In Episode 25, Siobhan Jones (Editorial Director of Book of the Month) joins me to go behind the scenes of Book of the Month…and reveals one of the August Book of the Month picks early!
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Highlights
- What Siobhan’s job entails day-to-day.
- How Book of the Month picks its monthly selections (including how books initially get on their radar, how far in advance they pick the books, and what types of books “work” and “don’t work” for Book of the Month)
- Whether Siobhan personally reads all the picks every month.
- How books get matched with judges (it’s not how you think!).
- The September release Liberty Hardy has already read 3 times.
- Book of the Month‘s philosophy about the mix of books for each month.
- The rationale for and details about the February 2018 strategic changes at Book of the Month (including the disappearance and swift reappearance of the judges’ essays).
- Why authors whose books are Book of the Month selections end up becoming judges.
- The recent uptick in repeat authors.
- How Book of the Month chooses its recurring judges.
- Lightening round of Siobhan’s Book of the Month favorites.
- How Book of the Month chooses its December picks every year.
Siobhan’s Book Recommendations
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Severance by Ling Ma | Buy from Amazon [27:03]
- The Municipalists by Seth Fried | Buy from Amazon [27:48]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center | Buy from Amazon [29:21]
- Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington | Buy from Amazon [31:26]
One Books She Didn’t Love
- Purity by Jonathan Franzen | Buy from Amazon [33:39]
One New Release She’s Excited About (EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF AUGUST BOOK OF THE MONTH PICK)
- Dominicana
by Angie Cruz (September 3) | Buy from Amazon [35:54]
Other Books Mentioned
- Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir | Buy from Amazon
[7:50]
- Normal People
by Sally Rooney (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [8:50]
- Summer of ’69
- The Golden Hour
- Recursion by Blake Crouch (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [12:20]
- Dark Matter
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang | Buy from Amazon
- The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory | Buy from Amazon
- Miracle Creek
- Little Fires Everywhere
- Final Girls by Riley Sager | Buy from Amazon [18:23]
- Behind Her Eyes
by Sarah Pinborough (Spoiler Discussion) | Buy from Amazon [19:40]
- Severance by Ling Ma | Buy from Amazon [20:42]
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | Buy from Amazon [22:18]
- Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver | Buy from Amazon [23:32]
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver | Buy from Amazon [23:32]
- A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [24:32]
- How to Walk Away by Katherine Center (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [29:28]
- There, There by Tommy Orange | Buy from Amazon [31:48]
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[37:53]
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [43:47]
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies
- From the Corner of the Oval
by Beck Dorey-Stein (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [45:58]
Other Links
- Book of the Month YA Subscription
- Episode 24: Grace Atwood and Becca Freeman (Co-Hosts of Bad on Paper Podcast)
- Grace Atwood and Becca Freeman (Co-Hosts of Bad on Paper Podcast)
- Book of the Month Judge Liberty Hardy
- Sarah’s Ultimate Guide to the Book of the Month Judges
- Sarah’s Behind Her Eyes Spoiler Discussion (#WTFthatending)
- Goodreads Most Popular Books Published in 2019
- Sarah’s Most Recent Book of the Month commentary post
- Slate article: “The Song Jonathan Franzen Called a “Great Song” at the End of Purity is the Worst Thing About Purity”
- Books Are Magic (indie bookstore in Brooklyn, NY)
- Book of the Month Facebook Group
- Siobhan Jones’s Instagram
About Siobhan
Siobhan is the editorial director at Book of the Month. Prior to Book of the Month, she worked in the publishing industry and as a teacher. She hails from the midwest and loves tacos, puppies, and plotting the perfect way to get rid of her cell phone forever. Her favorite book is NW by Zadie Smith.
Next Episode
There is no new episode next week.
In two weeks: Beck Dorey-Stein, author of From the Corner of the Oval (airing August 7)
How to Join Book of the Month…
Book of the Month is a subscription service for people who like to try new books from a curated selection and like to read in hardcover format. Through Book of the Month, you can get a hardcover book for generally significantly less than you’d pay in a bookstore or through Amazon. And, you get to try something new that has been vetted by one of Book of the Month’s well-read judges!
Sign up for any of the subscription plans below and you get to choose one of five books selected by Book of the Month’s panel of judges (including a surprise guest judge). Book of the Month will then mail your chosen book to your house with a cute note. You also have the option to purchase additional books for $9.99 each and to skip a month if you want.
Sign up for a Book of the Month membership (NEW pricing below)!
New members will sign up for a membership that renews monthly:
A book of your choice for $14.99 / month
Add extra books to your shipment for $9.99 each
Skip any month you want
Free shipping, always
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I really enjoyed this episode, as a fellow Book of the Month member! It was really interesting. Thanks for having Siobhan on your podcast!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!
I love my BOTM subscription. This is a great episode with lots of really interesting behind the scenes information.