Episode · The Book Review · 2024-07-18
Books mentioned on The Year in Reading
Pamela Paul discussed The end of your life book club by Will Schwalbe, Books for living by Will Schwalbe, SEND by David Shipley and others, and Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow. Will Schwalbe recommended Upstream by Mary Oliver, "More more more" said the baby by Vera B. Williams, and What the Living Do by Maggie Dwyer, and discussed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Life, Plutarch's Lives, and The importance of living. Alexandra Alter discussed Nasty Women by Laura Jones and others. Gal Beckerman recommended Strangers in their own land by Arlie Russell Hochschild, and discussed Coming apart by Charles A. Murray, Our Kids by Robert D. Putnam, and When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson. John Williams recommended Everywhere I look by Helen Garner. Greg Cowles discussed Games People Play by Eric Berne.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The end of your life book club
The end of your life book club by Will Schwalbe is a deeply moving memoir about reading books with a dying parent.
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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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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Upstream
Upstream is a collection of essays by the acclaimed American poet Mary Oliver that explores nature, art, creativity, and literary influences.
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 novel that follows an unstable commuter who becomes dangerously entangled in a missing person investigation after observing something suspicious from her 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 by Charles Dickens is a classic 1850 semi-autobiographical novel that follows the emotional and professional maturation of its titular hero from an impoverished childhood to adulthood.
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
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is an emotionally devastating contemporary novel that traces the decades-long bond between four college classmates in New York City while deeply exploring trauma, friendship, and endurance.
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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What the Living Do
What the Living Do by Maggie Dwyer is a poignant and deeply moving exploration of personal grief, centered on the devastating loss of a family member to AIDS.
Recommended“the last chapter is what the living do and the subtitle is living what's that chapter about no spoiler alerts here but no spoiler alerts that is uh named after a wonderful book of poetry by Marie how it's a cycle of poems written after the death of her brother to AIDS”
Where to get it
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SEND
Discussed“that was about email um the book was called send why people email so badly and how to do it better”
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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Nasty Women
Discussed“this is another Collective effort but it's a group of essays it's called nasty women a feminist guide to survival in Trump's America”
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 beliefs and emotional realities of conservative communities in Louisiana through years of immersive fieldwork.
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 mid-century public policies disproportionately benefited white Americans while excluding Black citizens.
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 essay collection by the celebrated Australian novelist and writer.
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 foundational text in transactional analysis that psychoanalyzes the hidden psychological games and routine behavioral patterns underlying everyday human 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 an engaging collection of candid conversations about life, creativity, and comedy featuring interviews with many of the entertainment industry's most successful performers and writers.
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”