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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) One of our categories for the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge this year is to "Read a Book in an Unusual Genre" (we have since realized that we should have called it an "Unusual Format" . . . live and learn, I guess?). I absolutely love this category. I'm constantly amazed by the inventiveness of authors, by the ways that shifting into a new format can lend an immediacy to a story. Last week, we released an episode with some recommendatio

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, as we moved into March, we capped off our month-long celebration of romance with a re-release of last year's Love Is in the Air episode. In February, we released a new Love Is in the Air episode; discussed Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle, our Book Club pick; and chatted about Sally Thorne's The Hating Game AND its adaptation. While I review a lot of romance, I thought it might be fun to zoom in on some popular subsection of the ro

By Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) When I think about what was transformative in my experience as a reader, I think about three specific books. Some readers I talk to cannot remember ever not being a reader--he/she/they walked into kindergarten ready and eager to read. This was not me. I don't really remember reading voraciously until the fourth grade. My wonderful fourth grade teacher, Ms. Newland, handed each child in my class a wrapped gift the day we left for winter break

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) True crime books are one of my favorite genres. My love for this genre has only come about in recent years. When I read John Carreyrou's Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley Startup, I was hooked. I started reading true crime books and listening to to true crime podcasts. So, today I am sharing a non-bookish Bookish Fave. Here are five of the most compelling true crime podcasts I have listened to. If you listen to them, let me know

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Today is Valentine's Day. Instead of making a list of romance books, I thought I would do something a little different. You know that feeling you get after reading a book that is just so satisfying that you want to hug it at the end? (Maybe it's just me, but you get my point...) Well, today, my list is going to be five of those books for me. These books aren't necessarily romance books, but they are books that hit the spot and were everythin

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Our community experienced a tragedy this week as someone with violent intent came onto one of our college campuses, Bridgewater College, with a gun. Two campus police officers lost their lives. I've been thinking a lot about how we talk with our children about violence and tragedies, and today I wanted to share some picture books that focus on love, teach about feelings, and promote empathy. Harris J's Salam Alaikum: A Messag

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As I gear up to watch the rest of Netflix's Anxious People, the adaptation of Fredrik Backman's novel (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) AND the subject of our Unabridged Podcast Book Club chat this evening, I'm reminded once again of all the good stuff that's out there. I'm sure we're all aware that there are more great tv and fabulous movies than we can ever get to—that's why my own TBW (To Be Watched) list is nearly as long as my TBR. Anyway, I thou

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) My reading life has been up and down so far this year. However, that doesn't mean that I am not SUPER excited for several books coming out in the first half of 2022. Here are 5 books that I am ecstatic to read this (1st half of the) year: Jordan Calhoun's Piccolo Is Black: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture (Amazon.com | Bookshop.org) Release Date: April 26, 2022 I cannot wait to read this book from Calhoun. I was fortunate enough t