Person
Every book Joumana Khatib recommended on podcasts
Joumana Khatib’s most recommended books
- Erasure by Percival Everett
- Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The color of water by James McBride
- Convenience store woman by 村田沙耶香
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
Joumana Khatib is a book critic and reviewer who regularly shares literary recommendations and previews on literature podcasts. During an episode of The Book Review dedicated to a fall book preview, she highlighted several anticipated new releases and notable authors. Khatib offered a detailed overview of Ayad Akhtar's autofictional novel The Radiance, reminding listeners of the author's acclaimed prior work Homeland Elegies. She also previewed Min Jin Lee's novel American Hagwon, noting the author's previous success with Pachinko. Turning to debut and historical fiction, she introduced filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's debut horror novel Public Access Afterworld and Yiyun Li's historical novel Music Against the Night. Furthermore, Khatib gave a glowing recommendation for Louise Kennedy's novel Stations, praising the author's previous heartbreaking romance Trespasses. She kicked off the show's lightning round by endorsing Patrick deWitt's novel Dodge City, and concluded her selections by introducing R. F. Kuang's quieter coming-of-age story Taipei Story, showcasing her extensive knowledge of contemporary fiction across multiple genres.
Books recommended by Joumana Khatib
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Erasure
Erasure by Percival Everett is a sharp, satirical novel that follows a frustrated African American author whose cynical parody of stereotypical Black literature unexpectedly becomes a massive, mainstream bestseller.
Discussed“and I think too like part of what makes this book so brilliant is that like the Erasure of of the title is happening on so many levels”
Where to get it
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Chain Gang All Stars
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a gripping futuristic dystopian novel that explores institutionalized violence and the American prison-industrial complex through a high-stakes gladiatorial combat program.
Recommended“and it's for Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame AJ Brena it's incredible”
Where to get it
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Dream Count
Dream Count is a work of fiction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Recommended“yes so this is dream count by chimamanda and adicha it's been a long time since we've seen a work of fiction from her”
Where to get it
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Great Big Beautiful Life
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry is a contemporary romance novel by a prominent author widely regarded as a major figure in the romance genre.
Recommended“so I am going to talk about Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry who is somewhat of a actually not somewhat no qualifier needed romance Superstar right now this is her sixth romance”
Where to get it
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Asymmetry
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday is a structurally innovative and critically acclaimed novel exploring power dynamics, ambition, and global politics through two seemingly distinct narratives that ultimately interconnect.
Recommended“hypothetically speaking I also really like Lisa halliday's novel asymmetry which I think is a fictionalized account”
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“well there is still a threat of a severe illness in this book that I'm reading and dedicated listeners of the book review podcast will remember that I am reading tremendously out ofd books between the secret history and The Last Samurai”
Where to get it
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The color of water
James McBride's memoir The Color of Water tells the remarkable true story of growing up in Red Hook as one of twelve children born to a white mother who grew up Jewish, converted, and ultimately started a church with her first husband.
Discussed“and then I realized that I had never read the book that I think was really McBride's breakout which is his Memoir called the color of water”
Where to get it
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Convenience store woman
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is a contemporary novel that explores societal pressures and nonconformity through the life of a thirty-six-year-old unmarried woman working in a Japanese convenience store.
Recommended“but I picked up recently convenience store Woman by Saka marada which is her English language debut”
Where to get it
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is a rich, character-driven novel that explores community, race, and humanity within a tight-knit Pennsylvania neighborhood during the mid-twentieth century.
Book club“and all of that is here in the Heaven and Earth grocery store”
Where to get it
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A Passage to India
A Passage to India is E.
Recommended“A Passage to India I mean I like all Forester”
Where to get it
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A Tale for the Time Being
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth L.
Recommended“so I just started Ruth ozeki's novel a tale for the time being because I realized I needed some levity”
Where to get it
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A World Appears
A World Appears by Michael Pollan is a non-fiction work that explores human consciousness, the self, and the boundaries of mystical and meditative experiences.
Recommended“So, this is a world appears, a journey into consciousness by Michael Pollen.”
