Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged! Ashley Dickson-Ellison and Jen Moyers (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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Thirteen Winter Book Recommendations to Read This Season

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) In this curated list of winter book recommendations, I'm sharing books where the season of winter is a pivotal part of the story. (Actually, in two of them, Fredrik Backman's Anxious People and Margarita Montimore's Oona Out of Order , the new year specifically is an important part of the story.) These are not necessarily cozy reads (though some of them are perfect for that!), and the tone, style, and subject matter of eac

4 days ago9 min read

303: Jean Meltzer's THE MATZAH BALL - December Book Club Encore

http://Libro.fm Have you read Jean Meltzer yet, and are you in the mood for a holiday romance with real heart? In this special encore episode, we’re bringing back our December 2021 Book Club episode (Ep. 207), featuring Jean Meltzer’s The Matzah Ball ( Libro.fm | Bookshop.org ) , her delightful debut. We loved revisiting this one: it’s funny and festive, but it also has surprising depth as Meltzer thoughtfully explores chronic illness and the power (and weight) of keeping pa

Dec 24, 202542 min read

4 Holiday Romances that Earn Their Happy Endings

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) While I'm fairly picky about my holiday reading, I have read some fabulous holiday romances this year! If you're looking for sweet books that don't cross that "saccharine" line, one of these books may be for you. B. K. Borison's Good Spirits ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) This is my first of two takes on A Christmas Carol that I've read and loved this year. (I listened to the audio, thanks to Libro.fm, and highly recommend that format!) Noa

Dec 19, 20255 min read

Holiday Book Recommendations Perfect for the Season

Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) During this holiday season, we're sharing some holiday books that we've loved and reviewed on the blog. I'm pretty selective when it comes to holiday reads, but I've found over the last couple of years that I do enjoy reading some holiday-specific books (as well as seasonal books in general) as we approach different seasons. Maybe I'll try a couple of the ones below that I haven't read yet! For the book reviews, I'l

Dec 4, 20255 min read

299: Stephen Graham Jones's THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER - October 2025 Book Club

Have you picked up Stephen Graham Jones’s The Buffalo Hunter Hunter ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) yet? We dig into this brilliant work in our October book club discussion. We start with a Bookish Check-In: Jen’s reading Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ), and Ashley just started V. E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ). Then we dive into The Buffalo Hunter Hunter . We talk about the layered storytel

Oct 29, 202529 min read

5 Books that Hold Grief Gently: Stories of Loss, Love, and Healing

Curated by Jen Moyers ( @ jen.loves.book s) While it may seem odd to curate a collection of books about grief, it's often to books that I turn when I'm having a difficult time processing an emotion. Sometimes, the right story can help us feel seen in our sorrow or offer a way to begin healing. In this post, I'm sharing some of our favorite reads that delve deeply—and beautifully—into grief. From moving adult fiction to heartfelt young adult reads, here are five powerful stor

Oct 24, 20254 min read

15+ More Spooky Reads for Your Fall Reading List

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) I thought it might be time for an update of this post from 2019 to share some fabulous horror (or just spooky) reads with you. New recommendations are marked with an asterisk. Because it's been a while since I read some of these books, I'll include the publisher's synopsis with some commentary. *William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) - While I'd watched the movie adaptation before, I had never read its source mater

Oct 22, 20259 min read

298: Spooky Reads 2025 Edition

Do you like spooky reads, or do you tend to steer clear of anything too creepy? In Episode 298, Jen and Ashley share our favorite books for the season, and we talk about what makes the perfect fall read. We start with our Bookish Check-in: Ashley is listening to Thorn Season ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) by Kiera Cass, and Jen’s revisiting Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ). Then we each bring a fall pick to the table: we share about Megan Bannen’s Th

Oct 15, 202520 min read