Election season has been stressful. It’s getting darker earlier, too. We thought up some nice books to read when the world is feeling dark – literally or figuratively.

–– What We’re Currently Reading ––

Nicola
The Wangs vs the World by Jade Chang
Swing Time by Zadie Smith

Holly
Nothing :(


–– Books We Recently Acquired ––

Nicola
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Brain on Fire: My Month of by Susannah Cahalan
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

And a few others – check out her library book sale haul here | 

Holly
Nothing :(


–– Our Recommended Books for Dark Days  ––
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister 
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
The Harry Potter series
Roald Dahl books
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley 
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Winter, an anthology curated by Melissa Harrison
Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders
Dear Fatty by Dawn French
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
Agatha Christie novels
Anything by David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs
Also books by Simon Rich and Jesse Eisenberg
Everything's Perfect When You're A  Liar by Kelly Oxford
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson (also Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir)
Happy by Derren Brown
Paranormality and Night School by Richard Wiseman
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert 
The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman 

–– Follow us! ––

You can subscribe to Bookish Blether on SoundCloud, iTunes and Stitcher, or your podcast app of choice.

Love our podcast? Leave us a review and share it with a friend!

Twitter: 
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Instagram: http://instagram.com/bookishblether 
Tumblr: http://bookishblether.tumblr.com 
Email: bookishblether@gmail.com


Holly: 
http://twitter.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://instagram.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://www.heyhollyjune.co.uk


Nicola: 
http://twitter.com/robotnic
 http://robotnic.co
http://youtube.com/robotnic
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6523767.Nicola_Balkind

#48 | Nice Books for Dark Days

As we say goodbye to another Non-Fiction November, we decided to share some of our favourite non-fiction books, as well as many more that are still sitting atop our TBR piles.


–– What We’re Currently Reading ––

Nicola
Bluets by Maggie Nelson | http://amzn.to/2fH0vhL
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys | http://amzn.to/2gxfcBw
Night Waking by Sarah Moss | http://amzn.to/2fH5Sx5

Holly
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple | http://amzn.to/2fUK0fA
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (sent by Tinder Press for review) | http://amzn.to/2gNvJ8s


–– Books We Recently Acquired ––

Nicola
The Givenness of Things by Marilynne Robinson | http://amzn.to/2gAAbV9
Also mentioned her novels, Gilead & Housekeeping
Essays of E.B. White | http://amzn.to/2gxfzMt
A Woman Looking At Men Looking At Women by Siri Hustvedt (sent by Simon & Schuster for review) | http://amzn.to/2gxdWhx

Holly
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante | http://amzn.to/2gxe14P
Winter: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons by Melissa Harrison | http://amzn.to/2gmdQKj
Notes From No Man’s Land by Eula Biss | http://amzn.to/2gAHD2q
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet | http://amzn.to/2g8F9KD


–– Our Non-Fiction Favourites & TBRs  ––
In order mentioned…

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
Also mentioned: her YouTube channel, Ask a Mortician | https://www.youtube.com/user/OrderoftheGoodDeath
Election / death video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNSdNvm16Fg

The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
Also mentioned Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz 
New York Diaries: 1609 to 2009 edited by Teresa Carpenter

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

Sidewalks by Valeria Luiselli

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

The Moth: 50 True Stories edited by Catherine Burns

The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson

How to Travel Without Seeing by Andrés Neuman


–– Follow us! ––

You can subscribe to Bookish Blether on SoundCloud, iTunes and Stitcher, or your podcast app of choice.

Love our podcast? Leave us a review and share it with a friend!

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BookishBlether 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bookishblether 
Tumblr: http://bookishblether.tumblr.com 
Email: bookishblether@gmail.com


Holly: 
http://twitter.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://instagram.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://www.heyhollyjune.co.uk


Nicola: 
http://twitter.com/robotnic
 http://robotnic.co
http://youtube.com/robotnic
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6523767.Nicola_Balkind

#49 | Our Favourite Non-Fiction Books & TBRs

Some BIG NEWS for the end of the year, and answers to your questions!

–– What We’re Currently Reading ––

Holly
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (sent by Tinder Press for review) | http://amzn.to/2gNvJ8s

Nicola
Night Waking by Sarah Moss | http://amzn.to/2huqhot
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante | http://amzn.to/2huvYCQ
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi | http://amzn.to/2huy1XG


–– Books We Recently Acquired ––

Holly
There Was A Wee Lassie Who Swallowed A Midgie by Rebecca Colby | http://amzn.to/2gXNqyF
Link to the original poem: http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/there-was-an-old-lady

Nicola
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis | http://amzn.to/2hqIvtk
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple | http://amzn.to/2hjyNJ1


–– As to your Qs!  ––
Our most anticipated reads
Previous episode about anticipated reads |  http://bookishblether.tumblr.com/post/152626085310/bookish-blether-episode-47-most-anticipated-book
The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson
The Animators Kayle Rae Whittaker
Hold Back The Stars by Katie Khan (hear our review in episode 46 | http://bookishblether.tumblr.com/post/151999599800/bookish-blether-episode-46-the-rory-gilmore)
Abandon Me by Melissa Febos
Women Looking at Men Looking at Women by Siri Hustvedt

Books that give us the warm and fuzzies
Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Books from our childhoods such as Judy Blume

Our favourite comfort reads
Holly likes anything by or about The Mitford Sisters and food writing such as works by Calvin Trillin, AA Gill, Nigel Slater
Nicola likes to revisit lighter reads such as David Sedaris' New Yorker articles, or By The Book articles.

Books to read on audiobook
One Summer, American 1927 by Bill Bryson
An Astronauts Guide to Life by Chris Hadfield
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Between the World and Me by Ta
Scribble Scribble by Nora Ephron
The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman
Breakfast at Tiffany's - read by Michael C Hall
Anne of Green Gables - read by Rachael McAdams
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - read by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

One book we wish more people would read
Nicola picked The Other Typist by Susanne Martel
Holly picked Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum

Books to read over Christmas break
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan


Also mentioned
Dad voiceover makeup tutorial | https://twitter.com/htxkaytie/status/807979071695179776?s=15



–– Follow us! ––

You can subscribe to Bookish Blether on SoundCloud, iTunes and Stitcher, or your podcast app of choice.

Love our podcast? Leave us a review and share it with a friend!

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BookishBlether 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bookishblether 
Tumblr: http://bookishblether.tumblr.com 
Email: bookishblether@gmail.com


Holly: 
http://twitter.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://instagram.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://www.heyhollyjune.co.uk


Nicola: 
http://twitter.com/robotnic
 http://robotnic.co
http://youtube.com/robotnic
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6523767.Nicola_Balkind

#50 | Books To Give You The Warm & Fuzzies & More! (Q&A)

Welcome to the final episode of Bookish Blether for 2017! Today Holly and Nicola are sharing their favourite books of 2016 and some reading goals for 2017. 

After this episode, we’re taking a hiatus and we’ll be gone for a few months. Thank you SO MUCH for listening to Bookish Blether! We’ll be updating our Twitter with news about our return. In the meantime, please do keep us in your podcast feeds and we’ll be popping up sometime in 2017.

Happy New Year and lots of bookish love from us both x


–– What We’re Currently Reading ––

Nicola

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi | http://amzn.to/2huy1XG

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis | http://amzn.to/2hqIvtk
Also mentioned: Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante | http://amzn.to/2huvYCQ

Holly
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (sent by Tinder Press for review) | http://amzn.to/2gNvJ8s
Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner | http://amzn.to/2hO1VW8



–– Books We Recently Acquired ––

Nicola
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller | http://amzn.to/2iF1cL5
(Out 7 February from Tin House in the USA, out 26 January from Fig Tree in the UK)
Sign up to Book of the Month club here | https://www.mybotm.com/76q1bdfcgx5stt9

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante | http://amzn.to/2htJisH
Also mentioned: Max from Well Done Books | https://www.youtube.com/welldonebooks

Moth Box | http://mothbox.weebly.com/
Curated by Mercedes | https://www.youtube.com/user/MercysBookishMusings
Trio by Sue Gee | http://amzn.to/2htxJ4R
Call of the Undertow by Linda Cracknell | http://amzn.to/2ihL7ds


Holly
The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty (sent for review by Michael Joseph) | http://amzn.to/2hNTt9v
Also mentioned: Pretty Little Liars 


–– Our Top Books of 2016! ––

Refresh your memory about our Best Books of the Year (So Far) from half-way though 2016!

Nicola’s Favourites
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Stranger on a Train by Jenny Diski 
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride 
Also mentioned: A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride 
Night Waking by Sarah Moss 
Also mentioned: The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss 

Holly’s Favourites
The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes 
Rain by Melissa Harrison 
The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebank 
The Butcher’s Hook by Janet Ellis 
Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ullman 


–– Follow us! ––

You can subscribe to Bookish Blether on SoundCloud, iTunes and Stitcher, or your podcast app of choice.

Love our podcast? Leave us a review and share it with a friend!

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BookishBlether 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bookishblether 
Tumblr: http://bookishblether.tumblr.com 
Email: bookishblether@gmail.com


Holly: 
http://twitter.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://instagram.com/hollyjunesmith 
http://www.heyhollyjune.co.uk


Nicola: 
http://twitter.com/robotnic
 http://robotnic.co
http://youtube.com/robotnic
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6523767.Nicola_Balkind

#51 | Best Books of 2016 & Reading Plans for 2017!

A regular podcast about books and reading with Holly (@hollyjunesmith) and Nicola (@robotnic).

Bookish Blether

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