Books with Betsy
Books with Betsy is a podcast that celebrates the reading life of all readers. Each week, Betsy interviews a different person about their reading life. Listen for book recommendations, reading tips, and to join in the joy that reading brings. And remember, anyone who reads is a reader.
Episodes
On this episode, Will Pass, author and creator of Who Reads Books Anymore, talks about the joy of the library with his kids, how much he learns about books when talking to strangers, and the book that hooked him as a young reader. We also talk a lot about how people develop a rich reading life and I hope this inspires listeners to encourage a non-reader in their life!
On this episode, Sofia and Becca from Off Color Book Club join me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, There There by Tommy Orange.
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 17th to discuss Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli. All are welcome!
On this episode, Nicole Abrahamson, Off Color Book Club Member, talks about her extremely varied reading life that is inspired by the idea of trying anything once. We also talk about the importance of talking about why you might not like a book and she drops a ton of titles that you might want to add to your TBR.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Wilderness by Angel...
On this episode, Rachel Larkins, a listener of Books with Betsy, talks about her project to read all the winners of the Hugo award, so we talk about a lot of really great sci-fi books. We also dish about how great the Book Riot podcast universe is and we might convince you to pick up Dune.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Ring by Michele Lerner
You Wanna Be On Top? by Sarah Hartshorne
On this episode, Amanda Moulson, co-host of the Curious Readers podcast, talks about finding her heartland as a reader, how much women’s voices influence her reading life, and the ways that podcasting about books changes how she interacts with books. We also go down a bit of an awards rabbit hole and find our shared love of pen and paper.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
On this episode, Stephanie Majercik and Nicole Abrahamson from Off Color Book Club join me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 17th to discuss There There by Tommy Orange. All are welcome!
On this episode, Giorgia Riddell, of Fostered Fiction, talks about her love for used books, especially those that are already annotated, her memories of listening to books on road trips, and we get into the current reading stats from last year and encourage anyone who wants to talk about reading online to go out there and do it.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What...
On this episode, Alexander Davidson, an English teacher and author, talks about his life as a self-proclaimed chaotic mood reader and gives a lot of really excellent book recommendations from a wide range of genres. He also talks about his recently developed love for audiobooks, and gives some great recommendations for narrators to look out for.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading...
On this episode, past guests of Books with Betsy and I share our favorite books of 2025! Listen to hear about lots of great 2025 books and the excellent backlist we got to this year.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Betsy’s Top 11 Books (in no particular order):
The Sisters by Jonas Hassan Khemiri
Endling by Maria Reva
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Biography of X by Cathe...
On this episode, past guests of Books with Betsy and I share our favorite books of 2025! Listen to hear about lots of great 2025 books and the excellent backlist we got to this year.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Betsy’s Best Categorically (books that…):
Shocked me:
It’s Not the End of the World by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
Made me Cry:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
On this episode, Madeline Blair, founder and editor of the literary magazine Sabr Tooth Tiger, talks about her development as a lover and writer of poetry, how balancing reading online publications can run up against her day job, and how she discovers new pieces to read. You also get to hear me have a bit of an existential crisis in real time which happens every time I think about how much content there is out there to read.
On this episode, Francisco Rafael Peralta-Cerda, a fellow Read & Runner, talks about his work building a love for reading as a high school teacher, how his mom encouraged him to read when he was little, and a possibly surprising genre that he has fallen in love with this year. We also discuss his hesitation to read in public but also the attempt to dispel the myth of the performative male.
Books mentioned in this episode:
...
On this episode, Deirdre Harrison, Executive Director of SitStayRead in Chicago talks about how her understanding of relationships affects her reading life, the joys of being a little free library steward, and shares deep thoughts about how her organization fits into the literary lives of everyone she interacts with. She also tells some really incredible stories about her experiences with SitStayRead that will emphasize the importa...
On this episode, Antonio Michael Downing, author and host of CBC’s Next Chapter, talks about his early reading life with his grandmother in Trinidad, how his work affects his reading life, and the types of authors that are speaking to him now. We talk about his two books, Saga Boy, a memoir, and Black Cherokee, his first novel.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s readin...
On this episode, Jesus, Emily, and Brian from Off Color Book Club join me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar.
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in the future, we will not be meeting in December but will meet on Tuesday, January 20th to discuss Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. All are welcome!
On this episode, Julie P., a mom who is finding her reading life to look differently than it has in the past, talks about how audiobooks have been a huge part of her reading life, the ways she brings reading to life with her kiddos, and how important and amazing children’s books are. Julie also gives a lot of great children’s book recommendations for many difficult topics.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:...
On this episode, Jen Price, of Travel Books and Movies, discusses her life that involves a great deal of travel, how she incorporates reading into travelling, and her book club that has a brilliant idea about how to choose books. We also get into some of the shared perils of being feral readers.
Travel Books and Movies Facebook Group
On this episode, Taylor Thornburg, multi-media creator and fan talks about how to plug in to the local literary scene, his connection to physical media, and how he loves authors that are just entirely out of the box. We also talk about a lot of the great benefits of the Chicago reading life.
Books mentioned in this episode:
What Betsy’s reading:
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Flashlight by Susan Choi
...
On this episode, Lorna Sherry and Cara Sandlass join me to discuss the most recent Off Color Book Club book, Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin.
If you’re interested in joining the Off Color Book Club in November, we will be meeting on Tuesday, November 18th to discuss Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. All are welcome!
On this episode, Tina of TBR, etc., talks about how being an active book person in multiple internet formats affects her reading life, her favorite genre acronym, and we go deep into the world of reading trackers. We also talk about her viral moment this past summer when she broke an AI-related book story.
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