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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Jul 28, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! July 28, 2020 featuring Burnham, Alterman, and Otis

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I am excited to read! Gabriella Burnham's It Is Wood, It Is Stone Description from Publisher: "Two women are drawn into a seductive web of privilege, displacement, sexuality, and other mysteries of the heart in this magnetic debut by a young Brazilian American author to watch. "With sharp, gorgeous prose, It Is Wood, It Is Stone takes place over the course of a year in São Paulo, Brazil, in which tw

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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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Jul 13, 2020
8 min

Some of Jen's Favorite Reads of 2020 (so far)

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I love my friends, I love my friends, I love my friends. But when we were chatting and decided to do these mid-year, five-favorites-so-far posts, I knew I would be sending a little resentment their way. Only FIVE picks!?! Really? I can't choose just FIVE favorites! I want to include all the things. So, here's my methodology. I looked back at my monthly wrap-up posts in IG, and I ONLY allowed myself to jot down the titles of my five-star reads.

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Jul 8, 2020
34 min

133 - Underrated Books and Authors with Mariely Sylvette Martinez of PodQueens Latinas

In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we have so much fun talking with Mariely Sylvette Martinez of PodQueens Latinas about underrated books and series. She joins us for our Bookish Check-in, and then we chat about what it means to be underrated and why some great books and authors don't seem to get as much buzz as others. Finally, we end with our Give Me One segment and recommend some podcasts that we're enjoying right now. Bookish Check In Ashley - Mindy McGinnis's A Madness

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Jul 7, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! June 7th, 2020, featuring Bayron, Cross, and Stayman-London

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I am excited to read! Kalin Bayron's Cinderella Is Dead Description from Publisher: "Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely. "It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annua

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Jul 6, 2020
6 min

Some of Sara's Favorite Reads of 2020 (so far)

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Reading in 2020 has been a challenge for me, friends. I have really struggled to dig into books. My reading was off the rails before our world changed in March, and it has not gotten any better. However, never fear, I have had some bright spots, and that is what I want to talk to you about today. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite reads of 2020 (so far). Now, these aren't necessarily books that were published in

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Jun 22, 2020
2 min

Adult Nonfiction by Black Authors

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) We at the Unabridged Podcast stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. There are SO many books that we love by Black authors, and we look forward to lifting up those amazing books. We are continuing our celebration by focusing on adult nonfiction by Black authors. There's true variety here. I've included essay collections, memoirs, and multi-genre pieces. Some of these works are explicitly about race in the United States, while others are ab

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Jun 16, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! June 16th, 2020, featuring Barnett, Lee, and Kaur

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that look amazing: Brittany K. Barnett's A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom Description from Publisher: "Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever—that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s devastating war on dru

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Jun 10, 2020
46 min

129: Re-release of Angie Thomas's THE HATE U GIVE Book Club Discussion

In light of the unjust loss of Black lives in America and of the Black Lives Matter movement, we wanted to share an episode from 2018 where, for our book club, we discussed one of our favorite YA literature books for the classroom, Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give. In the episode, we discuss the novel and share pairings including Gabrielle Union's We're Going to Need More Wine, Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil's The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes Aft

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Jun 2, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! June 2, 2020 featuring Bennett, Brown, and Johnson

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As we struggle to learn more in response to the injustices we're seeing across the United States, we are highlighting three works by Black authors that are being published today. Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half Description from Publisher: "The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is di

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Jun 1, 2020
4 min

Four Non-Fiction Books Dad Would Love for Father's Day

By Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Father's Day is right around the corner, and we all know fathers can be challenging to shop for. Have no fear. I have a list of four non-fiction book ideas for all the dads on your list. 1. Nick Bilton's American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road -- This riveting book follows the story of Ross Ulbricht, who led law enforcement and the government on a years long hunt. It is a fascinating story. Read my fu

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May 20, 2020
22 min

126: Plugging into Bookish Communities Online with @readwithtoni from Instagram

In this week's episode of Unabridged, Ashley, Jen, and Sara talk with Toni about the power of developing an online bookish community. Toni--who posts @readwithtoni--shares her own bookstagram journey, what she loves about buddy reads, and the books (like Homegoing and All the Ugly and Wonderful Things) that have resulted in some great conversations. We also each share some great, bookstagram-made-me-do-it reads. Bookish Check In Ashley - Lyssa Kay Adams’s The Bromance Book Cl

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May 19, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! May 19, 2019 featuring Collins, Henry, Santos

By Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Suzanne Collins's The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Description from Publisher: "Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. "It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate

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May 12, 2020
5 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! May 12, 2020 featuring Homa, Kamp, Thomas

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I had such a hard time choosing only three books to highlight today--I've included a few more at the end, but do yourself a favor and check out the full list of books being published today. Ava Homa's Daughters of Smoke and Fire Description from Publisher: "Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes readers into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global st

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May 8, 2020
3 min

Knox McCoy's ALL THINGS RECONSIDERED: The Magic Is in the Footnotes!

I just finished Knox McCoy's second book, All Things Reconsidered: How Rethinking What We Know Helps Us Know What We Believe. Thanks to W Publishing for my review copy. His first book, The Wondering Years, was one of my favorite books of 2018. And, I will tell you, his second book is just as good (or better!). What I love about McCoy’s style of writing is the straight-shooting, witty way he addresses difficult and not-so-difficult topics. Unlike many books in this genre, McC

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May 6, 2020
35 min

124: Readers' Choice Pick - Katharine McGee's AMERICAN ROYALS

In this Unabridged Podcast book club episode, we discuss the readers' choice spring 2020 pick, Katharine McGee's American Royals. We pair it with other books we've loved, including Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians (which we discussed in a film adaptation episode here!), Kiera Cass’s The Selection series, and Melissa Bashardoust’s Girls Made of Snow and Glass. We ended the episode by sharing (confessing?) things that we love to do to relax. Timeline Intro and Bookish Check In: 0

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May 1, 2020
4 min

Maggie Downs's Braver than You Think - More than a Travel Memoir

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner Counterpoint Press for the ARC of Maggie Downs’s Braver than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime in exchange for an honest review. The memoir releases Tuesday, May 12. “How am I supposed to keep going when there is nobody to guide me? Will I be strong enough to carry myself?” (34). Maggie Downs’s memoir opens with a return to Cairo. She had gone home briefly–mid-way through her year-long trip a

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Apr 28, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! April 28, 2020 -

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) So it's no surprise that publication dates are shifting! I have an array of books I'd been anticipating that have been pushed back due to the current situation. Anyway, here are books that I think are still coming out on April 28th! Bertrand Hébert and Pat Laprade's The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of André the Giant Description from Publisher: "Is there a way to find truth in the stuff of legend? You may think you know André the

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Apr 27, 2020
2 min

9 Light Reads We're Loving Right Now

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This week, we wanted to share some light reads that we've been loving. We've each had different reading experiences during this stay at home time, but all of us are finding comfort and joy in reading light reads that are fun (sometimes funny) and engaging. From favorite authors like Rainbow Rowell and Katharine Center to other less familiar authors like Lyssa Kay Adams and Emily Henry, we're reading a wide mix of great books

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Apr 22, 2020
30 min

122: Bookish Turn Offs and What to Do about Them

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we're discussing some bookish turn offs we each have and when it's worth it to push past those turn offs (and when to accept them and move on!). We discuss tons of books including some of our collective favorites like John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, and Alan Gratz’s Refugee. While we each have different turn offs, we all agree that there are certainly things that attract us and repel u

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