On this episode, Katie Blechle, a mom and educator, talks about her true love of reading over TV, how she incorporates reading into her life as a mom, and the books about strong women that she really loves. We also go down a shared rabbit hole that’s one of my absolute favorite non-book topics.

Follow Katie on Instagram

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Books Highlighted by Katie:

The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile & Ian Morgan Cron

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Reckless Girls by Rachel hawkins

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

The Peaceful Parenting Revolution by Kiva Schuler

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

On this episode, Melissa Joulwan, author and co-host of the podcast Strong Sense of Place, discusses the way her personal reading life and work for the show overlap. We talk about her deep and varied book preferences, our shared love for diving deep into a backlist, and you get to hear the fabulous way she describes the books she loves.

Strong Sense of Place website

https://strongsenseofplace.com

For the podcast, extensive show notes, book lists, and travel tips and photos.

For people new to the show, this is a good place to start:

https://strongsenseofplace.com/welcome

Substack

https://strongsenseofplace.substack.com/

Free newsletter with photos and book recommendations, behind-the-scenes stories, secret recipes, inspiring ideas, and (sometimes) silly stuff.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

Books Highlighted by Melissa:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A Room with a View by E.M. Forester

The Inn at Lake Divine by Elinor Lipman

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Circe by Madeline Miller

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

The Trick by Emanuel Bergman

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Odds Against by Dick Francis

Dietland by Sarai Walker

Piglet by Lottie Hazell

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Well Fed Weeknights by Melissa Joulwan

Rollergirl by Melissa Joulwan

The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Carmilla by Joseph Sherican Le Fanu

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

The Way Men Act by Elinor Lipman

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

On this episode, Samiksha Gaur, a mom and baker who has found herself enjoying dark romance recently, talks to me about her life engaging with bookish social media. We talk about a bunch of series that she loves, how she got back into reading later in life, and we give a big shoutout to Tanima Kazi for getting us connected!

Follow Samiksha on Instagram

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

New People by Danzy Senna

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

Books Highlighted by Samiksha:

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie Series #1) by J. Bree

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR Series #1) by Sarah J. Maas

The Kat Bunglar by Tanima Kazi

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Quicksilver by Callie Heart

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Lady Iris’s Lover by Kelsey Painter

Mindf*ck by S.T. Abby

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Famous Five by Beja & Nataël

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

Goosebumps by R.L. Stine

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Never Lie by Frieda McFadden

There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

On this episode, Jess Abra Sandy, a self-described lapsed opera singer and cyber security expert talks about how poetry has provided for her in different ways as her seasons of life change. We also talk about books that make us want to throw them across the room, how her reading life has changed as her kid has grown, and Jess shares a lot of very insightful thoughts about the reading life.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

Devil House by John Darnielle

Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet

Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson

Books Highlighted by Jess:

What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland

Priest, Turned Therapist, Treats Fear of God by Tony Hoagland

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

I Sailed with Magellan by Stuart Dybek

The Ocean in the Next Room by Sarah V. Schweig

Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

My World - And Welcome to It by James Thurber

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Nancy Drew #1: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

The Wasteland, Prufrock, and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop & Amy Sherman-Palladino

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Midwest Shreds by Mandy Shunnarah

Good Bones by Maggie Smith

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

On this episode, Caroline Pilman, a fellow Chicago Public Schools teacher, and I discuss the many ways of reading, all of which are acceptable. We also discuss a shared pet peeve in children’s literature, how a seasonal career can affect the reading life, and how Chicago Public Schools does one thing right.

American Library Association Lists

CPS Battle of the Books 2025

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck

Devil House by John Darnielle

Books Highlighted by Caroline:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Kristy’s Great Idea (The Babysitters Club #1) by Ann M. Martin

The Giver by Lois Lowry

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson

On this episode, Meara McNitt, a social media professional who loves stories of all types, discusses her love for all kinds of books, including an interest that her friends suggest she doesn’t yell about in the bookstore. She talks about a lot of books that haven’t appeared on the show yet and I go on a bit of a rant about one of my favorite hot takes.

Meara on TikTok

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

Books Highlighted by Meara:

Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Matched by Ally Condie

Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots: Bailey School Kids #1 by Debbie Dadey

Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz & Stephen Gammell

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Hose of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

The Belladonna Collection by Adalyn Grace

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Severance by Ling Ma

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

1984 by George Orwell

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984 by Sandra Newman

On this episode, Austin Waters, a friend of mine from high school, describes how he has had lots of experience with many different types of reading and writing. We discuss reading plays, how we read so many good books in high school, and how competition in reading can be detrimental.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Books Highlighted by Austin:

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Assata: an Autobiography by Assata Shakur

Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun

There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon

Someone Like You by Roald Dahl

My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner

Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live by Rob Dunn

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Educated by Tara Westover

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson & GB Trudeau

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

Decoded by Jay-Z

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Martin McDonagh

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

The Epic of Gilgamesh trans. Andrew George

Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

The Odyssey by Homer

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

On The Calculation of Volume Book I by Solvej Balle, trans. Barbara J. Haveland

House of Fury by Evelio Rosero, trans. Victor Meadowcroft

On The Clock by Claire Baglin, trans. Jordan Stump

On this episode, Chelsey Stone, a freelance writer and book tour leader, describes herself as someone who reads to learn. She brings a lot of really great non-fiction books to the show, and while some of them can be a bit of a bummer, these books help Chelsey learn more about herself and the world while facing reality through reading.

NatGeo article about the Chicago River

Read and Run on the Road in DC

Guided Tour of Lemont’s Waterways

Book Talk and Signing for The Kat Bunglar with Tanima Kazi

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Books Highlighted by:

Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barabara Demick

The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of WWII by Iris Chang

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

How to Read a Book by Charles Van Doren and Mortimer J. Adler

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

Instagram for Dummies by Corey Walker, et al

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck

Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

The Address Book by Deirdre Mask

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse by Tara Nurin & Teri Fahrendorf

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler