Treachery Jazz Hands

Jenn Northington Apr 18, 2019

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Amanda and Jenn discuss queer protagonists, science reads by women of color, inspiring reads and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked.

This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm, Care/Of, and The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni.

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Questions

1. Hi –
Thank you so much for your show – I adore it. I am looking for a book for a friend who is a very spiritual person and involved in her Christian church. She is a busy mom of teenagers and also runs her own business, so I thought something with short chapters like “When Women were Birds” by Terry Tempest Williams would be a good choice, but I’m not sure she would love that particular book. Maybe something a little more church-y? She is also a performer – she acts and sings at public events around town and in her church. I have no idea what other books she reads – I just want to get her something out of the blue to inspire her and make her feel good!

Thank you,
-Megan

2. Please by the end of April to gift for Mother’s Day!

First, I love the specificity of so many of the requests sent in. The most recent episode I listened to mentioned only recently honing in on the type of books you most enjoy and I find the readerly reflection of what others are looking for fascinating. Appreciate this whole bookish community.
My mom is an avid reader and will be taking a Rhine River cruise this summer. She is a fan of historical fiction, enjoys multi-generational (sometimes with alternate timelines) story lines, and loves to read works with setting as a character before traveling. She has read several books by Liane Moriarty, Kate Morton, Jennifer Robson, Fiona Davis, and Kristen Hannah. She doesn’t shy away from heavy subject matter, but we both with read almost anything featuring a library or bookshop. I would love gift recommendations for her to read in anticipation of this trip, so I am hoping for a setting along the Rhine river (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland).

Thanks!
-Melissa

3. My husband is deploying soon and I am putting together a boredom buster care package to send him. He is a huge Trekkie and an avid reader, so I’d love to include a “dude” friendly sci-fi novel or science non-fiction that is an incredible escape from the drudgery of being deployed. He’s currently deep into watching the Expanse and loves it, gets really hyped about the New Who episodes, has read almost every Star Trek novel ever written, and has a bookshelf full of European history. Any suggestions would be helpful.
-Kayla

4. Boosting an old entry (hope that’s ok, it was over a year ago, I think.) I’m hoping for recs for science books by women of color. I love Mary Roach and all she’s written, and I have enjoyed Brian Green’s and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s works. But other than NdGT, the only science books I’ve come across were written by white people. Can you help me? I prefer more narrative non fiction if possible (as in, no text books please.) At this point, although physics is my main jam, I’m open to reading about any scientific field.
I love your show and have listened to every episode! I even relisten to old episodes for comfort listening when I’m feeling blue. Thanks for all you do!
-Alexis

5. Hi!

I wish I had something witty to say, but alas, do not so I’ll just get on with my request. I have re-written it several times trying to get it politically correct, but finally decided to just get on with it. I apologize in advance! Feel free to edit it if you see fit.

Assuming most people who do horrible things are not inherently evil people, but “good” people who do “bad” things, I’m interested in reading a book that explores how a person grapples with the realization that a person they love and/or admire has done something truly shameful. I’m not looking for a book about someone who started off doing horrible things only to redeem themselves. I’m interested in the opposite. For example, I wonder how Sen. Elizabeth Warren dealt with the reality that Sen. –with whom she seemed to have a close professional relationship and possibly friendship–most likely engaged in sexual abuse/misconduct. It would be easy if Sen. Franken had done nothing of value, but he did many admirable things as well.

The book I’m looking for can be fiction or non-fiction, and does not have to be about politics or sexual misconduct. I’m just looking for how someone deals with these difficult circumstances, their feelings and the ethics of it all. Please nothing with a rushed, unrealistic conclusion. In fact, there doesn’t need to even be a “conclusion.” I don’t know that there really is a right answer or ending in the real world so I don’t expect a book to have one. Thank you so much!
-Kristin

6. Hi Guys! I’m looking for contemporary fiction featuring a queer protagonist, dealing with his sexuality. I would prefer the protagonist to be from the Indian subcontinent or atleast an Asian. I usually prefer reading YA novels but any genre that entwine its narrative with themes of sexuality, gender and cultural backgrounds are welcome. Thanks again for the recommendations.
-Ashwin

7. Hello!
I’m looking for book recommendations for my husband and I to listen to/read. We have two small children and both work full time so we often find ourselves in a rut of only talking about whose turn it is to do the dishes or bathe the kids. We’ve discovered that reading the same book (separately) gives us something else to discuss. My husband prefers audio books and I usually like ebooks/physical books. Books that we both read and have enjoyed are: Waking God’s trilogy, Sabriel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Broken Earth Trilogy, Between the World and Me, and Binti. We both enjoy fantasy and sci-fi, I tend to lean toward mysteries and my husband leans more towards contemporary fiction (he doesn’t like mysteries because as a former cop he also critiques their methods lol). We are also an interracial couple so bonus points for books with lots of racial diversity. I’m attaching my Goodreads 🙂
-Heather

Books Discussed

A Memory of Empire by Arkady Martine

America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (rec’d by Liberty and Beulah)

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (tw: body horror)

Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis Chen

Pandemic by Sonia Shah

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver