Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on The Critics’ Picks: A Year in Reading
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Hello, Molly!
Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon is a candid and energetic celebrity memoir that details the actress's turbulent childhood, her grief over the loss of her family in a car crash, and her eventual rise to comedic stardom on Saturday Night Live.
Recommended“one was Molly Shannon's Memoir hello Molly which I thought was charmingly titled”
Where to get it
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Ball Four
Ball Four by Jim Bouton is a landmark, highly candid sports memoir that chronicles a season in the professional baseball pitcher's life, offering an unfiltered look into the locker room culture and personal behavior of athletes.
Discussed“which is why Jim boutton I think Ball Four was a big deal because he actually did make some enemies to speak of”
Where to get it
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Stay True
Stay True by Hua Hsu is a poignant memoir that chronicles the author's deep friendship with a college classmate whose life was tragically cut short, exploring grief, Asian American identity, and coming of age in the 1990s.
Recommended“Jen one book that you were big on I know and that actually ended up on our top 10 books of the year was Stay True by wasu which is a memoir”
Where to get it
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Also a Poet
Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun is a compelling blend of memoir and literary biography that traces the author's complicated relationship with her father, art critic Peter Schjeldahl, alongside her obsessive quest to complete a biography of poet Frank O'Hara that her father had abandoned decades earlier.
Recommended“and one of the books that I enjoyed most the summer when I picked it up was one that I know you want to talk about Alexandre which was also a poet oh I love also a poet”
Where to get it
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In Love
In Love by Amy Bloom is a deeply moving memoir that chronicles the author's journey as she supports her husband through his decision to end his life following an early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis.
Recommended“I also found one and this is moving in a completely different way that you were big on Dwight which was Amy Bloom's in love”
Where to get it
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So Help Me God
Mike Pence's political memoir explores his time in public office and the complex challenges of balancing personal integrity with political self-preservation.
Discussed“and so the memoir that he recently came out with so help me God I mean I think the title is is sort of fascinating for all kinds of reasons”
Where to get it
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The Candy House
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan is an imaginative, intricately structured novel that serves as a companion piece to her earlier acclaimed work A Visit from the Goon Squad, following interconnected characters through their lives and technological futures.
Recommended“Jennifer Eagan the candy house”
Where to get it
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A Visit from the Goon Squad
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan is a critically acclaimed novel exploring time, aging, and the music industry through an interconnected series of narratives.
Discussed“and this is the followup this novel The Candy House to a visit from the Goon Squad and a lot of people wrote they thought the sequel was not as good as the first”
Where to get it
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The Passenger
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy is an intricate, companion-style novel following a salvage diver in New Orleans who navigates grief, mathematics, and shadowy government conspiracies alongside his late sister.
Discussed“the first one is is the great one the comic one it's called the passenger”
Where to get it
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Stella Maris
Stella Maris is a philosophical companion novel by Cormac McCarthy that concludes the narrative arc initiated by its predecessor, featuring deep intellectual dialogues in a psychiatric facility.
Discussed“the second one St amiris is a sort of Koda and it kind of plays out”
Where to get it
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What Are You Going Through
What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez is a poignant novel that explores complex themes of aging, mortality, friendship, and empathy through the narrative voice of a woman who agrees to accompany a dying friend on her final journey.
Recommended“I read the friend and what are you going through”
Where to get it
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The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a beloved children's fantasy adventure about a bored boy named Milo who travels through a magical kingdom of wordplay and numbers.
Recommended“the first one I read to my son over the course of a month at bedtime the Phantom toll booth and that holy cow why were my parents doing that”
Where to get it
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The Pigeon Tunnel
John le Carré's memoir The Pigeon Tunnel offers a fascinating look into the renowned spy novelist's extraordinary life, blending personal anecdotes with reflections on espionage and storytelling.
Recommended“I listened to a lot of Audi books in my during my commute and the John Laree memoir the pigeon tunnel which he reads was particularly delightful”
Where to get it
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Tune In : The Beatles
Tune In : The Beatles by Mark Lewisohn is the definitive, exhaustively researched first volume of a projected multi-part biography chronicling the early years of the world's most famous rock band.
Recommended“so going to get the unabridged version of it's called TuneIn”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I mean one is called come to me”
“one is called love and vents us”
“she was the sort of the Pinko mitford and wrote the American way of death”