Books with Betsy

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Books with Betsy is a podcast that celebrates the reading life of all readers. Each week, Betsy interviews a different person about their reading life. Listen for book recommendations, reading tips, and to join in the joy that reading brings. And remember, anyone who reads is a reader.

  1. 6H AGO

    Episode 106 - Do You Even Like Reading with Sirenna Blas

    On this episode, Sirenna Blas, of @sirenbee_readsnthings on instagram, talks about how her life as a stay at home mom affords her amazing reading time. We also talk about how she is not afraid to give a spicy review, who she wants an adaptation from, and how she brings the reading life alive with her kiddos.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Kin by Tayari Jones A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang  Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo    Books Highlighted by Sirenna: Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones  Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Joy is My Middle Name by Sasha Debevec-McKenney The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Endling by Maria Reva Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth by Ingrid Robeyns The Reformatory by Tananarive Due  Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich  Dominion by Addie E. Citchens  Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle  The WIld Robot by Peter Brown  Laleh and the Language of the Birds by Perin Gurel  Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes by Eric Litwin & James Dean  Kin by Tayari Jones Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones  The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup  Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte  Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio  The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw  The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw

    50 min

  2. MAY 11

    Episode 105 - The Absolute Most with Vanessa Diaz

    On this episode, Vanessa Diaz, managing editor with Book Riot, talks about how her reading life is affected by her job, recommends woman-led mysteries, and talks about her current favorite authors. If you like witchy books, you have a lot of really great recommendations in this episode.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Kin by Tayari Jones Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke  The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley    Books Highlighted by Vanessa: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman  Gods of Jade and Shadow by Sylvia Moreno Garcia  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley  Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie  The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson  An Ember in the Ashes by Saba Tahir  The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller  Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Christina Rivera Garza  A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado  Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon  Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw We Need No Wings by Ann Dávila Cardinal  The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe  London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe  The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  The Correspondent by Virginia Evans  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt  The Secret History by Donna Tartt

    49 min

  3. MAY 4

    Episode 104 - Screen to Page with Jeff Jones

    On this episode, Jeff Jones, a fan of graphic novels, talks about how he comes to reading through his interest in sci-fi movies. We talk about his favorite weekly read, how he manages his very small TBR, and his discovery of some favorite authors through their work in comics.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaeffer  Suddenly Light by Nina Dunic    Books Highlighted by Jeff: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer The Darkseid War: The Green Lantern by Tom King & Evan “Doc” Shaner Day After Night by Anita Diamant Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli  Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt  Exhalation by Ted Chiang    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Shonen Jump  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir  Strange Adventures by Tom King & Evan Shaner  Vision: The Complete Collection by Tom King  Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda  Far Sector by N.K Jemisin & Jamal Campbell  The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin  All About Love by Bell Hooks  Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

    54 min

  4. APR 27

    Episode 103 - Book Club - True Biz

    On this episode, Ben from Off Color Book Club joins me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, True Biz by Sara Novic.    My Book Club Guide   If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 19th to discuss Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. All are welcome!

    42 min

  5. APR 20

    Episode 102 - Real People with Tess Page

    On this episode, Tess Page, listener of Books with Betsy, talks about her requirement for books grounded in reality, her high/low reading tastes, and tells some wonderful stories of her reading habits in childhood. We talk about a shared favorite author who has a deep backlist and I encourage you to check her out!   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Milktooth by Jaime Barnett Casualties of Truth by Lauren Francis-Sharma   Books Highlighted by Tess: Riders by Jilly Cooper  Rivals by Jilly Cooper  The Babysitter’s Club Graphic Novel Adaptation by Raina Tagelmeier & Ann M. Martin In a Blue Velvet Dress by Catherine Sefton Excellent Women by Barbara Pym   A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles  Bringing Back the Beaver by Derek Gow   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell  Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins  Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

    46 min

  6. APR 13

    Episode 101 - Life is Hard and Then We Die with Eric Siewert

    On this episode, Eric Siewert, a former colleague of mine at our college bookstore, talks about his favorite authors, the ways recommendations are important to him, and he waxes poetic about his love for hardcover books. We also talk about our individual authors we think should be more of a household name.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow Wild Life by Amanda Leduc The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguín   Books Highlighted by Eric: In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien The Overstory by Richard Powers  Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller July, July by Tim O’Brien  The Gunslinger by Stephen King  The Dog Stars by Peter Heller  Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller  Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller  Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lemott    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Golden Son by Pierce Brown The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway  Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman  Trust by Hernan Diaz  Devil House by John Darnielle  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins  The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien  Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien  If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O’Brien  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro  Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro  Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro  The River by Peter Heller  Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

    46 min

  7. APR 6

    Episode 100 - It's Me! with Betsy Tomszak

    On this episode, I bring back Sam Wilmes from episode 1 to celebrate 100 episodes of Books with Betsy so she can interview me! I am the guest on this episode so if you’ve ever wanted to hear my answers to my interview questions, here it is! We talk about a ton of books and somehow I neglected to talk about Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel which is one of my absolute favorite books. I am sure I will continue to think about more and more books that I didn’t discuss because there are so many amazing books out there!    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  What We Can Know by Ian McEwan  Heart the Lover by Lily King    Books Highlighted by Betsy: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  1984 by George Orwell  Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix  No Exit by Taylor Adams  Trust by Hernan Diaz  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir  Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin  Pachinko by Min Jin Lee  Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman  The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death by Daniel Pinkwater    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel  House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski  Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli  Redwall by Brian Jacques  Amelia’s Notebook by Marissa Moss  Sunny: Diary One, California Diaries by Ann M. Martin  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh  Bloomability by Sharon Creech  Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech  A Winkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle  Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata  Earthlings by Sayaka Murata  Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  Brawler by Lauren Groff  Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis  Matilda by Roald Dahl  From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler by E.L. Konigsburg  The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg  The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater

    1h 6m

  8. MAR 30

    Episode 99 - My Own Library Card with Emily Bogaert

    On this episode, Emily Bogaert, a fellow teacher, talks about how her childhood made her fall in love with the library, the joy she feels when getting the right books into the hands of her students, and we talk about the ups and downs of the reading life when you’re a teacher. She also has a reading habit that is absolutely wild and I didn’t even know was still possible.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Time, Silence, and Yeast: A Song of Appreciation for Trappist Communities and Their Beer by Marty Tomszak  Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran by Shahrnush Parsipur Small Comfort by Ia Genberg   Books Highlighted by Emily: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi  Trial by Journal by Kate Klise  Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai My Friends by Frederik Backman  Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett  With Teeth by Kristen Arnett  Woodworking by Emily St. James  Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel  11/22/63 by Stephen King  The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander  True Biz by Sara Nović   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: North Woods by Daniel Mason  Trust by Hernan Diaz  Little Women by Louisa My Alcott  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien  Dog Man by Dav Pilkey  Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina  The Institute by Stephen King  There is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone

    53 min
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4.8
out of 5
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About

Books with Betsy is a podcast that celebrates the reading life of all readers. Each week, Betsy interviews a different person about their reading life. Listen for book recommendations, reading tips, and to join in the joy that reading brings. And remember, anyone who reads is a reader.

Information

  • Creator
    bookswithbetsy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    106
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Books with Betsy

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