On this episode, Mike Finucane, a campus minister at a high-school in St. Louis, and I discuss how books can help develop empathy. He also gives a great tip from his dad about how to tackle a large non-fiction text. We also confirm that collecting books shouldn’t be considered a bad habit if you love it. We talk about a lot of really intense books but I hope that our discussion will inspire readers to do a deep dive into some of the topics.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

The Nix by Nathan Hill

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Books Highlighted by Mike:

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Stories of Your LIfe and Others by Ted Chiang

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz

Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson

The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle

City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden World Around Us by Ed Yong

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro

The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

God Knows by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Your Duck is My Duck: Stories by Deborah Eisenberg

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

There are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

On this episode, Rachel Rolland, a hobby-enthusiast, discusses her love for weird books, including two authors with a decently large backlist that I’ve never heard of. We discuss how a book about accounting can help investigate the way we see the world, how some books just shouldn’t be adapted to screen, and her love for the bookstores where she worked.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

The Nix by Nathan Hill

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

Books Highlighted by Rachel:

Milkman by Anna Burns

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

A Song of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Keeping the House by Ellen Baker

13 ½ Lives of Captain Blue Bear by Walter Moers

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance by Jane Gleeson-White

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde

Jonathan Strange & MR Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Dune by Frank Herbert

Grant by Ron Chernow

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

On this episode, Monika and I discuss her love of fantasy, she mentions so many series, some longer than others, and we share the joy of staff picks in an indie bookstore. We also talk about the magic of airplane reading and how amazing Libby can be. If you are interested in the Reddit thread Monika mentions, you can find that here.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

The Nix by Nathan Hill

Exhibit by R.O. Kwan

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Bear by Julia Phillips

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Books Highlighted by Monika:

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson

The City & The City by China Miéville

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Persuasion by Jane Austin

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

1984 by George Orwell

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games are Made by Jason Schreier

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Witcher Series by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Stormlight Archive Series by Brandon Sanderson

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Too Like the Lightning: Book One of Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer

In this episode, Anna Deem, a high school English teacher in Chicago, and I discuss how seasons of life change our reading habits, her love of poetry, and our definitive shared overrated book. We also discuss the influence of the Beat generation on her writing and end with some excellent recommendations for books she enjoys with her 4-year-old daughter.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Nix by Nathan Hill

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

Books Highlighted by Anna:

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Native Son by Richard Wright

The Crown Ain’t Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, Jr.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Just Kids: An Autobiography by Patti Smith

Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann

Howl by Alan Ginsberg

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Fast Times and Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe (out of print)

The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman

Junky by William S. Burroughs

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Promises of Gold by José Olivarez

The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop edited by Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Nate Marshall

Selected Poems of Anne Sexton by Anne Sexton

The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath

Very Good Hats by Emma Straub and Blanca Gómez

Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gómez

Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia and Elisa Chavarri

On this episode, Mo Smith, the person I know who reads the most, and we discuss her experiences as a very early reader in school, a book habit that stuns me a little, and she gets to gush about her amazing backyard pool at her home in Las Vegas.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

Books Highlighted by Mo:

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

On the Clock: What Low-Wage Word Did to Me and How it Drives America Insane by Emily Guendelsberger

Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala

Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming

A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

The Black Echo (Harry Bosch Series #1) by Michael Connelly

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Verity by Colleen Hoover

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

On this episode, Sarah Sabet and I discuss Scandi-Crime, how her book club fell in love with Lynn Painter, and we have an extended conversation about a fantastic organization that, unfortunately, neither of us have had a chance to connect with: @readandrunchicago on Instagram!

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The Resort by Sarah Ochs

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Books Highlighted by Sarah:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The China Garden by Liz Berry

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Devil’s Trill: A Daniel Jacobus Mystery by Gerald Elias

The Art of Gathering: How we Meet and Why it Matters by Priya Parker

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

I’m Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjork

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Faust by J.W. Von Goethe

Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon

The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

Gaybash by David Jay Collins

On this episode, Francesca Musumeci and I discuss the wealth of indie bookstores we have in Chicago, how school can make reading less fun, and why it’s important to read what you like. She also tells some pretty great stories about her years working at Half-Price Books, including a hilarious mystery request from a customer that she manages to solve.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

His Name is George Floyd by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Victim by Andrew Boryga

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Books Highlighted by Francesca:

Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Verity by Colleen Hoover

The Push by Ashley Audrain

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

The Iliad by Homer

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Marlena by Julie Buntin

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

High on Arrival by MacKenzie Phillips

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

The Body of Evidence Series by Christopher Golden

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway