Category: Uncategorized

Today, Sara and Chelsey discuss chapters 27 through the end of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. We discuss Jane’s journeys from coming of age to literally hiking on the moors, the juxtaposition of Rochester and another romantic interest, the ending (of course), and whether or not we think this qualifies as a “feminist text.” Plus, we offer six pairings that touch on the tone, themes, and legacy of Brontë’s iconic novel. We think you’ll be shocked by one of Sara’s pairings and can’t wait to hear what you think!

Click here to listen to the episode, or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

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Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Skip to the pairings: [46:35]

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links! 

Chelsey:

• Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (Amazon)
• The Governesses by Anne Serre (Amazon)
• My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, et al (Amazon)

Sara:

• Twilight by Stephanie Meyers (Amazon)
• White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (Amazon)
• The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud (Amazon)

Picks of the week:

Chelsey – What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell (Amazon)
Sara – Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës by Isabel Greenberg (Amazon)

When Chelsey and Sara found out we were both expecting new family members, literally just a few days apart, many conversations of course turned to all things pregnancy and baby. We wanted to consider how motherhood would impact our reading lives and today we’re thrilled to have Anne Bogel on the podcast to talk about raising readers and reading in the hazy newborn days. Anne is an author, blogger, and host of the What Should I Read Next podcast. She’s also one of our favorite literary therapists, who happens to be a mom of four. In this conversation, we talk about simple strategies to encourage a love of reading in kids as well as tips for maintaining a robust reading life as a new parent. And, of course, we couldn’t let Anne leave without recommending a few books to us! She shares some of her favorites for readalouds alongside some adult fiction that touches on themes of parenthood.

Click here to listen to the episode, or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Preorder Anne’s new book journal, My Reading Life (out September 21st), to access a batch of preorder goodies that are perfect for avid readers. And keep up with Anne’s reading life by following her on Instagram at @annebogel and @whatshouldireadnext or by visiting her blog ModernMrsDarcy.com.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books Mentioned:

Thank you for supporting us through our affiliate links!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault and Bill Martin

The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 

Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger 

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger 

The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili

Landslide by Susan Conley

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

Today, Sara and Chelsey discuss chapters 1-26 of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. We’ve each read this Victorian Gothic novel multiple times, learning something new with each reread. In today’s conversation, we reflect on past reading experiences and dive into analysis. We share our thoughts on the early coming of age chapters, Jane and Rochester’s romance, and what’s going on in the attic at Thornfield. We’ll give you a heads up for major spoilers, but we think this is a great episode to listen to before, during, or after you read Brontë’s iconic novel. 

We’ll discuss Part Two on September 21st. For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info. Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Also mentioned:

Charlotte Brontë biography

Sorry, but Jane Eyre Isn’t the Romance You Want It to Be, from JSTOR Daily

Bluebeard fairytale 

Picks of the week:

Chelsey – The Rom Pod series “On Eyre”

Sara – Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Today, Sara and Chelsey reflect on their summer reading season with short reviews of their favorite reads, and they look ahead to their upcoming fall season. Do you enjoy hearing about our recent reads? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get weekly reading updates and podcast news or joining our Patreon community, where we share bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and a whole bunch of book talk at patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links! 

• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Amazon)
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Amazon)
• Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann (Amazon)
• The Guide by Peter Heller (Amazon)
• The River by Peter Heller (Amazon)
• All’s Well by Mona Awad (Amazon)
• Bunny by Mona Awad (Amazon)
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Amazon)
• The Sentence by Louise Edrich (Amazon)
• The Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (Amazon)
• Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley (Amazon)
• The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee (Amazon)
• The Guncle by Steven Rowley (Amazon)
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (Amazon)
• Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb (Amazon)
• Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (Amazon)

Read with us this fall season:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre Norton Critical Edition (great introduction, annotations, and scholarly articles)
Jane Eyre Vintage Classics (wide margins for annotating, affordable, and a nice paperback weight)
Jane Eyre Penguin Classics Deluxe (one of the coolest covers out there)

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
Read the story for free online
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe: Collected Works 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Read the story for free online
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Gibbs Smith Women’s Voices Series)
The Yellow Wallpaper and Selected Writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Penguin Vitae Collection)

Today, Sara and Chelsey gush about a new favorite novel-in-short-stories: The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. We focus on Naylor’s memorable prose and mastery of structure, avoiding spoilers so you can listen before reading. Plus, as always, we offer six contemporary pairings that capture similar themes, featuring short story collections and well-crafted memoirs.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Skip to the pairings: [34:43]

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links! 

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor (Amazon)
The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor (Amazon)
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (Amazon)
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (Amazon)

Chelsey

• The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom (Amazon)
• The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Amazon)
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (Amazon)

Sara

• Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor  (Amazon)
• Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz (Amazon)
• Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey (Amazon)

Picks of the week:

Chelsey: The Women of Brewster Place Reissue Review (NPR
)Sara: The Promise podcast

Influenced by a delightful book club discussion with Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas, Chelsey and Sara share a pile of  mythology-inspired books in today’s TBR toppling episode. Myth retellings and adaptations might be a hot trend in publishing right now, but their popularity dates back centuries. In today’s discussion, Chelsey and Sara explore the resurgence of Greek mythology, what makes a great retelling, and which mythological novels they love or want to read.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links! 

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann (Amazon)
Circe by Madeline Miller (Amazon)
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Amazon)
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes (Amazon)
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (Amazon)
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker (Amazon)
Lovely War by Julie Berry (Amazon)
xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths, edited by Kate Bernheimer (Amazon)
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (Amazon)
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough (Amazon)
Bull by David Elliot (Amazon)
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (Amazon)
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (Amazon)
Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard (Amazon)
Weight by Jeanette Winterson (Amazon)
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (Amazon)
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Amazon)
Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera (Amazon)
Lore by Alexandra Bracken (Amazon)
Mythos by Stephen Fry (Amazon)
Troy by Stephen Fry (Amazon)

Also mentioned:

Episode 18: The Odyssey by Homer and mythology retellings for adventurous readers
The Last Five Years

Today, Sara and Chelsey share their favorite books of the year (so far) with a series of bookish superlatives to guide them. From most surprising to most disappointing, we discuss the books that have shaped our reading lives in the first half of 2021. We love this low pressure format for sharing “the best” books and would love to hear about YOUR favorites, using our superlatives list.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting the show by shopping our affiliate links! 

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jandrowski (Amazon)

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (Amazon)

Anna K by Jenny Lee (Amazon)

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Amazon)

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Amazon)

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (Amazon)

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (Amazon)

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (Amazon)

Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine (Amazon)

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel (Amazon)

Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (Amazon)

How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon (Amazon)

Wintering by Katherine May (Amazon)

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (Amazon)

Malibu Rising  by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Amazon)

Matrix  by Lauren Groff (Amazon)

You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union (Amazon)

Chelsey and Sara discuss The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton*, a glittering Gilded Age classic that feels particularly relevant today. We chat about our experiences rereading one of Wharton’s early novels, how we felt about the divisive character Lily Bart, and our recommendations for contemporary pairings—including one of our favorite essay collections and a coming of age novel set at a boarding school. 

*This episode does include spoilers, so listen carefully for spoiler warnings if you haven’t read The House of Mirth yet.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Listen to our pairings: [45:58]

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting us by shopping our affiliate links!

Chelsey

• The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls series) by Joanna Shupe (Amazon)
• Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino (Amazon)
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Amazon)

Sara

• The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Amazon)
• The Party Upstairs by Lee Conell (Amazon)
• Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Amazon)

Also mentioned:

The Gilded Age Girls Club series (Duchess by Design #1) by Maya Rodale

The Gossip Girl of Her Time: On the Pleasures of Edith Wharton

Today in “Short Story Club,” Chelsey and Sara are discussing “The Prairie Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld. It’s a quick, absorbing read about summer camp, social media, and how stories shape our identities.  We’d love to hear your thoughts on it! Note: Short Story Club episodes do contain spoilers. Read the story first, and then come back to hear our nerdy discussion!

Join our Patreon community for an extended Short Story Club discussion on Discord. 

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

These links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, Novel Pairings will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Short stories for summer from Bustle

Chelsey

• Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner (Amazon)
• Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler  (Amazon)
• Under the Influence podcast with Jo Piazza 

Sara

• No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood  (Amazon)
• Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey  (Amazon)
• Be There in Five podcast with Kate Kennedy

Today, Chelsey and Sara discuss The Summer Book by Tove Jansson*, a contemplative and vivid book in translation about a young girl, her grandmother, and the little island they inhabit. We discuss our favorite vignettes, the endearing characters, and our recommendations for contemporary pairings—including memoir, literary fiction, and poetry. 

*This episode is spoiler-free. Click here to listen in your web browser, or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts.

For more bonus episodes, nerdy classes, and extra book talk,  join our Classics Club: patreon.com/novelpairings.com.

Connect with us  on Instagram or Twitter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates and behind-the-scenes info.

Get two audiobooks for the price of one from Libro.fm. Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS and support independent bookstores.

Listen to our pairings: [31:50]

Books mentioned:

Thank you for supporting us by shopping our affiliate links!

Moomin books by Tove Jansson (Amazon)

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (Amazon)

Chelsey:

Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge (Amazon)

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (Amazon)

Memories of Low Tide by Chantal Thomas (Amazon)

Sara:

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson  (Amazon) // SSR Episode 87

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson (Amazon)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Amazon)

Pick of the week:

Chelsey: We Can Do Hard Things podcast: What the hell is FUN and why do we need it?

Sara: Tove Jansson’s Moomins and her private universe.