Best Book Ever Podcast

My dear friend Mark Lefebvre is back this week to teach me all about Canadian Literature, eh? Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Mark Lefebvre Website/Instagram   Editor: Emily Zumchak Website/Email   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   Bob and Doug McKenzie The Handmaids Tale and Others by Margaret Atwood Louise Penny The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis World of Wonders by Robertson Davies Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison Farley Mowat To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice A Matter of Will by Rod Carley Kinmount by Rod Carley Lives of Girls and Women and Others by Alice Munroe Steven Leacock The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot The Embroidered Book by Kate Hartfield The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee Changing Vision by Julie E. Czerneda Flash Forward Robert J Sawyer Flashforward TV series Rollback by Robert J Sawyer Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner Eden’s Eyes by Sean Costello Death Drives a Semi by Edo Van Belkom The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart Samantha M. Bailey Giles Blunt Michael Connolly Linwood Barclay Into The Fire by Rick Mofina Hollow Place by Rick Mofina Requiem by Rick Mofina Canadian Werewolf Series The Line Painter by Claire Cameron The Bear by Claire Cameron The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan The Color of Heaven by Julianne McClain Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphries Someday I’ll Find You by C.C. Humphries Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill Scott Overton   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

10/16/23 • 31:00

This week's guest is one of my favorite readers, writers and humans on the planet: Mark Lefebvre. Mark has been pushing Terry Fallis' books on me practically since we met, and I'm so glad I finally took his advice. We had a great time discussing political satire, reading slumps, and the differences between American and Canadian humor sensibilities. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Mark Lefebvre Website/Instagram   Editor: Emily Zumchak Website/Email   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time. Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list. Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode: The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis Earth Abides by George R. Stewart BBE Episode 009 Mark Lefebvre on Earth Abides BBE Episode 058 Mark Lefebvre on Traveling Music by Neil Peart (this is one of those very rare occasions when Mark and I disagreed about a book, and let me tell you, my friends: saying something negative about Neil Peart in front of Mark Lefebvre was the riskiest thing I have ever done in my life. I am so brave.)  Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger BBE Episode 010 Casey Starnes on Catcher in the Rye Titles Bookstore at McMaster University High Spirits by Robertson Davies John Irving Steven Leacock McClelland and Stewart Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw My Fair Lady (1964) Best Laid Plans TV Show Dennis Hamill Operation Angus by Terry Fallis No Relation by Terry Fallis Up and Down by Terry Fallis Poles Apart by Terry Follis The Candidate (1972) Three Cheers For Me by Donald Jack The Long Way Back by Nicole Bart Number One is Walking by Steve Martin Harry Bliss The Canadian Mounted by Mark Leslie Edo Van Belkom Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

10/2/23 • 27:15

This week I'm so delighted for you to meet Kate Reynolds, also known as The Lavender Librarian. Kate is a passionate advocate of inclusive storytimes for children, and she has some innovative ideas for how to share reading time with kids.  I was initially hesitant when Kate suggested we read a children's book for this episode - afraid that we wouldn't have enough to talk about to fill the half hour. But I was so, so wrong. Talking to librarians is always a wonderful experience, but talking to this particular one about this particular book was extra-specially magic.  Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Kate Reynolds Instagram/Facebook/Youtube   Storytime Solidarity - Website/Patreon/Facebook Group   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list. Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond   Roald Dahl The Babysitters Club Beverly Cleary Mr. Rogers Sharon, Lois and Bram Sandwiches by Fred Penner Je suis une Pizza by Charlotte Diamond 123 Andres Jim Gill Little Miss Anne Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison Mouse by Art Spiegelman And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Tiffany Hammond’s Instagram   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

9/18/23 • 32:12

Today I am joined by Lisa Petersen, my dear friend since college. We agreed to spend the summer revisiting our favorite childhood classics by Judy Blume, and now we’re back to discuss our feelings about the books as children vs. as adults. Along the way, we talked about banned books and parenting, and how our love for Judy Blume has carried us through the years.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Lisa Petersen Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   Judy Blume The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling The Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume Blubber by Judy Blume Deenie by Judy Blume Forever by Judy Blume It’s Not the End of the World by Judy Blume Judy Blume Forever - 2023 film Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret - 2023 film Terry Gross Interview In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume You’ve Got Mail - 1998 film Also, for fun: 87 Books Featured in “You’ve Got Mail” A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

9/11/23 • 31:31

Yolanda Skeete, an avid reader and co-host of Thrillers by the Book Club SoCal, is back on the show with our book club pal Vanessa Vicente. Yolanda and Vanessa are both bookstagrammers living in Southern California who love to review thrillers, nonfiction, romance, and other genres. As mothers ourselves, we have a lot to say about the 2022 Science Fiction novel “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan. In this episode, we talk about our experiences, hardships, and joys as mothers, and the discussion ranges from KidLit to Black Mirror to Michelle Obama to questions like “Why aren’t moms allowed to be sexy??”   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Yolanda Skeete Instagram    Guest: Vanessa Vicente Instagram Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022 Maribel’s Year and Others by Michelle Sterling Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds The Couch Potato by Jory John The Bad Seed by Jory John Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Harambe Black Mirror TV Show The Sitting Month The Drowning Woman by Robin Harding Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen Judy Blume Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Movie Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Drowning by T.J. Newman   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

9/4/23 • 50:23

If you have not yet experienced the joy of the "Court of Thorns and Roses" fandom, we are going to fix that today.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest Panel:   Victoria Snow Instagram   Fareya Instagram/TikTok/Goodreads   Nicole Burton Instagram/Goodreads     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Wings and ruin (ACOWAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOFAS) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas ACOTAR Wiki Emma Petersen mentioned the ACOTAR books as “bird porn” when she appeared on the podcast to talk about Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang on Episode 138 A Court of Tattoos and Rosé podcast Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi House of Earth and Blood: Book one of the Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas @Kaykaysbookshelf (an awesome bookstagram account – scroll her saved stories for Sarah J. Mass mini-guides [spoiler free], maps, glossaries, etc. Her account is well worth a visit if you are a fan. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Daughter of the Moon Goddess: A Fantasy Romance Novel by Sue Lynn Tan Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes (a Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

7/3/23 • 44:34

Today I've got my first "three-peat" guest, Marion Hill. Just like in our two previous conversations, Marion introduced me to a book that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, that I sort of dreaded reading, and that I wound up loving and thinking about nonstop after I finished!   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Marion Hill Website/Instagram   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   The Book of Strange new Things by Michel Faber The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende Eva Luna: A Novel by Isabel Allende   Marion’s previous picks on the podcast Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint, which we talked about on Episode 008 Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which we talked about on Episode 083   The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell Gilead by Marilyn Robinson Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas The Sportswriter: Bascombe Trilogy 1 by Richard Ford Independence Day: Bascombe Trilogy 2 by Richard Ford The Lay of the Land: Bascombe Trilogy 3 by Richard Ford Let Me Be Frank with You: A Frank Bascombe Book by Richard Ford Be Mine: A Frank Bascombe Novel by Richard Ford The Kammbia Series by Marion Hill Marion’s 25 by Marion Hill Marion’s 25 Volume II by Marion Hill   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

6/26/23 • 36:04

Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Ambika Devi Website/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins Fun With Dick and Jane Lilith by Ambika Devi The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Cupid is a Bastard by Ambika Devi Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe Danielle Garrett Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore Artemis by Andy Weir The Martian by Andy Weir Project Hail Mary   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

6/19/23 • 32:47

My guest this week is my beautiful daughter Ella. Ella just finished a semester at the University of Leicester, where she studied the novels of Jane Austen, and we have been talking nonstop about the books versus the movie adaptations, as well as feminism in Jane Austens books, and whether or not Harry Styles can smolder. It's a journey. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Ella Strauss   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   1st Annual Kids/YA Episode when Ella told me about Kate Atkinson Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Clueless Movie Bride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility Movie A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft Here comes the smolder – from “Tangled” Derek Zoolander’s “Blue Steel” Here is the Mr. Darcy hand flex scene that all the kids are weirdly obsessed with We Were Liars by E. Lockhart The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird Eve Ensler Colleen Hoover Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Bunny: A Novel by Mona Awad   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

