Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2018
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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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 a compelling investigative non-fiction book that explores the author's undercover experiences working as a guard in a private corporate prison.
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 compelling exploration of the history and science of psychedelics, investigating substances like LSD and psilocybin.
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 poignant and evocative memoir written by the daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, detailing her complicated childhood, her relationship with her famous father, and her search for identity.
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 gripping memoir detailing a young woman's struggle to break free from her survivalist, isolated family in rural Idaho to pursue formal education and academic self-discovery.
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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Hamilton
Ron Chernow's comprehensive biography Hamilton chronicles the life and times of the founding father through extensive historical detail and narrative depth.
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
Into the Raging Sea by Rachel Slade is a harrowing work of narrative non-fiction chronicling the tragic sinking of the cargo ship El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin.
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 nonfiction narrative detailing the harrowing fate of the commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail and its crew caught in the unprecedented 1991 'Halloween Nor'Easter.' On The Book Review, Rachel Slade compared her own investigative research for a maritime book to the speculative and inferential approach Junger utilized to reconstruct the final hours of the doomed crew.
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 provocative novel about a young, privileged Manhattan woman who decides to spend a year in a chemically induced slumber to escape the pressures of her life.
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 extensive investigative history detailing the targeted assassinations and covert intelligence operations utilized by Israel over several decades.
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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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 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that follows several Americans whose lives connect through trees and their deep relationship with the natural world.
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 confronts generational trauma, systemic racism, weight, and the complexities of 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 (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“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”