Person
Every book Parul Sehgal recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Parul Sehgal has recommended or discussed 127 books on podcasts, as of July 2, 2021.
- Parul Sehgal has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of July 2, 2021.
- Those books came up in 71 episodes, as of July 2, 2021.
- The 3 books Parul Sehgal has mentioned in the most episodes, as of July 2, 2021: Notes on a Scandal, A manual for cleaning women and Are you my mother?.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Parul Sehgal aired on July 2, 2021.
Updated
Parul Sehgal’s most recommended books
- Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
- A manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin
- Are you my mother? by Alison Bechdel
- Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
- Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
- The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
- Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Written in Invisible Ink by Hervé Guibert
Parul Sehgal participated in multiple episodes of The Book Review podcast, where she recommended and discussed a wide array of fiction, memoirs, and philosophical works. Sehgal expressed excitement for David Grann's forthcoming book Killers of the Flower Moon and recommended Jan Morris's memoir Conundrum, noting that she had recently reread it. As a guest, she brought up Vivek Shanbhag's book Ghachar Ghochar to offer a strong recommendation to listeners after finishing and writing an essay about it. Sehgal also recommended Gaston Bachelard's philosophical book The Poetics of Space, describing it as a difficult-to-describe work by a French philosopher. Additionally, she recommended Samantha Irby's essay collection We Are Never Meeting in Real Life as a great book about internet culture, discussed Martin Amis's award-winning essay collection The War Against Cliché, and brought up Judith Thurman's Cleopatra's Nose as a vacation read. Finally, Sehgal suggested Yoko Tawada's book The Bridegroom Was a Dog to listeners looking to explore Tawada's writing. Across these discussions, Sehgal shared her eclectic reading habits, offering thoughtful insights and enthusiastic recommendations for various literary styles, essay collections, and thought-provoking nonfiction titles.
Books recommended by Parul Sehgal
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Notes on a Scandal
Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller is a dark, suspenseful psychological novel that examines obsession, manipulation, and the complex dynamics of female friendship and isolation.
Recommended“so I picked up a favorite book of mine which I haven't read in like seven years but I used to read it every year uh it's Zoe hel's notes on a scandal which was made into a very good movie but the book is just Sublime”
Where to get it
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A manual for cleaning women
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin is a celebrated short story collection that showcases the author's remarkable talent for capturing the grit, humor, and dignity of everyday working-class lives.
Discussed“at number 18 on the extended um hard cover bestseller list and fiction is a book called manual for cleaning women by Lucia Berlin”
Where to get it
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Are you my mother?
Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel is an acclaimed graphic memoir that explores the complex psychological relationship between a daughter and her mother through literature, psychoanalysis, and art.
Discussed“her other book are you my mother has this spot color this like dark almost lipstick looking accent”
Where to get it
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Dept. of Speculation
Dept.
Discussed“I like your point about the the canonization of a and I agree I think that in certain ways Department of speculation her previous book which was one of our top 10 books of the year a few years ago was a bit more Tighter”
Where to get it
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Ducks, Newburyport
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann is a massive, highly experimental stream-of-consciousness novel told almost entirely through a single, sprawling sentence spanning roughly one thousand pages.
Discussed“and I and I just in general am a big fan of the Canadian press biblioasis which put out one of my favorite books of recent years called Ducks Newberry Port which is this immense book told in one sentence and continually sort of puts out really sort of creative strange Innovative books”
Where to get it
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Her Body and Other Parties
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is a critically acclaimed collection of speculative short stories that examine the physical and societal boundaries placed on women.
Discussed“her first book was a book of short stories called her body in other parties”
Where to get it
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The Erratics
The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie is a darkly funny and astonishing memoir detailing the author's harrowing experiences growing up with an intensely abusive and mentally unstable mother in rural Canada.
Discussed“I did review two Canadian Memoirs at bite of the Apple by Lenny Goodings which is a memoir starting up a um sort of feminist press verago in England and the erratics by Vicki Lao RV which is you know a really strange ingenious Memoir of of living with a really impossible mother”
Where to get it
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Red Birds
Red Birds is a satirical novel by Mohammed Hanif that explores modern geopolitics, conflict, and displacement through contrasting perspectives in a desert landscape.
Discussed“and he has a new book a new novel called red birds”
Where to get it
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The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F.
Discussed“and one of those books is The Great Gatsby”
Where to get it
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Written in Invisible Ink
Discussed“I reviewed two books by the amazing French writer erve giber who died I think in the in the early in the early 90s and I reviewed his two books to the friend who did not save my life and written invisible Inc”
Where to get it
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Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal is an engaging scientific exploration that challenges human arrogance by examining the diverse, sophisticated forms of cognition and emotion present throughout the animal kingdom.
Recommended“one of them is are we smart enough to know how smart animals are by France dwall”
Where to get it
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Artful
Artful by Ali Smith is a hybrid work of fiction and literary criticism that explores the nature of art, storytelling, and grief through a series of lectures left behind by a deceased scholar.
Recommended“but i'm more sort of immersed in this book by ali smith it's called artful we've been talking a lot about essays because you're reading a lot of essays”
Where to get it
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Avid Reader
Avid Reader by Robert Gottlieb is a celebrated memoir by the legendary book editor that offers a fascinating look inside the world of publishing and literature.
Recommended“but this morning on the way to work I I picked up a book I've wanted to read forever which is Robert Gotti's Avid Reader and Gotti was this is a sort of legendary editor”
Where to get it
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Bento's Sketchbook
Bento's Sketchbook by John Berger is a reflective and philosophical work blending prose, drawing, and meditations on perception, inspired by the seventeenth-century lens grinder and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
Recommended“I am reading this week Bento Sketchbook by John Burger a book that I have pretended to have read for many years”
Where to get it
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Black hole blues
Black hole blues by Janna Levin is a compelling chronicle detailing the decades-long development of the massive scientific machines designed to detect gravitational waves.
Recommended“one of them is black hole blues and other songs from Outer Space by Jan 11 and it's a Chronicle of the development of a machine that detects gravitational waves”
Where to get it
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Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space
Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space by Janna Levin is a captivating non-fiction chronicle detailing the scientific quest to detect gravitational waves and capture the elusive signals of black holes colliding in the distant universe.
Recommended“one of them is black hole blues and other songs from Outer Space by Jan 11 and it's a Chronicle of the development of a machine that detects gravitational waves”
Where to get it
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Cleopatra's Nose
Cleopatra's Nose is a collection of essays written by cultural critic and author Judith Thurman.
Recommended“I was reading Cleopatra's nose by Judith Thurman have you guys read this”
Where to get it
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Conundrum
Conundrum by Jan Morris is a celebrated memoir that chronicles the author's pioneering journey as a transgender woman and renowned travel writer.
Recommended“and I reread a book that I think I bet Pamela has read maybe you guys have read to Jan Morris's conundrum”
Where to get it
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Don't Believe a Word
Don't Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari is a popular science book exploring myths and facts about human language written by a Guardian editor and writer.
Recommended“I reviewed a book called don't believe a word by the guardian editor and writer davet sharat madari and if I'm mangling your name please at me”
Where to get it
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Everything you know
Zoë Heller's compelling novel explores complex personal relationships and sharp social observations through distinct and memorable character dynamics.
Recommended“uh I love her first novel everything you know”
Where to get it
- Forty-One False Starts by Janet Malcolm
- Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
- How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- Making babies by Anne Enright
- Native speaker by Chang-rae Lee
- Old Age by Michael Kinsley
- Seven Brief Lessons on Physics 8-Copy Counter Display by Carlo Rovelli
- Skating to Antarctica by Jenny Diski
- The Bridegroom Was a Dog by Yōko Tawada
- The cost of living by Deborah Levy
- The genius of birds by Jennifer Ackerman
- The poetics of space by Gaston Bachelard
- The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
- The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm
- The story of a goat by Murugan Perumal
- The War Against Cliché by Martin Amis
- The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
- Two Lives by Janet Malcolm
- Underland by Robert Macfarlane
- Wayward by Dana Spiotta
- We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
- Women Talking by Miriam Toews
- You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day
- Your duck is my duck by Deborah Eisenberg
- 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell
- A case of exploding mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
- A Childhood by Harry Crews
- A life's work by Rachel Cusk
- Alice & Oliver by Charles Bock
Parul Sehgal’s latest episodes with books
Parul Sehgal’s book recommendations by year
All 127 books Parul Sehgal recommended or discussed across 71 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.