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 2022 reading challenge, join our buddy reads on Instagram, or sign up on Patreon!

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Mar 3, 2021
13 min

167: Mira Jacob's GOOD TALK - March 2021 Book Club

In this Unabridged Podcast Book Club episode, we discuss Mira Jacob's graphic memoir Good Talk. We talked about this amazing memoir and also shared our pairings, including Craig Thompson’s Blankets, James McBride’s The Color of Water, and Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo. If you're interested in discussing this one with us, be sure to join us on March 15th on Instagram to participate in our book club chat. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Robert Jones, Jr.’s The Prophets Jen - Hena

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Feb 27, 2021
3 min

Featured Books for March 2021

March Books On March 3, we're so excited to share our Book Club episode focusing on Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. We'll also have an IG Book Club chat on March 15 at 8:00 PM EST. Then, on March 8 and March 22, we'll have IG chats about Akwaeke Emezi's Pet. DM us @unabridgedpod to join! Here are the synopses from the publishers: Good Talk "Mira Jacob's touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first-gener

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Feb 3, 2021
13 min

163: Sonali Dev's PRIDE, PREJUDICE, AND OTHER FLAVORS -- February 2021 Book Club

In this Unabridged Book Club episode, we are discussing Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors. This one was chosen by the Unabridged Ambassadors and is a perfect fit for two of our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge categories, a romance by an author of color and a retelling of a classic. This month, we are having a Book Club discussion on Instagram on February 15th. Just DM us on Instagram or comment here (with your IG handle) if you'd like to join us! Bookish C

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Jan 30, 2021
4 min

Featured Books for February 2021

February Books On February 3, we're so excited to share our Book Club episode focusing on Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, a retelling of the Austen classic. (This book was chosen by our Unabridged Ambassadors!) We'll also have an IG Book Club chat on February 15. Then, on February 8 and February 22, we'll have IG chats about Emily Henry's A Million Junes (voted on by our followers). DM us @unabridgedpod to join! Here are the synopses from the publisher: Prid

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Jan 6, 2021
9 min

159: Adib Khorram's DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY - January Book Club

In the first book club discussion of 2021, we are thrilled to discuss Adib Khorram's Darius the Great Is Not Okay. This brilliant young adult lit book addresses so many important topics including family heritage, bullying, friendship, family dynamics, managing depression, and so many other issues with nuance and humor. If you're interested in discussing this one, it's also our Unabridged Podcast Buddy Read this month! We'll be talking about it on January 11th and 25th on Inst

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Dec 26, 2020
2 min

Featured Books for January 2021

January Double Feature In January, Adib Khorram's Darius the Great Is Not Okay will be both our Book Club pick AND our Buddy Read choice. You can join us for the episode that releases on Wednesday, January 6, or participate in our two Instagram chats . . . or both! Want to look ahead? Scroll down to see our February picks! Here's the synopsis from the publisher: "Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He'

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Nov 4, 2020
8 min

150 - November Book Club - Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam's PUNCHING THE AIR

In this Book Club episode of the Unabridged podcast, Ashley, Jen, and Sara discuss Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam's Punching the Air. After our Bookish Check-in, we share our opinions about the book and some favorite quotations, and then each of us offers another book we think would pair well with this YA novel in verse. Finally, we end by sharing some new favorites we've discovered lately. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji Jen - Yaa Gyasi’s Transce

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Nov 1, 2020
3 min

Featured Books for November 2020

November Double Feature In November, Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam's Punching the Air will be both our Book Club pick AND our Buddy Read choice. You can join us for our leisurely Facebook discussion at the end of the month or for two, more fast-paced Instagram chats . . . or both! Want to look ahead? Scroll down to see our December picks! Here's the synopsis from the publisher: "The story that I thought was my life didn’t start on the day I was born "Amal Shahid has always been

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Oct 7, 2020
8 min

146: October Book Club - Tommy Orange's THERE THERE

In this Unabridged Podcast book club discussion, we talk about Tommy Orange's There There. We all discuss this masterpiece, and then we share our pairings, including Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine, Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji, and Tanya Talaga’s Seven Fallen Feathers. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Stephen Graham Jones’s The Only Good Indians Jen - Julie C. Dao’s Broken Wish (from NetGalley, out October 6) Sara - Lindy West’s Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objecti

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Oct 3, 2020
4 min

Featured Books for October 2020

October Books In October we're excited to share an amazing novel, Tommy Orange's There There, our Book Club pick, and Brandy Colbert's YA novel The Voting Booth, our Buddy Read choice. Check out our Book Club discussion on episode 146—it releases on Wednesday, October 7—and let us know if you'd like to join our new Book Club Group on Facebook or our Buddy Read chat on Instagram discussing The Voting Booth! You can DM us @unabridgedpod. Here are synopses from the publishers fo

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Sep 10, 2020
4 min

Featured Books for September 2020

September Books In September, we're excited to share an amazing memoir, Chanel Miller's Know My Name, our Book Club pick, and Elizabeth Acevedo's YA novel in verse The Poet X, our Buddy Read choice. Check out our Book Club discussion, episode 141, and let us know if you'd like to join the Buddy Read chat on Instagram discussing The Poet X! You can DM us @unabridgedpod. Here are synopses from the publishers for these two books. Scroll down to see our October picks! Know My Nam

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Aug 5, 2020
41 min

137: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi’s STAMPED: RACISM, ANTIRACISM, AND YOU - August 2020 Book Club

In this Unabridged Book Club discussion, we talk about Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. This amazing book is a remix for young people of Kendi’s original Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, and we all felt that it was a phenomenal read and is such a great fit for the classroom. Bookish Check-In Ashley - Tiffany D. Jackson’s Monday’s Not Coming Jen - Robert Kolker’s Hidden Valley Road: Inside t

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Jul 30, 2020
6 min

Featured Books for August 2020

August Books In August, we're excited to share two books featuring the work of Jason Reynolds: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, written with Ibram X. Kendi, our Book Club pick, and All American Boys, written with Brendan Kiely, our Buddy Read choice. If you'd like to hear more about Reynolds' work, check out the re-release of this episode where we discuss three of his books. Let us know if you'd like to join the Buddy Read chat on Instagram discussing All American Boys!

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Jul 1, 2020
40 min

132: Emily Henry's BEACH READ - July 2020 Book Club

In this Unabridged podcast book club episode, we're discussing Emily Henry's Beach Read. We have a great discussion and pair this one with some other great reads, including Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes, Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering, and Josie Silver’s The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. Beach Read is a contemporary romance that balances witty banter with more serious themes. Bookish Check In Ashley - Jacqueline Woodson’s Harbor Me Jen - Jennifer S. Cohen’s Falling Forward Sara

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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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Apr 1, 2020
2 min

119: Samira Ahmed's INTERNMENT -- April Unabridged Book Club

For our April Unabridged Book Club episode and discussion, we talk about Samira Ahmed's near-future YA literature novel, Internment (which was also our buddy read on Instagram in March!), and we make connections to other works including Mark Oshiro’s Anger Is a Gift, George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy, and Nic Stone’s Dear Martin. We end the episode by discussing some things that are helping us cope during this challenging time for our Give Me One. Join us all month on socia

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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 26, 2020
2 min

114: Read Alike Ideas and Lit Circles - I Think the Risk Is Worth the Reward

In this episode, we're discussing the benefits of using Read Alikes within book clubs and within the classroom. We touch on some of our favorite YA lit books, such as Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, as well as classics like Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. We talk about strategies for making read alikes work and ways to manage the difficulties in order to reap the rewards of exploring a variety of books centering around one theme. Bookish Check In Jen - Jojo Moyes’s The Giver o

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Feb 5, 2020
2 min

111: Bryn Greenwood's THE RECKLESS OATH WE MADE - Challenging, in the Best Way

In this Unabridged Book Club episode, we discuss Bryn Greenwood's The Reckless Oath We Made. We discuss our overall impressions, what worked and didn't for us in the novel, and some memorable quotations, before getting into our pairings, including Peter Heller’s The Painter, Tracey Garvis Grave’s The Girl He Used to Know, and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer. We also share our thoughts on whether this is a keeper for us and how much bookish love we each give

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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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