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- Apr 21
- 11 min
174: Keep Up a Love of Reading with Auto-Buy Authors
In this Unabridged episode, we talk about a favorite topic for us on the podcast—auto-buy authors! We share some favorite authors and talk about different ways to support authors. We also share our perspectives on what an auto-buy author is for each of us and what would work for that category on the Unabridged Reading Challenge! If you haven't signed up for the challenge yet, you can still join us! Find out everything here. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Sumi Hahn’s The Mermaid fr
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- Apr 2
- 2 min
Sumi Hahn's THE MERMAID OF JEJU - Love and Bravery in a Time of War
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This beautiful historical fiction novel explores the situation in Jeju during World War II as Japanese occupation ended and American soldiers came to occupy the island. Many thanks to Libro.fm for access to the audio of Sumi Hahn's The Mermaid of Jeju, which just came out in December! I loved this audiobook, but I am sure I would have enjoyed the print version as well. This book opens with the present time and shows Junja's m
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- Mar 30
- 4 min
Pub Day Shout-Outs for March 30, 2021, featuring Bryce, Greenidge, and Guerrero
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Denny S. Bryce's Wild Women and the Blues Description from Publisher: "In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love... in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections. “'Why would I talk to you abo
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- Mar 26
- 3 min
Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie - Historical Fiction that Resonates
by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC of Kaitlyn Greenidge’s Libertie in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, March 30. I jumped on the chance to read an early copy of Kaitlyn Greenidge’s Libertie. I read her first book, We Love You, Charlie Freeman, for the 2016 Tournament of Books, and I thought it was a phenomenal work with a core of historical fiction: it’s thoughtful and thoug
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- Mar 10
- 10 min
168: Get Back into Reading with Favorite Tropes
In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we discuss some of our favorite tropes and share some book recommendations that have included those tropes. Our recommendations include Beth O’Leary’s The Switch, Helena Hunting’s Kiss My Cupcake, and John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. We talk about some of our favorite and not-so-favorite tropes in romance novels, and we discuss the benefits of tropes for readers. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom (Bookshop.org |
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- Mar 8
- 4 min
8 Amazing Reads Celebrating Powerful, Courageous Women
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I wanted to share some of my favorite reads featuring strong women (and young women!). All of these works show complex, nuanced women who are courageous and who face obstacles with determination and strength. The women in these books are not always easy to love (which calls into question what it is that makes a female character lovable... a question that I think is an important one to consider!), but they are fierce and they
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- Jan 25
- 7 min
Five of Ashley's Favorite Reads from 2020 (Part 2)
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I was lucky to read so many amazing books this year! Consequently, I had a really hard time with coming up with my list for this post. It's a good problem to have, I suppose, but I'm realizing that it's really tough for me to pick out "winners" for the year when it comes to reading. Like Jen, I tried to pick books that represented the range of the kinds of reading I have done this year, and that is part of what I considered w
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- Jan 19
- 4 min
Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 19, 2021, featuring Cashore, Hall, Lo, and Okorafor
by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are four books coming out today that I'm excited to read (I couldn't resist one more than our usual three!). Kristin Cashore's Winterkeep Description from Publisher: "For the past five years, Bitterblue has reigned as Queen of Monsea, heroically rebuilding her nation after her father's horrific rule. After learning about the land of Torla in the east, she sends envoys to the closest nation there: Winterkeep—a place where telepathic foxes
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- Jan 12
- 4 min
Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 12, 2021 featuring Pink, Richardson, and Thomas
by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Randi Pink's Angel of Greenwood Description from Publisher: "Randi Pink’s The Angel of Greenwood is a historical YA novel that takes place during the Greenwood Massacre of 1921, in an area of Tulsa, OK, known as the 'Black Wall Street.' "Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet, never leavin
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- Jan 8
- 4 min
Randi Pink's ANGEL OF GREENWOOD - The Greenwood Massacre of 1921 from the Perspective of Teens
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Randi Pink's Angel of Greenwood was my first full book of 2021, and what a great way to start the year! I was thrilled to see this book, and as soon as I saw that it was historical fiction and covered the Greenwood Massacre that took place in Tulsa, OK, in 1921, I knew I wanted to read it. That event is something I personally knew very little about until well into my adult life, and I was excited to see this important and tr
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- Jan 5
- 4 min
Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 5, 2021, featuring Bruchac, Harris, and Bryant
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Joseph Bruchac's Peacemaker Description from Publisher: "A twelve-year-old Iroquois boy rethinks his calling after witnessing the arrival of a mystical figure with a message of peace in this historical novel based on the creation of the Iroquois Confederacy. "Twelve-year-old Okwaho's life has suddenly changed. While out hunting with his best friend, his friend is
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- Dec 18, 2020
- 4 min
Sofía Segovia's THE MURMUR OF BEES - A Beautiful, Whimsical Story about the Power of Love
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Wow. This one will definitely be one of my top reads of the year. I chose this, Sofia Segovia's The Murmur of Bees, as my book in translation pick for the Modern Mrs. Darcy challenge, which is the reading challenge I participated in this past year. Segovia is a Mexican author writing in Spanish, and her work was translated by Simon Bruni. (Check out our reading challenge episodes from the beginning of 2020 where we shared our
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- Dec 16, 2020
- 13 min
156: Unabridged Discusses HAMILTON
In this episode of the Unabridged Podcast, Ashley, Jen, and Sara take on the musical phenomenon that is Hamilton. After sharing their Bookish Check-in, each host discusses her Hamilton history, and then they explore together favorite songs, most emotional moments, and favorite scenes. They end the episode with the Give Me One segment, each describing one thing she wants to accomplish in the new year. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People Jen - Nancy Jooyo
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- Nov 9, 2020
- 2 min
5 Books to Gift the Book Lover in Your Life
by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Do you have a bookworm in your life? Here are five books to gift your bookish friend or family member. Enjoy! 1. Annie Spence's Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life Why it is on the list: A book that compiles a list of books? Yes, please. And then a librarian writing love letters or break-up letters to said books. Um, no brainer. This book is sure to res
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- Oct 23, 2020
- 3 min
Samantha Silva's MR. DICKENS AND HIS CAROL - A Charming Christmas Novel
by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Samantha Silva's Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a delightful imagining of how Charles Dickens's iconic Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol, came to be. The story follows Dickens in the weeks before Christmas as he struggles to write a Christmas-themed story to satisfy his publishers, who are dismayed at the dwindling sales of his latest book. As the pressure mounts to meet the Christmas deadline, a cast of recognizable, yet not quite totally
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- Oct 5, 2020
- 3 min
The Super Rooster Is Coming--Join in the Fun!
by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I have made no secret of my love for all things Tournament of Books related. Every year for 16 years, The Morning News holds a tournament in March to advance one of 16 books to a Rooster win. Somewhere in there, they added Camp ToB, a smaller competition, in which one winner is chosen . . . that winner advances to the Tournament of Books challenge for the following March. The Tournament runners are taking advantage of the 16th anniversary to p
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- Aug 19, 2020
- 28 min
139: Great Book Recommendations - Our Season 4 Recs for Each Other
In today's episode of the Unabridged Podcast, we each do our best to recommend a book that our friends and co-hosts will love. Be sure to listen to our Bookish Check-in and our Give Me One, where we pick a favorite karaoke song. We'd love to know what books you'd recommend for each of us! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again Jen - Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic (@bookishladiesclub buddy read) Sara - Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to
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- Jul 22, 2020
- 40 min
135: Books We'd Love to See Adapted with Morgan Hoit @NYCBookGirl
In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we have so much fun talking with Morgan Hoit, @NYCBookGirl, about book-to-screen adaptations. We talk about our latest reads, book-to-screen adaptations we have loved, and books that we would love to see adapted. Bookish Check In Ashley - Sally Rooney’s Normal People Jen - Phuc Tran’s Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit in Sara - Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park Morgan - Chelsea Bieker's God Shot, Em
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- Jul 21, 2020
- 5 min
Pub Day Shout-Outs! July 21st, 2020 featuring Menon, Johnson, and Dobson
by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I am excited to read! Sandhya Menon's 10 Things I Hate about Pinky Description from Publisher: "The delightful follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie, which follows Ashish’s friends Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date in order to achieve their individual goals, to disastrous and hilarious results. "Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge
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