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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Jan 10
10 min

Five of Jen's Favorite Reads of 2021 (Part 2)

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Oh, friends. We've come to that post that causes me so much joy and so much agony: a list of favorites. My problem is assembling books for a list. Oh no. My problem is narrowing that list because, really, I could go on forever. I'm quoting myself here, from last year's list of five (so far): "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." Then

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Jan 3
6 min

Five of Sara's Favorite Reads of 2021 (Part 2)

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Hello, friends! I can't believe we are here at the end of 2021. My first half of the year was definitely more robust than my last half in terms of reading, but I have been fortunate to read several books in the back half that I have really enjoyed. All of us here at Unabridged have different criteria for these posts. For me, I just look at my last half of the year and pick five of the books that stuck with me. You can find my favorites for t

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Jul 19, 2021
7 min

Some of Jen's Favorite Reads of 2021 (so far)

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As usual when I set out to create a concise list of something, I struggled with this task, with creating a list of five favorite books that I've read so far in 2021. I've read a LOT of amazing books this year, and I want to tell you about them ALL. But, fear not, I've restrained myself, and I've come up with a list. I won't say that it's the definitive list because there's a great chance that tomorrow, I'll have regrets and wish I'd chosen one

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Jun 22, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs for June 22, 2021, featuring Dave, Heywood, and Clayton+

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodstone, and Nicola Yoon (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories th

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Mar 23, 2021
3 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 23, 2021, featuring Boteju, Engle, and Thomas

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Tanya Boteju's Bruised Description from Publisher: "To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart. "So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked

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Mar 2, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 2, 2021, featuring Choi, Hashimi, and Ishiguro

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I had a tough time today choosing only three books to highlight—it's an AMAZING release day. So, here are just three of the many, many books coming out today that I'm excited to read (plus a couple of mentions at the bottom of the page). Mary H. K. Choi's Yolk Description from Publisher: "From New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi comes a funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters switching places and committing insurance

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Jan 18, 2021
8 min

Five of Jen's Favorite Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Oh, friends, making book choices never gets easier for me. I had shared so many excellent books in my 2020 mid-year post AND on our 2020 Unabridged Awards Episode that I thought I would have narrowed the list from which to choose. Wow, was I wrong! (Be sure to check our mid-year posts: here's mine, Ashley's, and Sara's.) I read 345 books in 2020, and of those, 28 earned five stars from me, and 92 earned four-and-a-half stars. So, even with the

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Dec 7, 2020
3 min

My Reading Challenge Made Me Do It

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I took my Reading Challenges this year more seriously than usual (talking about them on an episode of your podcast will do that!), and so I wanted to reflect on the books I found (or finally got to) because of those challenges. We all reflect this Wednesday on our reading challenges in general—don't miss that episode!—but here are some of the amazing books I read to fulfill my challenges. I'm sharing a short excerpt from each of my IG posts an

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Oct 6, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for October 6, 2020, featuring Mbalia, Faruqi, and Gansworth

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) All right, book lovers, this is one of those pub days that overwhelms me, so I'm feeling obligated to share some extras today. I have FIVE books pre-ordered today, FOUR that I've already read thanks to NetGalley, and THREE more than I can't resist mentioning. Here we go: Pre-Ordered Books Jerry Craft's Class Act - My boys and I are SO excited about this follow up to the award-winning graphic novel New Kid. Tana French's The Searcher - French i

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Sep 23, 2020
6 min

144: Celebrating Global Read Aloud

In honor of the final year of the Global Read Aloud, Unabridged Podcast revisits our episode from last year, in which we discussed Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home, and Kelly Yang's Front Desk. Join us in celebrating this fantastic program, which highlights books for young people and promotes global collaboration. What have been some of your favorite Global Read Aloud books? Bookish Check-in Ashley - Mark Oshiro’s Each of Us a Desert (

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Aug 21, 2020
3 min

Susan Abulhawa's AGAINST THE LOVELESS WORLD - Gorgeous, Fast-Paced Literary Fiction

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Susan Abulhawa’s Against the Loveless World in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. I requested Susan Abulhawa’s Against the Loveless World after absolutely loving her novel Mornings in Jenin. This one is, for me, even better. Nahr, the protagonist, is complicated. She’s by turns selfless and selfish. She tells her story from The Cube, a “moder

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Jul 20, 2020
7 min

Some of Ashley's Favorite Reads of 2020 (So Far)

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

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Jul 14, 2020
5 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for July 14, 2020, featuring Dave, Center, Klune, and Belcourt

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Saumya Dave's Well-Behaved Indian Woman Description from Publisher: "From a compelling new voice in women's fiction comes a mother-daughter story about three generations of women who struggle to define themselves as they pursue their dreams. "Simran Mehta has always felt harshly judged by her mother, Nandini, especially when it comes to her little 'writing hobby.' But when a charismatic and highly respected journalist careens into Simran's lif

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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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Jun 19, 2020
3 min

Abi Daré's THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE - An Uplifting Story of Bravery and Determination

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Abi Daré's debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, captures your heart with the focus on Adunni, a young Nigerian teenager who loses her ability to go to school and becomes a child bride after her mother's untimely death. Despite her father's promise to her mother that Adunni will get to continue her education and will not become trapped in a life of hard work and misery, her father agrees to her marriage for a bride pr

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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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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 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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Apr 14, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! April 14, 2020 - Moore, Jimenez, Jamieson

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Wes Moore's Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City Description from Publisher: "When Freddie Gray was arrested for possessing an 'illegal knife' in April 2015, he was, by eyewitness accounts that video evidence later confirmed, treated 'roughly' as police loaded him into a vehicle. By the end of his trip in the police van, Gray was in a coma from which he would never r

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Apr 7, 2020
3 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! April 7, 2020 - Alvarez, Carr, War

I (Jen) had a really hard time narrowing my choices today to just three--so if you scroll down, you'll find that I cheated and recommend a few extras (sorrynotsorry). Julia Alvarez's Afterlife Description from Algonquin Books: "Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted b

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