Books with Betsy

On this episode, Betsy Cornwell, author and founder of the Old Knitting Factory, talks about how she has been able to make her life all about words and supporting that in others. She talks about how meaningful physical books are to her, the series she is constantly rereading, and we find some shared Betsy habits.    Ring of Salt: A Memoir of Finding Home and Hope on the Wild Coast of Ireland betsycornwell.com oldknittingfactory.com   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Sky Daddy by Kate Folk The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day   Books Highlighted by Betsy:  I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Fingersmith by Sarah Waters On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman The Time-Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffinegger Deerskin by Robin McKinley Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire What It Is by Lynda Barry The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett  Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett The Skull by Jon Klassen   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle  The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Tides by Betsy Cornwell  Suffs by Shaina Taub & Betsy Cornwell  Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Beauty by Robin McKinley Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett The Truth by Terry Pratchett  I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl

On this episode, Katie Erdman, a lifelong reader who finds comfort in books, talks about the mystery series she particularly loves, ways that technology have made her reading life better and funnier, and she tells a great story about her Aunt Jan and Grandma doing her a reading solid.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay  The Mad Wife by Meagan Church Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo    Books Highlighted by Katie:  Attachments by Rainbow Rowell  Binti by Nnedi Okorafor Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid  Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini  The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson  Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell  Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Bossed Up: A Grown Woman’s Guide to Getting Your Shit Together by Emilie Aries  And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annier Barrows  Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear  Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore  One for the Money by Janet Evanovich  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  The Women by Kristin Hannah  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah  It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey  Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 

On this episode, Rachel Turney, host of Poetry (in Brief), talks about how she has developed a reading life full of just what she wants to read, how important women’s voices are to her, and she gives some really great small press recommendations.    Rachel’s Website    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay    Books Highlighted by Rachel:  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus  Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid  Birds of America by Chera Hammons Eve by B.K. O’Connor Another Place All Together by Candice M. Kelsey Watership Down by Richard Adams The Wrong Heaven by Amy Bonnaffons    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis The Crucible by Arthur Miller  Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes  The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory  Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

On this episode, Jabril Yousef Faraj, author of the Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks, a young adult fantasy series, talks about their inspiration from their favorite books, why it’s so important to have stories that children can see themselves in, and what reading can do for humanity.    Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks Jabril’s Author Site Jabril on YouTube    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  John of John by Douglas Stuart  Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata   Books Highlighted by Jabril:  The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis  1984 by George Orwell  Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov  Rosehead by Ksenia Anske  The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad  Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs  The Odyssey by Homer  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis  Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift  Teddy Roosevelt by Edd Winfield Parks & Gray Morrow  Twilight by Stephanie Meyer  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens  The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley  The Giver by Lois Lowry  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle  Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card  Xenocide by Orson Scott Card  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins  Animal Farm by George Orwell 

On this episode, Dan Santaromita, sports journalist with the Athletic, talks about his love for autobiographies, how reading for work affects recreational reading, and his birthday tradition centered on his ideal reading scenario. We also talk about his favorite writer, Wright Thompson.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie  The Names by Florence Knapp  John of John by Douglas Stuart    Books Highlighted by Dan:  Open by Andre Agassi  I Think Therefore I Play by Andrea Pirlo The 100-Yard Journey by Gary Pinkel  The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss Wright Thompson’s Caitlyn Clark Profile  The Cost of These Dreams by Wright Thompson  The Barn by Wright Thompson Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir  Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis  Acid for the Children by Flea Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Pappyland by Wright Thompson  The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss The Messi Effect by Paul Tenorio  One Jump at a Time by Nathan Chen  The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey & Pete Carroll  Alex Ferguson by Sir Alex Ferguson Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier  Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker  Among the Thugs by Bill Buford  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell  Moneyball by Michael Lewis  London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe  Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe  Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

On this episode, Sam Ali, @readwithsama on instagram, talks about how she is developing a love of reading in her daughter, recommends some amazing Canadian books, and we gush about our shared love of awards. We talk about how it can be hard to be readers with wide interests when you have so many great books available to you!   Sam on Instagram    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey  The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward   Books Highlighted by Sam:  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte  Pachinko by Min Jin Lee  We Measure the Earth with our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy  Astra by Cedar Bowers A History of Burning by Janika Oza The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar Almond by Won-pyung Sohn   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Salt Houses by Hala Alyan  The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan  Whistler by Ann Patchett  Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin  Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy  Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy  A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas  Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa  How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

On this episode, David Nilsen & Emily Swank, hosts of the HopLit podcast, talk about their work combining their love for beer and books. We also talk a lot about awards, get a little spicy making a literary and beer comparison, and they share some great reading habits you might connect with!    HopLit Podcast  David Nilsen Beer Bean to Barstool Final Gravity, a Beer Zine  David on Instagram  Emily on Instagram    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Land by Maggie O’Farrell  All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker   Books Highlighted by Emily:  Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides  American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid  Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy The Sentence by Louise Erdrich Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk   One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad    Books Highlighted by David: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Watership Down by Richard Adams  Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden  The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden  The Summer is Ended and We are Not Yet Saved by Joey Comeau They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Copywriter by Daniel Poppick  Dracula by Bram Stoker Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo  Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones  Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry  Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski  The Odyssey by Homer  Angel Down by Daniel Kraus  A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Less by Andrew Sean Greer  Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips  Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur  The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich  The Testaments by Margaret Atwood  Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 

On this episode, Tatiana, a recent graduate, talks about how she’s renewing her love of reading after finishing school, her blog focusing on making scientific research accessible, and the ways that books have met her in exactly the right time.    Tatiana’s Blog  Tatiana on Instagram    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig  Super Castle Fun Park by Daniel Zomparelli   Books Highlighted by Tatiana: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Butter by Asako Yuzuki  The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King  Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner  Pet Sematary by Stephen King

On this episode, Kate Sutton, owner of the Lit Wagon in the Chicago area, talks about how she brings books to people all over the city, how her work as a therapist influences her book choices, and the kinds of emotional wreckage she expects from a read. She also gives tips on how to be a good customer of the Lit Wagon!    Follow the Lit Wagon   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly    Books Highlighted by Kate: The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman  All Fours by Mrianda July  Fractured by C.S. Dodds Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy  Birdie and Harlow by Taylor Wolfe The Best Dog in the World by Alice Hoffman  Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin  Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey & Bruce Perry  The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff  Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green  While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Rainbabies by Laura Krauss Melmed The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney  Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 

On this episode, Grace Hughes, author and avid fantasy reader, discusses her specific criteria for naming genres, how her work as a writer affects her reading life, and we talk about a lot of fantasy series. If you’re ready to pick up a fantastical tome, this episode has a lot of recommendations.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Canon by Paige Lewis  Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe   Books Highlighted by Grace: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson Vinyl Cafe Unplugged by Stuart McLean Deep End by Ali Hazelwood The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig  When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova  Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari  One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon  Alchemisd by SenLinYu  Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas  Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig  The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien  A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas  The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski  American Gods by Neil Gaiman  The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones