Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2021
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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How Beautiful We Were
How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue is a powerful novel exploring environmental degradation, corporate exploitation, and community resistance in an African village facing a ruthless American oil company.
Discussed“our first fiction book is how beautiful we were by amolo maou”
Where to get it
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Intimacies
Intimacies by Katie M.
Discussed“our second fiction book is intimacies by Katie krur MJ over to you”
Where to get it
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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
The Love Songs of W.E.B.
Discussed“our fourth book in fiction is a debut novel by the essayist and poet Honore fenon Jeffers and that book is the love songs of w EB Deo”
Where to get it
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No One Is Talking About This
No Is Not Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood is a critically acclaimed debut novel that explores internet culture, modern digital existence, and profound personal tragedy.
Discussed“our fifth and final book on the fiction side is no one is talking about this by Patricia Lockwood Gul tell us your thoughts”
Where to get it
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How the Word Is Passed
How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith III is a critically acclaimed nonfiction exploration of the history and legacy of slavery across America through the lens of historical landmarks and monuments.
Discussed“our second book on the non-fiction side is how the word is passed a Reckoning with the history of slavery Across America by Clint Smith”
Where to get it
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On Juneteenth
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed is a work of historical nonfiction that weaves the author's personal experiences growing up in Texas with a broader examination of the state's history and the origins of the Juneteenth holiday.
Discussed“I think that for me the Annette Gordon Reed on juneth while very personal also is about the work of the historian and about how we write history”
Where to get it
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The Copenhagen Trilogy
The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen is a powerful, candid memoir comprising Childhood, Youth, and Dependency, chronicling the author's life in Copenhagen.
Discussed“we are up to our final book on the list and our second book in Translation the book is the Copenhagen Trilogy childhood youth dependency by Tova dlion”
Where to get it
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The Magician
The Magician by Colm Tóibín is a historical fiction novel that offers a novelized chronicle of the life of the celebrated German author Thomas Mann.
Recommended“the book I want to mention is the magician by colum toin the Irish novelist this is a work of historical fiction”
Where to get it
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Klara and the Sun
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro is a dystopian novel narrated by an artificial intelligence companion who observes human society and reflects on the nature of love and loneliness.
Recommended“so when I picked up Clara and the sun his latest book and found out it was about a robot I was just a little bit worried about which side I would end up on”
Where to get it
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Wayward
Wayward by Dana Spiotta is a contemporary novel exploring family dynamics and midlife transitions.
Recommended“I would love to tell you about wayward By Dana spota”
Where to get it
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Beautiful World, Where Are You
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney is a contemporary novel that examines the romantic and philosophical entanglements of four interconnected characters navigating friendship, art, and modern anxiety.
Recommended“Sally Rooney's beautiful world where are you encapsulates kind of where she is in her career right now”
Where to get it
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Life of the Mind
Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood is a contemporary novel that follows a modern academic navigating precarious employment, personal life, and bodily anxieties.
Recommended“John over to you I want to talk about Christine Smallwood's debut novel The Life of the Mind”
Where to get it
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Crossroads
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen is an expansive contemporary novel that delves into the intricate dynamics of a suburban Chicago family and their church group during the turbulent social landscape of the early 1970s.
Recommended“and it was a tough book to to put down and the title is is Crossroads by Jonathan fransen”
Where to get it
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The Prophets
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
Recommended“I want to talk about the profits by Robert Jones Jr it came out at the beginning of the year and it just blew me away”
Where to get it
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Our Country Friends
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart is a pandemic-era novel that follows a group of friends who isolate together in a country house as the world shuts down.
Recommended“I'm G to add one personal favorite of mine which is our country Friends by Gary steinart”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (4) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“the author of behold the dreamers brings us a second novel that is anything but sophomoric”
“she's the author of a previous Memoir priest staddy and something of a Twitter performance artist”
“if you've read priest daddy her h I ious and Brilliant Memoir you know that she grew up in rectories across the Midwest with a priest father a very eccentric one”
“because the sheer amount of writing that pla left her journals and scrapbooks her poems and short stories her novel The Bell jar and letters so many letters it's dazzling”