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Every book Leigh Bardugo recommended on podcasts
Leigh Bardugo appears on literary programs such as The Book Review to discuss fantasy literature, world-building, and the inspirations behind her own novels. Bardugo shares a curated list of works that served as comforting retreats and creative catalysts throughout her life. She recommends historical fantasy and magical realism titles such as Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist and Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, while singling out Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil as an all-time favorite due to its precise plotting. Reflecting on formative reading experiences from her youth, Bardugo highlights Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption as a primary comfort read that she returned to repeatedly. She also points to Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle as a timeless fairy tale returning point in her life and cites Frank Herbert's Dune as a pivotal milestone that heavily influenced the thematic structures of her own early trilogies.
Books recommended by Leigh Bardugo
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Golem and the Jinni
The Golem and the Jinni is a celebrated historical fantasy novel by Helene Wecker that weaves together Jewish mythology and Arabic folklore against the vibrant backdrop of turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York City.
Recommended“some of the books I've really loved reading are the miniaturist the gollum and the genie I loved Carter beats the devil”
Where to get it
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Carter Beats the Devil
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold is an imaginative historical novel set in the 1920s that weaves the life of legendary magician Charles Carter into a sweeping conspiracy involving presidential assassination and early cinematic magic.
Recommended“I loved Carter beats the devil is one of my all-time favorite books I think it is a perfectly plotted novel and really walks the line”
Where to get it
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Dune
Dune by Frank Herbert is a landmark science fiction epic set on the desert planet Arrakis, exploring complex themes of politics, religion, ecology, and human potential.
Recommended“Dune by Frank Herbert was really pivotal for me and I think you can see the Echoes of that in my first Trilogy in terms of this kind of teenage Messiah”
Where to get it
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Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a whimsical and enchanting fantasy novel that operates as a modern fairy tale filled with magic, transformation, and unexpected adventure.
Recommended“and I think the book I've returned to again and again in my life is how Moving Castle by Diana wi Jones which again operates as a kind of fairy tale”
Where to get it
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Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a celebrated novella by Stephen King, published in his 1982 collection Different Seasons, which famously inspired the classic 1994 film adaptation directed by Frank Darabont.
Recommended“the book I read again and again when I was in junior high school college was Rita Hayworth in the Shashank Redemption by Stephen King that was my comfort read”
Where to get it
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Shawshank Redemption
Stephen King's compelling novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, originally published in the collection Different Seasons, tells the story of an unjustly imprisoned banker who maintains his hope and eventually engineers a brilliant escape.
Recommended“the book I read again and again when I was in junior high school college was Rita Hayworth in the Shashank Redemption by Stephen King that was my comfort read”
Where to get it
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The Miniaturist
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is an atmospheric historical novel set in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, following a young woman who receives a cabinet-size replica of her new home that begins to mirror real-life events in eerie and prophetic ways.
Recommended“some of the books I've really loved reading are the miniaturist the gollum and the genie I loved Carter beats the devil”
Where to get it
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Beloved
Beloved by Toni Morrison is a powerful, haunting novel about a formerly enslaved woman haunted by the trauma of her past and the literal ghost of the daughter she lost.
Discussed“then I encountered books like beloved and love medicine and I understood the way that magic and the idea of other worlds”
Where to get it
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Hell Bent
Discussed“then I branched into novels for adults and that's where ninth house and hellbent came in”
Where to get it
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King of Scars
Discussed“that's the Shadow and B Trilogy the six of crows duology the king of scars duology”
Where to get it
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Love Medicine
Discussed“then I encountered books like beloved and love medicine and I understood the way that magic and the idea of other worlds”
Where to get it
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Ninth House
Ninth House is a dark fantasy novel by Leigh Bardugo set against the secretive, elite backdrop of Yale University's secret societies.
Discussed“then I branched into novels for adults and that's where ninth house and hellbent came in”
Where to get it
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Six of Crows
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a thrilling young adult fantasy duology set in the expansive Grishaverse, following a dangerous crew of outcasts attempting an impossible heist.
Discussed“that's the Shadow and B Trilogy the six of crows duology the king of scars duology”
Where to get it
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The Familiar
Discussed“and with the familiar this is my first historical fiction set during the Spanish Inquisition and it is very much a standalone”
Where to get it
Books Leigh Bardugo wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy Superstar Leigh Bardugo on Her New Novel | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 17 |
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“this very real historical Scandal that had surrounded King Phillip and his secretary Antonio PES who is thought to possibly be the inspiration for one of the characters in Shakespeare's love labor loss”
“and then there's heavier fantasy like a discovery of witches I certainly grew up reading magical realism”
“the next book I going to be writing is the third in the Alex Stern series that's ninth house and then hellbent and this will be the concluding book in that trilogy”
“the next book I going to be writing is the third in the Alex Stern series that's ninth house and then hellbent and this will be the concluding book in that trilogy”