Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged, the podcast where teachers take on books! Every week, Sara, Jen and Ashley (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 each week.

Want to get more involved? Check out our 2021 reading challenge, join our buddy reads on Instagram, or become an Unabridged Ambassador!

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3 days ago
4 min

230: Our Historical Fiction Recs

Do you need a recommendation for a historical fiction book? Listen to this episode to hear recommendations from Sara, Jen, and Ashley. We feature Ruta Sepetys’s The Fountains of Silence, Sarah Winman’s Still Life, and Kim Fay’s Love & Saffron, and we discuss what we loved about these picks. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Laura Dave’s Eight Hundred Grapes (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Jen - Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Sara - Jordan Calhoun’s Piccolo Is

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May 11
1 min

229: Teaching Tidbit - Sara with the Creator Studio Add-On For Google Slides

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses an add-on for Google Slides. She talks about Creator Studio, an add on that allows you to convert any Google Slide Show to an animated GIF for video slideshow. Bookish Check-in Jesse Q. Sutanto's Four Aunties and a Wedding (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Mentioned in Episode Jesse Q. Sutanto's Dial "A" for Aunties (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Episode 215: Cuddle Up with These Cozy Mystery Recs #shownotes #sarasteachingtidbit (A note to our re

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May 4
3 min

228: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion: Lauren Weisberger's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

In this episode, Jen and Sara discuss 2006's adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org). They discuss this beloved movie--what they liked, what they didn't, and their overall feelings about the adaptation. Check it out and let us know what you think! Bookish Check-in Jen - Charmaine Wilkerson’s Black Cake (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Sara - Rebecca Serle’s One Italian Summer (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Give Me One - Childhood Character #shown

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Apr 27
7 min

227: Angie Thomas's CONCRETE ROSE - April 2022 Book Club

We are long-time Angie Thomas fans here at Unabridged (check out our episodes focused on The Hate U Give here and its adaptation here), so Ashley, Jen, and Sara were thrilled when we heard she was publishing a prequel focused on Maverick. Concrete Rose is (spoiler alert!) a five-star read for us, so we have a wide-ranging discussion of the book. We also share our pairings, including works by Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Laekan Zea Kemp. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Thi

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Apr 20
4 min

226: True Crime Recs to Dive Into This Year

Are you a true crime fan? Lucky for you, we have a wide range of opinions on this genre, so our recommendations include picks that would work for any reader depending on your interest and preferences. Our picks include Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff’s Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered, Ronan Farrow’s Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, and John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Mi

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Apr 14
2 min

225: Teaching Tidbits - Jen with Choosing Books for Your Class

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses how she chooses books for her classroom. She talks about the steps she uses to select, obtain, and vet books that she will use for literature circles, whole class reads, and individual reads. In addition, she discusses whether she uses thematic or chronological units and what she plans on sharing with you in the future. Bookish Check-in Holly Jackson's As Good As Dead (A Good Girls Guide to Murder, Book #3) (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) M

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Apr 6
2 min

224: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion: Karen M. McManus's ONE OF US IS LYING

In this episode, Jen and Sara discuss Peacock's adaptation of Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org). They discuss the pilot episode--what they liked, what they didn't, and their overall feelings about the adaptation. Check it out and let us know what you think! Bookish Check-in Jen - Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Sara - Angie Thomas’s Concrete Rose (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Give Me One . . . Recent Movie You'd Recomme

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Mar 30
6 min

223: Jenny Lawson's FURIOUSLY HAPPY - March 2022 Book Club

Are you looking for a memoir that is both laugh out loud hilarious and also deeply poignant? In this March Book Club episode, we discuss Jenny Lawson's memoir Furiously Happy. We chat about our thoughts on Lawson's work, and we share our pairings including Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half, Lindy West’s Shrill, and R. Eric Thomas’s Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Libro.fm | Bookshop.

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Mar 23
6 min

222: All about the Backlist - Our Recs for Books Published Prior to 2000

In this episode, we're talking all things backlist books! We share our recommendations for some favorites that were published before the year 2000. We share Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, Louise Erdrich’s Tracks, and Lois Lowry’s The Giver. These recommendations are also perfect for those doing the 2022 Unabridged Reading Challenge! Bookish Check-in Ashley - V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Jen - Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empir

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Mar 16
2 min

221: Teaching Tidbits - Sara with 3 More Google Extensions

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses three more Google extensions and how to use them to assist in the classroom and in the Google environment. She talks specifically about these excellent extensions to try out immediately. All of these extensions can be found in the Chrome Web Store. The extensions discussed today are Eyedropper, SmallPDF, and Dualless. Bookish Check-in Stanley Tucci's Taste: My Life Through Food (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) Mentioned in Episode Google Ex

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Mar 9
6 min

220: Our Recs for Books in Unusual Formats

Do you need a recommendation for a book in an unusual format to complete your Unabridged Reading Challenge? Listen to this episode to hear recommendations from Sara, Jen, and Ashley. We feature Jason Reynolds’s Ain’t Burned All the Bright with artwork by Jason Griffin, Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer’s To Night Owl from Dogfish, and Jennifer L. Holm and Elicia Castaldi’s Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff, and we talk about other books we h

