Intergalactic Trailer Park

Jenn Northington Aug 11, 2016

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Amanda and Jenn recommend light-hearted love stories, graphic novels for kids, books about food and more on this week’s episode of Get Booked!

This episode is sponsored by To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey and EveryLibrary.

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The show can also be found on Stitcher here.

Questions

1. Dear Amanda
I have a serious book hangover at the moment and I don’t know how to fix it. I just recently tore through Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and fell completely in love. The romance was so well written and completely adorable and I couldn’t stop squealing the entire time.
What books would you recommend to fill the Baz/Simon shaped hole in my life? I love fantasy novels, urban or high fantasy, but have never liked romance novels so I’d prefer something that has a healthy plot with a good romance. They can be YA or adult- I don’t mind either way. (And yes, I’ve read Fangirl- but I didn’t like it much)
– Cathy

2. This year I took horrible fertility medication that made it impossible to eat, yet failed to get me pregnant. I’m finally off the medication, but am now 20lb underweight and struggling to gain it back. My doctor will not let me try to get pregnant until I get back to a healthy weight. After years of intuitive eating, I now struggle to have any appetite and find the experience of gaining weight to be very stressful.

I am working with health professionals, but I’m hoping to supplement my recovery with good books. Can you recommend some fiction or memoirs that encourage body positivity or entice my appetite? I’m looking for positive, possibly fun, books to get me through this difficult period in my life.

Please no books specifically about eating disorders or infertility.

Thank you,

Anonymous

3. Dear Amanda and Jenn,
First of all thank you for being you and doing your awesome show! I listen to every episode and keep my notebook handy to add to my TBR list!

So, the reason I am writing to you is to ask for reading recommendations for my 9-year-old daughter, who just got her period. She seems pretty comfortable with it, and we are re-reading the American Girl book The Care and Feeding of You, which is pretty basic.

She reads at a 7th-grade level, so that’s not an issue, but I would like stuff that’s not too overwhelming on a subject level. I would like both non-fiction informational books like the one we have, but also fiction chapter books about girls getting their periods early (I know 9 is technically normal, but it feels so early to me!) would be REALLY nice. I’m talking body positivity here!

She’s the first in her group of friends to get her period. We are homeschoolers and I have a really supportive group of moms who are helping me, but I could use a couple reading recommendations as well, like How To Not Freak When Your 9-Year-Old Daughter Gets Her Period. Something like that?

Thanks so much in advance for saving my sanity!
Freaked Mom Carrie

4. Amanda and Jenn,
I’m asking this question for my mom who is an elementary school librarian, grades K-5. She is looking to update the school library with some new graphic novels that the kids would find interesting and encourage reading. She has Dork Diaries, but doesn’t feel it has a very positive message, and I have suggested Lumberjanes. Do y’all have any suggestions for new graphic novels appropriate for elementary age kids? Also, thanks for taking my own personal TBR from insane to completely ridiculous!

Amanda J

5. Hello Get Booked Team!

First and foremost, I love your podcast. You are so fun and funny and the recommendations are spot on :).

I am looking for recommendations for my boyfriend for his birthday in mid-August (so I would like to get recommendations by late July). Each year, I give him two books for his birthday and he does the same for me for mine. We are rising college sophomores and he will most likely major in Art History. He’s primarily interested in religious-based art and art periods spanning from the Middle Ages to mid-1700s. When he has time to read, he has enjoyed Frankenstein, stories by HP Lovecraft and Marvel/DC comics. He also is a fan of suspense (a la Hitchcock) and/or horror. He is obsessed with Godzilla movies. Last year, I gave him “Ready Player One” and “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” if that’s helpful at all.

Thank you,
Madison

6. I’m going on vacation in mid August, and was hoping you guys could give me some recommendations for my trip. The flight will be nearly 12 hours there and back, and I’m also going to be lying on a beach (it’s a tough life) for a good amount of time, so I need some books! I’m very much interested in gay romance or fiction- any genre really, but I would like some romance in there please. I read A Little Life recently, so I would really prefer something with a happy ending if that’s possible. The kill your gays trope has worn on me recently, and I just want to read something that makes me smile in the end. Though I will admit I kind of love the secret relationship, forbidden romance that comes ready made in a lot of gay fiction- I’m a problematic gay man I guess, sorry.
Anyway I would love your suggestions- I eagerly await this podcast every week, you two are so wonderful!
P.S. Bonus points for good audiobooks 🙂

Jake

Books Discussed

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Whatever by SJ Goslee

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Delancey by Molly Wizenberg

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Life Is Meals by James Salter (beloved by Rebecca Schinsky)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris (rec’d by Rebecca Schinsky)

Period: A Girl’s Guide by JoAnn Loulan et al (rec’d by Kristina Pino)