Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged! Ashley and Jen (shown left to right in the photo) talk books, share recommendations, and celebrate all things bookish. On our blog (see our posts below!) we share bookish faves, pub day shout-outs, show notes, and book reviews.

Want to get more involved? Check out our 2022 reading challenge, join our buddy reads on Instagram, or sign up on Patreon!

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Nov 16
6 min

Even More Cozy Reads

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I wouldn't necessarily call myself the coziest of readers—I'm often drawn to pretty angsty stuff. But around this time of year, a little coziness seems called for. Ashley and I offered a few recommendations for cozy reads we loved in our most recent episode. Here are a few more books to consider if you're in the mood to curl up with a blanket and a good book—these are books that even I reveled in. Cozy Romances Martha Waters's The Regency Vows

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Nov 2
4 min

Book Recs for Fans of Tiffany D. Jackson's THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I absolutely loved Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org), which was our October book club pick, and I've been thinking since reading it about some of the social issues that Jackson explores in the novel, including topics like systemic racism, classism, colorism, entrenched societal norms, and the power of young people to bring about change. The books I offer today are a wide range of books - diffe

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Oct 19
5 min

8+ Fiction Books about Nature and the Environment

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) In my quest to read more environmental and nature literature for school—and to complete the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge!—I've been reading some fabulous books centered on these topics. A while back, I posted "5 Nonfiction Books about Nature and the Environment"; here's a list of fiction to consider reading in the same vein! Julia Glass's Vigil Harbor (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) I’d read only one of Julia Glass’s prior novels—her debut T

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Oct 5
5 min

7 Deliciously Witchy, Supernatural, and Magical Books Perfect for This Spooky Season

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Longtime listeners know that these days, I'm not usually big on spooky reads or horror books. However, I do love atmospheric reads, and I (perhaps contradictorily!) am a big fan of seasonal reads for the fall. The books I included here, all of which are middle grade or YA lit, are perfect for readers who enjoy a great seasonal book but who aren't looking for the kind of story that gives you nightmares. If you're looking for m

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Sep 21
4 min

5 Nonfiction Books about Nature and the Environment

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) This year's Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge includes the category "Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) that addresses nature or the environment." This has been a goal of mine recently, as well, both because of my current teaching position at a school with an environmental science focus and because this is an area that feels increasingly important. Here, I'm sharing five nonfiction picks (plus some extras in the writeups!); I'll share some

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Sep 7
4 min

5 Books to Bring Your Reading Mojo Back

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) As listeners know, I have had quite the tumultuous year, and that has made reading very difficult at times - hard to find the time, hard to find the motivation, hard to find the headspace. So as I looked over the reading I've done recently, I wanted to share some books that helped me get my reading mojo back during a difficult and busy season of my life. Here are five of my favorites that I could not wait to get back to readi

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Aug 17
3 min

5 Nonfiction Audiobooks Perfect for the Unabridged Reading Challenge

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) While I'll listen to almost anything on audio, I often find that nonfiction is my favorite . . . and, since I sometimes veer more towards fiction when I'm reading print, it's a great way to fit in more nonfiction. Over the summer, I listened to some amazing audiobooks that I thought I'd share—if you're working on the Unabridged Reading Challenge, these offer some fantastic options! Eliot Schrefer's Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural

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Aug 3
3 min

Graphic Novel Recs for Young Readers

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Hi! It's been quite a while since I shared some thoughts and recommendations on a Bookish Fave. It's been a crazy year for me personally and for my family, but I'm hopeful that the fall of this year will bring calmer times. One genre I've really enjoyed discovering and reading over the past few months is graphic novels. The ones I'm recommending in today's Bookish Fave are all appropriate for young audiences - I've read these

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Jun 6
3 min

5 Book-to-Screen Adaptations on My Summer Watch List

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we released our episode about the movie adaptation of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) (you can listen here). In that same vein, I thought I'd share some other adaptations I'm looking forward to watching this summer! Shining Girls I read Lauren Beukes's The Shining Girls (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) back in 2015, so some of the details are fuzzy. But I was

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May 30
4 min

15 Books that Broke through My WWII Book Skepticism

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I read Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) for the first time in 2014, which was—as far as I can tell—around the time what I'll call my "World War II Book Fatigue" began. (Check out last week's discussion of Guernsey, and listen this week, when we discuss the adaptation!) While this isn't an observation backed by any statistics, it certainly seems as if most historica

