Virginia Festival of the Book (Jason Reynolds, Laurie Halse Anderson, and more!) - Loving Every Minute

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we focus on our field trip to the Virginia Festival of the Book, held in Charlottesville, VA, from March 20-24. We offer our impressions of four sessions, including a dream conversation between Jason Reynolds and Laurie Halse Anderson and a serendipitous afternoon when we got to see the April Book Club Book authors Beth Macy (with Chris McGreal) and Jarrett Krosoczka in back-to-back sessions.You can find out more information about the annual festival here.
 
timeline
*American Addictions: Our Opioids Crisis: 00:00 - 11:31
*Carol Troxell Reader: Jarrett Krosoczka: 11:31 - 17:51
*Hate / Speech: Confronting Discrimination with Free Expression: 17:51 - 29:07
*Writing Tough Topics with Laurie Halse Anderson and Jason Reynolds: 29:07 - 43:17
books mentioned from VA Festival of the Book Authors 
*Beth Macy's Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
*Chris McGreal's American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts 
*Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction
*Arjun Sethi's American Hate: Survivors Speak Out
*Nadine Strossen's Hate Speech: Why We Should Resist it with Free Speech, Not Censorship
*Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout
*Jason Reynolds's Track series
other mentions 
*Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Check out what's coming up next.
 
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I Love to Eat! -- Cookbooks and Books about Food

In this short Unabridged podcast episode, we share some of our favorite cookbooks and books about food. Each of us talks about how much cooking she does in her home (spoiler alert: one of us just doesn't cook). We also take on how working toward minimalism impacts our cookbook collections.Our choices range from memoir to investigative nonfiction to the plain old cookboook. ​We'd love to hear about your food-related recommendations on social media!
 
our recommendations
Ashley 
*Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
*Archana Mundhe's The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook  ​
*​Irma S. Raumbauer's Joy of Cooking
 
Jen
*Bianca Bosker’s Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste ​
*Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen 
*Elizabeth Bard’s Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes
 
Sara 
*Melissa Joulwan's Well Fed Weeknights: Complete Paleo Meals in 45 Minutes or Less
*​Jennifer Reese's Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should (and Shouldn't) Cook from Scratch to Save Time and Money
*Michelle Smith's The Whole Smiths Good Food Cookbook: Whole30 Endorsed, Delicious Real Food Recipes to Cook All Year Long 
also mentioned
*Moosewood Cooks Website
*Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
*What's Cooking in Japan?: Healthy Homestyle Recipes Cooked the Kikkoman Way
*Naomi Kijima and Laura Driussi's Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go
*​Tokiko Suzuki's Japanese Homestyle Cooking
*Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
*Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
 ​
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Beth Macy's DOPESICK and Jarrett Krosoczka's HEY KIDDO - Obviously, We Read Both

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we talk about two books that look at drug addiction and its impact on families. Beth Macy's nonfiction book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America shows the bleak situation of the opioid crisis in America by focusing on the situation within three communities along I-81, the "Heroin Highway" in Virginia. Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction is a graphic memoir portraying Krosoczka's own experiences growing up as the son of a heroin addict who continued using throughout his adolescence. 
Spoilers are inevitable throughout our Book Club discussion, so consider whether or not to listen if you haven't yet read the books Dopesick and Hey, Kiddo!​timeline
*Introduction: 00:00 - 02:13
*Dopesick: 02:13 - 49:58
*Hey Kiddo: 50:10 - 70:40
*​Book Pairings: 70:50 - 85:49
*Classroom Connections: 85:50 - 91:33
book pairings 
*Ashley - When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullers and Asha Bandele and Blankets by Craig Thompson
*Jen - David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction and Nic Sheff’s Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines
*Sara - Ellen Hopkins's Crank (Glass and Fallout are the second and third in the trilogy) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls 
other mentions 
*Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
*Chris McGreal's American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts
*Netflix's One Day at a Time series
*Yara Zgheib's The Girls at 17 Swann Street
Check out what's coming up next.
 