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Mar 4
1 min

Teaching Tidbits 29: The Power of Revision with Jen

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses how she navigates revision in her writing instruction. She talks about the logistics of assessing revision, the writing process she currently asks students to navigate, and some of the questions she's considered as she balances writing process and product. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashta

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Mar 2
13 min

219: Encore of Love Is in the Air 2021 - Our Latest Romance Book Recs

In this Encore Unabridged Love is in the Air episode, we talk about some romance book recommendations we each want to share, including discussions of Alexis Daria's You Had Me at Hola, Alisha Rai’s First Comes Like, and Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown. There's something for everyone who is looking for a great romance book to read. If you're looking for more romance book recommendations, don't miss this great bookish fave from Jen or our previous romance episodes from

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Feb 23
7 min

218: Helen Hoang's THE HEART PRINCIPLE - February 2022 Book Club

Are you looking for romance reads that also explore important issues in meaningful ways? We are all fans of Helen Hoang's books and were excited to dive into her latest release. In our February 2022 book club, we're discussing Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle. We also share our pairings, which include Talia Hibbert’s Act Your Age, Eve Brown, Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, and Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Ruta Sepetys’s The Fountains of

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Feb 18
1 min

Teaching Tidbits 28: Asana with Ashley

In this Unabridged Teaching Tidbits Episode, Ashley shares a workflow tool, Asana, that can really help teachers manage both individual projects and team projects. This tool has collaborative features and a robust free version that works well and can really help streamline and organize tasks. Like Slack and Google Keep, which we've shared in other Teaching Tidbits, this is another project management tool that can be really helpful! #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #tea

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Feb 16
5 min

217: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion - Sally Thorne's THE HATING GAME

In this Unabridged book to film discussion, Sara, Jen, and Ashley talk all about Sally Thorne's The Hating Game and the recent film adaptation! We also share our latest reads in our bookish check-in, and we talk about some of our kids' latest favorite reads in this week's Give Me One. Don't miss it, and join us on social media to let us know your thoughts! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) Jen - Samantha Cohoe’s Bright Ruined Th

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Feb 9
6 min

216: Love Is in the Air - Our 2022 Romance Recs

In the 2022 edition of this annual episode, Jen, Sara, and Ashley are all happy to share some of their latest romance recs. Our picks this year include Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis, Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating, and Jenny Bayliss’s A Season for Second Chances. All of us read a lot of romances in 2021, so we're happy to share some of our top picks with you! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) Jen - Jane Austen’s

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Feb 4
1 min

Teaching Tidbits 27: Sara with Using Google Extensions

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses what extensions are and how to use them to assist in the classroom. She talks specifically about three excellent extensions to try out immediately. All of these extensions can be found in the Chrome Web Store. The extensions discussed today are: My Bib, qSnap, and Sir Links-A-Lot. #shownotes #google #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarasteachingtidbit (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog pos

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Feb 2
7 min

215: Cuddle Up with These Cozy Mystery Recs

Are you looking for a perfect cozy mystery to add to your TBR stack? Listen in to hear these cozy mystery book recommendations from Sara, Jen, and Ashley. We feature Abby Collette’s A Deadly Inside Scoop, Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties, and Mia P. Manansala Arsenic and Adobo, and we share our thoughts about what works for it when it comes to cozy mysteries as well as thinking about what exactly qualifies as a cozy mystery! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Kacen Callender’s Ki

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Jan 26
8 min

214: Fredrik Backman's ANXIOUS PEOPLE - January 2022 Book Club

In this Unabridged Book Club episode, Jen, Sara, and Ashley discuss Fredrik Backman's Anxious People. We also share our pairings including Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney’s Good Company (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). We are all big fans of Backman's work and enjoyed discussing this one! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Book

Unabridged Podcast

230: Our Historical Fiction Recs

229: Teaching Tidbit - Sara with the Creator Studio Add-On For Google Slides

228: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion: Lauren Weisberger's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

227: Angie Thomas's CONCRETE ROSE - April 2022 Book Club

226: True Crime Recs to Dive Into This Year

225: Teaching Tidbits - Jen with Choosing Books for Your Class

224: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion: Karen M. McManus's ONE OF US IS LYING

223: Jenny Lawson's FURIOUSLY HAPPY - March 2022 Book Club

222: All about the Backlist - Our Recs for Books Published Prior to 2000

221: Teaching Tidbits - Sara with 3 More Google Extensions

220: Our Recs for Books in Unusual Formats

Teaching Tidbits 29: The Power of Revision with Jen

219: Encore of Love Is in the Air 2021 - Our Latest Romance Book Recs

218: Helen Hoang's THE HEART PRINCIPLE - February 2022 Book Club

Teaching Tidbits 28: Asana with Ashley

217: Book-to-Film Adaptation Discussion - Sally Thorne's THE HATING GAME

216: Love Is in the Air - Our 2022 Romance Recs

Teaching Tidbits 27: Sara with Using Google Extensions

215: Cuddle Up with These Cozy Mystery Recs

214: Fredrik Backman's ANXIOUS PEOPLE - January 2022 Book Club

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