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May 23
6 min

5 New Release Beach Reads on My TBR for This Summer

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Back in April, I gave five backlist beach reads on my TBR for this summer. You can read that here. Today, I want to share five new releases on my radar for the summer. Erika Krouse's Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation (Released March 15, 2022) Bookshop.org | Libro.fm From the publisher: "Part memoir and part literary true crime, Tell Me Everything is the mesmerizing story of a landmark sexual assault investigation and t

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May 16
3 min

4 Children's Books to Tickle Your Funny Bone

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) My kids are getting bigger, and I don't get to read aloud to them much anymore. (They don't want me to--*insert crying emoji here.*) Anyhoo, I thought I would share some of the picture books my kiddos enjoyed me to read aloud to them when they were little. Get ready for your funny bone to be tickled. Eileen Spinelli and David Slonim's Silly Tilly (Bookshop.org) From the publisher: “'Tilly is not an ordinary goose. She takes her baths in appl

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May 9
3 min

6 More Film Adaptations Starring Meryl Streep

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we discussed the film adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). Looming large in our discussion was, of course, the brilliant Meryl Streep: she embodies Miranda Priestley so fully that we couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. Given her brilliance, I thought it might be fun to highlight some other adaptations of which Streep has been a part. She has, of course, starred in many, many adapta

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May 2
6 min

A Look at Our 2022 Buddy Reads . . . So Far

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Every month, I lead a buddy read over @unabridgedpod, focusing on a YA novel. We cover backlist titles and new releases, and our genres vary as well. They're always enlightening, and whether it's a first read or a re-read, I learn something from discussing the book with our community. (We'd love for you to join us! Just message us on IG or email us at unabridgedpod@gmail.com to find out more.) In 2022, we've covered four books, and our April r

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Apr 25
3 min

5 Things That Bring Me Joy

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) If you know anything about me, you know my very favorite thing to do is to do a non-bookish Bookish Fave. This is how I rebel. You can't put me in a box. So, for today's Bookish Fave, I will be concentrating on absolutely nothing bookish. Today, I want to talk about non-bookish things that bring me great joy. Lately, I have been trying to find joy in what I consume whenever I can because I know you all know, there is a lot of really upsettin

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Apr 18
6 min

5 Backlist Beach Reads on My TBR for This Summer

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Summer is upon us!! I don't know about you, but I feel like I need summer more than ever this year. What about you? My family is taking vacation early in the summer, and I am already thinking about the stack of books I am going to pack to take with me. I always take WAY too many, but you know, that's how I roll. You are never going to find me without book options. This year, I want to focus my attention on some backlist titles written by wom

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Apr 11
5 min

10+ YA Mystery (or Mystery-Adjacent) Novels You Must Investigate*

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) *pun intended Last week, Sara and I chatted about the pilot of the adaptation of Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)—you can check out the episode here—so I thought I'd dive into some other YA mysteries (or YA books with mystery elements) I've enjoyed recently. (I'm excerpting a lot of these reviews from my Instagram account!) Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Inheritance Games (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and The Hawthorne Lega

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Apr 4
4 min

5 Memoirs I'd Recommend for Your TBR

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we released our Unabridged Podcast Book Club episode featuring Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), a fabulous memoir in which Lawson shares the extreme highs and lows of her life. In honor of that episode, I wanted to share a few other memoirs I've read and enjoyed recently. Jenny Lawson's Broken (in the Best Possible Way) (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) I loved this one, too—it's

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Mar 28
6 min

Five Food Books On My Radar

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Okay. Let's get real. At the moment, all I want to read is food-centered books. I have read several lately, and all I want to do is read more. Are they my comfort reads? Maybe. Am I sorry about that? Absolutely not. So, here are six books I cannot wait to read--they are on my immediate TBR. Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Description from publisher: "When Molly Wizenberg's father died of cancer, everyone told her

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Mar 21
8 min

6 True Crime Novels at the Top of My TBR

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) True Crime novels have become one of my favorite genres in the last few years. I blame Season One of Serial Podcast. I was captivated by the story and the investigative journalism. So, over the years I have read several amazing true crime novels. I do find that I prefer to listen to them as an audiobook. Something about listening to the audiobook is reminiscent of listening to that first episode of Serial, Season One. So, while I have read s

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