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I'm Over Here Having a Little Personal Celebration - YA TBR Update

In this podcast episode, we return to our TBR lists for YA Literature that we discussed in Episode 47. Interested in listening to that short episode first? Listen to that episode here.
 
the YA books we read from our TBR lists
*Ashley 
-- Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die
​*Jen
-- Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series
-- Neil Shusterman's Scythe 
*Sara 
-- Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before series
-- To All the Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix
 
also mentioned
-- Neal Shusterman's Dry
-- Tahereh Mafi's A Very Large Expanse of Sea
 
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Interview with Nadine Brandes, Author of ROMANOV - That Was Really Captivating

In this Unabridged Podcast episode, the Unabridged team had an amazing opportunity to interview Nadine Brandes about her upcoming publication, the YA historical fiction novel Romanov. Nadine is the author of Fawkes, the Out of Time series, and Romanov, which will be published on May 7th.​Sara, Jen, and Ashley all read Romanov and were thrilled to have an opportunity to discuss the work, and writing in general, with Nadine. 
 
discussion
*Our Interview Discussion: 0:00 - 24:07
 
​mentions 
*Romanov by Nadine Brandes
*Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
*The Out of Time Series (A Time to Die, A Time to Speak, and A Time to Rise by Nadine Brandes)
 
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DUMPLIN' Book to Film Adaptation - Different Ways to Be

In this Unabridged Shorts episode, we discuss the Netflix adaptation of Julie Murphy's Dumplin'. If you'd like to listen to our episode gushing about how much we loved the book, click here!  ​A quote from the book and one of our favorite scenes:“There’s nothing good about losing someone,” [Lee] says. “But maybe Lucy wasn’t supposed to be your compass forever. Maybe she was there for you just long enough so you could learn how to be your own compass and find your own way.” She winks at me. “The universe is a strange thing.”
 
mentioned in episode
Julie Murphy's Dumplin' (the book)
Dumplin' (film)
​​Check out what's coming up next.
 
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Julie Murphy's DUMPLIN' - Finding Your Own Way

In this Unabridged Book Club episode, we discuss Julie Murphy's YA lit novel, Dumplin'. When “self-proclaimed fat girl” Willowdean Dickson decides to shake things up in her small town by entering her former beauty queen mother’s beloved beauty pageant, she learns more about herself than she anticipates.“I think you gotta be who you want to be until you feel like you are whoever it is you're trying to become. Sometimes half of doing something is pretending that you can.”
Spoilers are inevitable throughout our book club discussion, so consider whether or not to listen if you haven't yet read the book Dumplin'!​timeline
*Introduction and Summary of the Book: 00:00 - 01:30
*Main Discussion: 01:30 - 42:40
*​Book Pairings: 42:50 - 49:24
*Classroom Connections: 49:24 - 56:36
book pairings 
*Ashley - Dhonielle Clayton's The Belles
*Jen - Isabel Quintero’s Gabi, a Girl in Pieces
*Sara - Sharon Huss Roat's How to Disappear
other mentions 
*Erin Jade Lange's Butter
*Jennifer Niven's Holding Up the Universe
*Carolyn Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
*Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls
*A. S. King's Reality Boy
*A. S. King's Everybody Sees the Ants
Check out what's coming up next.
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Nikki Giovanni at Bridgewater College - So Masterful (Short)

discussion
*Our reflections on the evening: 0:00 - 12:59
 
mentions 
*A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter by Nikki Giovanni
 
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Ibi Zoboi's PRIDE and AMERICAN STREET: Cherishing Culture (Highlight)

We worked hard to avoid spoilers in this #unabridgedhighlights episode; see the timeline below to avoid spoilers in American Street. If you haven't read them yet, check out Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix and American Street by Ibi Zoboi!​timeline
*Introduction and Overview of Episode: 0:00 - 01:26
*Discussion of Pride: 01:26 - 19:30
*Classroom Connections: 19:30 - 21:33
*Discussion of American Street: 21:33 - 51:53 --> Spoilers beginning 37:35
*Classroom Connections: 51:53 - 53:32
other mentions 
*Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice 
*Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give​​
*Sonia Nazario's Enrique's Journey
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Love Is in the Air - Romantic Books to Read in February (Short)

​In this Unabridged Shorts podcast episode, we discuss our favorite love stories within novels.​Some of our favorite authors who write romantic characters (or characters with amazing love stories) include Rainbow Rowell, Leigh Bardugo, and Dane Huckelbridge.We discussed the novels based on levels of steaminess. For more recommendations grouped by "steam" level, check out our social media! 
 
our favorite love stories
Ashley - 
*Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On
*Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga graphic novel series
*Marissa Meyer’s Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles series)
*Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
​
Jen -
*Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl
*L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series
*Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series (Book #1)
*Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game
 
Sara - 
*Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park
*Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date
*Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient
*Dane Huckelbridge’s Castle of Water 
 
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