6/12/23 • 28:30

My mom is the reason I’m a reader and today she joined me to talk books. She surprised me by choosing a cookbook (she and I are both fiction junkies) but The Pat Conroy Cookbook made for a great chat. We also talked about how we both cut our teeth on trashy novels and the joys of re-reading favorite books. She even spilled some tea about her book club! Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Betsy Dunn   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   The Pat Conroy Cookbook by Pat Conroy The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope (this is just one in a whole series of Bobbsey Twins adventures) Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene The Red Tent by Anita Diamant The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Beach Music by Pat Conroy The Great Santini by Pat Conroy The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy Carlsbad Aquafarm Beaufort, South Carolina really does look like a lovely town Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home by Ina Garten Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguingnon Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King The Water is Wide: A Memoir by Pat Conroy The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian Midwives by Chris Bohjalian Horse by Geraldine Brooks Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

6/5/23 • 34:54

Y'all already know how much I love Canadians, and today you get to hear from one of my favorite ones.⁠ ⁠ I've previously interviewed Erin Walker before on Episode 101: Cookbook-Palooza with the women of the Three Kitchens Podcast. Their mission is to inspire fellow home cooks to try something new and have fun in the kitchen. They take a deep dive into a recipe, giving ideas and tips for making it, and they also talk to interesting guests from the food world.⁠ ⁠ Today I get a solo show with Erin, who is a mother, knitter, lover of the great outdoors and (of course) an avid reader. We talked about the book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing and let me tell you: this is a jaw-dropping story. Erin is the type of human who likes to do treacherous, outdoorsy things, and I am the type of human who only goes outside to acquire more books. But we agree that this book, and the story of this particular adventurer, is an incredible read.⁠   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Erin Walker Instagram/Facebook/Website   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.       Discussed in this episode: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 049, when Ysaura Vanegas talked to me about The Alchemist) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters The Strangers by Katherena Vermette Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 024, when Jaimie Morimoto talked to me about Pride and Prejudice) The Promise by Damon Galgut (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 089, when Stephen Pelton talked to me about Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf,and we veered into a discussion about Damon Galgut’s books.) Hell of a Book by Jason Mott Endurance: My Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly More Than You’ll Ever Know by Kate Gutierrez Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 143, when Katy Leep Arditti talks to me about The House in the Cerulean Sea) Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 089, when Tori Snow talked to me about Hidden Valley Road) Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 110, when Jasmine Vyas talked to me about Tastes Like War). I was not able to do the Bosom Caresser Speakeasy Episode with the Three Kitchens Gals, but they did it, and it is wonderful. Check it out HERE!   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

5/30/23 • 44:36

It's just Julie this week, with an update about my absence and conversation about how my girlfriends have pulled me through this horrible season of life. Spoiler alert: they fed me tacos and wine and led me to the books that are helping me see things differently. As friends do! Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion This also exists as a stage play adaptation, performed on audiobook by Vanessa Redgrave Jaymi Couch, The OC Book Girl Instagram Jaymi’s newsletter, Let’s Read Nonfiction If you are a So Cal resident, don’t miss Jaymi’s amazing So Cal Reads Newsletter, where she links to author and reader events all over Southern California Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life by Michael Frame When Your Heart Says Go: My Year of Traveling Beyond Loss and Loneliness by Judy Reeves This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew by Daniel Wallace Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear  The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Bozoma Saint John What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love by Laurel Braitman   So Sorry for Your Loss: How I Learned to Live with Grief, and Other Grave Concerns by Dina Gachman  One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care by Chenxing Han  Everything All at Once: A Memoir by Stephanie Catudal  How to Say Goodbye by Wendy MacNaughton    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

5/22/23 • 09:18

  My beloved Katy Leep Arditti is back this week, with yet another book that ripped my beating heart straight out of my chest, and left me weeping on the bedroom floor in the wee hours of the night. In a good way. We also chatted about perfume and anxiety and book bans, and how this book needs to go to people who experience all three.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Katy Leep-Arditti Katy’s Bookstagram/Katy’s Perfume IG Account /Perfume TikTok Account     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   Katy’s last appearance on Best Book Ever Podcast The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Skylar Salt Air perfume Fog perfume by Henry Rose Noir Exquis by L’Artisan Perfumaire Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes     (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

4/17/23 • 37:11

I liked today’s book. And then I felt very weird that I liked it. Olivia Day, my guest who brought this confusing, twisty book into my life, is the co-host of the Thrillers by the Book Club pod. She is a long-time lover of thrillers, crime, and mystery stories, and a graduate of International Thriller Writer’s Online Thriller School. Despite the grim thesis of the book we are discussing, Olivia and I had a lot of laughs as we discussed this book. And we drew a pretty effective through-line between the books that represent women’s ultimate fantasies, whether they are sexual or, you know, murderous.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Olivia Day Instagram/Twitter   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast Chelsea Hofman on the Best Book Ever Podcast: Episode 137 and Episode 108 Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter They Never Learn by Layne Fargo Temper by Layne Fargo The Collective by Alison Gaylin The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine Best Book Ever Episode 013 Asha Sabella on The Last Mrs. Parrish Heartsick: A Thriller by Chelsea Cain What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

4/10/23 • 31:32

Lisa Marie Cabrelli is my dear friend and one of my favorite people on the planet to talk books with, because her insights always knock me out. She came back to the show today to talk about "In the Woods," the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French. Lisa Marie got me hooked on this series several years ago, and I love hearing her brilliant insights about why crime fiction reflects national identity. Tana French writes literary, thought-provoking genre fiction that is deeply immersive and, as I found out, gets even better on re-reads.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Lisa Marie Cabrelli Website/Instagram/Twitter     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   In the Woods by Tana French (Book 1 of the Dublin Murder Squad) Elizabeth George Listen to author Aime Austin talk to me about What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George in Episode 047 Ian Rankin The Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny Tana French’s Intimate Crime Fiction, by Laura Miller, the New Yorker, September 26, 2016 Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Ann Patchett’s bookstore, Parnassus Books This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Severance by Ling Ma Listen to Lisa Marie’s previous appearance on this podcast, when she talked about Severance on Episode 050 Read "The Descent" by Lisa Marie Cabrelli on Yonder   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

4/3/23 • 37:14

Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Dawn Raffel Website/Instagram/Twitter     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy How to Read War and Peace by Dawn Raffel Oprah Magazine, July 2006 (this article really makes me want to give it a shot…) Moby Dick by Herman Melville Middlemarch by George Eliot Boundless as the Sky by Dawn Raffel Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino The Strange Case of Dr. Couney by Dawn Raffel Grendel by John Gardner Beowulf by Seamus Heaney   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

3/27/23 • 28:43

Some of you may remember back in episode 107 when I had Maci Nelson on the show. Maci is an avowed bookworm – iand also the host of one of my favorite shows, the Landscape Nerd podcast, a fantastic resource for anyone who is interested in the outdoor world. You might think this is a niche interest of mine, since I’m a known garden geek, but what’s great about the Landscape Nerd is how Maci looks at all aspects of our outdoor spaces – not only which plants grow there, but how we use spaces, how we look at them, evne how they sound. I promise you, even if you are not particularly interested in gardening, you will learn something wonderful when you hear Maci talk to people who care about your landscape. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Maci Nelson Website/Instagram/Podcast   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode: Maci’s appearance on the Best Book Ever podcast, when we discussed “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones American Society of Botanical Artists The Art of Botanical Illustration, via Daily Art Magazine What is Botanical Illustration? via My Modern Met The Science of Art: Why Botanical Illustration Matters, via National Tropical Botanical Garden How Art Shapes Our Understanding of Plants and Reveals Wonders Photographs Can Miss, via National Geographic.co.uk Botanical Illustration is Becoming Endangered, But the Job is Essential, via the Washington Post (no paywall) Ode to Black Botanical Illustrators Decolonizing Botanical Illustration, via Draw Botanical Nirupa Rao: Discovering the Magical World of Botanical Illustration, via National Geographic Society An Nirupa Rao TED Talk: An Illustrated Kingdom of Real, Fantastical Plants ‘Plant Blindness’ is a Real Thing: Why It’s a Real Problem, Too, via The Conversation Draw Botanical.com   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

3/20/23 • 21:37

Emma Dayton Petersen  lives in NYC, and is working towards getting her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology. While studying, she works full time as a Client Success Manager for a life and career coaching company for creatives. She became interested in the field of speech and linguistics during her time as a theater student at CSU, Fullerton. Emma’s dream is to use performance and theater as a tool to help people with communicative disorders. Her love of language is what initially drew her to the short story, “Story of Your Life,” and we had a fascinating discussion about what language is, how we communicate, and if we’d want to know the future.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Emma Dayton Petersen Instagram   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (this is a book of short stories; the one we discussed today, ‘Story of Your Life’, is the story that the movie ‘Arrival’ is based on. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Arrival movie – this movie is also one of my all-time favorites! Untamed by Glennon Doyle The Best Short Stories 2022, The O. Henry Prize Winners, Edited by Valeria Luiselli The Strand Bookstore Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption edited by Daniel Jones Modern Love podcast From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

3/13/23 • 30:13

Today we welcome back my friend Chelsea Hofman of the Thrillers by the Book Club and Podcast. I think of all of my guest, Chelsea is probably the one whose tastes are the most polar opposite of mine. Thats why it's always such a blast talking to her. Today we discussed a book about murderous dolls that I shockingly did not hate!  Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Chelsea Hofman Instagram/Podcast   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix Thrillers by the Book Club Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast So, You’re Interested in Free Books episode of Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Corduroy by Don Freeman The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody by Shrill Travesty Super Scary Haunted Homeschool with Grady Hendrix The Last Word by Taylor Adams The Only One Left by Riley Sager Zero Days by Ruth Ware None of This is True by Lisa Jewell The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing What Remains by Wendy Walker The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

3/6/23 • 31:37

My friends, Covid finally caught up to me this week, and holy moly did it ever knock me on my on my butt. So, today I’m sharing a replay episode. This interview with Jeff Adams was one of my all time favorites - he’s a delightful human, a wonderful podcast host, and an incredibly voracious reader. The book we discussed, and this episode, have stuck with me ever since it aired. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Jeff Adams Website/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Big Gay Fiction Podcast/Big Gay Author Podcast Discussed in this episode: The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen (Part of the Ivy Years Series) New York City Gay Hockey Association Trouble Shooter Series by Suzanne Brockman (This is a 19-book series that begins with The Unsung Hero.) Love, Simon The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren St. Nachos by Z.A. Maxfield Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda The Extraordinaries by TJ Clune Camp by L.C. Rosen V.L. Losey (Romance author) RJ Scott (Romance author) The MM Author Podcast GRL – Gay Rom Lit Retreat They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall Love, Victor Finding Joy by Adriana Herrera The Dreamers Series Adriana Herrera Book 1: American Dreamer Book 2 American Fairytale Book 3: American Love Story Book 4: American Sweetheart The Hideaway Inn by Phillip William Stover The Hockey Player’s Heart by Jeff Adams and Will Knauss   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

2/27/23 • 37:27

A quick episode this week with updates about how you can support the podcast and links to what Julie has been reading on her own time recently.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram    Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE! Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time. Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list. Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.   Discussed in this episode:   Episode 118 Tyler Foley on “The Fool’s Progress” by Edward Abbey, still one of my favorite episodes even though I hated the book Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Episode 125 3rd Annual Kids/YA Gift Giving Guide The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides The Survivors by Jane Harper Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Jaymi Couch – Let’s Read Nonfiction   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

2/20/23 • 14:20

Douglas Bell is a former magician, engineer, and debut author of the novel “Cakewalk,” a novel about a cisgender man in Texas who falls in love with a transgender woman. Douglas and I talked about his unusual spiritual path, how one book changed his life outlook, and how meditation and reading are both paths to empathy. Douglas joined me to talk about Tessa Hadley’s luminous novel “Free Love,” a piercing domestic drama set in London, 1967. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Douglas Bell Website/Twitter/Instagram/Goodreads   Discussed in this episode: Free Love by Tessa Hadley The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by the Dalai Lama The Houston Zen Center Cakewalk by Douglas Bell The National Black Book Festival WriteFest Houston Save the Cat by Blake Snyder Bloomsday Literary The Enigma of Clarence Thomas by Corey Robin Writers and Lovers by Lily King Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters Married Love and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks Headspace   Side note from Julie: Here are two books about meditation that I’ve really enjoyed. These are both very much beginner books for those of us who don’t think we could possibly meditate because we have fidgety monkey brains: 10% Happier by Dan Harris The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

2/13/23 • 38:53

Today I’m joined by Kim Sherwood, an author and creative writing lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Kim’s newest release, "A Wild and True Relation," has the tremendous distinction of a gushing review by Dame Hilary Mantel herself, who said that Sherwood’s book is “a rarity – a novel as remarkable for the vigour of the storytelling as for its literary ambition. Kim Sherwood is a writer of capacity, potency and sophistication.” In addition to that, this April Kim is releasing the first book in a new James Bond trilogy, called "Double Or Nothing," commissioned the Ian Fleming estate. Kim and I had a wonderful talk about these different genres, and what brings these iconic characters to life, and why "Wolf Hall" is the Best Book Ever.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Kim Sherwood Website/Twitter/Instagram     Discussed in this episode:   Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (book 2 in the Wolf Hall trilogy) The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (book 3 in the Wolf Hall trilogy) A Wild and True Relation by Kim Sherwood Orlando by Virginia Woolf Double or Nothing: A Double O Novel by Kim Sherwood From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (This one also exists in graphic novel form!) George Baker Spare by Prince Harry Waverly by Walter Scott Testament by Kim Sherwood Greenway House – the Home of Agatha Christie V.I. Warshawski Novels by Sara Paretsky (There are, to date, 21 novels in this series.)   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

2/6/23 • 42:14

Aleenah Ansari (she/her) is equal parts storyteller, creative problem solver, and journalist at heart who's rooted in the stories of people behind products, companies, and initiatives. She writes about travel, entrepreneurship, mental health and wellness, and representation in media for Insider, The Seattle Times, Byrdie, and more. You can usually find her searching for murals in Seattle and beyond, reading a book, and planning her next trip to New York. Aleenah joined me today for a particularly canded discussion about BIPOC representation in our reading life, and the way books and therapy are crucial to our mental health   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Aleenah Ansari Website/Twitter/Instagram/Linked In   Discussed in this episode:   Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Aleenah’s article about the best indie bookstores across the United States Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores: True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers by Bob Eckstein Word on the Water – The London Bookbarge More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – And Keep – Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller Dear Therapists podcast with Lori Gottlieb and Guy Winch Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

1/30/23 • 32:30

“Twenty Years at Hull House” is the acclaimed memoir of social reformer Jane Adams. It contains unflinching descriptions of poverty and degradation of the Industrial Revolution, and the steps she took to establish housing, food, clean water, and education for the poor of Chicago. Joining me today is Rebecca Sive, author of three books on women’s politics and power. She’s also a motivational speaker for women’s audiences; a former professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and the recipient of numerous awards for her public leadership and service. Rebecca and I talked about how to find rest as a feminist voter, the way every public service is bound up in all aspects of society, and how the messages from Jane Adams’ work, written over one hundred years ago, are still so relevant today.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Rebecca Sive Website   Discussed in this episode:   Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams Every Day is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office, from the PTA to the White House by Rebecca Sive Vote Her In: Your Guide to Electing our First Woman President by Rebecca Sive Make Herstory Your Story: Your Guided Journal to Justice Every Day for Every Woman by Rebecca Sive Paul Wellstone Unbought and Unbossed by Shirley Chisholm Rebecca’s article about Twenty Years at Hull House in Windy City Times Division Street: America by Studs Terkel Rebel Bayou by Samuel and Sarah Hyde The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America by Nicholas Lemann   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

1/23/23 • 35:14

We are going a little off script for today’s episode. I’m not sure either one of us would call “Spare” the Best Book Ever, though I’m sure it has plenty of people who would. But it is definitely the book of the week, and a book that I think will come to be seen as a watershed moment in the history of the royals. Suswati Basu is a multilingual journalist, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist, and one of my favorite guests of the show. I was eager to get her take on this book that has been in the news basically nonstop for the last week, and talk beyond the headlines. Besides settling the score with his family, there are a lot of really big issues in this book, and I was eager to get her take on them. We also talked about the biggest issue for all of us readers – is it actually any good?    Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Suswati Basu Website/Instagram/Podcast/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter   Listen to Suswati talk to me about “The Stranger” by Albert Camus   Discussed in this episode:   Spare by Prince Harry Suswati’s Review of Spare in National World Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (co-written by J.R. Moehringer) Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff The Godfather by Mario Puzo The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

1/16/23 • 36:22

This week I’m joined by the fabulous Katy Leep Arditti, consumer of all things Thriller and Fantasy, business owner, massage therapist, and one of my favorite book club friends. Friends, Katy introduced me to a book so totally out of my wheelhouse, I actually contemplated not reading it, and just having her on to tell me about it. But I’m so glad I avoided that temptation, because Ordinary Monsters turned out to be easily one of my favorite reads of 2022. It was a delightful talk about the importance of smart heroines, rollicking adventures through foggy London, and surviving tremendous personal grief.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Katy Leep Arditti Instagram   Discussed in this episode: Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum Thrillers by the Book Club Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff The Bechdel Test Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn BBE Episode 119 – V.P. Morris on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Ben Onwukwe (audiobook narrator) Small Town Big Magic by Hazel Beck Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

