Lisa discusses The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. This book was awarded the Booker Prize in 2022, which is one of the most prestigious literature awards internationally.

Other books discussed:

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Lisa discusses None of This is True by Lisa Jewell, which is a thriller, but Lisa discusses how it is more of a slow-burn than a thriller and the title certainly sets you up for some predictable events.

Books discussed:

The Last House on Needless Street By Catriona Ward

Lisa discusses The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, which is a historical fiction book about Martha Ballard, who was a real midwife, who delivered more than 800 babies. The book is fiction, but Martha wrote a journal for more than 25 years.

A Midwife's Tale, the Life of Martha Ballard – based on the diary 1785 to 1812.

For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website.

Lisa and Boston artist Julia Purdy discuss Still Life by Louise Penny, the first Inspector Gamache series. This was published in 2005 and there are 18 books in this series. It is an internationally recognized series.

This article in Vox discusses how Louise Penny has perfected the literary genre with combining murder mysteries in a small town idyllic town filled with artists.

Julia is an artist and you can find her on her website or on Instagram.

Books Discussed on this show:

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Sankofa by Chibunduy Onuzo

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

The Rise of Wolf Eight by Rick McIntyre

For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website.

*The book titles mentioned include affiliate links. You can support the podcast by purchasing a book with the links because the podcast receives compensation.

Lisa discusses the popular memoir Be Ready When The Luck Happens by Ina Garten. Garten is a longtime Food Network star and and Instagram star. She delves into her career, and talks a great deal about real estate.

This blog post from Eater describes how much of Garten’s “luck” is really more related to privilege and wealth. She’s able to make many decisions because of her wealth. She quits a job at the White House to purchase the Barefoot Contessa.

Other books discussed:

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

Finding Me by Viola Davis

For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website.

Lisa discusses 10 books that will be released in 2025 that she thinks should be ones you consider for different reasons. Some are very popular authors and some are quite uniqute.

Here’s the list of books that Lisa suggests you consider reading this year.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates

Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Listeners by Maggie Siefvater

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

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Lisa discusses and ranks the books she read in January from least favorite to most favorite. And, she discusses three books that will be released this year, that she believes will be super popular.

Books discussed:

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrew

Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II (Scholastic Focus) by Candace Fleming

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection by John Green

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Lisa discusses Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. This was published in 2021 and brings together a wide range of characters ranging from Constantinople 1453 to Idaho in 2020. These characters will ultimately be connected by the fictional book Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Books discussed:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Overstory by Richard Powers

For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website.