Hashtag Awkward Feelings
Amanda and Jenn discuss series to get excited about, 8th grade read-alouds, Star Wars read-alikes, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked.
This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, the digital hangout spot for the Book Riot community, Care/of, and The Patient by Jasper DeWitt.
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Feedback
Anna K by Jenny Lee (TW: underage substance abuse & alcohol) (rec’d by Nicole)
The Need by Helen Phillips (rec’d by Courtney)
Questions
1. Everything I was excited about doing this summer has been canceled, and I’m now suffering from a lack of things to look forward to. I was wondering if you could recommend a great series that has another book coming out a few/several months from now so I can read the book(s) that already exist and then eagerly anticipate the next installment! Some things I like include high fantasy, woman (or nonbinary) authors and characters, LGBTQness, and audiobooks.
Thanks!
–Emma
2. Hello! My mom is an avid reader, definitely gravitating toward mystery/thrillers, historical fiction and most specifically anything by Eric Larson. She has already devoured his newest book, The Splendid and the Vile, and has read nearly all of his backlist. Do you have any author comps for Larson that I could pass on to her? Thanks!!
–Rachael
3. I’m looking for books that would make great read-alouds for my 8th grade English/Language Arts class. I’ve been teaching for five years, and I’ve always done the same read-alouds each year: Love that Dog by Sharon Creech, Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, and Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth. I’d like to change it up with some newer books as the ones I mentioned above are aging out; as my students have pointed out: “None of these characters even have a cellphone!”
Some preferences I have for our read-alouds:
- interesting characters that help my students experience lives that are different from their own (I teach in a small town in Minnesota)
- minimum cursing (see above about teaching in a small town in Minnesota)
- engaging storylines that get students excited to hear what happens next
- bonus points if the chapters are shorter so I have natural stopping points each day
Thanks for your help! Love the show!
–Grace
4. Hello!
I love the podcast and I have gotten soooo many good recommendations (both from a couple of asks that I have made previously and just from listening every week).
I recently lured my wife into being a bookworm (I even got her on Libby, the proudest moment of my life!). She has gone from maybe reading 1 book in a year to tearing through about 30 books and graphic novels (the gateway drug!) in about 3 months time. The problem: she’s starting to run out of material! She’s pretty set for the next few months, but might run out of books to read over the summer. Her birthday is August 2nd and so I’m hoping to pick up some new books for her by then.
She LOVES Star Wars and that is what the vast majority of her reading so far has been. She is looking for ideas for books, especially if they are series, outside of Star Wars, but that give her some of the same things that she loves about Star Wars. Things she likes about Star Wars: all of the aliens and creatures, good vs. evil, and the world-building. Things that she didn’t specifically identify when I asked her what she liked, but are definitely elements that I know she likes: strong female leads and found family (but who doesn’t love those things?!). Bonus for good queer representation, which is very obviously lacking in Star Wars.
She is a bit of a weeny and doesn’t like things that are scary (sometimes Doctor Who episodes scare her, so you be the judge…) or have a lot of gore. Some things that I have thought to recommend to her were the Becky Chambers books and Saga (if she ever thought that she could get past the violence and gore).
Thank you!!!!!!!!
–Heidi
5. Hi! I am a new listener and am thoroughly enjoying listening to the show! I just got married in November and my husband and I will be honeymooning to Austria at the end of June. I LOVE travel books in general, but would really like to read some fiction/historical fiction about Vienna and Salzburg. We are also going to try to do a day trip to Bratislava as well, so I would happily welcome a book set in Slovakia. Thank you!
–Kira
6. I’m doing the 2020 Read Harder Challenge and I’m looking for a book for the disabled protagonist task, specifically a Native American protagonist. I’m Native and one of my New Year’s reading resolutions is to read more books by Native Americans, so I’m trying to choose books by/about Native Americans for as many of the challenge tasks as possible. I’ve read Absolute True Story of a Part-Time Indian, but I’m trying to avoid reading any more Sherman Alexie since the MeToo stories about him. Thanks in advance.
–Cheryl
7. Hello! I was wondering if you have any recommendations for books where adoption is a main theme. Many of the books I’ve found are a bit outdated or cheesy and instructional. I recently pickup up Nichole Chung’s “All You Can Ever Know”. I also found “Motherhood So White” on book riot’s website. My husband and I are starting to look into adoption as a way to be parents and I’d love to find some insightful stories or memoirs (or even fiction), preferably that feature diversity of story, race, and background. Thanks in advance for the help!
–Lauren
Books Discussed
The Khorasan Archives by Ausma Zehanat Khan (tw slavery)
The Poppy War series by RF Kuang (tw: war crimes incl. rape and genocide)
SFF Yeah: Most Anticipated Series episode
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell
The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
Escape from Aleppo by NH Senzai (tw war)
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie
Murderbot by Martha Wells
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler, trans Charlotte Collins (tw Nazis)
A Perfect Spy by John Le Carré
Fool’s Crow by James Welch (rec’d by Jeff) (tw war crimes)
There There by Tommy Orange (TW: gun violence and rape)
Welcome Home, edited by Eric Smith
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
