Sunlit Pages: The Book Blab Episode 15: The Joys and Sorrows of Book Recommendations Plus Two Books for Fall Reading

Oct 17, 2017

It's been a few months since Suzanne and I last chatted, but I think you'll find this episode was worth the wait. We had a great time talking about allllllllllllll the emotions that go with both giving and receiving book recommendations. This was actually a topic suggested by one of our readers/viewers (thanks, Beth!), and we know we can't be the only ones who have awkward stories of book recommendations gone awry. We'd love for you to share your own experiences in the comments, as well as any book recommendations YOU have for US. Also, if you have any ideas for future topics of discussion, we'd love to hear those, too.

0:20 - Suzanne's new PhD program
1:35 - Today's topic: the perilous territory of making and receiving book recommendations
2:30 - Personal experiences with bad book recommendations

3:00 - Suzanne's experience
5:20 - Amy's experience

7:25 - How to handle a book recommendation that you didn't like

10:28 - The joy that comes from getting a good recommendation

11:10 - Suzanne's experience
11:50 - Amy's experience

13:25 - The anxiety of giving a book recommendation (but we love making recommendations anyway!)

15:40 - Suzanne's book recommendation gone wrong

18:20 - The times we've forced a book on someone, and it's gone over well

19:00 - Amy's experience
20:05 - Suzanne's experience

20:53 - The moral of this discussion

22:40 - Two seasonally appropriate reads for October

23:30 - Suzanne's reccomendation
24:50 - Amy's recommendation

28:08 - Conclusion

Books and links mentioned in the show:

Suzanne's recent post about time: Never Enough Time

Tell Me What to Read via Janssen at Everyday Reading

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Amy's review)

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (Suzanne's review) (PSA: there's currently a killer deal on the Kindle edition)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Suzanne's review // Amy's review)

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Suzanne's review // Episode 6 of The Book Blab)
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman (Amy's review)

The God Who Weeps by Terryl and Fiona Givens (Suzanne's review)

Dracula by Bra Stoker (Suzanne's review)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (Amy's review)

1 comment:

BethOctober 18, 2017 at 10:39 AM
Wow, I'm so pleased that my tiny recommendation sparked this great discussion. I found myself nodding along throughout -- the stress of giving and getting recommendations, the pleasure when they work out, how much fun it is to share a book you love with people you care about.

I tend to treat book lending like money lending (especially among family and friends) -- I don't loan, I gift. Sometimes the book comes back but I don't expect it.