Send Me Short Stories

Podcast Helper Feb 15, 2016

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Amanda and guest co-host Liberty recommend short story collections, WWII nonfiction, and more.

Need a book recommendation? Fill out the form at the bottom of the post, or email getbooked@bookriot.com and we’ll help!

Questions!

Books for my recently retired husband who has spent way too much time watching reality TV shows about toothless Alaskans! He has enjoyed The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist. He began (on my recommendation), but didn’t finish The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan. We’re moving to the woods of north-central Washington state, so something outdoorsy might fill the bill. –April

A little personal, but I’m looking for honest descriptions of depression in fiction. It’s such a hard topic, and while it would seem like they’re everywhere, I struggle to see it depicted realistically or in a way that makes me feel less alone rather than more alone. Since one of the best ones I’ve read, “The Bridge” came from a rec on this site, I thought I would ask.

On the flip side, would also gobble up any diverse recs if I love Justin Cronin’s “Passage” trilogy.
–Olivia

Hi Guys!
I’m sure you’re familiar with PopSugar’s reading challenges. While I tend to find half the fun of them to be figuring out what books I will read for each category (and normally have no problem), this year’s challenge includes a category I’m having a super hard time with: A book and it’s prequel.
I’ve read the Hobbit and LOTR, The Chronicles of Narnia (Because The Magicians Nephew counts as a prequel), The Lunar Chronicles, and the Hannibal Lecter series already, and enjoyed them all.
I really like any kind of fiction, but I think I’d like books written by the same author, rather than a prequel written years later by someone else, if that makes sense? (Unless they’re just really that good, in which case I leave it to your judgment.)
Anyway, you guys are great; I love hearing all your recommendations! Have a great day, and a great year! Thanks!

–Nicole

Hello, I’ve recently read a few books (the nightingale and all the light we cannot see) and I’m completely embarrassed about how little I know about World War II, I was fascinated to hear how the Germans were so oblivious to what was really going on and I’m looking for a non-fiction book that will give me a look into that time from multiple angles.

Thank you!

Amanda

I am a middle school (7th grade) Language Arts teacher and I have a large classroom library, but it is seriously lacking in LGBTQ books. I would love to have some suggestions for books appropriate for middle schoolers. I have Drama by Raina Telgemeier and I recently read Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, but I am also struggling whether that is appropriate for my classroom library. I am not afraid to include books that challenge the norms, but I also would have a hard time defending a book that is so clearly meant for high schoolers to my middle school parents. Luckily, I have a very supportive principal who will defend books with me and will not let one or a few parents remove a book for other students. We have only had that happen a few times, but we have been able to defend the books and our position on them.
–Emily

I’m an avid reader and spend a lot of my free time reading or listening to books while I do other activities. Starting in January I’ll be working on a Masters degree part-time while working full time. I’m already worried how this will affect my reading life, but I think reading/listening to short stories will be an awesome way to fit in what I can when I have time. Could you give me some short story recs? I’ve read The Other Language by Francesca Marciano and The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender and loved them both. Favorite genres include fiction and historical fiction, but I’m totally willing to branch out to other genres.

Thanks so much!

–Anna

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Books Discussed on the Show!

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout by Philip Connors

Cold Storage, Alaska by John Straley

Curse of the Narrows by Laura M. Mac Donald

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett (May 3)

Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson