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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Apr 23, 2021
3 min

Yaa Gyasi's TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM - A Close Examination of Addiction and Its Impact on Family

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I was so excited to see Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom on Libro.fm this fall and am thankful that I was able to listen to an ALC of the audio. Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing is one of my favorite books, and I plan to read everything Gyasi writes because her work is brilliant. Although Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom have some similarities including gorgeous writing, complex characters, and complicated relationships, where Homego

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Nov 13, 2020
3 min

John Green's TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN: A Study of Character

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Friends, first of all, I must say, I love John Green. I love some of his books more than others, but what I like about his writing is that he doesn't rush his characters. He develops them, and the story follows. Often his books aren't super plot driven, but instead are a study of how characters, many with quirks and oddities, relate to people, themselves, and their environment. Green's most well-known work is probably The Fault In Our Stars,

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Apr 20, 2020
2 min

12 Amazing Picture Books for Tumultuous Times

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) As we navigate these unprecedented times, I've been thinking a lot about how to help the young people in our lives to cope with all of the changes and uncertainty swirling around them. As I always do when struggling or trying out something new, I find myself turning to books. If you're looking to pick out some books, some of my favorite kid lit authors include Peter H. Reynolds, Susan Verde, and Jo Witek (all pictured above),

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Apr 3, 2020
2 min

Ada Calhoun's WHY WE CAN'T SLEEP - This Book Speaks to Me! - Jen's Review

I cannot tell you how many photos of Ada Calhoun's Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis I texted to Ashley and Sara, accompanied by exclamations like "This book is speaking to me!!!" and "I started Why We Can't Sleep and have been compelled to book dart 7 times. I'm on page 6." I do not KNOW the last time I have identified so strongly with a book. I put Why We Can't Sleep on hold at the library immediately after hearing Calhoun's interview with Roxanne Coady on the

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Mar 25, 2020
2 min

118: Hopeful Books to Engage Students - What Can I Recommend to Students Right Now?

In this episode, we consider books that we'd recommend to students as great choices to read independently. As the world around us has drastically changed and continues changing, we decided on this topic and talked about some of our favorites, including R. J. Palacio's Wonder, Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before series, Nicola Yoon's books, and anything by Jason Reynolds, as well as some other favorites. We focus our discussion on books we think students can access w

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Mar 4, 2020
1 min

115: Kevin Wilson's NOTHING TO SEE HERE - Learning by Fire

For our March Unabridged Book Club discussion, we're focusing on Kevin Wilson's excellent Nothing to See Here (which was also a Book of the Month pick!). Listen to catch up with what we're reading now and to hear why we chose to pair books like Ninth House, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and Young Jane Young with Wilson's novel. Finally, we're thinking about movies from our childhood in our Give Me One segment. Timeline Bookish Check In: 00:00 - 05:40 Book Club Discussion: 05:4

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Feb 7, 2020
2 min

Sally Rooney's NORMAL PEOPLE Slow-Burn Fiction At Its Best--Sara's Review

I recently finished Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Oh my goodness, let me tell you, it was not what I expected going in. I expected a romantic story of two people trying to find their way back to each other. Well, this book really wasn’t that. Like, really wasn’t. At all. Thanks to @randomhouse #partner for my review copy! This book starts with introducing Connell and Marianne, two classmates at an Irish high school who couldn’t be more different. Connell is a smart, popular j

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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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Jan 8, 2020
1 min

107: Mary Beth Keane's ASK AGAIN, YES - I Had to Open Another Tin of Book Darts

In this Unabridged Book Club (#unabridgedpodbookclub) episode, we discuss Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes, the amazing multigenerational novel examining two families in a planned community. We make connections to Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, John Boyne’s The Heart's Invisible Furies, and Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, and we thoroughly discuss the intricacies of relationships over time and through generations as they are explored in the novel. Timeline Introduction

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Oct 2, 2019
1 min

93: Anissa Gray's THE CARE AND FEEDING OF RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY GIRLS - Relationships Between Women

