Bookish with Sonya Walger

Latest Episodes:

Huma Abedin May 16, 2022

Show notes

Huma Abedin has spent her entire career in public service and national politics, beginning as an intern in First Lady Hillary Clinton’s office in 1996. After four years in the White House, she worked in the U.S. Senate as Senior Advisor to Senator Clinton and was Traveling Chief of Staff for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of State. Huma served as Vice Chair of Hillary for America in 2016, resulting in the first woman elected nominee of a major political party. She currently serves as Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff. Born in the United States and raised in Saudi Arabia, Huma moved back to the U.S. in 1993. She lives in New York City with her son, Jordan. She is the New York Times best-selling author of BOTH/AND: A Life in Many Worlds.

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John Simm Jan 01, 2022

Show notes

John Simm is an English actor, director, and musician, best known for playing Sam Tyler in Life on Mars, the master in Doctor Who, and DS Roy Grace in Grace. His other television credits include State of Play, The Lakes, Crime and Punishment, Exile, Prey, and Cracker. He has been nominated for a BAFTA for best actor and the Lawrence Olivier Award for best actor.

John's Books

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, 1951

Salem's Lot by Stephen King, 1975

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, 1838

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1866

East of Eden by John Steinbeck, 1952

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Dan Houser Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is one of my closest friends, Dan Houser. Dan created a cultural phenomenon. He is the former lead writer and creative director of Rockstar Games and he was the head writer and creative director of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. GTA5 is the most successful entertainment product in history. It has sold over 150 million copies. Red Dead Redemption 2 made a billion dollars in three days. Dan is my dearest friend from Oxford and Godfather to my daughter.

Dan's Books

Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome, 1933

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 1847

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1934

The Thin Red Line by James Jones, 1962

Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1872

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Aimee Mullins Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is Aimee Mullins. Aimee is an American athlete, actress, model, and public speaker. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her lower legs when she was one year old. She was told that she would use a wheelchair for the rest of her life but by the age of two she was walking with prosthetics. She went on to be the first amputee to compete against able bodied athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association events. She competed in the Paralympics. She has modeled on the catwalk for Alexander McQueen. She has starred as an actress in many tv shows and movies. Aimee is a motivational speaker and has given multiple TED talks.

Aimee's Books

The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden by Mary Chase, 1968

Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, 1485

The Second Circle by Patsy Rodenburg, 2008

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders, 1996

Liar’s Club by Mary Karr, 1995

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Krista Tippett Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

This week my guest is Krista Tippett, creator and host of the spiritual nourishment podcast, On Being. She has interviewed everyone of spiritual consequence from the Dalai Lama to Mary Oliver. She was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal at the White House, given by Barack Obama. She has won a Peabody award. She reported and wrote for The Times, Newsweek, the BBC, the International Herald Tribune, and Die Zeit. Krista has authored many books, and her book Einstein's God, was a New York Times bestseller.

Krista's Books

Let your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, 1999

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem, 2017

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, 1996

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, 1929

The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf, 2015

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William H. Macy Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is my friend Bill, better known as William H. Macy. Bill is an American writer, actor, and director. He has written films, tv series, and screenplays. He has won two Emmy awards, and has been nominated for 15. He has won four screen actors guild awards. He was nominated for an Academy award for best supporting actor for his performance in Fargo.

Bill's Books

The Kid Who Batted a Thousand by Bob Allison and Frank Ernest Hill, 1951

Call of the Wild by Jack London, 1903

Electric Universe by David Bodanis, 2004

American Buffalo by David Mamet, 1961

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlasky, 2002

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky, 1997

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Douglas Stuart Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is Scottish writer Douglas Stuart. Douglas' debut novel, Shuggie Bain was awarded the 2020 Booker Prize. It was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Pen/Hemingway, the National Book Critics Circle, and named a notable book of the year by The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Douglas' Books

Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy

A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst

Young Adam by Alexander Trocchi

The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway

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Chris Anderson Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is British American businessman Chris Anderson. Chris is the head of TED, a non-profit organization that provides idea-based talks and hosts an annual conference in Canada. He is also the founder of Future Publishing. He published a book, TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, which immediately became a New York Times best seller.

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis, 1956

How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker, 1997

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, 2006

The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch, 2011

The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz, 2009

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Isha Sesay Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

Isha Sesay is a British journalist of Sierra Leonean descent who became a TV news star in 2014 when she led a CNN team to a Peabody award for her coverage of the kidnapping of 276 school girls in Nigeria. Isha stayed with the story over the years and spent time with the girls that escaped, as well as with the families of the girls that are still unaccounted for. She put her experiences into a book, Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram. Isha also launched an educational humanitarian nonprofit organization called W.E. Can Lead, which was created to support African girls in receiving educational support so that they can become future leaders.

Isha's Books

Beloved by Toni Morrison, 1987

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1960

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, 1970

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, 2016

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, 1985

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Carol Dysinger Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

My guest this week is Carol Dysinger, Director of the short documentary, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone if You're a Girl. This film won the Academy Award for best short documentary as well as the BAFTA for best short, and best documentary short from the IDA and the Tribeca Film Festival. She is the recipient of multiple awards, among them the David Payne Carter award for excellence in teaching and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is Associate Professor at NYU Film School.

Under My Skin: Volume One of My autobiography, to 1949, by Doris Lessing, 1994

The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing, 1962

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, 1847

Middlemarch, by George Eliot, 1871

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, 1964

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