March Books
Our Book Club pick this month is Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)! For our Buddy Read pick, we'll read Meg Medina's Burn Baby Burn (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). (Let us know @unabridgedpod if you'd like to join either chat!)
Furiously Happy
"In Furiously Happy, a humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile, Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest:
"I've often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that 'normal people' also might never understand. And that's what Furiously Happy is all about.
"Jenny's readings are standing room only, with fans lining up to have Jenny sign their bottles of Xanax or Prozac as often as they are to have her sign their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny's core fan base but also transcends it. There are so many people out there struggling with depression and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family--and in Furiously Happy they will find a member of their tribe offering up an uplifting message (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let's Pretend This Never Happened ostensibly was about embracing your own weirdness, but deep down it was about family. Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it's about joy--and who doesn't want a bit more of that?"
Burn Baby Burn
"Meg Medina transports readers to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high: the infamous summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Seventeen-year-old Nora Lopez’s family life isn’t going so well, either. Before she turns eighteen and can strike out on her own, Nora will discover that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit — and the hardest to accept."
April Book
In April, we'll have just one book for both Book Club and our Buddy Read, Angie Thomas's Concrete Rose. (Stay tuned to @unabridgedpod on IG for details about our chats!)
Concrete Rose
"If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.
"Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.
"Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.
"Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.
"When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man."
February Books
If you missed our February picks, be sure to check out episode 218 in which we discuss Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). Our Buddy Read pick was Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), which we all thoroughly enjoyed!
(A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.)
Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
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