Episode · The Book Review · 2022-01-07
Books mentioned on The Second Annual Listeners’ Questions Episode
John Williams recommended Into the heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon, In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon, and The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Paul Elie, and discussed Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, and The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. Dwight Garner recommended Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, and discussed The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and others, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and No one here gets out alive by Jerry Hopkins and others. Pamela Paul recommended Minor characters by Joyce Johnson, and discussed On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta. MJ Franklin recommended Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin, Sula by Toni Morrison, Lot by Bryan Washington, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Modern Lovers by Emma Straub, and Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, and discussed Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and others, and Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. Lauren Christensen recommended The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom and Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, and discussed The Topeka School by Ben Lerner, The Magician by Colm Tóibín, and When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut. Elizabeth Harris recommended Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, and discussed Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Alexandra Alter recommended Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and discussed Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and The voyage out, by Virginia Woolf.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is an epic historical novel set against the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras, chronicling the tumultuous life and resilience of its protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara.
Discussed“Margaret Mitchell much like Harper Lee chose I think chose to only publish Gone With the Wind and certainly commercially that was a giant smash”
Where to get it
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Gilead
Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning epistolary novel, Gilead, is a profound meditation on faith, family history, and grace, told through the extended letter of an aging Congregationalist minister to his young son.
Discussed“Marilyn Robinson who published her first novel I think it was 1988 and then I think it was 16 or 17 years later that she published Gilead and then has kind of interestingly become uh prolific since then and has published three other novels since Gilead”
Where to get it
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A Confederacy of Dunces
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is an absurdist, darkly comedic masterpiece centered on the eccentric and pompous protagonist Ignatius J.
Discussed“I think my favorite one hit wonder is John Kennedy oul you know who wrote Confederacy of Dunces which is such a wacky novel and I you know I spent a few months this year in New Orleans so I read it again in preparation for for traveling down there”
Where to get it
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The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov is an absolute masterpiece of twentieth-century Russian literature that weaves together parallel narratives featuring the devil visiting the Soviet Union alongside a philosophical story about Pontius Pilate.
Discussed“I feel like around the same time I read the Master and Margarita by bulgakov which I think holds together better you know as a as a whole”
Where to get it
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The Goldfinch
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a sprawling novel that follows a young boy whose life is upended by a museum bombing, eventually drawing him into the underworld of art forgery and antique trade.
Discussed“like I'm thinking of someone like I guess when she wrote The Goldfinch Donna tart blew this Theory out of the water”
Where to get it
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The Secret History
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a gripping psychological thriller following a tightly knit circle of eccentric classics students at an elite New England college whose intellectual arrogance leads to moral decay and murder.
Discussed“but for a while you know she wrote The Secret history and it was this giant commercial and critical success”
Where to get it
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Into the heart of Borneo
Into the Heart of Borneo is an adventurous and darkly humorous travel book by Redmond O'Hanlon that chronicles a grueling and eccentric expedition through the remote jungles of Southeast Asia.
Recommended“also in the Paul through school of completely offensive and obnoxious and would never be published today and yet I think Redmond oh hanan's books are really funny in trouble again and Into the Heart of Borneo I really loved”
Where to get it
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In Trouble Again
In Trouble Again is a travel book by Redmond O'Hanlon that chronicles an arduous and humorous journey through the rain forests of South America.
Recommended“also in the Paul through school of completely offensive and obnoxious and would never be published today and yet I think Redmond oh hanan's books are really funny in trouble again and Into the Heart of Borneo I really loved”
Where to get it
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On the Road
On the Road by Jack Kerouac is a seminal autobiographical novel that chronicles the cross-country road trips of its protagonist and captures the restless energy of the Beat Generation.
Discussed“so I think the book that started for me was on the road I mean cirak you know it's a novel but it's based on a lot of his own trips”
Where to get it
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Minor characters
Joyce Johnson's memoir Minor Characters provides a compelling look into the lives of women orbiting the Beat generation and sheds light on the heavily masculine atmosphere of that literary movement.
Recommended“well that is that is one of my favorite books I love that book it's called minor characters”
Where to get it
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Life of Samuel Johnson
Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell is widely regarded as one of the greatest biographies ever written, capturing the wit, eccentricities, and profound intellect of the eminent eighteenth-century lexicographer.
Recommended“but I you know I got to go with a couple Classics only in the sense that Boswell's life of Johnson it just it's it's so Charming of Samuel Johnson is so Charming on every page”
Where to get it
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No one here gets out alive
Discussed“When I was in high school I loved this book it was a biography of Jim morson it was called no one here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins”
Where to get it
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The Life You Save May Be Your Own
The Life You Save May Be Your Own is a group biography by Paul Elie that explores the spiritual and creative lives of four prominent American Catholic writers: Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, and Walker Percy.
Recommended“and the one that comes to mind is Paul Eli the life you save may be your own which is a sort of group biography of darthy day and flry O Conor and Walker Percy”
Where to get it
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The Stone Angel
On the podcast The Book Review, John Williams discussed The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence during two different episodes in July 2024.
Discussed“I followed it up with a book that I think is maybe a little bit more wellknown called The Stone Angel and that's about a woman who is essentially aging into the point into her 90s”
Where to get it
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Go Tell It on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin is a deeply autobiographical novel that explores the spiritual awakening and domestic struggles of a young boy growing up in a religious Harlem household during the 1930s.
