Books and the City

Latest Episodes:

If You Could Sweat Anything!!! Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

We start with a bit of a regroup after quite the week of news, donations, protests, and other actions. We’re talking about how we’re each committing to implement real changes into our lives to promote more diversity and continue to amplify black voices and stories on our own bookshelves. This is all followed by the wild explanation behind this wild episode title: if you could sweat anything, what would you sweat? Don’t worry if you’ve never considered a question like this before, but get ready for some shocking answers (mostly from Becky and Emily, w o w). Read on for links, and check out our www.bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity to shop the books we’ve discussed on this episode and all past episodes! We won’t be recommending bar pairings during quarantine, but we’ll bring them back after this is all over with. If you have a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 12, send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com------------->

Emily just read: Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg (23:23-31:04)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550906/someone-who-will-love-you-in-all-your-damaged-glory-by-raphael-bob-waksberg/
Up next for Emily: Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Becky just read: Beach Read by Emily Henry (31:05-39:33)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608898/beach-read-by-emily-henry/
Up next for Becky: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Kayla just read: A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler (39:34-50:16)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250237279
Up next for Kayla: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Libby just read:The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (50:17-1:06:23)
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/the-fifth-season/9780316229296/
Up next for Libby: How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

“Fascism, Baby! Get It Outta Here!” Jun 04, 2020

Show notes

First things first: we are incredibly grateful for all of the support we received on our most recent, brief episode in which we touch on the Black Lives Matter movement and news of the day. Keep in mind, we will keep the Google Doc link to that resources doc in the link in our bio on Instagram, so we hope you’ll continue sharing; we will certainly continue updating. Anyway, thank you for tuning into another episode a little later in the week than usual! Today, we’re realizing that we’ve basically forgotten how to interact with other people during this quarantine. So apologies for the awkwardness, it’s just who we are now. Before we talk about a bunch of different books, we each lay out our quarantine mood boards. Get excited to hear Emily stan Harry Styles, Kayla reflect on some comforting TV nostalgia, Becky on the satisfaction of finding the perfect ambiance video pairings for her current read, and Libby on her latest obsession: plants. Read on for links, and check out our Bookshop.org link to shop the books we’ve discussed on the podcast. We won’t be recommending bar pairings during quarantine, but we’ll bring them back after all this. If you have a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 11, send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com------------->

Libby just read: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (20:10-30:45)
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062882769/clap-when-you-land/
Up next for Libby: Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

Becky just read: 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (30:50-44:51)
https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/elin-hilderbrand/28-summers/9780316420051/
Up next for Becky: When the Swan Sings on Hastings by Thomas Galasso

Emily just read: The Plot Against American by Philip Roth (44:52-56:17)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/158040/the-plot-against-america-movie-tie-in-edition-by-philip-roth/
Up next for Emily: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
*Quick note: make sure you VOTE! Check vote.org to make sure you’re registered to vote.

Kayla just read: Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld (56:18-1:12:39)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551108/rodham-by-curtis-sittenfeld/
Up next for Kayla: The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

Should We Talk About Something Bigger? Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

Hi, friends. We're here with a nontraditional episode in which we discuss what’s been happening in the news, from Amy Cooper to George Floyd, and how we fit into it. Which is mainly that we, as four white women, do not. It isn’t about us, it’s about what we can do to help promote change and racial equality, and constantly confront our own privilege and our place in a racist system that protects white lives. We compiled a list of resources, from national organizations to local Minneapolis collectives focused on rebuilding POC-owned businesses in their neighborhood. There are resources for those partaking in protests, resources for those who can give monetarily, and further reading that everyone can benefit from when working toward educating yourself. Read on for some book links, all brought to you by the Bronx-based Lit Bar, and make sure you check out the Google doc for a full list of reading recommendations, both fiction and non-fiction. You know where to find us, and we’re here to listen if you want to talk, if there’s more we can be doing, or if there are resources we’re missing! We’re hoping to keep this Google doc as a living document, and we promise to keep it as updated as possible. Send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com and thank you, as always, for listening. We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled full episode this Thursday. ------------->
LIVING GOOGLE DOC WITH RESOURCES:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16oZ-MiEoQarnK_8tXNMFeK6ByPkRRlweISnxTOaJHxA/edit?usp=sharing
SOME BOOKS:
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
https://bookshop.org/books/all-american-boys-reprint/9781481463348
White Fragility by Robin Deangelo
https://bookshop.org/books/white-fragility-why-it-s-so-hard-for-white-people-to-talk-about-racism/9780807047415
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
https://bookshop.org/books/an-american-marriage-oprah-s-book-club-9781616208684/9781616208684
Eloquent Rage by Brittany Cooper
https://bookshop.org/books/eloquent-rage-a-black-feminist-discovers-her-superpower/9781250112880
Logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Emily Beyda May 28, 2020

Show notes

Special guests galore this week!! We are thrilled to be back with another Thursday author interview. Today, Becky and Emily speak to Emily Beyda, author of the highly anticipated debut, The Body Double. This suspenseful novel, in the vein of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, tells the dark, glittering story of a young woman who is recruited by a stranger to give up her old life and identity to impersonate a reclusive Hollywood star. Stay tuned to hear all about Emily’s inspiration behind this (as Kayla would say) mind-f*** of a book, including her own upbringing in Los Angeles, her feelings on celebrity culture and how it’s changed over time, the nature of isolation, and the W I L D story of the first (unpublished) novel she ever wrote. Read on for buy links! And please feel free to drop us a line about this interview, Emily’s work, or anything else you'd like to tell us at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com. ------------------------>

The Body Double by Emily Beyda: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608690/the-body-double-by-emily-beyda/

Emily’s LA rec: The Museum of Jurassic Technology, https://www.mjt.org/

What she’s reading now: The Beetle by Richard Marsh: https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-beetle/#tab-description

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/45821/daniel-deronda-by-george-eliot-introduction-by-edmund-white/

https://www.bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity

Music by EpidemicSound, art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

Surprise! Featuring a Very Special Guest May 25, 2020

Show notes

We are so excited to be speaking with graphic designer extraordinaire, Nicole Zollos! She's the mastermind behind the Books and the City podcast art and all of the fantastic illustrations that you've probably seen and drooled over on our Instagram feed. Turns out, when she's not creating beautiful artwork, Nicole is a huge book nerd! So she joins the podcast this week to talk all things books, illustrating, & her longtime friendship with Becky (so presh). And of course, stay tuned to hear your usual hosts talk about some of their recent reads - after Emily tries to bully Libby into revealing her British accent. As always, thanks for listening and ENJOY! Read on for links, and make sure you check out bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity to shop the books we’ve discussed on the podcast! We feel weird recommending bar pairings during quarantine when you can’t go visit, but we’ll bring them back post-quar! If you have a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 10, send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com!------------->

Emily just read: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (17:20-28:00)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374537159
Up next for Emily: Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

Kayla just read: Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore (28:48-35:23)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250236609
Up next for Kayla: The German Heiress by Anika Scott

Becky just read: The Summer Set by Aimee Agresti (35:24-46:02)
https://www.harlequintradepublishing.com/shop/books/9781525823589_the-summer-set.html
Up next for Becky: Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Libby just read: The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (46:04-55:39)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723634
Up next for Libby: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
BONUS! Nicole just read: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (15:36-16:52)

https://www.lbyr.com/titles/laini-taylor/days-of-blood-starlight/9780316215404/

Up Next for Nicole: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin May 18, 2020

Show notes

Somehow, we made it 9 full episodes into this thing without discussing our Hogwarts houses?? And we call ourselves a book podcast… but don't worry, we right that wrong today, revealing all our houses after we sort each other for fun. It doesn't get too spicy, although no one guessed Emily's house correctly so she might disagree. Hint: BATC has one member in each house! Wild! After that, of course, we talk about some wonderful books. Read on for links, and make sure you check out our bookshop.org link to shop the books we’ve discussed on the podcast! We feel weird recommending bar pairings during quarantine when you can’t go visit, but we’ll bring them back post-quar! We'll be announcing a way you can help the bar/restaurant industry soon so make sure you're subscribed! If you have a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 9, send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com!------------->

Kayla just read: Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin (18:45-29:50)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250219596
Up next for Kayla: Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Libby just read: Call Me By Your Name (29:51-42:14)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250169440
Up next for Libby: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

Emily just read: Middlemarch by George Eliot (42:16-59:18)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318868/middlemarch-by-george-eliot-foreword-by-rebecca-mead/8
Up next for Emily: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Becky just read: Sourdough by Robin Sloane (59:23-1:08:37)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250192752
Up next for Becky: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Bookshop link: https://www.bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity

Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Kerri Maher May 14, 2020

Show notes

Another author interview?? You betcha! We’re officially moving author interviews to Thursday releases so get excited for even more Books and the City in your future. Today’s episode features a friend of the podcast, Kerri Maher. Kerri is the author of The Kennedy Debutante and The Girl in White Gloves and is currently working on a new book tentatively titled The Paris Bookseller. Listen in for an exciting conversation about historical fiction, Kick Kennedy, Grace Kelly, traveling around the world for research, and so much more. Read on for links to Kerri’s books, the episode where Becky discusses The Kennedy Debutante and where to find Kerri! Any thoughts about our chat, books, or anything at all? Send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com! ------------->

The Kennedy Debutante
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/572974/the-kennedy-debutante-by-kerri-maher/

The Girl in White Gloves
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/572975/the-girl-in-white-gloves-by-kerri-maher/

Episode with The Kennedy Debutante
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/books-and-the-city/id1500784660?i=1000471289764

Where to find Kerri:
http://www.kerrimaher.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kerrimaherwriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerrimaherbooks
FB: https://www.facebook.com/kerrimaherwriter/

Don’t forget, you can buy any book we’ve ever talked about on the podcast, including in author interviews on https://www.bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity
Music by EpidemicSound, art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

Is Anyone Still There? May 11, 2020

Show notes

Books and the City is coming to you live from quarantine! We “got together” virtually to record this episode for the first time in a month and a half, and it was a glorious reunion. Keep listening if you’d like to find out a little bit more about what we’ve been up to, where we’re all self-isolating, and how we’re staying sane (or, in Becky’s case, losing our marbles slowly by way of adorable conversations with Ginny, the Cat). And after we get all caught up with each other, stay tuned to hear about some stellar reads (5-stars from all of us for all our respective books! That literally never happens!) We’ve got a bit of fantasy, a bit of history, some culty stuff, & oddly comforting dystopia. Read on for links, and make sure you check out our Bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity link to shop the books we’ve discussed on the podcast! We feel weird recommending bar pairings during quarantine when you can’t go visit, but we’ll bring them back post-quar AND we will be announcing a way to help those in the service industry who have been affected by COVID soon so stay tuned! If you have a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 8, send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com!-------------> Libby just read: Severance by Ling Ma (20:56-32:19) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214997 Up next for Libby: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth Kayla just read: The Paris Hours by Alex George (33:05-41:20) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250307187 Up next for Kayla: Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore Becky just read: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas (41:21-49:27) https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062905659/catherine-house/ Up next for Becky: The Summer Set by Aimee Agresti Emily just read: Caraval by Stephanie Garber (50:12-1:00:17) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250095268 Up next for Emily: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Billy Jensen May 04, 2020

Show notes

Books and the City is back with a very special author interview from quarantine! In today's episode, Emily and Kayla talk with true-crime journalist Billy Jensen, bestselling author of Chase Darkness With Me. Keep listening for a fascinating conversation about all things true crime, including the challenges he faced while finishing Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone In the Dark after her sudden passing in 2016, his own foray into true-crime investigation using social media, what keeps him going through the darkness, and—most importantly—Billy Jensen's Hogwarts house. Read on for buy links! And please feel free to drop us a line about this interview, Billy's books, or anything else you'd like at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com. ------------------------>

Chase Darkness With Me by Billy Jensen: https://shop.sourcebooks.com/chase-darkness-with-me.html

I'll Be Gone In the Dark by Michelle McNamara: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062319784/ill-be-gone-in-the-dark/

Jensen & Holes The Murder Squad http://themurdersquad.com/

The First Degree https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-first-degree/id1423759123

Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

“We Have To Name This One The Tequila Episode” AKA Elevate Your Understanding Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

It’s almost like every Books and the City episode is a drunk episode! Quarantine-prepping will do that to you, I guess. We kick off this episode with a LARGE shot of Nick Jonas’s tequila, and no one is really sure whether it’s good or not (which probably just means we’re all pretty drunk.) Then, we almost fall right back down the astrology hole when we find out Emily doesn’t know what time she was born, but Becky keeps us on track with a fun, book-related astrology fact. Listen to find out what it is, and then keep listening to get four (very different) books added to your TBR! Read on for links. Bar recs will return after quarantine! Also, got a perfect bar + book pairing in your city, OR any thoughts about the books we talked about in episode 7? Send us a note at booksandthecitypod@gmail.com!------------->

Becky just read: The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock (14:38-25:11)
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062871497/the-other-windsor-girl/
Up next for Becky: The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Kayla just read: Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon (25:11-35:20)
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/601900/code-name-helene-by-ariel-lawhon/
Up next for Kayla: The Queen’s Fortune by Allison Pataki or Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Emily just read: Strange Weather in Tokyo (originally called The Briefcase) by Kiromi Kawakami, translated by Allison Markin Powell (35:21-50:00)
https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/strange-weather-in-tokyo/
While we’re pausing our bar recs for the time being, Becky mentions the perfect rec for this. The Tokyo Record Room near Washington Square Park!
Up next for Emily: The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Theriault

Libby just read: Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson (50:01-1:00:38)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765398857
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Their advocates are available 24/7, in more than 200 languages, and all calls are free and confidential.
Up next for Libby: Last Things by Jenny Offill
Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

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