The To Read List Podcast

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY by Alan Paton / THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood In this very NOT spooky episode, we have a classic pairing of novels. They go together as well as peanut butter and jelly! First, Andrew reviews Alan Paton's 1948 classic, CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY and finds it a bit... surprising. Then Bailey delves into the world of STEM with Ali Hazelwood's buzzy romance, THE LOVE HYPO...

MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE by Marguerite Henry / TRUST by Hernan Diaz Don't make a sound, Page-O's! Bailey's on the warpath after she reads MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE by Marguerite Henry, and she totally takes it out on the boys. Meanwhile, Toby tries his best to encapsulate the many levels of the .5 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel TRUST by Hernan Diaz. All this plus striking out on spooky books, Toby's opinio...

TUFF by Paul Beatty / ELEKTRA by Jennifer Saint This week, Andrew attempts to summarize Paul Beatty's poetic style and finds it... TUFF. (You're welcome.) Then, with ELEKTRA, Bailey comes to the tragic conclusion that she doesn't know as much as she thinks she does about Greek Mythology. Finally, we celebrate the masterful career of the one and only Rufus Sewell. (You're welcome.)

DRIVING FORCE by Dick Francis / THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES by Tom Wolfe And we're off! This week, Toby reviews DRIVING FORCE by Dick Francis, a certified dad book set in the glamorous world of horse transport. Then Bailey finally discovers what THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES is about (fire is surpisingly not involved) and finally gets what everyone likes about Tom Wolfe. Plus, we break Andrew down w...

I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse   Take a journey with us on this week's episode as our hosts dive into Herman Hesse's class, SIDDHARTHA, and I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU, your friend and my - Rebecca Makkai's - new novel. We'll laugh, we'll cry, we'll grow, and one of us will get absolutely schooled in this week's game. There's also more shame than ever...

FALCONER by JOHN CHEEVER THE WHISPER MAN by ALEX NORTH   Caw-CAW, Page-O's! Join us this week as Toby gets incarcerated by John Cheever's prison novel FALCONER (sadly not about a man who trains falcons) and Bailey gets A24'd by Alex North's THE WHISPER MAN. We also discuss just how fast of a reader Bailey is, unmask Alex North (probably) against his wishes, and uncover a disturbing revelation as t...

A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce / RODHAM by Curtis Sittenfeld The books we read for this episode spark provocative questions, like: "What would happen if Hillary never married Bill?" (RODHAM) and "Does James Joyce really think we can't tell he's writing about himself?" (A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN). Plus, Andrew taunts us with his vacation plans, we discuss if "b...

PLANET OF THE APES by Pierre Boulle / BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi If you've ever wanted to live inside a Grimm fairy tale and/or a Charlton Heston movie, this episode is for you! Toby takes us into outer space with his review of MONKEY PLANET--oops! strike that--PLANET OF THE APES by Pierre Boulle. Then Bailey gets far too hung up on how BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi connects to the Snow W...

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone / THE PROPHET by Khalil Gibran This week our intrepid hosts navigate time and space and contemplate their life choices by reading THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and Khalil Gibran's classic, THE PROPHET. There's also discussion of our dream book club, predictions for future bestsellers, and...

WISE BLOOD by FLANNERY O'CONNOR / SUMMER SONS by LEE MANDELO Page-O's, grab your sweet teas and hop in a car with a hot boy because it's a Southern Episode. Listen in as Toby tries as hard as he can to outsmart Flannery O'Connor's 'comedic' novel WISE BLOOD and Bailey drag-races her way through Lee Mandelo's queer horror SUMMER SONS. Plus, we declare a certain airline to be our mortal enemy, learn...

THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid /  THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE by John Irving This week, Andrew revisits friend of the podcast (we wish) Taylor Jenkins Reid when he reviews THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, a twisty journey through imagined old Hollywood scandal. Then, Bailey journeys to the bizarre world of John Irving's HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE, thereby crossing paths with not o...

STREETS OF LAREDO by Larry McMurtry / FAT WITCH SUMMER by Lizzy Ives This is a very special episode because we have fabulous author Lizzy Ives on to talk about her fantastic fat-positive fantasy novel, FAT WITCH SUMMER! In addition to answering all our questions about the book, Lizzy shares her star sign, her cat's unique nickname, and the size of her to read list. Plus, she agrees to play a silly...

A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES by Howard Zinn / DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD by Olga Tokarczuk Hope you're ready for some Zinn-sanity, Page-Os, because on this week's episode, Andrew wades into Howard Zinn's oft-selected tome for AP History class, A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Then Bailey turns up the earth and turns up the stars, while she talks about Olga Tokarc...

KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler / PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen On this week's episode, two old friends return to the podcast! We cover our third book each from two giants of literature in Octavia E. Butler's KINDRED and Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Will Toby like this as much as his previous Butler experiences? How will Bailey and Andrew like the tentpole of the book world? There's also o...

TENTH OF DECEMBER by George Saunders /  THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED by John Green This week, we present you some reviews on short stories and some short stories on reviews! Andrew (finally!) dives into the odd world of George Saunders with TENTH OF DECEMBER, and Bailey digs into THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED, John Green's essay collection evaluating the human world. Plus, we test the strength of our fri...

WIZARD'S FIRST RULE by Terry Goodkind / THE LIGHTNING THIEF (PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS, #1) by Rick Riordan It's a fantasy-filled episode this week, but please don't tell Terry Goodkind! Toby digs into WIZARD'S FIRST RULE, the first book in Goodkind's epic (and supposedly not fantastical) series about dragons and magic. Don't worry, Toby doesn't need a Sword of Truth to share his candid thou...

THE WAVES by Virginia Woolf / TRUE BIZ by Sara Nović  This week our hosts surf a stream of consciousness with Virginia Woolf's classic, THE WAVES. Will the author's return to the podcast hang 10? Bailey also reviews a newcomer (and new favorite?) in Sara Nović's new novel, TRUE BIZ. Will Bailey fall for this novel and, just maybe, learn something? There's also plenty of shame, plenty of silliness,...

A WALK IN THE WOODS by Bill Bryson / THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by Liane Moriarty   Popcorn… Page-O's! We hope you remember that classroom gimmick, because we talk about it A LOT while Toby tries to link Bill Bryson's A WALK IN THE WOODS with INFINITE JEST, and Bailey (and Dillon and Toby) learn what they shouldn't ever know: THE HUSBAND'S SECRET .  By Liane Moriarty. Plus we got to hear about Italian P...

THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO AND OTHER STORIES by Ernest Hemingway / OUR MISSING HEARTS by Celeste Ng Hope you're up on your Iceberg Theory, because in this episode Andrew scales the heights of Ernest Hemingway's THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO AND OTHER STORIES , informing us which of these stories are a Kilimanjar-Go and which are a Kilimanjar-No. Then Bailey makes her case for Celeste Ng's newest novel OU...

INFINITE JEST by David Foster Wallace /  THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS by Stephen Graham Jones   If you've ever doubted that Toby is an intellectual, doubt no more -- he's read INFINITE JEST! The book is footnotes and absurdity all the way down, and luckily Toby's here to explain it all to us. After a raucous discussion of the tome and its problematic author, Bailey dives into horror novel THE ONLY GOOD I...

THE GREAT BELIEVERS by Rebecca Makkai / LAPVONA by Ottessa Moshfegh On this week's show we welcome back an old friend, with Ottessa Moshfegh's medieval styling, LAPVONA, as well as welcome a brand new player with Rebecca Makkai's sweeping novel, THE GREAT BELIEVERS. Will Bailey find another five star read? Will Andrew take a field trip for the show? Will Toby ever finish Infinite Jest? Should we r...

HERE IS NEW YORK by E.B. White / QUEEN BEES & WANNABES by Rosalind Wiseman This takes the cake for oddest book pairing ever on our show! First, Toby reviews 1948 travelogue HERE IS NEW YORK and finds similarities between author E.B. White and Grampa Simpson. Then, Bailey offers far too many quotes from MEAN GIRLS as she covers the movie's source material, 2002 parenting manual QUEEN BEES & WANNABE...

OLIGARCHY by Scarlett Thomas / BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter  On this episode, Andrew examines OLIGARCHY by Scarlett Thomas, a story of wealth, privilege, and fierce ponies, while Bailey tangles with book-club favorite BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter to see if she can fall in love at first sight with it. Join the hosts as they ring in the new year with a hefty stack of Christmas Shame (from some p...

It's the most wonderful time of the year -- the Bookend Awards, where we honor the best (and worst) books we covered in 2022! Join us as we go over the fastest reads, the hottest protagonists, and the characters we'd most like to lock in a wine cellar under Venice. Plus, we play not one but TWO games, one with the highest stakes of all... who will be the next host tasked with reading their most fe...

THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND by Jonathan Stroud / THE KITE RUNNER BY KHALED HOSSEINI. On this week's episode, we pull two books our hosts missed from 2003 in Jonathan Stroud's middle grade fantasy, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, and Khaled Hosseini's bestseller, THE KITE RUNNER. Will these prove to be blasts from the past? Also we dig deep on how to get un-scared after reading a spooky book, think about what...