Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on The Year in Reading
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Books for living
Discussed“all right now this book um books for living uh it sounds obviously like a continuation in a way of the last one”
Where to get it
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The end of your life book club
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe is a touching memoir that chronicles the author's final months spent reading and discussing books with his terminally ill mother.
Discussed“before you start talking about this book I actually want you to talk a little bit about your last book um which was a big bestseller the end of your life book club”
Where to get it
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Upstream
Upstream is a luminous collection of essays by the revered poet Mary Oliver that reflects deeply on the natural world, literature, and the creative process.
Recommended“I'm reading Upstream the essays by the poet Mary Oliver oh yeah they're stunning every word perfectly placed um and the discussions of Whitman and Po and Emerson and nature it's just fantastic”
Where to get it
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The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a psychological thriller centering on an unstable commuter who becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation after observing something suspicious from a train window.
Discussed“the girl on the train also is about trusting which also seems counterintuitive one of the things I love about great suspense and Thriller novels”
Where to get it
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David Copperfield
David Copperfield is a classic 1849 coming-of-age novel by Charles Dickens that follows the lifelong trials, growth, and personal development of its titular protagonist.
Discussed“one of the the chapters that means the most to me is the chapter about David Copperfield because that's remembering remembering exactly”
Where to get it
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Life
Hanya Yanagihara's deeply moving and emotionally resonant novel Life is an intense exploration of trauma, enduring friendship, and human suffering.
Discussed“so there's a chapter on a little life ha Yan gara's book which is a book I just read very recently but moved me really deeply”
Where to get it
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"More more more" said the baby
"More More More," Said the Baby by Vera B.
Recommended“so very purposefully set out to write about books like cookbooks and children's books and picture books and classic more more said the baby that's a fantastic book by Vera B Williams”
Where to get it
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Plutarch's Lives
Discussed“um and I pair that with the discussion of plutarch's lives because that's about adorable infants who need more more more affection”
Where to get it
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The importance of living
Discussed“one of my favorite authors who I I quote a lot in books for living is linu Tang writer in 1937 writing a book it was published in 38 called the importance of living and about napping and enjoying friends and reading”
Where to get it
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Coming apart
Coming Apart by Charles A.
Discussed“so uh he talks about reading charl Murray's coming apart Robert putnam's our kids uh I think both those books uh came out in this past year”
Where to get it
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Our Kids
Our Kids by Robert D.
Discussed“so uh he talks about reading charl Murray's coming apart Robert putnam's our kids uh I think both those books uh came out in this past year”
Where to get it
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Strangers in their own land
Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild is a sociological study that investigates the deep-seated political and cultural perspectives of rural Louisiana conservatives.
Recommended“another book that that uh that was notable for me was Arlene Hawk Shields strangers in their own land which I really loved also is an explanation for kind of trying to kind of get our minds around”
Where to get it
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When Affirmative Action Was White
When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson is a historical analysis documenting how public policies and government programs historically benefited white citizens while excluding Black Americans.
Discussed“another book that I reread not too long ago was Ira Catz Nelson's when affirmative action was white which is a history of the new deal”
Where to get it
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Everywhere I look
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner is a thoughtful collection of essays by the acclaimed Australian author and novelist.
Recommended“I am reading a collection of essays by an Australian writer named Helen Garner who is 70ish and she's a novelist as well James Wood wrote about her recently in the New Yorker on the occasion of this book being released which is called everywhere I look”
Where to get it
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Games People Play
Games People Play by Eric Berne is a classic psychology text that explores transactional analysis and the hidden motivations behind human social interactions.
Discussed“one of the things I was surprised to find on the non-fiction list that week was a book by a psychoanalyst named Eric burn it's called games people play”
Where to get it
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Sick in the Head
Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow is a compelling collection of candid interviews conducted by the filmmaker and comedy creator with many of the world's most renowned stand-up comedians and comedic actors.
Discussed“I'm reading Jed APO sick in the head which is what I was reading last week”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“there was the notorious RBG which came out of a Tumblr page dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and that became kind of a quas biography”
“you have of course humans of New York which is based on photographs by Brandon Stanton that he took of people around New York and interviews that he did”
“it sounds a little similar to you know what Thomas Frank tried to do with what's the matter with Kansas”