Unabridged: A Book Podcast

Book Club

Episodes

Wednesday Sep 27, 2023


What do you know about Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic? For our September book club pick, Jen and Ashley discuss Julia Alvarez's classic book In the Time of the Butterflies (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), which is a historical fictional account of the four Mirabal sisters.
 
We also share our pairings including Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Daniel José Older’s The Book of Lost Saints (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). Celeste Ng's Our Missing Hearts (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), which we read as our January 2023 book club pick and discussed on episode 246, would also be an excellent near-future dystopian fiction pairing.
 
 
We're continuing our Patreon drive this season and appreciate our Unabridged Patreon Pals so very much. If you'd like to support us and get some extra Unabridged content each month, sign up today!
 
Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
 
 
Want to support Unabridged?
 
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. | Join our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. | Visit our curated list of books at Bookshop.org. | Become a patron on Patreon. | Check out our Merch Store. | Visit the resources available in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Wednesday Jun 28, 2023


Are you looking for a serial killer thriller with profound social commentary? Michael Bennett’s Better the Blood (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) is propulsive and leaves the reader with many things to consider.
 
For our June Unabridged book club, we're discussing Better the Blood, which is perfect for the 2023 Unabridged Reading Challenge, where it can cover categories including a mystery novel, a book by an indigenous author, and a book set in a country you'd like to visit (if New Zealand is on your list!).
 
 
We share our pairings as well, including Stephen Graham Jones’s The Only Good Indians (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Jane Harper’s The Dry (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm).
 
We're continuing our Patreon drive this summer and appreciate our Bookish Best Friends on Patreon so very much. If you'd like to support us and get some extra Unabridged content each month, sign up today!
 
Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
 
Want to support Unabridged?
 
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. | Join our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. | Visit our curated list of books at Bookshop.org. | Become a patron on Patreon. | Check out our Merch Store. | Visit the resources available in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Wednesday May 24, 2023


Are you looking for a compelling reimagining of The Little Mermaid? For our May 2023 Unabridged Book Club pick, we're discussing Natasha Bowen's Skin of the Sea. Jen and Ashley share our thoughts about this YA lit fantasy book.
 
We share our book pairings, including Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Rivers Solomon's The Deep, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm).
 
 
We are continuing with our Patreon campaign. Sign up today to support us and to get a bonus episode; those Patreon exclusives release on the first day of each month!
 
Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
 
 
Want to support Unabridged?
 
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. | Join our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. | Visit our curated list of books at Bookshop.org. | Become a patron on Patreon. | Check out our Merch Store. | Visit the resources available in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.
 

Wednesday Jan 25, 2023

Have you read this propulsive near future dystopian novel by podcast favorite Celeste Ng? To kick off the new year, we're pleased to share our thoughts on our first book club pick of 2023, Celeste Ng's Our Missing Hearts (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm). We also include our pairings, Valeria Luiselli’s Lost Children Archive (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Veronica Roth’s Poster Girl (Bookshop.org).
We're discussing this one on Instagram on January 30th at 8 PM EST, so message us if you'd like to join us! We continue to share bonus episodes on Patreon with at least one new episode each month; $5 of support gives you access to those bonus episodes. We appreciate it!
 
Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. | Join our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. | Visit our curated list of books at Bookshop.org. | Become a patron on Patreon. | Check out our Merch Store. | Visit the resources available in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Wednesday Aug 05, 2020

In this Unabridged Book Club discussion, we talk about Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. This phenomenal book is a remix for young people of Kendi’s original Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, and we all felt that it was a phenomenal read and is such a great fit for the classroom.
 
Bookish Check-In
Ashley - Tiffany D. Jackson’s Monday’s Not ComingJen - Robert Kolker’s Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American FamilySara - Sheila Williams’s The Secret Women 
 
Book Pairings
 
Ashley - Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele’s When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
Jen - Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
Sara - Nic Stone’s Dear Martin and Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer
 
Give Me One - Favorite Dessert
 
Ashley - Oreo Ice Cream Dessert (This recipe is similar to the handwritten one I have)
Jen - Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Sara - Ice cream, but Sara also recommends Monster Cookie Dough Dip
 
Other Mentions
 
Tiffany D. Jackson's Allegedly
Jamie Golden with The Popcast
@readwithtoni buddy read for Hidden Valley Road (Don't miss our episode with Toni!)
the Hamilton musical
Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy
Unabridged Episode - Great Books for the Classroom Written by Black Authors
Revisionist History episode, "The Lady Vanishes" (Note: In the episode, Jen mentions a Freakonomics episode about the Prime Minister of New Zealand and says she'll check on the link. This episode of Revisionist History, about the Prime Minister of Australia, is the correct reference.)
Ibram X. Kendi's interview on Armchair Expert
 
Click here for a full transcript that you can read while listening, provided by otter.ai.
 
Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
 
Want to support Unabridged?
 
Check out our Merch Store!Become a patron on Patreon.​
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.
Like and follow our Facebook Page.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Check out our Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.
Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on Apple Podcasts or on Stitcher.
Check us out on Podbean.

Friday Feb 02, 2018

Timeline
*Introduction and Summary of the Book: 0:00-00:54
*Main Discussion: 00:54-37:15
*​Book Pairings: 37:20-47:50
*Classroom Connections: 47:50-50:07
 
Book Pairings
*Sara - Jennifer Brown's The Hate List
*Jen - Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids
*Ashley - Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar
*Jenni - Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians
 
Want to Support Unabridged?
*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.
*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.
*Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.
*Check us out on Podbean.

Friday Feb 02, 2018

NOTE: Spoilers are inevitable throughout our discussion, so consider whether or not to listen if you haven't yet read the book!
timeline
*Introduction and Summary of the Book: 0:00-1:01
*Main Discussion: 1:02-19:35
​*Book Pairings: 19:51-27:00
*Classroom Connections: 27:01-30:05
book pairings
*Jen - Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
*Ashley - Peter Heller's The Dog Stars
*Sara - Fannie Flagg's Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
*Jenni - Julie Kibler's Calling Me Home
 
want to support unabridged?
*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Instagram.
*Follow us @unabridgedpod on Twitter.
*Subscribe to our podcast and rate us on iTunes or on Stitcher.
*Check us out on Podbean.

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