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George Washington: Just A Dude

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Amanda and Jenn discuss war stories, the Cold War, wealthy women, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked.

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Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee (rec’d by Amanda)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (rec’d by Annie)

 The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (rec’d by Elizabeth)

Questions

1. My 12 year old son and I like to listen to audiobooks together in the car. He’s a history buff, and he’s reached a point where he’ll only listen to non-fiction. He’s especially interested in all the American wars from Revolutionary to Afghanistan. He has a high reading comprehension so I’m not worried about level or content, but he is only 12 so a dry textbook approach won’t work for either him or me. I was hoping you could recommend either some compelling narrative non-fiction or a memoir for us. He would prefer a focus specifically on soldiers/battles/military strategy.

Thanks so much!!

-Julie

2. Hi! I am an English lit student who just found out that my study abroad trip to Athens, Greece has been approved. I will be spending the whole summer, May through August, gallivanting around the Mediterranean, omicron-willing. Could you give me some recommendations to read leading up to my trip or while abroad? I’m a huge classics nerd, am passionate about Greco-Roman arts/history/culture, and have read all the Madeline Miller-esque myth retellings (i.e., A Thousand Ships, Ariadne, Silence of the Girls, etc. etc.). Something new to me like a travel memoir or other something off-beat that I may not have thought of would be really welcome. 

-Riley

3. Hello,

I recently read the Six of Crows  duology by Leigh Bardugo and I’m obsessed. I love the characters, their relationships, and the insane heists they planned and executed. I enjoyed how I only got a portion of the plans for the heists and then I was blown away when all the pieces came together. I was hoping you could give me books with similar premises and execution. I really enjoyed the idea of a impossible magical heist with an insanely complicated plan and I love the genius that is Kaz Brekker. I also really love the idea of the main characters being criminals uncaring of who they hurt to achieve their goals. I appreciated how each character had their own dubious set of morals and loyalties that all fell into a grey area and they all complemented each other.

I don’t mind romance but I would prefer it not to be the main focus as I want that to be on the platonic realationships and the group as a whole. If there is romance I’d like for it to be developed slowly (For example; Kaz and Inej, as that was my favorite pairing in Six of Crows). Also- good banter and jokes is a must.

To get an idea of what I like, I’m sixteen years old and my favorite genres are thriller/mysteries along with dystopia and fantasy. But I’m open to reading pretty much any genre although non fiction isn’t usually my favorite.

I apologize for the long email, I look forward to reading your recommendation and I wish you both a good day.

Thanks for the help,

PS. Master of One & An Ember in the Ashes are both already on my list

-Norah

4. Hey guys! I’m on a journey of changing the way I think about money and manifesting a richer life. Can you recommend a novel about a wealthy woman living a life of luxury? I’m looking for something slice-of-lifey, it doesn’t have to be heavy on plot. It can be set in any time or place (ancient Egypt does come to mind, though, and modern-day Italy). I also would like the woman to be a generally good person, not snobby or rude or ungrateful. Thank you! <3

-Jacqueline

5. I’m looking for books with disability/chronic illness rep! I am type 1 diabetic and struggle to see myself in a lot of the books I read because of my disability, and I’m always looking for more reads that are inclusive of and accurately portray living with a chronic illness. I’ve read a lot of the go-to recommendations for this category (ex., Get A Life, Chloe Brown, The Girls Are Never Gone, The Kiss Quotient series, Six of Crows) and am struggling to find something new. I tend to have good luck finding nonfiction books that fit this vein, but struggle with finding fiction, so fiction recommendations would be ideal. I’ll pretty much read anything genre-wise, but books by disabled/chronically ill authors are strongly preferred. 

-Em

6. Hello!  I’m looking for a book, (preferably fiction), set during the Cold War (preferably in Russia). I was born in the mid-80s so I wasn’t exactly following the news back then, but The Americans is my favorite TV show of all time and I’m fascinated by this period in history.  I’m not interested in a book with a clear pro-American or pro-Soviet agenda (no propaganda, please. :-p). Thank you/spasiba! 

-Other Amanda

7. Hi Amanda and Jenn, I used to be really into historical fiction and I’ve been in the mood to get back into it. I read a lot of Philippa Gregory books and got kind of burnt out on them, but I really like her style. I listened to a podcast about Marie Antoinette, and realized that I’d love to read more about France and the French Revolution. I’m not interested in Les Mis, but I would take anything else fiction or non fiction. I’d love a broad view or multi perspective but I’m up for straight historical fiction too. I’ve never read anything on the topic so I’m wide open to suggestions. 

-Cassie

Books Discussed

You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

What It is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes

Honey, Olive, Octopus by Christopher Bakken

Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki, transl. by Karen Van Dyck (rec’d by Rebecca Hussey)

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi (cw: ableism, antisemitism, racism)

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild (rec’d by Cassie)

Aunty Lee’s Delights by Ovidia Yu (cw: homophobia)

Girl at War by Sara Novic (tw ethnic violence, lots and lots (and lots) of harm to children)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl (cw: harm to children, racism and racial violence)

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

John Le Carre

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (cw: harm to children, violent homophobia, animal abuse, rape)

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel

Versailles by Kathryn Davis