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Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

By: Sarah Dickinson | Sarah's Bookshelves
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 Sarah’s Bookshelves Live is a weekly show featuring real talk about books and book recommendations from a featured guest. Each week, Sarah of the blog Sarah’s Bookshelves will talk with her guest about: - 2 OLD BOOKS THEY LOVE - 2 NEW BOOKS THEY LOVE - 1 BOOK THEY DON’T LOVE - AND 1 NEW RELEASE THEY’RE EXCITED ABOUT I’m getting real about all things books and serving you up a bit of snark on the side.Sarah Dickinson | Sarah's Bookshelves Art Literary History & Criticism
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Episodes
  • Ep. 195: 2025 Summer Reading Special with Susie (@NovelVisits)

    Ep. 195: 2025 Summer Reading Special with Susie (@NovelVisits)
    May 14 2025
    In Ep. 195, Susie (@NovelVisits) and Sarah are back to share their favorite books that missed last year’s Summer Reading Guide and our #1 picks for each category featured in my 2025 Summer Reading Guide. Plus, they begin by sharing how their summer reading habits have evolved over the years. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Once again, we happy to offer a Printable Cheatsheet for this year’s Guide: Get the Cheatsheet from PatreonGet the Cheatsheet from Substack Summer Reading [7:42] The Evolution of Our Summer Reading Journeys [8:41] Books Mentioned by Susie London by Edward Rutherfurd (1997) [15:09]The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2005) [16:09]The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008) [16:12]Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (2005) [16:15]Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2009) [16:31]The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (2013) [16:32]11/22/63 by Stephen King (2011) [16:34] Books Mentioned by Sarah Jaws by Peter Benchley (1974) [17:57]The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (1943) [21:02]Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1957) [21:03]Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (2010) [21:06] Books That Missed Last Year’s Summer Reading Guide [24:23] Sarah JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:27] Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:08]Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:51] Susie The Most by Jessica Anthony (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:10] The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:52]Blue Light Hours by Bruna Dantas Lobato (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:01] Other Books Mentioned The Measure by Nikki Erlick (2022) [30:13] Our #1 Summer Picks by Category [40:37] Something Light / Fun Sarah: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:23] Susie: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:36] Other Books Mentioned Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (2022) [41:35] Something Fast-Paced / Intense Sarah: Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:27] Slow-Burn Suspense Susie: The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:40] Something With a Bit More Substance Sarah: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [55:54] Susie: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:46] Other Books Mentioned Dream State by Eric Puchner (2025) [1:00:00] Something Different Sarah: Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:01:33] Susie: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:03:47] Other Books Mentioned Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (2005) [1:02:59]Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2019) [1:06:24]
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Ep. 194. Bookish Time Capsule (2017) with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)

    Ep. 194. Bookish Time Capsule (2017) with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)
    Apr 30 2025
    In Ep. 194, Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) and Sarah head back to the year 2017 in the book world with this second annual special retrospective episode! They share big bookish highlights for that year, including book news, award winners, and what was going on in the world outside of reading. They also talk about how their own 2017 reading shook out, including their favorite 2017 releases. Plus, a quick run-down of listener-submitted favorites! This episode is overflowing with great backlist titles to add to your TBR! This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights The big news that was going on outside the book world.The book stories and trends that dominated 2017.How similar 2017 and 2025 are.The 2017 books that have had staying power.⁠Was this as dismal a year in books as Sarah remembers?Sarah’s and Catherine’s personal 2017 reading stats.⁠Listener-submitted favorites from 2017.⁠ Bookish Time Capsule (2017) [2:12] The World Beyond Books No books mentioned in this segment. The Book Industry Wonder by R. J. Palacio (2012) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:59]Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:04]A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[10:40]The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:44]Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:08]My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:18]The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:03]If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:13]We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:23]Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:46]Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:48]The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:50]Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:57]Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:03]James by Percival Everett (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:04] Bookish Headlines and Trends Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:41]A Promised Land by Barack Obama (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:43]The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (2006) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:48]My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:04]The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:31] Big Books and Award Winners of 2017 A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:01]Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:06]The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:21]Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:27]The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:48]Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:09]The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:39]Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:23]Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:40]Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:31]Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2008) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:09]Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:51]Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:16]Normal People by Sally Rooney (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:41]Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:32]Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:38]Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:09]The Sellout by Paul Beatty (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:52]What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:56]Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:21]The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:45]Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:04]The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth, 3) by N. K. Jemisin (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:30] Our Top Books of 2017 The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:46]Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:20]Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:22]Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:02]If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:16]Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolitio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:23]The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor ...
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    52 mins
  • Ep. 193: Clare Leslie Hall (Author of Broken Country) + Book Recommendations

    Ep. 193: Clare Leslie Hall (Author of Broken Country) + Book Recommendations
    Apr 16 2025
    In Episode 193, author Clare Leslie Hall talks with Sarah about her US debut, Broken Country — a breakout hit and a Reese’s Book Club pick. A genre mash-up that is part love story and part murder trial, Clare talks about marketing Broken Country, how this came to be her first U.S. release, and the ways the novel evolved over time. Plus, Clare shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Books by Clare Leslie Hall: Broken Country, Days You Were Mine (previously published as Mine), and Pictures of Him (previously published as Him).Clare gives a brief, spoiler-free overview of Broken Country. Clare’s inspiration for Broken Country.How the themes of love, guilt, and connection play roles in the novel.The ways Broken Country developed and changed over the course of her writing process.How Clare decided that this was no longer a contemporary novel and needed to be set in the 1950s and 1960s.The aspect of the book of which she’s most proud.How Broken Country came to be her first book released in the U.S.What the marketing looked like for Broken Country compared to her first two novels.Anything Clare would change about Broken Country down the line should she have the opportunity (since she was able to change the ending of her second book for the U.S. release).A bit about what Clare has planned for her next book. Clare’s Book Recommendations [35:30] Two OLD Books She Loves Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (1987) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:43]All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (1992) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:26]Other Books Mentioned: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985) [38:42] Two NEW Books She Loves Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell (February 18, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[40:12]Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (July 30, 2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[41:33]Other Books Mentioned: The Wedding People by Alison Espach (July 30, 2024) [43:48] The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (2021) [44:04] One Book She DIDN’T Love Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:22] One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About What the Deep Water Knows by Miranda Cowley Heller (July 1, 2025) | Amazon| Bookshop.org [48:40] Last 5-Star Book Clare Read Leaving by Roxana Robinson (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:19] Books From the Discussion Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001) [14:38]The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (1953) [14:42]To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) [16:22]Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2018) [54:02] About Clare Leslie Hall Instagram | X Clare Leslie Hall is a novelist and journalist who lives in the wilds of Dorset, England, with her family. She’s the author of Broken Country, Pictures of Him, and Days You Were Mine.
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    55 mins

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