Telling Ourselves Stories in Order to Live – Radio Book Club

Joan Didion once wrote, ‘we tell ourselves stories in order to live.’ The latest Radio Book Club embodies that famous Didion turn of phrase by highlighting a myriad of stories and authors to get us through these times. From mysteries unfolding like Russian nesting dolls, to crime fiction grappling with race and love, feminism intersecting with Dolly Parton, and the braiding of Indigenous knowledge and science. Hosts are Shari Zollinger and Julia Buckwalter from Back of Beyond Books and Jessie Magleby from the Grand County Public Library. This show is full of great reading recs for these times, so tune in with your pencils out.

Julia’s Recs and Mentions

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton by Randy L. Schmidt

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh

Running Home by Katie Arnold

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

 

Jessie’s Recs and Mentions

The Searcher by Tana French

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi

Optic Nerve by Maria Gainza

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

 

Shari’s Recs and Mentions

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

The Testaments  by Margaret Atwood

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg