The Book Up with Verdell Walker | Book Reviews & Book Recs

Verdell Walker | Writer & Book Reviewer

Welcome to The Book Up, your thoughtful guide to discovering great books that aren’t on the end cap - but should be.   I’m your host, Verdell Walker, a Harvard MBA who’s blazed a trail at companies like The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs, Scholastic, and Sesame Street. I’m also a Black Southern belle raised by books, and a published writer who knows how stories work. Books are my passion, and my mission is to help you find the stories you'll love to read — and dodge the ones you won't. Whether you're looking for your next great read or just need a trusted source for book recs that actually deliver, you've found your place. Each week, I review a book, and in just 15 minutes, you’ll know whether it belongs at the top of your TBR pile or is destined for a DNF. Think of me as your personal book matchmaker — here to give you reading recs that will rock your world, and save you from wasting your time, money, and library holds along the way. Stories bring us together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. New episodes drop weekly on Tuesdays. Come on in, get cozy, and let me give you The Book Up! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/ Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop* Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify! Thanks for sharing The Book Up's story! *Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!

  1. Book Review: "The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne" by Ron Currie | Fiction, Literary Crime Thriller

    5D AGO

    Book Review: "The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne" by Ron Currie | Fiction, Literary Crime Thriller

    Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? You've come to the right podcast to find your next literary love story. Today’s book is "The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne" by Ron Currie, a gritty crime thriller about Babs Dionne, a proud Franco-American grandmother and iron-fisted drug matriarch ruling a small, battered neighborhood in Maine. When her youngest daughter goes missing and turns up dead, the whole town braces for what comes next.  If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  Want more on this book? Rob stopped by the B&N "Poured Over" podcast to chat about it. Check it out on YouTube. And if thrillers are your jam, check out my Season One episode on "Killers of a Certain Age" by Deanna Raybourn: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube. (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-three-featured-books) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/ Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    15 min
  2. Book Review: "The Adventures of Mary Darling" by Pat Murphy | Fiction, Victorian Adventure Fantasy

    APR 14

    Book Review: "The Adventures of Mary Darling" by Pat Murphy | Fiction, Victorian Adventure Fantasy

    Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? You've come to the right podcast to find your next literary love story. Today’s book is "The Adventures of Mary Darling" by Pat Murphy. In this Victorian-era fantasy mash up of Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes, the brave Mary Darling must find and rescue her missing children, who have been taken to Neverland - all while outwitting Sherlock Holmes, who considers her the prime suspect in their disappearance. If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-three-featured-books) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/ Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    13 min
  3. Book Review: "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by VE Schwab | Fiction, Dark Sapphic Vampire Fantasy

    APR 7

    Book Review: "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by VE Schwab | Fiction, Dark Sapphic Vampire Fantasy

    Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? You've come to the right podcast to find your next literary love story. Welcome to Season 3! Today’s book is "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by VE Schwab. Set over five hundred years, the novel follows three female vampires, each bound by desire, power, and the cost of wanting more than the world will allow them. This is a story about hunger and rage—and about the ways women are told they should be satisfied, even when they’re not. If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  Other books mentioned in this episode: VE Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series A Darker Shade of Magic: Bookshop.org | Amazon A Gathering of Shadows: Bookshop.org | Amazon A Conjuring of Light: Bookshop.org | Amazon The Fragile Threads of Power: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-three-featured-books) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/ Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    16 min
  4. ENCORE - Book Review: "Water Moon" by Samantha Sotto Yambao

    MAR 31

    ENCORE - Book Review: "Water Moon" by Samantha Sotto Yambao

    Hey Bookworms! I'm creating ​t​he next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off a recommendation worth revisiting. Thanks for being here! Today’s featured book is Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest to find her parents with the help of a young physicist who wanders into the shop. If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books) Other featured books: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: Bookshop.org | Amazon The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: Bookshop.org | Amazon Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: Bookshop.org | Amazon  This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    9 min
  5. ENCORE - Book Review: "Blood Over Bright Haven" by M.L. Wang

    MAR 24

    ENCORE - Book Review: "Blood Over Bright Haven" by M.L. Wang

    Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend. Today’s featured book is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. In this dark academic fantasy, the first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages and her janitor-turned-assistant unravel a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic in her world forever. If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books) Other featured books Babel by RF Kuang: Bookshop.org | Amazon  This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    10 min
  6. ENCORE - Series Spotlight: The Emily Wilde Series

    MAR 17

    ENCORE - Series Spotlight: The Emily Wilde Series

    Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend. Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Emily Wilde Series by Heather Fawcett — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I think it’s worth the commitment. The magical, delightful series is comprised of 3 books:  Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: Bookshop.org | Amazon Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands: Bookshop.org | Amazon Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/series-spotlight-2-the-emily-wilde-series-by-heather-fawcett) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    9 min
  7. ENCORE - Series Spotlight: The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

    MAR 10

    ENCORE - Series Spotlight: The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

    Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend. Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I think it’s worth the commitment. The series is comprised of 3 books, a novella, and a short story collection:  Jade City: Bookshop.org | Amazon Jade War: Bookshop.org | Amazon Jade Legacy: Bookshop.org | Amazon The Jade Setter of Janloon (novella): Amazon Jade Shards (short stories): Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/series-spotlight-the-green-bone-saga-by-fonda-lee) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    9 min
  8. ENCORE - Book Review: "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore

    MAR 3

    ENCORE - Book Review: "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore

    Hey Bookworms! I'm creating ​t​he next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off a recommendation worth revisiting. Thanks for being here! Today’s featured book is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. In this literary thriller, the worlds of a privileged family and a blue collar town collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp. If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon  (Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your browser: https://bookshop.org/lists/season-one-featured-books) This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by Verdell Walker. Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You can find more details and the full license information at Audionautix Creative Commons Music. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Stories bring us all together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify!

    10 min
5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Book Up, your thoughtful guide to discovering great books that aren’t on the end cap - but should be.   I’m your host, Verdell Walker, a Harvard MBA who’s blazed a trail at companies like The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs, Scholastic, and Sesame Street. I’m also a Black Southern belle raised by books, and a published writer who knows how stories work. Books are my passion, and my mission is to help you find the stories you'll love to read — and dodge the ones you won't. Whether you're looking for your next great read or just need a trusted source for book recs that actually deliver, you've found your place. Each week, I review a book, and in just 15 minutes, you’ll know whether it belongs at the top of your TBR pile or is destined for a DNF. Think of me as your personal book matchmaker — here to give you reading recs that will rock your world, and save you from wasting your time, money, and library holds along the way. Stories bring us together, and there’s always room in my reading nook for everybody. New episodes drop weekly on Tuesdays. Come on in, get cozy, and let me give you The Book Up! CONNECT WITH THE BOOK UP Website: https://thebookuppodcast.mystrikingly.com/ Instagram: @thebookuppod YouTube: @TheBookUpPodcast Substack: https://thebookuppod.substack.com/ Shop: The Book Up Bookshop* Help me reach more book lovers like you by following the podcast & leaving a rating or review on Apple & Spotify! Thanks for sharing The Book Up's story! *Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Amazon. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of my fiction and nonfiction book recs, at no extra cost to you!