Episode · The Book Review · 2018-11-30
Books mentioned on Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2018
Pamela Paul recommended The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday, There There by Tommy Orange, American prison by Shane Bauer, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan, Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Educated by Tara Westover, Frederick Douglass by David W. Blight, Rise and kill first by Ronen Bergman, The Witch Elm by Tana French, and Calypso by David Sedaris and others. Tina Jordan recommended Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward and Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-three mariners, one megastorm and the sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade, and discussed The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger. Lauren Christensen recommended Friday black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Emily Eakin discussed My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. John Williams recommended The friend by Sigrid Nunez and Fatal discord by Michael Massing. Greg Cowles recommended The Overstory by Richard Powers and Heavy by Kiese Laymon. Also mentioned: Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Great Believers
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai is a powerful, emotionally devastating novel that chronicles the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis on the arts community in 1980s Chicago alongside a parallel storyline in modern-day Paris.
Recommended“and I am going to start with a third novel The Great Believers by Rebecca McKai”
Where to get it
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Washington Black
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan is a critically acclaimed historical novel that chronicles the extraordinary escape and global odyssey of an enslaved boy from a Barbados sugar plantation in the nineteenth century.
Recommended“um it's Washington Black by um Essie aduan and Emily is going to talk a little bit about that book”
Where to get it
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The Perfect Nanny
The Perfect Nanny is a chilling psychological suspense novel by Lela Slimani that explores the dark dynamics between a seemingly ideal nanny and the family who employs her, ultimately culminating in tragedy.
Recommended“the next novel um is the perfect Nanny um this this is an unusual uh book in certain ways for us as a best book”
Where to get it
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Asymmetry
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday is a structurally innovative and critically acclaimed novel exploring power dynamics, ambition, and global politics through two seemingly distinct narratives that ultimately interconnect.
Recommended“next we'll talk about e simetry By Lisa holiday John you want to talk about that”
Where to get it
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There There
There There by Tommy Orange is a powerful polyphonic novel that follows a diverse group of Native American characters living in modern-day Oakland, California.
Recommended“our final of the on the fiction list is they're there by Tommy orange Tina you want to tell us about that”
Where to get it
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American prison
American Prison by Shane Bauer is an investigative exposé chronicling the author's undercover experience working as a guard in a private corporate prison in Louisiana to expose systemic failures, violence, and the economics of punishment.
Recommended“let's start with our first book which is Shane Bowers American prison a reporter's undercover journey into the business of punishment”
Where to get it
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Sing, Unburied, Sing
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward is a powerful Mississippi-set novel that functions simultaneously as a raw road trip narrative and a haunting ghost story.
Recommended“Shane Bower 2 is a book that um fans of Jasmine Wards Sing unburied Sing might turn to for background”
Where to get it
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How to Change Your Mind
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is a comprehensive exploration of the history, science, and cultural renaissance surrounding psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Recommended“um it's uh the Michael pollen um how to change your mind”
Where to get it
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Small Fry
Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs is a deeply personal memoir written by the daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, chronicling her complex, often painful childhood and her evolving relationship with her brilliant yet emotionally distant father.
Recommended“speaking of Steve Jobs um our third book is Lisa Brennan jobs Memoir small fry”
Where to get it
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Educated
Educated by Tara Westover is a bestselling memoir that follows the author's remarkable journey growing up in a strict and isolated survivalist family in rural Idaho before eventually escaping to pursue a PhD from Cambridge University.
Recommended“there was a lot of consensus around tar West overs educated uh John you want to start a little bit on that book”
Where to get it
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Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass by David W.
Recommended“go to our last book on the list which is David W blights Frederick Douglas prophet of Freedom a Monumental biography that was just recently published”
Where to get it
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Hamilton
Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a comprehensive and detailed biographical account of the life and times of founding father Alexander Hamilton, exploring his profound impact on American history.
Discussed“it's yeah it's almost like it reminded me of Ron chernow's um Hamilton in that way”
Where to get it
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Friday black
Friday black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a piercing short story collection that confronts modern consumerism, systemic racism, and violence with sharp speculative energy.
Recommended“my one of my favorite books of the year uh was actually a debut short Story collection called Friday Black by nanak kuame a brna”
Where to get it
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Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-three mariners, one megastorm and the sinking of El Faro
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-three mariners, one megastorm and the sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade is a work of narrative non-fiction detailing the tragic fate of a ship and its crew caught in a devastating hurricane.
Recommended“so Rachel Slade's book into the Raging Sea is the kind of narrative non-fiction that I love”
Where to get it
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The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger is a gripping non-fiction narrative detailing the harrowing final hours of a commercial fishing crew caught in a historic, destructive maritime tempest off the coast of New England.
Discussed“you know when you read a book like Sebastian younger's The Perfect Storm”
Where to get it
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My Year of Rest and Relaxation
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is a darkly comic and provocative novel about a privileged young New York woman who attempts to hibernate for an entire year using a cocktail of heavy psychiatric pharmaceuticals.
Discussed“this was a book that we were talking about for months there were a lot of such so many good books this year but I wanted to talk about my year of rest and relaxation by otessa mosag”
Where to get it
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Rise and kill first
Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman is an exhaustive investigative history detailing the targeted assassinations and covert operations carried out by Israel's intelligence services.
Recommended“I want to get everyone uh give everyone a chance to talk up at least one favorite um Gul can you tell us about rise and kill first”
Where to get it
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The friend
Why people recommend it: The Friend by Sigrid Nunez is an acclaimed, award-winning novel that explores profound themes including suicide, grief, and the deep bond between a grieving writer and a very lovable Great Dane.
Recommended“my my fiction pick is uh Sig nunes's the friend which won the national book award a couple of weeks ago and which I Revisited this week”
Where to get it
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Fatal discord
Fatal discord by Michael Massing is an extensive dual biography that explores the tumultuous intellectual and religious relationship between Erasmus and Martin Luther during the turbulent era of the Reformation.
Recommended“for those who want to do that the title is fatal Discord by Michael Masson”
Where to get it
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The Overstory
The Overstory by Richard Powers is a sweeping, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that intertwines the lives of several Americans whose fates are connected to trees and environmental activism.
Recommended“the novel that um has really stuck with me in a way that I I didn't initially anticipate was the over Story by Richard Powers”
Where to get it
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Heavy
Heavy by Kiese Laymon is a powerful coming-of-age memoir that chronicles the author's deeply personal journey through family trauma, body image, and growing up Black in the American South.
Recommended“is the book heavy uh by a guy named kesse Layman who um it's his first Memoir”
Where to get it
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The Witch Elm
The Witch Elm by Tana French is a suspenseful psychological mystery novel exploring memory, trauma, and family dynamics following a young man who returns to his ancestral home.
Recommended“I will end with two books that I think um we sometimes don't recognize enough because they are pleasurable to read uh both of them one fiction one non-fiction um the fiction is T of French is the witch Elm”
Where to get it
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Calypso
Calypso by David Sedaris is a darkly humorous essay collection in which the author explores aging, mortality, family eccentricities, and political shifts from the vantage point of his home in coastal North Carolina.
Recommended“and then in that same vein David sedara say Calypso uh we were all such fans here of that book”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“and Gul Beckerman is the author of when they come for us we be gone the Epic struggle to save Soviet jewelry”
“so uh Leila slamman um's first novel Adele will be out in January in the US”
“we all love what he did in books like the botney of desire and all of his books on on sort of how and why we should eat certain foods”