Bury Yourself in Snuggies

Jenn Northington Dec 13, 2018

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Amanda and Jenn give more holiday recs and discuss some wintery reads in this week’s episode of Get Booked.

This episode is sponsored by the Read Harder Journal and our True Story Giveaway.

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Feedback

The Maze at Windermere (Sibyl from Insiders)

Strange Practice (Sara M from Insiders)

Questions

1. I’m looking for a wintertime book that is atmospheric and immersive that will make me feel the harshness of winter and want to cuddle up with my book and hot chocolate. I’m not looking for something heartwarming, just something reflective of the cold weather and set during Christmastime if possible. The only book I can think of that is similar to the reading experience I’m thinking of is The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Thanks!
–Kathleen

2. Just want to say I love the podcast and also love “All The Books!” too and listen to both religiously. My to-read list has now exploded exponentially so thanks. So much so that I’m considering taking a less interesting but better paid job just to fund my girlfriend’s and my reading and library building obsession.

After a brief year or so hiatus from reading, my now girlfriend got me back into reading in a big way. I’m hoping to find a book for her for Christmas (or whenever) to inspire her in return. Her favourite books are:

The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman,
World War Z – Max Brooks
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman,
Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
And (of course):
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

She also really likes the look of quirky horror books like Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero and is really into books with realistic female portrayal and which aren’t washed with male only lead characters.
Other than that she’s hoping to write a thesis on
apocalyptic fiction, so obviously she loves that too!

Thank you in advance!

–Henry

3. I am looking for a book for my father in law and my father in law’s partner. My father in law likes inspirational books that can also be applied to business. His partner is kind of a Cowboy, I was thinking of a book about the outdoors or a contemporary book about cowboys. If you could help I would greatly appreciate it, especially for the cowboy.
–Gene

4. I am starting to look for book gifts for the holidays and need help finding a book for one friend in particular. She really loves jigsaw puzzles, so I’m wondering if there are any books you’ve enjoyed that include a female character who loves jigsaw puzzles. Something like The Friday Night Knitting Club but for puzzlers maybe? Does such a thing exist?
Thanks!
–Jeanne

5. I am a newish listener. I discovered the book riot podcasts this summer and I have been loving them. Recently I have been making my way through your archives. I love listening to your recommendations and always secretly hope to hear books I also recommend or have at least read.

Finally my request. I have been meaning to do this request ever since I started listening to your podcast. If this is too tight of a deadline, I could always use your recommendations for next Christmas. As you might have guessed I am obsessed with books. I love sharing what I am reading or hearing about what others are reading. Christmas is a great time to share this passion. My dad and my twin niece and nephew are the ones that I have a request for.

Dad: A lot of my conversations with my parents are around the books we are reading. My mom is part of a book club but I feel through the years my dad and I have sort have started our own informal book club. One of the times my dad visited me he borrowed one of my many bookmarks and wrote a recommendation list on the back, some of those books were “Trinity” Leon Uris, “Sometimes a Great Notion” Ken Kesey, “Dune” Frank Herbert, “Steppenwolf” by Herman Hesse, and “Bean Trees” by Barbara Kingsolver. One of our favourite authors is Richard Wagamese and we both admire Wab Kinew but my dad struggled with his memoir. He enjoys books that spark conversation and he has an interest in First Nations as he is living in an area that is dominantly First Nations (hence Richard Wagamese and Wab Kinew) but he is also interested in other topical issues. He has read Naomi Klein (found it a bit dense), The Best Laid Plans Terry Fallis andI got him Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari once for Christmas (he read it but had to take breaks). This year my dad is turning 70 (on Christmas) and I am getting him Richard Wagamese’s final book but I am hoping through this jumbled paragraph that you might have another recommendation.

The twins: The not as long list. My niece and nephew are 6 turning 7 late January. They are still at an age where I feel comfortable buying books instead of giving them gift cards for books. Last year for their birthday I gave them Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer. They loved both these books. They love story time and interacting with the books (asking questions, making observations, telling stories). I was wondering if you had any other books along this vein with kids being creative and building or being artistic. My nephew likes to draw and has a vivid imagination. My niece likes to ask deep questions. Thank you for your amazing show

–Jennifer

6. Hi I’m looking for some help, choosing a Christmas present for my Mum. She loves Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong and has also really enjoyed Carrie Vaughn, Ben Aaronavitch, Kim Harrison and Rachel Vincent. Illona Andrews, Melissa Marr, Jim Butcher, Holly Black and Karen Chance got a meh reaction. JR ward and Laurel Hamilton are a no go (too much sex before you get any plot) Over the last decade I’ve also covered Cassandra Clare, Sarah J Maas, Charlaine Harris, Lilith St Crow, Rachel Caine, Julie Kagawa and Richelle mead to varying degrees of success. She has just spent August devouring Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye series and has moved on to the Cryptozoology set for the autumn. In order to pay her back for introducing me to Anne MacCaffrey when I was 12 I’m looking for something that may have slipped under the radar that she will enjoy. Bonus if there are lots of back catalogue for the author.

Thanks for your previous excellent recommendations for my Vegas trip. Fingers crossed you can help me find some new reads for my Mum.
–Bex

7. I am looking for recommendations on what I call low urban fantasy. Stories where wizards and golems and all manner of weird things exist in the contemporary world, but rather than being a separate secret world with large-scale organizations, they exist in isolation and largely in secret on the fringes of society. The magic isn’t some separate, arcane practice, but rather comes from or integrates everyday practices like poker or watching TV. The wonders themselves tend to be less spectacular and more like fudging reality a bit. The protagonists tend to be morally grey and less than savory.

I’ve only found a couple of works that have scratched this particular itch (the work of Tim Powers, the roleplaying game Unknown Armies), and I would really appreciate any suggestions you could give. I would really like any suggestions that incorporate history into the magic (e.g. the death of Bugsy Siegel as an arcane ritual in Powers’ Last Call). Also, books that do not feature straight white guys as the protagonist would be a nice change of pace.

Thanks!
–Alex

Books Discussed

Gunsmoke & Glamour by Hillary Monahan

The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (tw: suicide, domestic violence, harm to children)

Fledgling by Octavia E Butler (tw: pedophilia, sort of)

Severance by Ling Ma

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

The Death Safe by Edgar Wallace

The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble