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.

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Mar 9, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 9, 2021, featuring Khan, Hibbert, and Mans

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This is a great pub day including a couple of favorite authors! Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read. Hena Khan's Amina's Song Description from Publisher: "In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning Amina’s Voice, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves—this time across continents. "It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Am

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Feb 27, 2021
3 min

Featured Books for March 2021

March Books On March 3, we're so excited to share our Book Club episode focusing on Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. We'll also have an IG Book Club chat on March 15 at 8:00 PM EST. Then, on March 8 and March 22, we'll have IG chats about Akwaeke Emezi's Pet. DM us @unabridgedpod to join! Here are the synopses from the publishers: Good Talk "Mira Jacob's touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-gener

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Jan 30, 2021
4 min

Featured Books for February 2021

February Books On February 3, we're so excited to share our Book Club episode focusing on Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, a retelling of the Austen classic. (This book was chosen by our Unabridged Ambassadors!) We'll also have an IG Book Club chat on February 15. Then, on February 8 and February 22, we'll have IG chats about Emily Henry's A Million Junes (voted on by our followers). DM us @unabridgedpod to join! Here are the synopses from the publisher: Prid

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Jan 29, 2021
4 min

T. J. Klune's THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA - A Beautiful Story about Finding Your Home

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This phenomenal book, T.J. Klune's fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea, was one of my favorite reads from 2020. I was thrilled to see that this one also just won an Alex Award as one of the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences with the Youth Media Awards from the American Library Association. Linus Baker lives a quiet, routine-oriented life with only his curmudgeonly cat, Calliope, for company. As a low

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Jan 19, 2021
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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Sep 15, 2020
3 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for September 15, 2020, featuring Jackson, LaCour, and Yang

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three(-plus!) books coming out today that I'm excited to read. Tiffany D. Jackson's Grown Description from Publisher: "Award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another riveting, ripped-from-the-headlines mystery that exposes horrific secrets hiding behind the limelight and embraces the power of a young woman’s voice. "When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous sing

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Aug 25, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for August 25, 2020, featuring Khorram, Lozada and Lörincz, and Taussig

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Before I share three books coming out today that I'm excited to read, I wanted to highlight two that I've already read. You can read my reviews of Kristina Forest's Now that I've Found You and Daisy Johnson's Sisters at jenlovesbooks.com. Now, on to three brand-new books I haven't read yet! Adib Khorram's Darius the Great Deserves Better Description from Publisher: "In this companion to the award-winning Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Darius su

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Feb 12, 2020
2 min

112: 2020 Love Is in the Air - The Protagonist's Name is in the Title

In our 2020 Love Is in the Air episode, we're talking all things romance. In this episode, we discuss some of our favorite romance novels, including Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over, Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue, and David Yoon’s Frankly in Love just to name a few. While we have varying degrees of expertise in this genre, we all have some recommendations to share with you! Jen's Picks Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals ser

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Feb 10, 2020
4 min

Best Reads of 2019--Sara's Picks

You are going to notice right away that my "Best of 2019" list isn't nearly as long as my counterparts. Honestly, 2019 was just not a great year of reading for me. I read a lot of books, but there just weren't a ton that really stood out to me. However, the ones that I did read, made a huge impact. I will say that I have read way more non-fiction this year than I have in other years AND OVER HALF (!) of the books on my list are non-fiction! My fingers are crossed for a more s

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Feb 3, 2020
1 min

Best Reads of 2019 - Jen's Picks

Oh, friends. I gave 51 books five stars in 2019, so this was tough for me! Ultimately, I settled--somewhat arbitrarily--on a top 15, ranging from middle-grade reads like Kelly Yang's Front Desk to Michelle Obama's brilliant memoir Becoming to a stunning multi-genre novel in Valeria Luiselli's Lost Children Archive (which I really need to re-read!). Anyway, here are 15 of the books I loved in 2019, in COMPLETELY random order (you can find reviews for all of them on Instagram,

