Unabridged: A Book Podcast

Oh my goodness, drop what you are doing and read this book! Spoiler alert: Jen and Ashley both loved Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) so much, and there is a ton to discuss. This one just came out in September.   In the episode, we also offer a couple of other spooky reads perfect for the fall reading season including R. J. Jacobs’s Always the First to Die ( Boo...

In this episode, Ashley talks with Barrett Holmes Pitner, author of The Crime Without a Name: Ethnocide and the Erasure of Culture in America ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ). Pitner shares some thoughts and perspectives on what ethnocide looks like in American history, where we are culturally today, and what we can do to look toward a more fulfilling future tomorrow.   Want to Connect with Barrett Hol...

Do you enjoy retellings of the epics? Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) is a retelling of Homer's The Illiad . Jen and Ashley share our thoughts about this book club pick, and we share our pairings including Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) and Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ). Looking for more Unabridged content...

Have you read any books that center nature or the environment lately? In this episode, Ashley and Jen share books they've read recently - including Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) - that consider the role of nature as part of the story. These recommendations are perfect for the 2022 Reading...

In our August 2022 book club episode, we discuss Laura Gao's Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American. We share pairings for Gao's memoir including Malinda Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese.   Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode.   Interested in what else we're reading? Check...

In this episode of the Unabridged Podcast, Ashley and Jen share some middle grade recs by authors of color perfect for anyone working on the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. Kacen Callendar's King and the Dragonflies and Varsha Bajaj’s Count Me In would both be fantastic additions to your TBR. We round out our book discussion with our Bookish Check-in and share some favorite pet stories.   Vi...

Ashley, Jen, and Sara describe—in the bookish check-in—some summer reads they loved this summer, including Diana Gabaldon's Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone, Alexis Hall's A Lady for a Duke, Peter Swanson's Before She Knew Him, and Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Golden Couple. Sara shares a big announcement: she's signing off, so we send her off with so much love. And they offer some of t...

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses the end of the school year and her plan for summer. She talks about taking some much needed rest and relaxation. In addition, she discusses some of the processes she will go through to prepare for the next school year. Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interested in what else we're reading...

In this episode, Jen and Sara discuss 2018's adaptation of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. They discuss this  movie--what they liked, what they didn't, and their overall feelings about the adaptation. Check it out and let us know what you think! And don't miss their discussion on the book in last week's episode!   Visit the Unabridged website...

In this Unabridged episode, Sara and Jen discuss Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. We also share our pairings, including works by Helen Hanff and Kim Fay.   Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode.   Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.   Want to s...

Do you need a recommendation for a historical fiction book? Listen to this episode to hear recommendations from Sara, Jen, and Ashley. We feature Ruta Sepetys’s The Fountains of Silence, Sarah Winman’s Still Life, and Kim Fay’s Love & Saffron, and we discuss what we loved about these picks. Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Intere...

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses an add-on for Google Slides. She talks about Creator Studio , an add on that allows you to convert any Google Slide Show to an animated GIF for video slideshow.   Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode.   Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.   Want to suppor...

In this episode, Jen and Sara discuss 2006's adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada ( Libro.fm | Bookshop.org ). They discuss this beloved movie--what they liked, what they didn't, and their overall feelings about the adaptation. Check it out and let us know what you think!   Visit the Unabridged website for and links to the books mentioned in the episode.   Want to support Unabri...

We are long-time Angie Thomas fans here at Unabridged (check out our episodes focused on The Hate U Give here and its adaptation here ), so Ashley, Jen, and Sara were thrilled when we heard she was publishing a prequel focused on Maverick. Concrete Rose ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) is (spoiler alert!) a five-star read for us, so we have a wide-ranging discussion of the book. We also share our pairi...

Are you a true crime fan? Lucky for you, we have a wide range of opinions on this genre, so our recommendations include picks that would work for any reader depending on your interest and preferences. Our picks include Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff’s Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered , Ronan Farrow’s Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators , and John Carreyrou’s Bad...

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses how she chooses books for her classroom. She talks about the steps she uses to select, obtain, and vet books that she will use for literature circles, whole class reads, and individual reads. In addition, she discusses whether she uses thematic or chronological units and what she plans on sharing with you in the future.   Visit the Unabridged website for o...

In this episode, Jen and Sara discuss Peacock's adaptation of Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying ( Libro.fm | Bookshop.org ). They discuss the pilot episode--what they liked, what they didn't, and their overall feelings about the adaptation. Check it out and let us know what you think! Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books mentioned in the episode. Interest...

Are you looking for a memoir that is both laugh out loud hilarious and also deeply poignant? In this March Book Club episode, we discuss Jenny Lawson's memoir Furiously Happy. We chat about our thoughts on Lawson's work, and we share our pairings including Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half, Lindy West’s Shrill, and R. Eric Thomas’s Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America. Visit the Unab...

In this episode, we're talking all things backlist books! We share our recommendations for some favorites that were published before the year 2000. We share Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, Louise Edrich’s Tracks, and Lois Lowry’s The Giver. These recommendations are also perfect for those doing the 2022 Unabridged Reading Challenge ! Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes an...

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses 3 more Google extensions and how to use them to assist in the classroom and in the Google environment. She talks specifically about these excellent extensions to try out immediately. All of these extensions can be found in the Chrome Web Store . The extensions discussed today are Eyedropper , SmallPDF , and Dualless . Visit the Unabridged website for more...

Do you need a recommendation for a book in an unusual format to complete your Unabridged Reading Challenge? Listen to this episode to hear recommendations from Sara, Jen, and Ashley. We feature Jason Reynolds’s Ain’t Burned All the Bright with artwork by Jason Griffin, Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer’s To Night Owl from Dogfish, and Jennifer L. Holm and Elicia Castaldi’s Middle School Is Wor...

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses how she navigates revision in her writing instruction. She talks about the logistics of assessing revision, the writing process she currently asks students to navigate, and some of the questions she's considered as she balances writing process and product. Visit the Unabridged website for more great content! Want to support Unabridged? Follow us @unabridge...

In this Encore Unabridged Love is in the Air episode, we talk about some romance book recommendations we each want to share, including discussions of Alexis Daria's You Had Me at Hola, Alisha Rai’s First Comes Like, and Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown. There's something for everyone who is looking for a great romance book to read.   Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and...

Are you looking for romance reads that also explore important issues in meaningful ways? We are all fans of Helen Hoang's books and were excited to dive into her latest release. In our February 2022 book club, we're discussing Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle. We also share our pairings, which include Talia Hibbert’s Act Your Age, Eve Brown, Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, and Jasmine Guillor...

In this Unabridged Teaching Tidbits Episode, Ashley shares a workflow tool, Asana , that can really help teachers manage both individual projects and team projects. This tool has collaborative features and a robust free version that works well and can really help streamline and organize tasks. Like Slack and Google Keep, which we've shared in other Teaching Tidbits, this is another project managem...