We're thrilled to discuss Anissa Gray's new novel, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls. Told in the alternating perspectives of the Butler sisters, this novel is timely, compelling, and, at times, heartbreaking. We offer pairings and recommendations for the ways that teachers can use this book in their classrooms. After you listen, join us on social media throughout October to participate in our book club discussions. We'd love to know what you think! Timeline Int

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Sep 4, 2019
1 min

89: Elizabeth Acevedo's WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH - On Her Side

We're thrilled to discuss Elizabeth Acevedo's sophomore novel, With the Fire on High. Protagonist Emoni is a high school student, a mother, a granddaughter, and an amazingly inspired chef in training. Listen in for our discussion of the ways that Acevedo counters our expectations for this character. We offer pairings and recommendations for the ways that teachers can use this book in their classrooms. After you listen, join us on social media throughout September to participa

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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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Aug 16, 2019
4 min

Yara Zgheib's THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET - Ashley's Review

"There must have been signs, but we were distracted by the roller coaster of the adventure. Paperwork, looking for a couch for the apartment, ties and shirts for Matthias." "I used to eat. I used to like to eat, then I grew scared to eat, ceased to eat. Now my stomach hurts; I have been anorexic for so long that I have forgotten how to eat." "I did not choose anorexia. I did not choose to starve. But every morning, over and over, I choose to fight it, again." Thank you to Pa

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Jul 17, 2019
1 min

82: Our Anticipated Reads of 2019 Update - Intentionally Weird

Back in January, we shared the books that we planned (or hoped?) to read this year. Now, it's time to share our progress. Have we read all of them? Nope. But we've made a valiant effort. (Or at least an effort.) What was on your TBR list for 2019? How are you doing? We'd love to hear about your successes and failures, the books you've loved and the ones that have disappointed you, over on social media. Check us out on Facebook and everywhere else @unabridgedpod. Books We've

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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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May 8, 2019
1 min

72: Worth All the Tears - That Book Enriched My Life

In this #unabridgedshort episode, we recommend books that made us cry--we're talking ugly tears!--but are worth the sorrow that accompanies them. These are favorite books that made us feel all the things. Want a cathartic experience? Pick up one of these brilliantly evocative novels. We also invite you to share some of your favorite tear jerkers. What books have made you cry but been worth it? Let us know @unabridgedpod! Our Recommendations Ashley Celeste Ng’s Everything I Ne

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May 1, 2019
1 min

71: Graeme Simsion's THE ROSIE PROJECT - Immerse Yourself in the Way He Sees the World

Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project is our Unabridged Book Club pick this month. In The Rosie Project, professor Don Tillman has embarked on a mission -- his plan is to find a suitable life partner. He decides to create an extensive questionnaire for female candidates to complete and dubs the quest “The Wife Project.” Along comes Rosie Jarman, who is far from suitable according to the questionnaire. However, she and Don get swept up in another joint project, the quest to fin

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Apr 3, 2019
2 min

67: Beth Macy's DOPESICK and Jarrett Krosoczka's HEY KIDDO - Obviously, We Read Both

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we talk about two books that look at drug addiction and its impact on families. Beth Macy's nonfiction book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America shows the bleak situation of the opioid crisis in America by focusing on the situation within three communities along I-81, the "Heroin Highway" in Virginia. Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

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Jan 23, 2019
1 min

57 - Anticipated Books for 2019: A Giant Pile

-Alternate Titles- That's on my list too! OR I want to read that! OR I was totally blown away. OR In general, not my strength. OR Those are nice books to dip in and out of. OR I watched Dawson's Creek. Religiously. OR There is something about hearing the book in the author's own voice. OR Who's next? Our Anticipated Reads Jen - Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread Dane Huckelbridge’s No Beast So Fierce Karen Thompson Walker’s The Dreamers Patrick Rothfuss’s Doors of Stone Rainbow Row

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