by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Our episode from last Wednesday (which was episode 200!!!!) was all about memoirs, which got me to thinking about other nonfiction books I've read and loved recently. These include memoirs, essay collections, and one graphic travel diary. Although I read WAY more fiction than nonfiction, I find that a lot of the nonfiction that I read has a deep impact on me, and I enjoyed thinking about some recent nonfiction favorites! The

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) This Wednesday, we'll release our Book Club episode focusing on Darcie Little Badger's Elatsoe (Amazon | Bookshop.org). This amazing YA novel focuses on Elatsoe, a member of the Lipan Apache tribe, and blends fantastic world building with a compelling mystery, along with some great paranormal touches. Reading Elatsoe made me reflect on my reading year and some other amazing books I've read. (Be sure to read through the end for some additional

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Danielle Walker's Food Saved Me: My Journey of Finding Health and Hope through the Power of Food (Amazon | Bookshop.org) I have talked about how much I enjoy reading about food and also learning about food sources and how what we eat affects our bodies and health. I have been following Danielle Walker for many years and have all of her cookbooks. So, I was so excited to read her recently released memoir, Food Saved Me: My Journey of Finding

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Mark Oshiro's The Insiders (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Three kids who don’t belong. A room that shouldn’t exist. A year that will change everything. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Meg Medina, this debut middle grade novel from award-winning author Mark Oshiro is a hopeful and heartfelt coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’

In this Unabridged episode, Jen, Sara, and Ashley share book recommendations for book picks that surprised us and brought unexpected joy. Our recommendations, including Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things that Will Not Change (Amazon | Bookshop.org), Patrik Svensson’s The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World (Amazon | Bookshop.org), and Tiffany Haddish’s The Last Black Unicorn (Amazon | Bookshop.org), are very different

In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we talk all things graphic! We share a graphic novel, a graphic memoir, and a graphic nonfiction pick, all of which would work well for the Unabridged Reading Challenge 2021. Listen in to hear what we have to say about our picks including Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, Gene Luen Yang’s Dragon Hoops, and Jerry Craft’s Class Act. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things that Will Not Change (Amaz

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) If you listen to the pod, you know I love a good memoir. We have talked about Ruth Wariner's The Sound of Gravel (Amazon | Bookshop.org) several times on the show, and I thought I would share my complete review of this fantastic memoir. In fact, I would say that this book is the book that lit the fire for my love of memoirs and my compulsion to read as many as I can get my hands on. Written by Ruth Wariner (known predominantly as Ruthie in

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) I am so excited to talk about some of my favorite reads from my Beyond the Bookends Reading Challenge, the challenge I picked in addition to our Unabridged Reading Challenge. The thing I love about reading challenges is that they challenge (imagine that!) me to read outside of my comfort zone. My 2021 reading has gone SO much better than my 2020 reading. Here are some of my favorites from my reading challenge so far. Holly Whitaker's Quit Li

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) My reading has been going much better in 2021 than in 2020. I have read quite a few books (for me) in this first part of the year, and I have read some that I truly adored. If you look back at my post from last year at this same time, my reading was not going well. At all. I love sharing the books I love, so I wanted to highlight these five books that have been some of my favorites of the year (so far). These aren't necessarily books that we

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As usual when I set out to create a concise list of something, I struggled with this task, with creating a list of five favorite books that I've read so far in 2021. I've read a LOT of amazing books this year, and I want to tell you about them ALL. But, fear not, I've restrained myself, and I've come up with a list. I won't say that it's the definitive list because there's a great chance that tomorrow, I'll have regrets and wish I'd chosen one

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Phew, I have read some amazing books so far this year! Every year it feels increasingly challenging to pick favorites, and that is proving to be true for 2021. I shared some favorites from my reading challenges so far in my latest Bookish Fave. Here are a few others that I have absolutely loved during the first half of 2021! This list of five favorites so far includes Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After (Amazon | Bookshop.org)

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) I am not a huge reader of graphic novels, but I have a personal interest in Cece Bell's autobiographical graphic novel, El Deafo. One of my favorite people in the whole world, my cousin, Bekah, has a similar story—ill at a young age which led to total hearing loss in both ears, a cochlear implant before starting school, and similar struggles to Cece throughout the course of her life. It was extremely appealing to read a novel which chronicle

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Brenda Myers-Powell's Leaving Breezy Street Description from Publisher: "Fourteen years old, poor, Black, mother dead, two babies to feed and clothe, and a grandmother who is not full of motherly kindness, to put it mildly. What money-making options are open to a girl like Brenda Myers? "When Breezy, as she came to call herself, hit the streets of Chicago as a prostitute in 1973

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) There are SO many good books coming out today, but here are just three books that I'm excited to discuss! Cheryl Diamond's Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "By the age of nine, I will have lived in more than a dozen countries, on five continents, under six assumed identities. I’ll know how a document is forged, how to withstand an interrogation, and most important, how to disapp

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Danielle Henderson's The Ugly Cry Description from Publisher: "'If you fight that motherf**ker and you don’t win, you’re going to come home and fight me.' Not the advice you’d normally expect from your grandmother—but Danielle Henderson would be the first to tell you her childhood was anything but conventional. "Abandoned at ten years old by a mother who chose her drug-addicted,

May Books On May 5, we're so excited to share our Book Club episode focusing on Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. We'll have a Book Club chat on IG about the novel on May 17 at 8:00 PM EST. Then, on April 10 and 24, we'll have IG chats about Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite’s Dear Haiti, Love Alaine. DM us @unabridgedpod to join! Here are the synopses from the publishers: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart Description from Publisher: "From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. "In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and

In this Unabridged Podcast Book Club episode, we discuss Eric Gansworth's memoir in verse, Apple: Skin to the Core. We talk about what worked for us, share quotes, and offer pairings including Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter, Steve Sheinkin’s Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team, and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Shout. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Nicola Yoon’s Instructions for Dancing (coming out June 1; thanks to NetGalley) (amazon | Bookshop

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Erin French's Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story Remaking a Life from Scratch Description from Publisher: "Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre farm, a teenager falling in love with food while working the line at her dad’s diner an

By Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) If you have been listening to the podcast, you know that I am have been reading a lot of non-fiction this year, with a focus on reading strong female voices. Today's Bookish Fave is a list of several strong female voices in nonfiction. What I love about these women is that they speak their mind unapologetically. While I don't always agree with everything they say, I respect and appreciate what they are bringing to the table. I am finding the