Episode 26
Shelf Motivated
Come for the second-ever GUEST on Shelf Motivated and stay for the poetry! In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Shelf Motivated crew invited local poet and force behind Mt Lebanon Public Library’s own poetry writing group, The Nebby Poetry Society, Angela Petsis to sit down and chat about poetry with us. We share some of our favorites, read a few poems, and share some notable to-be-reads. Happy National Poetry Month! Books discussed: Mary Olver - Devotions Maja Haderlap – Distant Transit Katrina Porteous – Rhizodont Peter Gizzi – In Defense of Nothing Louise Gluck – The Wild...
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Episode 25
Shelf Motivated
Celebrate Small Press Month with us on Shelf Motivated! Come for the strange coming of age stories, stay for the 500-page Icelandic translation that features a gravestone with a Kierkegard quote, and a playlist! Sarah talks about Teethmarks on my Tongue by Eileen Battersby from Dalkey Archive Press, Eric talks about some of his favorite small presses in general, and Sharon talks about Your Absence Is Darkness by Jon Kalman Stefansson from Biblioasis. TBR Killoyle: An Irish Farce by Roger Boylan Appalachian Spring by Marcia Bonta
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Episode 24
Shelf Motivated
Come for the discussion of romance as a genre, stick around for our first ever guest of the podcast, Flannery! We discuss romance, whatever it was that Sharon read that is arguably romance adjacent, hockey romance, jobs dealing with the genre, and much more! Books discussed: The Mystery Guest: A True Story by Grégoire Bouillier Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman Affinity by Sarah Waters TBR: Cozy: The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt In Search of Lost Time: Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers Cuddy...
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Episode 23
Shelf Motivated
Come for the 2024 reading review, stay for what we’re looking forward to in 2025! We navigate the vicissitudes of Good Reads vs a paper journal vs some kind of voice recorder that Sharon wants to utilize. Hear what Sarah calls “a Sharon book, through and through,” what the elder millennials are reading, and what historical fiction that Eric loved. All this, and more as we kick off 2025! Books discussed: The Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Passage West by Rishi Reddi Books we’re excited about in 2025: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata We Pretty Pieces...
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Episode 22
Shelf Motivated
Come for the comfort reads, stay for uncomfortable to-be-reads! This time on the podcast Sarah dives into a kids’ book from the 1930s, and a book about bookshops, Eric slows down with a local writer, and a master of 20th century literary fiction, and Sharon continues her love of Laurie Lee, and books about trips, among other things. Books about libraries, a 15th century mystery, and more! Books discussed this episode: The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee The Bookshop by Evan Friss The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey A Thousand...
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Episode 21
Shelf Motivated
Come for the local color, stay for the HORROR! It’s our annual spooky season episode, and this time around we discuss everything from classics of American lit that have a horror/gothic angle, to contemporary horror in translation, to pulp horror from the 80s care of the Paperbacks from Hell! We have a basic fall cozy, Sarah’s take on one of the most anticipated books of the year (our one non-horror diversion), and plenty of to-be-reads (some horror and some not!). Break out a bag of candy and dig in! Happy Halloween! Books discussed: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson...
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Episode 20
Shelf Motivated
Come for memories via Istanbul, stay for satire via Norway! This time around on the show we get into the subject of re-reading, Sharon’s inability to picture anyone other than David Mitchell as Proust, Eric reading a proto-cozy-thriller (and a weird book about Shakespeare for good measure), and Sarah’s dawning realization that satire in 2024 reads more like… well, a regular novel. All this, the cozy corner, our ever-growing pile of To-Be-Reads, and more on Episode 20! Books discussed: Ghostwriter: Shakespeare, Literary Landmines, and an Eccentric Patron’s Royal Obsession by Lawrence...
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Episode 19
Shelf Motivated
Come for the contemporary thrillers, stay for the Marcel Proust and the Teapot Dome Scandal! This time around on the podcast Sharon digs deep into Proust’s Swann’s Way, while Eric gets into more Dad books on the Teapot Dome scandal, along with Douglas Coupland’s Generation X. So, while Sharon gets into 100-year-old 500-page books on art, life, and the mind, and Eric splits his time between weird books about Gen X and arguably weirder books on American history of the 1920s, Sarah keeps us on point with what normal people read during the summer…new thrillers! Books discussed: Swann’s...
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Episode 18
Shelf Motivated
Come for the discussion of the Jason Statham shark movie The Meg, stay for Dad Book Watch 2024! Join us this time on the podcast for Summer Reading goals (Sarah as a Book Tube judge [again!], Sharon takes on Proust, and Eric finally sets out to read Passage to India), how the youth do book groups, and much more. Books discussed: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing Second Star by Phillepe Delerm Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Modern Nature by Derek Jarman From Punk to Monk by Ray Raghunath Cappo You Never Forget Your First by...
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Episode 17
Shelf Motivated
This time on the podcast we span the globe! From wading into the folk tales and literary essays of Appalachia, to swimming in the waters of the Booker International Prize, books on classic American cinema, poetry in translation, and of course a cozy mystery with a glorious title. Stick around for our ever-growing list of to-be-read books and hear about the deterioration of Sarah’s email formality. It’s all on Episode 17 of Shelf Motivated! Books discussed: John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman The House on Via Gomito by Domenico Starnone Undiscovered by Gabiela Wiener What I’d...
info_outlineCome for the local color, stay for the HORROR! It’s our annual spooky season episode, and this time around we discuss everything from classics of American lit that have a horror/gothic angle, to contemporary horror in translation, to pulp horror from the 80s care of the Paperbacks from Hell! We have a basic fall cozy, Sarah’s take on one of the most anticipated books of the year (our one non-horror diversion), and plenty of to-be-reads (some horror and some not!). Break out a bag of candy and dig in! Happy Halloween!
Books discussed:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Katie by Michale McDowell
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorn
The Reaping by Bernard Taylor
Four by Four by Sara Mesa translated by Katie Whittemore
Help the Witch by Tom Cox
The Villager by Tom Cox
(non-spooky season brief discussion) Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Cozy: Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinlay
TBR
The Cunning Folk by Tabitha Stanmore
Hadriana in All My Dreams by Rene Depestre translated by Kaiama L. Glover
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Auctioneer by Joan Samson