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Jan 27, 2020
5 min

Best Reads of 2019 - Ashley's Picks

2019 was a great year for reading for me. Many of these books were not written in 2019, but they were new to me this past year, and they were phenomenal. From Michelle Obama's Becoming that I read in right at the beginning of the year to John Boyne's The Heart's Invisible Furies, which I read very close to the year's end, I definitely read some keepers this year that I will be recommending and revisiting for a long time to come. These were all five bookish hearts books for me

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Jan 22, 2020
2 min

Welcome - Introduction and Overview

Just getting started with Unabridged Podcast? Welcome! We're Ashley, Jen, and Sara, and we are teachers and podcasters who are passionate about books. We have four kinds of posts here on our blog. On Mondays, we post about our Bookish Faves, on Tuesdays we do Pub Day Shout-outs, on Wednesdays our episodes drop, and on Fridays, we post book reviews. (Be on the lookout on Thursdays, too; we sometimes have an extra post then!) There are many ways to connect with us! In addition

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Oct 16, 2019
1 min

95: Rainbow Rowell Rocks: You Have to Read It! You Have to Read It!

For this short episode of Unabridged, we are talking all about Rainbow Rowell and our love for her books. While we each have unique favorites of her work, we can agree that we are all fans, and there are some things that run through her writing that we enjoy. And as Jen says, "Rainbow Rowell is an auto-buy for us!" the hosts' favorites Ashley’s Pick Rainbow Rowell's Carry On Jen’s Pick Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl Sara’s Pick Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park Other Mentions

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Oct 4, 2019
2 min

Casey McQuiston's RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE -- Jen's Review

Sometimes, you just jump and hope it’s not a cliff. Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, & Royal Blue in exchange for an honest review. The book released May 14th, 2019. Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, & Royal Blue is just a delight. It’s an unabashedly bubbly, real, foul-mouthed, sexy romance with a political heart of gold. I. Loved. It. At the novel’s center is an alternate reality that I, for one, would love to live in. The winner

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Aug 28, 2019
2 min

88: Autumn TBR Lists - Shopping in My Kindle Closet

We'll let you guess just which one of us went shopping in her Kindle closet . . . and then cheated to share an extra book (or two . . . or three!) on this episode. Well, actually, we ALL cheated because we have SO many books coming out this fall that we're eagerly anticipating. As a sneak peek, we're including Peter Heller’s Celine, Rainbow Rowell’s Wayward Son, and Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys. Take a listen to our TBR lists, and then let us know what books you look f

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Jul 26, 2019
3 min

Jandy Nelson's I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN -Ashley's Book Review

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is a literary work of genius. This is one I read quite a while ago, but it has stayed with me and remains one of my favorites. It's riveting and powerful without seeming forced or contrived in any way. It's the story of twins, Jude and Noah, whose lives are drastically, irreparably altered by a catastrophic event. The entire story shapes itself around that event and their quest to find themselves functioning on the other side. Let's talk

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Jun 12, 2019
1 min

77: Our Summer TBR Lists - We All Know How I Like the Romance

We at Unabridged are SO. Excited. About summer! As unrepentant bookworms, we have been plotting and planning which books we can fit in over our summer break. We are therefore happy to share our Summer TBR lists with you (and with each other) in this #unabridgedshort. What's on your summer TBR? Let us know on social media (@unabridgedpod). Books Mentioned Jen's TBR List Stephen and Owen King’s Sleeping Beauties Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On (to prep for the sequel!) Harry Potter s

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Dec 5, 2018
1 min

50: Gretchen Anthony's EVERGREEN TIDINGS FROM THE BAUMGARTNERS - These Random People at Dinner

"This is me. This is my family. This is love." ~Gretchen Anthony Spoilers are inevitable throughout our discussion, so consider whether or not to listen if you haven't yet read the book, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners! Timeline Introduction and Summary of the Book: 0:00 - 01:13 Main Discussion: 01:13 - 33:43 Book Pairings: 33:53 - 43:15 Classroom Connections: 43:15 - 45:38 Book Pairings Jen - Helen Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road Ashley - Jenny Han's To All the Boy

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