In Episode 23, Carla from Happiest When Reading joins me to break down the 2019 books so far that most deserve the hype, least deserve the hype, and the best underrated gems.
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Highlights
- How Carla and my reading has been so far this year.
- How DNF’ing books is keeping Carla out of reading slumps.
- Carla’s trusted recommendation sources (Novel Visits, Gilmore Guide to Books, @basicbsguide, Grace Atwood from Bad on Paper Podcast and The Stripe, Bookpage).
- Sarah’s additions to Carla’s trusted recommendation sources (Currently Reading podcast, The Readerly Report podcast).
- What constitutes “bookish hype” for us.
- A couple of Carla’s trusted authors.
- Carla and I (who are usually reading twins) disagree on two books Carla didn’t think deserved the hype.
2019 Books that MOST Deserved the Hype (So Far)
Sarah’s Picks
- Daisy Jones & the Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [10:02]
- I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott | Buy from Amazon [16:29]
Carla’s Picks
- City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[13:34]
- Golden Child
by Claire Adam (My Book of the Month commentary) | Buy from Amazon [18:52]
Our Co-Sign Pick
- Ask Again, Yes
2019 Books that LEAST Deserved the Hype (So Far)
Sarah’s Picks
- The Night Before by Wendy Walker | Buy from Amazon [26:04]
- Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [29:45]
Carla’s Picks
by Karen Thompson Walker (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:05]
- Normal People by Sally Rooney (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [31:24]
- The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo | Buy from Amazon [35:11]
2019 Underrated Gems (So Far)
Sarah’s Picks
- Talk to Me
by John Kenney (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [38:50]
- The Body in Question by Jill Ciment (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
Carla’s Picks
- A People’s History of Heaven
- Sugar Run by Mesha Maron | Buy from Amazon [44:49]
Our Co-Sign Pick
- The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
Other Books Mentioned
- The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [7:34]
- The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[7:34]
- The Wife by Meg Wolitzer (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[7:42]
- Miracle Creek
by Angie Kim (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[9:46]
- Out East by John Glynn (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [9:46]
- Live From New York by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales | Buy from Amazon [11:01]
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [11:35]
- Trust Exercise by Susan Choi | Buy from Amazon [25:23]
- Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [26:10]
- The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker | Buy from Amazon [29:24]
- The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson | Buy from Amazon [30:21]
- Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney | Buy from Amazon [32:36]
- Miracle Creek
[38:16]
- Out East by John Glynn (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [38:16]
- The Line That Held Us
by David Joy (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [46:42]
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[49:19]
Other Links
- Sarah’s Best Books of 2019 (So Far)
- Susie at Novel Visits
- Catherine at Gilmore Guide to Books
- Podcast Episode 21 with Mary Laura Philpott
- Trusted Recommendation Sources: Annie Jones, Tyler Goodson, Ashley Spivey
- My 2019 Summer Reading Guide
- Podcast Episode 10 with Kelly from the Well-Read Runner
- Kavitha’s Library Instagram review of Golden Child
- Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2019 Summer Guide (and the Minimalist version)
- Book of the Month
- Sarah’s Best of the Brain Candy List
- Podcast Episode 2: Winter 2019 Book Preview
About Carla
Blog | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
As a stay-at-home mama to two “tween” kids, I finally have more time to dedicate to reading. I have loved getting back into a passion of mine that I’ve had since I was a small girl. But sadly, what I quickly came to realize is that I really don’t have a lot of local reading friends. As a way to connect with others who love to read just as much as I do, I started my “Bookstagram” account (@happiestwhenreading). This community has given me a place to engage in bookish conversations, and I can truly say I have made so many online friendships that I’m truly grateful to have.
Next Episode
There is no new episode next week.
In two weeks: Grace Atwood and Becca Freeman from the Bad on Paper Podcast (airing July 10)
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What hyped books of 2019 so far do you think deserve their hype?
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Good picks–I loved Daisy Jones (and reviewed it this week), but couldn’t stand Normal People–even DNF it.
My overlooked gem is Southern Lady Code. It’s poignant and hilarious, which takes real skill.
I liked The Dreamers a lot, but I loved Age of Miracles. I can’t wait to see what you think of it.
I liked Southern Lady Code too…just didn’t make this particular list for me!
Fun episode and my opinions are all over the place with your lists! I enjoyed thinking about what would be on my list.
The ones that deserved the hype. I 100% agree with both of your choices except for City of Girls which I DNF’d. I’d add Miracle Creek.
Of the 5 Overrated books i read 4: liked the Wendy Walker, but DNF’d Night Tiger. Loved The Dreamers and Normal People. Golden Child was great on audio and it’s a book I still think about. I would add There, There by and The Last Romantics Tommy Orange to my overrated list.
Underrated gems: 100% on board with your choices Sarah. Haven’t read Carla’s picks. I’d add Anthony Horowitz’s book The Sentence is Death, Little Faith by Nickolas Butler, and The Current by Tim Johnston.
Oops….hope you can make sense of my botched cut & paste job
Wait – is that the same Nickolas Butler who wrote Shotgun Lovesongs??? How did I miss that book?!
I DNF’d There, There.
And – the only reason Miracle Creek isn’t on my list is that there wasn’t any hype yet when I read it.
Sarah, yes the same Nickolas Butler! See? Underrated. I found out about it from a list Parnassus published on their blog. I really liked it.
You’re right about Miracle Creek. So maybe I’d put it in the underrated category, haha!
The only reason I finished (skimmed) There, There was because it was for book club. I don’t get the hype on that one
I just finished The Body in Question this morning. Wow, was that good! Probably going to be in my top 10 for 2019. I also loved Fleishman is in Trouble, but that is getting a decent amount of hype since everyone loves Taffy’s celebrity profiles. My favorite book with almost no hype (that I’ve seen) is Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg.
I agree with Carla on Normal People – I couldn’t get into it at all.
So glad you loved Body in Question! Such a unique book!