Recommended“and one of his first books Go Tell It on the mountain is an incredible portrait of a young boy coming of age in a religious family in Harlem”
Where to get it
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Sula
Sula by Toni Morrison is a powerful and lyrical novel that examines the complex, lifelong friendship between two Black women growing up in a small Ohio town while confronting the oppressive weight of racism and community expectations.
Recommended“similarly thinking about Tony Morrison and her novel Sula I also read that for the first time this year and being pulled into Tony Morrison's Ohio is I I'm like I'm speechless just at how how how she guides you through what the black community means”
Where to get it
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Lot
Lot is a critically acclaimed story collection by Bryan Washington that captures the vibrant and diverse experiences of life in Houston, Texas, through the perspective of a young biracial narrator.
Recommended“one of the first was The Story collection lot by Brian Washington and just exploring Brian Washington South is just an incredible place to be”
Where to get it
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Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere is a contemporary novel that explores the intertwined fates of families in an idyllic Ohio suburb, touching on themes of race, class, and motherhood.
Recommended“I also thought about Celeste in's little fires everywhere also I believe in Ohio that that think that's in Shaker Heights”
Where to get it
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The Yellow House
The Yellow House by Sarah M.
Recommended“and and one that came to mind set in Louisiana was the yellow house by Sarah broom a contemporary really a biography but of a house which which was the house that the author Sarah and broom grew up in with her many siblings and her mother”
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“and another novel that I had thought of was sing unburied Singh Jasmine Ward's Mississippi novel”
Where to get it
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The Topeka School
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner is a deeply resonant and intricate novel that explores the shifting tactics and complex politics of high school debate in the American Midwest during the 1980s and 1990s.
Discussed“and then you know Kansas Ben learner's Trilogy you know especially the Topeka school but if it is an autofictional three-part story of a boy man who is very closely based on the author himself who was born in TOA Kansas”
Where to get it
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Mrs. Fletcher
Discussed“the tomara novel Mrs Fletcher was a really fantastic example of a a heroine who's you know middle age does not stop her from being the real youning center of a lot of excitement”
Where to get it
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Modern Lovers
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub is a contemporary novel that follows a tight-knit circle of former college friends navigating middle age, changing family dynamics, and the shifting realities of their adult lives.
Recommended“but I thought of modern Lovers by Emma stra it's a book about a group of friends who are in the next stage of their lives”
Where to get it
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Detransition, Baby
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is a contemporary novel exploring identity, family, and the complex realities of gender transition and detransition.
Recommended“the other book that I thought of was D transition Baby by Tory Peters this has gotten some aaim but I wanted to have a wider readership”
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.
Discussed“I'm thinking of colum toyin's the magician his novelization of the life of Thomas man”
Where to get it
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When We Cease to Understand the World
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut is a gripping narrative that explores the complex historical and scientific discoveries that pushed brilliant minds to the brink of madness, successfully blurring the lines between historical fact and imaginative fiction.
Discussed“Or I'm also thinking about Benjamin labatut how we cease to understand the world how there's a real blurring of that distinction between historical fact historical people historical lives and real poetic license”
Where to get it
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Say Nothing
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe is a true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland that investigates political violence, justice, and the heavy personal cost of what individuals kill and die for.
Discussed“I'm thinking about Patrick R and Keef's book say nothing an Empire of pain or I'm thinking of Bad Blood”
Where to get it
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Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain is a meticulously researched history tracing the Sackler dynasty, Purdue Pharma, and their central role in driving the devastating opioid epidemic.
Discussed“I'm thinking about Patrick R and Keef's book say nothing an Empire of pain or I'm thinking of Bad Blood”
Where to get it
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Bad Blood
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou is an immersive investigative non-fiction book that uncovers the massive corporate fraud behind Elizabeth Holmes and her blood-testing startup, Theranos.
Discussed“I'm thinking about Patrick R and Keef's book say nothing an Empire of pain or I'm thinking of Bad Blood”
Where to get it
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Discussed“I also have some ya I have last night at the telegraph club which won the national book award this year for y”
Where to get it
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Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a beloved classic novel that tells the heartwarming story of an imaginative and spirited orphan girl sent to live with an elderly brother and sister on Prince Edward Island.
Discussed“the book review did this great feature recently about Classics that are you know now considered just these incredible parts of the cannon that were completely panned by the book review like Catch 22 the book review hated and of Green Gables the book review hated”
Where to get it
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Catch-22
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a landmark satirical novel set during World War II that explores bureaucratic absurdity and ironic paradoxes through the experiences of American bomber crews.
Discussed“the book review did this great feature recently about Classics that are you know now considered just these incredible parts of the cannon that were completely panned by the book review like Catch 22 the book review hated and of Green Gables the book review hated”
Where to get it
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The voyage out,
Discussed“The Voyage out by Virginia wolf let's see aside from a certain cleverness which being all in one key Paul's on one after going through a 100 pages of it there is little in this offering to make it stand out from The Ruck of mediocre novels which make far less literary pretension”
Where to get it
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Piranesi
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a critically acclaimed fantasy novel that follows an isolated protagonist navigating a surreal, statue-filled labyrinth known as the House.
Recommended“the novel purany by Susanna Clark is absolutely extraordinary mind-blowing what she does inside a person's head is insane”
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 observing the shifting human world.
Recommended“I read Kaz suar Clara and the Sun and I absolutely loved it I love that book was so good so good”
Where to get it