1/9/23 • 38:28

To kick off the new year with a very special edition of Best Book Ever, my daughter Erin is taking over the hosting duties this week, interviewing me. She asked me all the things I normally like to ask my weekly guests – favorite books, goals for 2023, Mr. Darcy, and everything in between.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Erin Strauss Instagram   Discussed in this episode:   Unwind by Neal Shusterman Maze Runner by James Dashner The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Divergent by Veronica Roth Scythe by Neal Shusterman Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson Howard’s End by E.M. Forster A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle The Giver by Lois Lowry The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Bo Burnham Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Verity by Colleen Hoover The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

1/2/23 • 33:51

Time for an end of year wrap up with my Podcast Twin, Malavika Praseed. Malavika is putting her marvelous podcast on hiatus for the time being while she pursues a Master’s Degree in Fiction Writing. She is one of my very favorite readers, and I always love catching up with her and finding out what books she loved over the past year, and how she thinks her reading life will change now that she’s not running her podcast. As always, it was a great chat, with lots of laughs about serious and not-so-serious books.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Malavika Praseed Instagram/Chicago Review of Books     Malavika on Best Book Ever Podcast:   Episode 029 Malavika Praseed on “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers Episode 079 Malavika’s 2021 End of Year Wrap Up   And I went on her podcast once to talk about, you guessed it, My Favorite Book Your Favorite Book Podcast: Howard’s End with Julie Strauss     Discussed in this episode:   National Book Award Long List The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon A Death in the Family by James Agee Ethan From by Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton William Faulkner Jhumpa Lahiri Jeff Pearlman Carson McCullers Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Best Book Ever Episode 089 Stephen Pelton on Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Howard’s End by E.M. Forester The Hours movie The Hours by Michael Cunningham The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers East of Eden by John Steinbeck The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Why is Santa Claus Erotica Suddenly So Popular? All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews The Pultizer Prize Winners for Fiction, by year Fuckbois of Literature podcast Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man: A Girl Friday Mystery by Emily J. Edwards Chicago Review of Books (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

12/12/22 • 39:30

Episode 126 Memoir-Palooza with Denise Massar     Today, I’m so happy to welcome back the very first guest of the show, an amazing writer and reader, and, not to brag, but my best friend and soul sister, Denise Massar. Denise is a memoir junkie, and it occurred to me that mid-December is a perfect time to host a Memoir-Palooza, since so many of us like to give them as gifts over the holiday season, and I thought it would be interesting to hear which ones she liked best over the last year. A lot of the ones we talk about today deal with grief and loss, which also makes a lot of sense to address right now, as the holidays can be rough for a lot of people. Denise is my all-time most trusted memoir resource, and I know you’re going to love hearing her tell me why she thinks Memoirs are the Best Books Ever.   Denise Massar is an author, a mom via birth and adoption, and an adoptee. She writes about parenting, caregiving, racism, and anything else she can’t stop thinking about. As a reader, she’s most interested in stories about women’s day-to-day lives—in the 80s when grade-school classmates were reading Judy Blume, Denise was into Erma Bombeck. Her essays have been published in RAISE Magazine, TODAY Parenting, An Injustice!, MUTHA Magazine, and Jane Friedman’s blog. Denise’s memoir, SEARCH HISTORY: A Memoir of Loss, Obsession, and Meeting My Mom at 40, is currently on submission. She is represented by Jacquie Flynn at Joelle Delbourgo Associates.     Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Denise Massar Website/Instagram/Twitter/Facebook       Discussed in this episode:   Denise Massar on Best Book Ever Episode 002 Mothers of Sparta by Dawn Davies I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas What Comes Next and How to Like it by Abigail Thomas Episode 097 – Lizbeth Meredith on “What Comes Next and How to Like It” by Abigail Thomas In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom How We Fight For Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr The Salt Path by Raynor Winn Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney Catastrophe Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi Spare by Prince Harry J.R. Moehringer     (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

12/5/22 • 46:01