Best Book Ever Podcast

Suswati Basu is a multilingual disabled journalist, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist. She has written for the Guardian, Huffington Post, and the F-Word blogs, and has worked for various media outlets such as the BBC, Channel 4 News, and ITV News. She has worked in China, India, and the UK and currently writes on a freelance basis. As a result, she speaks multiple l...

Christina Olson was the real-life woman who inspired artist Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World." It's considered a master work of American art that inspires a lot of feelings in people, myself included. In the novel "A Piece of the World," author Christina Baker Kline tells a fictionalized version of the real-life relationship between artist and subject. It's an emotional and complex relat...

Do you believe in ghosts? Shannon Bailey Grace is the creator and host of the Indie podcast Ghost and Grub. Shannon has a master's degree in English literature and teaches research and writing at the college level. Her interest in storytelling fuels her love for a good ghost story, and she has a passion for learning about the people and events surrounding each story she tells. When Shannon is not...

I love cooking almost as much as I love reading, and, in my opinion, a well-written cookbook can be as much fun to read as literary fiction. LA Son, Well Fed, and Back to Basics are three very different cookbooks that are all a great read in different ways. With me today are the hosts of my new favorite show, the Three Kitchens podcast. Sarah Somasundaram, Erin Walker and Heather Dyer are longtime...

It's our 100th episode! Let's celebrate, but in the middle of the celebration, let's have an existential crisis!  It was tough to be happy this week, but I was able to do it because I had something special in my back pocket: an interview with Charnaie Gordon.  Charnaie is a wife, mom, and former Computer Programmer turned full-time Content Creator and Author with both a Bachelor's and Master's deg...

Kelly Pollock has always been the kind of person who asks questions — lots of questions — to anyone who will listen and answer. With a BA in Religious Studies from Northwestern University and an MA in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (where she wrote a thesis on feminist witches), she has now turned my questioning to history where she digs deep into stories that a...

We Don't All Need to Talk About Proust Sivan Hong was a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business and former partner at The Bridgespan Group. Today, she authors and illustrates the best-selling children's book series The Super Fun Day Books, which focus on neurodiverse children who overcome their challenges with perseverance and bravery. Sivan joined me to talk about "The Sense o...

Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Host: Julie Strauss Website / Instagram     Guest: Lizbeth Meredith Website / Facebook / Instagram / Podcast   Discussed in this episode:   What Comes Next and How to Like It: A Memoir by Abigail Thomas Piece...

Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Host: Julie Strauss Website / Instagram     Guest: Liam Jenkins Website / Facebook / Instagram   Discussed in this episode: Dylan McFinn & The Sea Serpent's Fury by Liam Jenkins The Historian by Elizabeth Kos...

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" is one of those books that I've seen my whole life, but never actually picked up. I always thought it was a kids' book. And it kind of is – it's definitely assigned in a lot of schools. But many adults claim it as an all-time favorite. It's often cited as the book that starts people on spiritual journeys. Today I am delighted to welcome poet, actress, and podcaster So...

I have loved implementing the lessons from "The Artist's Way" over the years, and it was a delight to talk about it with someone who has an entirely different creative life than I do. Shay Dominguez is a comedian, podcaster, and mindfulness live event creator, and I absolutely loved talking to her about the vulnerability of an authentically creative life. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Insta...

I've never been a comics reader, and have been looking forward to the day when a guest chose a graphic novel for me to read. Led Bradshaw Brooklyn-born graphic artist who is quickly making a name for himself as one of New York's up-and-coming black comic book illustrators. As the creator of Jetpulse Comics, his Flagship title "The New Adventures of Jake Jetpulse" is a comic book adventure story th...

Leah Carey is a Sex and Intimacy coach and host of the podcast "Good Girls Talk About Sex," where she interviews people who grew up as little girls plus transgender women about their sex lives.  As a coach, she works with people eager to explore new avenues of their sexuality and fulfill their greatest desires, like: learning to talk with current or future partners about sexual desires, diving bac...

Episode 091 Rohit Marawar on "Quiet" by Susan Cain   Rohit Marawar is a father of two, a husband, a physician, and an immigrant. Rohit is also a self-described introvert. But nowadays he feels empowered by introversion and is attuned to its needs. However, this was not always the case.    I had the best time talking to Rohit about living, parenting, and working as an introvert in a world made for...

Jerry Fu is a conflict resolution coach who helps Asian American leaders advance in their career and life journeys. He's also a voracious and wide-ranging reader, and I was delighted he joined me today to talk about a classic true story of survival and forgiveness, "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Do you have a boo...

Today I'm thrilled to be joined by Stephen Pelton, artistic director of the Stephen Pelton Dance Studio in London, England. Stephen is, by his own admission, obsessed with Virgina Woolf, and today we talk about "Mrs. Dalloway" through the eyes of a dancer. He tells me how he uses literature in his choreography, and how Woolf is a surprisingly physical artist. I also got a tour of his Woolf-filled...

I can't even with how much fun this guest is. Can't. Even. Margit Sperling leads food tours in Madrid! And she's hilarious! And she reads books. I'm not saying she's the coolest person alive, but I'm not not saying it.   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon     Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? G...

I've always thought I was a voracious reader, until I met Liz Scully. Trust me – you really need to hear how much she reads, and how she does it. We also discussed the joys of an audiobook, and how they help us get through books we wouldn't have attempted on paper.   After that, Liz introduced me to a business strategy book. Even if you aren't a business person, don't miss this conversation. "Ling...

I have been dying for someone to choose a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and author Carly Heath didn't let me down when she chose to tell me about the delicious tale of old Hollywood, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and why it is the Best Book Ever. NOTE: I've bleeped out the name of the True Love character, so don't worry! You can listen spoiler free! Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon...

Jaclyn Desforges is the author of Danger Flower , a poetry collection about nature, sexuality, reverse mermaids and mothering. She's also the author of Why Are You So Quiet? a picture book about being an introverted kid. Her award-winning poems and stories have been published in literary magazines across Canada. Today, Jaclyn joined me to talk about a book that I have always thought I hated. It tu...

Chris Angel Murphy (they/them) is a queer, trans, and nonbinary LGBTQ+ educator and consultant living in Denver, CO, but is originally from Los Angeles, CA. They have a background in social work and LGBTQ+ community organizing. Chris Angel started LGBTQ+ community organizing as a freshman in high school back in 2001 and has been speaking and presenting on various topics ever since. They also have...

It's always a delight to talk to one of the readers I admire most: returning guest of the show Marion Hill. Today, Marion joined me to talk about the sci-fi classic "Parable of the Sower," and we had a great discussion about repeated readings, what makes a book sci-fi, and how Octavia Butler transcends any genre. Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on In...

Today I'm talking to Jasmin Darznik, the New York Times bestselling author of The Bohemians , a novel that imagines the friendship between photographer Dorothea Lange and her Chinese American assistant in 1920s, San Francisco. Her debut novel, Song of a Captive Bird was a New York Times Book Review editor's choice book, and a Los Angeles Times best seller. She's also the author of The Good Daughte...

Erica Appelros is a Doctor in Theology and Associate Professor in Philosophy of Religion with more than 20 years of experience as a teacher, coach and speaker, works as an associate professor in philosophy of religion at Lund University, Sweden. She is also a published author in Swedish and in English, and she is dedicated to creating courses, books and workshops to empower people to advance in th...