Episode 24 - Always Been a Fan of a List with Ian Gillham

Books with Betsy

On this episode, Ian Gillham, @criticalgayze on Instagram, and I discuss our shared love of book lists, book awards, and reading these lists. We also discuss Ian’s Substack project focusing on the Pulitzer Prize and how it has morphed throughout the years. Also, stick around for some hot takes about super popular books!

Here is the link to Ian’s Substack so you can follow along with his prize project.

Books mentioned in this episode:

What Betsy’s reading:

My Friends by Hisham Matar

Colored Television by Danzy Senna

Summerdale by David Jay Collins

Books Highlighted by Ian:

Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet

Any Person is the Only Self by Elisa Gabbert

Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

Devil House by John Darnielle

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzalúda

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

All Fours by Miranda July

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell & Emily Arnold McCully

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket & Brett Helquist

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix & Cliff Nielsen

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

Wednesday’s Child: Stories by Yiyun Li

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

James by Percival Everett

Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain

Blake; Or the Huts of America by Martin R. Delany, Sandra M. Grayson, & Patty Nicole Johnson

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar

Telephone by Percival Everett

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

11/22/63 by Stephen King

The Long Walk by Stephen King

The Institute by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

The Running Man by Stephen King

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara