Hashtag Relatable

Jenn Northington Mar 14, 2019

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Amanda and Jenn discuss travel and adventure stories, Romeo + Juliet read-alikes, books in translation, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked.

This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm, Nurx, and Dreamscape.

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A Line Made By Walking by Sara Baume

Lady Hardcastle Series by T.E. Kinsey

Questions

1. Hello ~ I am fan of the podcast and wanted to ask for a recommendation if possible:
I am traveling solo in Italy for two weeks in the end of March. I always like to bring 2 books along and was hoping you might have some recommendations for books that might be real page-turning addictive type.

My directives are as such:

– 2 publications (at least one of which I like fiction but historical non-fiction is also great). Since I hope to bring 2, neither of them should be super heavy/long for travel-weight-ease
– I am a real fan of first person narrative
– I love the semi-classics like anything by Hermann Hesse, Emile Zola and some Hemingway but also open to newer things (Murakami and Tom Robbins are people I go back to often)
– I love a story that is somewhat of an adventure and the plot can range from realism to fantasy.
– Really what I am looking for is something I can’t put down.

Thank you so much and I hope to hear from you soon ~ if not in the show an email would do the job and I’d be ever so grateful.
-TJ

2. hello! god, this podcast is heaven-sent, thank you so much for what you do!

maybe you can help me find something in this very narrow niche! one of my favorite movies is romeo + juliet (1996) and i’ve been craving for something that plays to that star-crossed lovers thrown in neon splendor. something that has that city grit feel to it but also that greasy-dreamy quality and moments of awe and heartbreak. and neon. i would love something to rip my heart out both with the characters, their love story and the descriptions! something lush, a little silly, and utterly beautiful and sprawling. this is asking for a lot, i know, but if anyone can find it — i believe you can! i would LOVE it to be lgbt. no y/a or graphic novels please. fantasy and magic are encouraged but not required.
-Cal

3. I would love to expand my reading repertoire to include more books in translation. I would appreciate some fiction recommendations that will immerse me in the lives and cultures of diverse people and places, particularly areas that we may not hear about often here in the U.S. I enjoy most genres as long as the writing is engaging and the stories are interesting. I am sensitive to any books that involve harm to animals and prefer to avoid stories like that. Other than that, I have no trigger warnings. I will include a link to my Goodreads profile and hope that will be helpful.
-Bobbi

4. Hello! I would love to find a great book to read next and I’m completely overwhelmed by my TBR. My most recent favorites are the Unseen World and If We Were Villains. I also love authors Hannah Kent and Celeste Ng. I’m currently reading Washington Black and I’m loving it so far. Thank you for the help!
-Lauren

5. My sister-in-law and I are going to celebrate our birthdays next summer by taking a literary-themed trip to England. We plan to visit the homes and inspirational settings of our favorite female authors, especially Jane Austen, all the Brontes, and Daphne du Maurier. Besides rereading their novels, we would like to read travelogues or fictional books that highlight these regions in England. We anticipate traveling throughout Cornwall, Hampshire, Bath, and Yorkshire (and possibly Hay-on-Wye in Wales because who can resist a town famous for its bookshops!). I love the podcast and have been listening for years. Thanks.
-Donna

6. Just finished The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavelle and I’ve got stars on my eyes I love the way he started with such a racist story and, instead of glossing over it, put it center focus and used that as a way to exam the racism of the day and in Lovecraft’s work. Do you know of any other sci-fi, fantasy or horror retellings that make great social commentary?
-Kathleen

7. I just saw The Favourite and I loved it! I would like either a nonfiction book about the real Queen Anne or (if that’s not possible) a queer historical fiction novel, preferably one that flies under the radar. I’ve read KJ Charles, Cat Sebastian, Alan Hollingsworth, and Sarah Waters.
-Amy

Books Discussed

On Trails by Robert Moor

America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan

A Room with a View by EM Forster

Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar

As Meat Loves Salt (rec’d by Kathleen) by Maria McCann (TW: violence of all kinds)

Anna-Marie McLemore

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

Tentacle by Rita Indiana, transl by Achy Obejas (tw: rape)

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, translated by Tina Kover

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas (tw: self-harm, suicidal ideation, eating disorders)