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Every book Jen Szalai recommended on podcasts
Jen Szalai appeared on multiple episodes of The Book Review as a literary critic analyzing notable fiction and non-fiction releases. Demonstrating a keen interest in contemporary literature and cultural commentary, Szalai recommended Sigrid Nunez's novel What Are You Going Through for its exploration of aging and mortality. Throughout her podcast appearances, she also discussed several other significant works, including Miranda July's novel All Fours and Daniel Chandler's Free and Equal, a manifesto for a just society where she debated the modern application of political philosophy. Additionally, Szalai explored Japanese aesthetics and essays through Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows, and referenced historical non-fiction and novels such as Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach, James Forman Jr.'s Locking Up Our Own, and Lawrence Wright's books The Looming Tower, Going Clear, and God Save Texas to analyze writing structures and Pulitzer-recognized works.
Books recommended by Jen Szalai
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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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Act Natural
Discussed“so the the book I reviewed this week is called act natural and it's by a writer named Jennifer trag and she calls it a cultural history in Misadventures and parenting”
Where to get it
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All Fours
All Fours by Miranda July is a provocative and darkly humorous novel that follows a middle-aged woman who embarks on an unexpected personal and sexual odyssey during what was supposed to be a simple cross-country road trip.
Discussed“I read all fours by Miranda July and I think I think it was a rental a car rental agency”
Where to get it
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BRIEF HISTORY OF MISOGYNY: THE WORLD'S OLDEST PREJUDICE
Discussed“so I am reading this book called misogyny the world's oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland and I picked it up”
Where to get it
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Doppelganger
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein is a sharp, timely work of nonfiction that uses the author's personal confusion with conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf to examine the psychic distortions and political fragmentation of the pandemic era.
Discussed“so her book was called doppelganger and it starts off sort of As A Memoir of our own experience during the pandemic”
Where to get it
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Free and Equal
Discussed“I don't know if I'd call them disagreements but at least Lively discussions about the book itself was free and equal a Manifesto for a just Society by Daniel Chandler”
Where to get it
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Going Clear
Going Clear by Lawrence Wright is a meticulously researched investigative non-fiction book that exposes the inner workings and controversial history of the Church of Scientology.
Discussed“and in going clear his book about scientology”
Where to get it
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In Praise of Shadows
Discussed“gave me this to read and it's called In Praise of Shadows and it's basically like a long essay on in Praise of Shadows and also on Japanese Aesthetics”
Where to get it
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Locking up our own
Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr.
Discussed“it was James Foreman Jr's locking up our own which was listed as one of our 10 best in the book review”
Where to get it
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Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan is a sweeping historical fiction novel set in New York City during World War II, following a young woman who breaks barriers to become the first female diver at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Discussed“I mean you had Jennifer Egan with her novel Manhattan Beach which was kind of a throwback”
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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Stories of Your Life and Others
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is an acclaimed collection of speculative short fiction exploring complex philosophical, linguistic, and scientific concepts.
Discussed“so I picked up this book by Ted Chang it's called stories of your life and others”
Where to get it
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The Looming Tower
Lawrence Wright's meticulously researched non-fiction book The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 provides a comprehensive and chilling investigation into the origins of modern Islamic terrorism.
Discussed“I I you know the way that the way that he structures his books and I kind of found that I don't know if he does this in God Saves Texas but in the looming Tower and in going clear his book about scientology the looming Tower of course being about sort of origins of the war on terrorism”
Where to get it
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Working
Working by Robert A.
Discussed“yes it's working by Robert Carol and it's his first book since 2012 and in 2012 he published the fourth volume of his massive lynen Johnson biography”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our Book Critics On Their Year in Reading | The Book Review | 2024-12-13 | 2 |
| O Pioneers! | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| 'The Story of the Jews' Continues | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 2 |
| Jo Nesbo Reimagines ‘Macbeth’ | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 5 |
| Ruth Reichl's Delicious New Memoir | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Fugitive Slaves and the Road to the Civil War | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| 'The Second Coming of the KKK' | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| The Critics’ Picks: A Year in Reading | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 2 |
| Our Critics' Year in Reading | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“so last last week we I I was talking about devils in Daylight by junichiro tanaki and as it turns out I didn't realize it but when my husband saw I was reading that he said that he had read a book of tanizaki in one of his aesthetic classes in college”
“and the book I reviewed this week was act natural by Jennifer T”
“actually one of the books that I read earlier this year that I really like called the age of anger by punas Mishra”
“and I was trying to think you know like a book like the second sex I think in a way even though it's much larger MH it's in a way more readable”