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

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I recently talked in a Teaching Tidbit episode about incorporating poetry into class activities, which is something I had to learn to do but have come to love. Over time, I have developed a passion for poetry, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you in this bookish fave. Some of the collections include many poets, and others are collections from a single poet, but all of these are amazing! For the Classroom You He

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) The first time I read a Kate J. Baer poem, my youngest child was still an infant. I was new to Instagram and still learning how stories worked on there; the poem had been shared by a beloved friend. (Don't all our best discoveries come from friends?) I remember feeling like the world rocked a little bit when I read those words—poetry can do that to you. Sometimes, it's like the poet, whom you have never met, can somehow see a

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Oh my goodness, I'm already having A LOT of trouble choosing only five books, which is the sign of a great reading year so far! (Perhaps total life chaos leads to me loving books more... I certainly suffered from a reading slump when quarantine first started, and I'm still missing audiobooks and sometimes feel distant from the books I'm reading, but I have generally gotten back into reading after the initial transition... and

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Looking for amazing fiction reads by Black authors? Here are a few of my recent favorites, all of which are adult fiction by Black women. These span a lot of genres and styles, so see the details below to find one (or more) for you! Brit Bennett's The Mothers - I'm here for anything Brit Bennett writes. This powerful story (realistic fiction) comments on the complex relationships between women and the way that women's relatio

In this Unabridged Podcast interview episode, we had a wonderful time discussing all things parenting and partners with Brandy Ferner. We read her novel Adult Conversation, which just released on May 5th, and we all felt that the depiction of motherhood with all of its dark humor and relentlessness resonated so much with our experiences. Bookish Check In Ashley - Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible Jen - Marie Lu’s Rebel Sara - Josie Silver’s The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

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

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

For our November Book Club, we're discussing Maggie O'Farrell's I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, our first Unabridged Readers' Choice pick! This collection of connected essays elicited a different reaction from each of us . . . some of us definitely liked it more than others. We'd love to know what you think about this memoir. Join us all month on social media to discuss O'Farrell's work. Timeline Introduction and General Discussion: 00:00 - 39:28 Book Pairings

"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