Where to get it
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All the Sinners Bleed
All the Sinners Bleed by S.
Recommended“it's called all the Sinners bleeds by ESS Cosby”
Where to get it
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American Hagwon
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee is a contemporary novel exploring the complexities of education, societal expectations, and the Korean diaspora within the United States.
Recommended“This is American Hagwan by none other than Minjin Lee of Pachinko fame.”
Where to get it
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An Honest Woman
An Honest Woman by Charlotte Shane is a candid and incisive memoir that examines intimacy, autonomy, and the complexities of sex work through a deeply critical lens.
Recommended“yes I would like to talk about Charlotte Shane's Memoir called an honest woman the author she's a really incisive critic”
Where to get it
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Audition
Audition by Katie Kitamura is a compelling and deeply psychological contemporary novel that explores identity, performance, human relationships, and the subtle tensions underlying everyday social interactions.
Recommended“One is Audition by Katie Kamura. I'm always interested in what she publishes.”
Where to get it
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Book of Lives
Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood is a memoir of sorts written by the celebrated author.
Recommended“This is a book of lives by Margaret Atwood.”
Where to get it
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Clutch
Clutch by Emily Nemens is a contemporary novel that explores intricate human relationships and narratives through a distinct literary lens.
Recommended“So, the first one I'm going to talk about is a novel called Clutch by Emily Nemans.”
Where to get it
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Colored Television
Colored Television by Danzy Senna is a satirical novel exploring identity, ambition, and the entertainment industry.
Recommended“this is colored television by Dany Senna It's a Good Morning America book club pick”
Where to get it
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Crook Manifesto
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is a gritty, atmospheric crime novel and a direct sequel to Harlem Shuffle, following its protagonist through the turbulent criminal underworld of 1970s New York.
Recommended“he has a new book out called crook Manifesto”
Where to get it
- Dangerous, Dirty, Violent and Young by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
- Daughter of the Dragon by Yunte Huang
- Day by Michael Cunningham
- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
- Dodge City by Patrick deWitt
- Dog Days by Emily LaBarge
- Electric Spark by Frances Wilson
- Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
- Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
- Every Story Is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue
- Five Weeks in the Country by Francine Prose
- From Life Itself by Suzy Hansen
- Glyph by Ali Smith
- Go Gentle by Maria Semple
- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
- Happy all the time by Laurie Colwin
- Health and Safety by Emily Witt
- Home cooking by Laurie Colwin
- How to End a Story by Helen Garner
- Innocents and others by Dana Spiotta
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- James by Percival L. Everett
- Joy is Calling by Susan D Elliott
- Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
- King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
- Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
- Life with Picasso by Françoise Gilot
- Lightning Rods by Helen de Witt
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Joumana Khatib’s latest episodes with books
It’s Time for a Big Ol’ Fall Book Preview
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The Radiance
at 4:24 -
American Hagwon
at 15:47 -
Pachinko
at 15:55 -
Public Access Afterworld
at 21:38 -
Music Against the Night
at 27:55 -
Things in Nature Merely Grow
at 28:08 -
The Brightness
at 35:40 -
The Art of Fielding
at 35:48 -
Stations
at 39:04 -
Trespasses
at 39:09 -
Dodge City
at 42:08 -
Taipei Story
at 43:24 -
No Land to Stand On
at 45:21 -
Every Story Is a Love Story
at 46:26 -
Peck & Peck
at 46:59
17 Nonfiction Books We’re Looking Forward to This Fall
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Mother Mary Comes to Me
at 6:36 -
The God of Small Things
at 6:36 - Electric Spark
at 15:20 -
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
at 16:01 -
Joy is Calling
at 19:05 -
The Orchid Thief
at 19:10 - Next of Kin
at 19:40 -
Blood, Bones, & Butter
at 19:45 -
Dopesick
at 22:29 -
Raising Lazarus
at 22:29 - Paper Girl
at 22:55 -
Book of Lives
at 27:09
Joumana Khatib’s book recommendations by year
All 135 books Joumana Khatib recommended or discussed across 34 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.