bookfare – Details, episodes & analysis

Katherine and Ashley discuss the Booker shortlisted novel, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. Books mentioned: North Woods: https://bookshop.org/p/books/north-woods-daniel-mason/19507917?ean=9780593597033 Red Clocks: https://bookshop.org/p/books/red-clocks-leni-zumas/113153?ean=9780316434782 Fourth Wing: https://bookshop.org/p/books/fourth-wing-rebecca-yarros/18796163?ean=9781649374042 The Bee Sting: https://bookshop.org/a/95920/9780374600303

Katherine and Ashley recount their top ten reads from last year. Books mentioned in order of appearance: North Woods, Daniel Mason I am, I am, I am, Maggie O'Farrell Close to Home, Michael Magee Good Material, Dolly Alderton How to Say Babylon, Safia Sinclair 11/22/63, Stephen King The Vulnerables, Sigrid Nunez The Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff, Tom Lake, Ann Patchett The Millenium Triology, Stieg Larsson A Heart That Works, Rob Delaney Absolution, Alice McDermott The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride Visitation, Jenny Erpenbeck Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen The Five Wounds, Kirsten Valdez Quade Small Worlds, Caleb Azumah Nelson Old God's Time, Sebastian Barry Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason Stay True, Hua Hsu Franciso, Alison Mills Newman The Bee Sting, Paul Murray Small These Like These, Claire Keegan

In this episode, Kat and Ashley discuss Dennis Lehane's noir thriller, Live By Night. Books mentioned in order of appearance: None of This Is True by Lisa Jewel The Loneliness Files by Athena Dixon The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes Virgin Suicides by Jeoffrey Eugenedes Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Passing by Nella Larsen Next month's book: Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

Kat and Ashley discuss their current reads, recap the best of their 2024 reads so far, and discuss Sally Rooney's short fiction piece: "Opening Theory" Books mentioned in order of appearance: Master, Slave, Husband, Wife by Ilyon Woo Real Americans by Rachel Khong Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin Little Rot by Awaeke Emezi Bookfare's 2024 Reads: The Bee Sting, Paul Murray Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan Redwood Court, DeLana RA Dameron Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange Live by Night, Dennis Lehane Kat's Five Star Reads: Prophet Song, Paul Lynch The Wren, The Wren, Anne Enright Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor Ash's Five Star Reads: Prophet Song, Paul Lynch How to Say Babylon, Safiya Sinclair The Bee Sting, Paul Murray The Vulnerables, Sigred Nunez July Book: Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo August Book: Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser

Katherine and Ashley discuss this month's book: Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo Books mentioned in order of appearance: Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Little Rot by Awaeke Emezi The Passion of G.H. by Clarice Lispector

Kat and Ashley discuss the NYT's Best Books of the Century list and present their own ballots. Current Reads: On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan Instructions for a Heat Wave, Maggie O'Farrell Banal Nightmare, Halle Butler The God of the Woods, Liz Moore Passion According to G.H., Clarice Lispector The Best of Everything, Rona Jaffe The Wren The Wren, Anne Enright Kat & Ash Ballot Crossover The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell The Five Wounds, Kirsten Quade Valdez Ashley's Ballot: Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward Freshwater, Awaeke Emezi Go Ahead in the Rain, Hanif Abdurraqib Atonement, Ian McEwan In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado Kat's Ballot Transit, Rachel Cusk Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt White Teeth, Zadie Smith The Overstory, Richard Powers

Katherine and Ashley review Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Books mentioned in order of appearance: God of the Woods by Liz Moore First Love: Essays on Friendship by Lilly Dancyger Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt

Kat and Ashley kick off season two with Sally Rooney's Intermezzo. Books mentioned in order of appearance: Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud Orbital by Samantha Harvey All Fours by Miranda July Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Another Country by James Baldwin James by Percival Everett

Kat and Ash get into the spooky spirit with a dramatic reading of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" Kat's current reads: Orbital by Samantha Harvey Playground by Richard Powers The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Woulden Held by Anne Michael Ash's Current Reads This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

Katherine and Ashley discuss Booker Shortlist contender, Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner. Books mentioned in order of appearance: Held by Anne Michaels Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler Strangers On A Train by Patricia Highsmith