Person
Every book Molly Young recommended on podcasts
Molly Young appeared on The Book Review podcast to evaluate a wide range of contemporary fiction and nonfiction, offering thoughtful literary recommendations and reviewing prominent releases. Young recommended Emmanuel Carrère's The Adversary as the ideal breakout starting point for readers looking to explore the author's body of work. She also evaluated David M. Levy's Mindful Tech as a strong option for individuals seeking guidance on managing the presence of email and phones in modern daily life, alongside David Pogue's Pogue's Basics, which she recommended as a great practical book for younger readers starting out. In addition to these recommendations, Young discussed her critical engagement with the work of Gary Shteyngart, reflecting on his literary trajectory from his first novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, and his acclaimed work Super Sad True Love Story, to her review of his pandemic-themed novel Our Country Friends. Furthermore, Young engaged with publication histories and cultural milestones, noting the enduring legacy of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary following its initial publication in 1995.
Books recommended by Molly Young
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Mindful tech
Mindful tech by David M.
Recommended“and then after that if you had to go down the list mindful Tech is a really good option for people who are resigned to the fact that email and phones are part of our lives”
Where to get it
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Our Country Friends
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart is a pandemic-era novel that follows a group of friends who isolate together in a country house as the world shuts down.
Discussed“I've recently written about Gary Stein's pandemic novel which is called our country friends and and I loved it”
Where to get it
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Pogue's basics
Pogue's basics by David Pogue is a practical guide featuring essential life tips and shortcuts that people often do not learn elsewhere.
Recommended“and after that after that poges Basics poges Basics is a great book to give to uh the young whipper snapper in your life”
Where to get it
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The Adversary
The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrère is a chilling true-crime narrative that chronicles the life and horrific crimes of Jean-Claude Romand, a French man who murdered his entire family after lying to them about his career for decades.
Recommended“I would start with the adversary which is his breakout”
Where to get it
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Breakfast with Seneca
Discussed“so what brought me to it was a book called breakfast with senica by David Fidel who's a philosopher”
Where to get it
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Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding is a landmark contemporary comedic novel that popularized the Bridget Jones series and captured the experiences of a single British woman navigating romance and professional life in the 1990s.
Discussed“first of all the the first Bridget Jones Diary came out in 1995”
Where to get it
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Deep Work
Deep Work by Cal Newport is a productivity guide that explores the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks, arguing that this skill is increasingly rare and valuable in a modern economy.
Discussed“and Cal Newport who writes deep work is a big proponent of sort of batching all of your small tasks into discret periods of the day”
Where to get it
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Super Sad True Love Story
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart is a satirical dystopian novel that portrays a collapsing America dominated by ubiquitous social media, digital overexposure, and a cryptic corporate-fascist political regime.
Discussed“but the book he wrote that really got me on the shineart bus was called super sad true love story”
Where to get it
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The Daily Stoic
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a popular modern guide providing daily meditations, historical insights, and ancient philosophies for cultivating resilience and self-control.
Discussed“so for example Ryan holiday who the big breakthrough book in 2014 he wrote the obstacle is the way and then subsequently wrote The Daily stoic and he's written a bunch of books about the philosophy”
Where to get it
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The Obstacle Is the Way
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday is a popular book on stoic philosophy that explores how to turn everyday trials into advantages.
Discussed“so for example Ryan holiday who the big breakthrough book in 2014 he wrote the obstacle is the way and then subsequently wrote The Daily stoic and he's written a bunch of books about the philosophy”
Where to get it
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The Productivity Project
Discussed“I mean you could be a very productive procrastinator or a very productive consumer of internet porn and those things aren't necessarily good things but in in one case in the productivity project”
Where to get it
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The Russian Debutante's Handbook
Discussed“yeah I am his first novel called the Russian debutants handbook and it was it kind of made a splash”
Where to get it
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Yoga
Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère is a genre-bending autobiographical work that chronicles the author's journey through depression, psychiatric hospitalization, and spiritual seeking, while openly questioning the boundary between strict truth and fiction.
Discussed“I review Memoirs by Robert LOL and I reviewed yoga by Emanuel carrer”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beth Macy’s ‘Truevine’ | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Alan Cumming Talks About ‘Baggage’ | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 4 |
| Robert Gottlieb on ‘Garbo’ and ‘Babbitt’ | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 3 |
| Chaos Among Spies After the Berlin Wall Crumbles | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 2 |
| Inside The New York Times Book Review: Bill Bryson on Britain | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 4 |