Unabridged: A Book Podcast

Can a story about extinction still leave room for hope? In episode 315, we’re discussing Charlotte McConaughy’s Migrations ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ) , our June 2026 book club pick, a haunting climate fiction novel about grief, survival, and the fragile beauty of the natural world. We start with a bookish check-in: Jen is listening to Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke ( Bookshop . org | Libro ....

Looking for a few romances to add to your summer reading list? In this episode, we’re sharing romances that would make great beach reads, with stories full of second chances, complicated friendships, family expectations, emotional depth, and plenty of momentum. During our bookish check-in, Ashley shares Jessica Parra’s Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), a YA novel abo...

What book has broken your heart in the best possible way? In episode 313, we’re discussing Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), our May 2026 Book Club pick. Before we dive into this moving novel inspired by the life and loss behind Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we share our Bookish Check-in. In our discussion of Hamnet , we talk about Maggie O’Farrell’s stunning portrayal of grief,...

Are cozy mysteries one of your favorite comfort reads, or are you looking for a place to start? In episode 312, we’re sharing a couple of cozy mystery recommendations that surprised and delighted us in very different ways. Before we dive into mysteries, we kick things off with our Bookish Check-in: Jen shares Edward Humes’ Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World ( Bookshop . org...

Have you ever read a historical novel that shines a light on a perspective you hadn’t considered before? We’re discussing Sherri L. Smith’s Flygirl ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), our April 2026 Book Club pick, which tackles the role of women pilots in WWII. Before we dive in, we share our Bookish Check-in: Jen talks about Eliot Schrefer’s The Darkness Outside Us ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ),...

Have you ever been surprised by how powerful a story about an animal can be? In this episode, we’re sharing book recommendations for the “books about animals” category of our 2026 Reading Challenge. We start with a quick bookish check-in: Ashley is reading Pugs and Kisses by Farrah Rochon ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), and Jen is listening to With Love from Harlem by ReShonda Tate ( Bookshop . o...

What happens when a book captures both the hardest parts of life and the possibility of hope? In episode 309, we’re discussing John Schu’s Louder Than Hunger ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), our March 2026 Book Club pick. Before we dive into this powerful middle-grade novel in verse, we share our Bookish Check-in: Ashley talks about Annie Hartnett’s The Road to Tender Hearts ( Bookshop . org | Lib...

Have you discovered a nonfiction audiobook that completely drew you in? In this episode, we’re sharing some of our favorite nonfiction audiobooks as part of the 2026 Unabridged Reading Challenge. Before diving into our recommendations, we start with our bookish check-in. Then we turn to nonfiction audiobooks we’ve loved. Jen recommends Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the F...

Do you believe love is written in the stars, or is it something we shape for ourselves? We’re discussing our February Book Club pick, Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ). Before we dive in, we start with a quick bookish check-in: Jen shares about What We Can Know by Ian McEwan ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), a speculative literary mystery about art, archives, and the...

Have you ever loved an author so much but then realized you’ve barely scratched the surface of their backlist? In episode 306, we’re talking about the “Book from a Favorite Author’s Backlist” category from the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge and why exploring earlier works can be such a rewarding reading experience. Before diving into our backlist picks, we kick things off with a bookish chec...

Have you ever finished a book you absolutely loved but found hard to explain? In this episode of Unabridged , we’re discussing our January 2026 Book Club pick, National Book Award winner The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)  by Rabih Alameddine ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), which is brilliant in ways that are sometimes hard to articulate. Before diving into the discuss...

Are you the kind of reader who loves a little structure, or do reading challenges make you want to run the other way?  In Episode 304 (our first episode of 2026!), we’re ringing in the new year with a conversation about reading challenges , reflecting on what worked for us in 2025, what didn’t, and how we’re thinking about setting reading intentions for 2026.  Then we dive into the 2026...

Have you read Jean Meltzer yet, and are you in the mood for a holiday romance with real heart? In this special encore episode, we’re bringing back our December 2021 Book Club episode (Ep. 207), featuring Jean Meltzer’s The Matzah Ball ( Libro.fm  | Bookshop.org ), her delightful debut. We loved revisiting this one: it’s funny and festive, but it also has surprising depth as Meltzer thoughtfully ex...

Do you love a good holiday story that brings different traditions, and unexpected friendships, together in one cozy, snowed-in town? We’re diving into our December Book Club pick, Three Holidays and a Wedding  by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ). Before we get into the book club chat, we start with a bookish check-in: Jen shares about Nadia Davids’s Cape Fever ( Book...

Have you read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ), or maybe watched one of the adaptations, and wondered how it holds up today? In Episode 301, Jen and Ashley dive into this beloved classic as our November Book Club pick. We start with a Bookish Check-in before diving into our discussion. We talk about what surprised us when revisiting The Secret Garden , from M...

Have you been with us since the early days, or are you just finding your way to our bookish corner? In Episode 300, we celebrate a huge milestone with a very special guest… our beloved former co-host, Sara! We kick things off with a Bookish Check-In, then look back at standout reads and moments from eight years and 300 episodes of Unabridged.   We revisit unforgettable conversations and reads, inc...

Have you picked up Stephen Graham Jones’s The Buffalo Hunter Hunter  ( Bookshop.org  | Libro.fm ) yet? We dig into this brilliant work in our October book club discussion. We start with a Bookish Check-In: Jen’s reading Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain ( Bookshop.org  | Libro.fm ), and Ashley just started V. E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil ( Bookshop.org  | Libro.fm ). ...

Do you like spooky reads, or do you tend to steer clear of anything too creepy? In Episode 298, Jen and Ashley share our favorite books for the season, and we talk about what makes the perfect fall read. We start with our Bookish Check-in: Ashley is listening to Thorn Season  ( Bookshop.org  | Libro.fm ) by Kiera Cass, and Jen’s revisiting Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend ( Bookshop.org  | Libro.fm...

Have you read Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic or seen the musical adaptation? In episode 297, our September Book Club pick takes us into Bechdel’s layered, brilliant graphic memoir about family, identity, and the stories we use to make sense of our lives. We kick things off with a bookish check-in (Ashley’s listening to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Ruling Class ; Jen just started Ange...

Have you ever hesitated to pick up a buzzy book because you weren’t sure it would live up to the hype? In Episode 296, Jen and Ashley kick off Season Nine with a chat about the books that absolutely do . We start with our Bookish Check-in: Jen’s reading Suleika Jaouad’s The Book of Alchemy , and I share thoughts on Elana K. Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of . Then we each bring a hyped pick that wor...

Which books are going in your beach bag this summer? In today’s episode, we’re sharing a few great picks for your next vacation—or just your next relaxing afternoon in the sun. From fast-paced thrillers and twisty YA mysteries to a heartfelt rom-com set in the world of podcasting, we’ve got something for everyone. We're heading into a summer break for Unabridged soon and wanted to make sure we'd s...

Have you read Truly Devious  by Maureen Johnson—or maybe even the whole series? In this May 2025 Book Club episode, we’re diving into the twisty world of Ellingham Academy with Stevie Bell and company. But first, we kick things off with a Bookish Check-In. Ashley’s reading Somewhere Beyond the Sea  by TJ Klune (yes, the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea ), and Jen shares her thoughts on Nned...

Have you watched the Heartstopper  series or read the graphic novels by Alice Oseman? In this episode, we’re sharing a conversation that originally aired on Patreon all about the pilot episode of Heartstopper , based on Oseman’s beloved graphic novel series. Before we dive into the adaptation, we kick things off with a bookish check-in—Ashley shares about Iron Flame  by Rebecca Yarros, and Jen is...

In this month’s Book Club episode, we’re discussing Solito  by Javier Zamora, a powerful memoir that chronicles his journey as a nine year old traveling alone from El Salvador to the United States. With vivid detail and emotional clarity, Zamora recounts the two-month trek that took him across borders, through deserts, and into the hands of strangers—some kind, some dangerous—all with the hope of...

Have you ever found that reading with a friend makes a book even better? In this episode, we (Jen and Ashley) dive into the joys of buddy reading, spotlighting some of our favorite young adult books we've read together through Unabridgedpod Buddy Reads—a community reading experience we host monthly on Instagram. We share how these reads have shaped our perspectives, helped us connect more deeply w...