott, A backward glance by Edith Wharton, and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and others, and discussed The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne and The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll. John Williams recommended Beautiful Animals by Lawrence Osborne and Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. A.O. Scott recommended Winter by Ali Smith and Autumn by Ali Smith, and discussed How to Be Both by Ali Smith, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, and Juliet, naked by Nick Hornby.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The tangled tree
The Tangled Tree by David Quammen is a groundbreaking non-fiction science book that chronicles the revolutionary history of evolutionary biology and horizontal gene transfer.
Recommended“David Quan will be here to talk about his new book The Tangled tree a radical new history of life”
Where to get it
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After the Education Wars
After the Education Wars by Andrea Gabor is an educational reform book that investigates how smart schools upend the business-oriented models of reform and corporate management strategies traditionally imposed on public education.
Recommended“Andrea Gabor will be here to talk about after the education Wars”
Where to get it
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Beautiful Animals
Beautiful Animals by Lawrence Osborne is a suspenseful novel set on a Greek island that explores themes of wealth, tourism, morality, and desperation through the interactions of two young women and a stranded refugee.
Recommended“it's called beautiful animals by Lawrence Osborne and he wrote a piece for us recently and it made me realize”
Where to get it
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The Ballad of a Small Player
Discussed“I read a a short is novel of his called ballot of a small player a few years ago because it's partly about gambling which is a pet theme of Mine”
Where to get it
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Winter
Winter by Ali Smith is a contemporary novel that serves as the second installment in the author's ambitious quartet exploring the four seasons.
Recommended“the book I've most recently started reading is um Winter by Ali Smith”
Where to get it
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Autumn
Autumn by Ali Smith is a reflective contemporary novel that captures the shifting political and cultural landscape of Great Britain.
Recommended“because the book I most recently finished reading is her Autumn”
Where to get it
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How to Be Both
How to Be Both by Ali Smith is a structurally inventive and critically acclaimed novel that explores identity, art, and time through two distinct narratives that readers can experience in either order.
Discussed“the previous book of hers I had read is a wonderful kind of strange hybrid essay novel called how to be both”
Where to get it
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Better Living Through Criticism
Better Living Through Criticism by A.
Recommended“he is the author of Better Living Through criticism which I neglected to mention his great book about the art of criticism”
Where to get it
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Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians is a contemporary satirical romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan that follows the opulent lives of ultra-wealthy families in Singapore through the eyes of an ordinary economics professor and her boyfriend.
Discussed“one was crazy Rich Asians by Kevin by Kevin Quang”
Where to get it
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Juliet, naked
Discussed“the other was Juliet naked by Nick horn be and there's an interesting contrast”
Where to get it
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Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's personal account of his experiences and observations fighting for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.
Recommended“so I read um Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell which I had never gotten to which was you know completely brilliant”
Where to get it
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A backward glance
A Backward Glance is the autobiography of the celebrated American author Edith Wharton, offering a detailed and reflective look into her long life, literary career, and high society upbringing.
Recommended“well I just finished reading Edith Wharton's a backward glance her autobiography”
Where to get it
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The Hunting of the Snark
Discussed“well I am glad to Welcome to the White House someone to whom I can quote the hunting of the snark without being asked what I mean”
Where to get it
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Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll is a classic children's fantasy novel and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, featuring famous scenes like Alice and the Red Queen running to stay in place.
Recommended“and you know the nice thing about this is I'm actually reading through the Looking Glass right now allowed to my youngest child”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (11) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I spoke with him at some length about his work on this and that's part of the book”
“but the the gloss coming from from woes and from my book I hope is that this sort of thing has been going on for three billion years or more”
“you know Common's work from his previous books the song of the dodo The Reluctant Mr Darwin and spillover among many others”
“you know Common's work from his previous books the song of the dodo The Reluctant Mr Darwin and spillover among many others”
“you know Common's work from his previous books the song of the dodo The Reluctant Mr Darwin and spillover among many others”
“and one of the reasons I wanted to write this book is that they adopted in my view all of the wrong lessons from the business World”
“so I mean recently back in the spring there was an adaptation of Ian mccuin on chz Beach and it was a pretty good movie”
“for example of BOS lurman Great Gatsby you know which is a fascinating kind of crazy interpretation of that book”
“I'm going to bring with me two books about Barcelona in particular column Tobin's sort of thin one called homage to Barcelona”
“and her efforts to capture it in two novels summer and of course in Ethan F”
“and her efforts to capture it in two novels summer and of course in Ethan F”