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Ann recently attended Podcamp Boston where she met several of our listeners:
- Jeff Rutherford, of the Reading and Writing Podcast, which interviews authors
- Amber Naslund, one of our friends from Twitter
- Leo, a listener from Brazil who now lives in the Boston area.
Ann also connected with two other podcasters: Guido Stein who runs It’s a Purl, Man, a knitting podcast, and Kristin Brandt from Manic Mommies. The Mommies run a yearly Escape, a getaway for moms, and that got Ann thinking: What if we had a Books on the Nightstand Reading Retreat? Maybe at a cozy inn somewhere in New England? Let us know your thoughts and maybe we’ll start planning for next year!
Ann came home from Podcamp and created the Books on the Nightstand Mobile Site. Simply point your web-enabled phone to m.booksonthenightstand.com. There you’ll find links for blog posts, podcasts and one-button dialing of our voice-mail number. We think it will be great for checking out the books we’ve talked about while your in the bookstore.
My friend April sent me an email asking for help coming up with a list of books that should be in every American home. She moved to New Zealand a few years ago and is finally moving all of her books. She wants to make sure the American Canon is represented in her library down under. Ann immediately came up with The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind. I, of course, thought of Moby Dick, the book I’m reading for the Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge. What about you? What books would you suggest to April? She’s looking for books beyond fiction as well. You can leave suggestions here in the comments, email them to us or join the discussions on our Goodreads or Facebook groups.
Next, we discuss books we loved in hardcover last year, that are now in paperback (click on the covers below to see the original blog post or podcast where we discussed the hardcover, in case you want more information):
Ann:
Michael:
Two books we can’t wait for you to read: I geek out over Batman: Hush, which is a fantastic Batman story for fan or non-fan alike. The art is phenomenal and it’s now available in a new one-volume trade paperback.
Ann raves about A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, her first novel since 1994’s Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?. Moore is primarily known as a short story writer, but Ann loves this new novel and says it’s her favorite book of 2009 so far.
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I would so be up for a reading retreat. Sign me up!
I agree with Suzanne… I would definitely be interested in a BOTNS reading retreat. (I nominate Vermont as an ideal location.) As long as it wasn’t outrageously expensive, I would totally be up for it.
I’m sure you said and covered a number of items in this week’s podcast, but to be honest, I can’t get past a possible BOTN Retreat! I LOVE the idea and I would be willing to fly and drive in for it!
Oh, guys, I’m so excited that some of you want a retreat. I think we can do it in a small way for the first year and then everyone will be jealous and want to make it even bigger the next year
I will continue to scheme and hopefully we can come up with something fun and affordable and convenient. Thanks!
For your friend’s “American” Library I would suggest “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger
Enjoyed the podcast as usual. For your friend, I thought of “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe and “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. Seems like there should be some Mark Twain, but I like “Little Women” better.
I’ve thought of few more books for April’s “American” library.
“My Antonia” by Willa Cather,
“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote,
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and either (if not both) “The Scarlet Letter” or “The House of the Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
She might also consider “Sister Carrie” by Theodore Dreiser. It’s wordy but quite “American.” A rags to riches story about a “fallen” woman.
Hi Ann and Michael!
I was just listening to the podcast as usual when I heard my name been mentioned! You have no idea how excited I was to find myself been mentioned on my favorite podcast!
It is really an honor.
Also, I LOVE the idea of a BOTNS reading retreat! And I’m completely sure my wife will love it too (she is as much of a bookworm as I am). I guess I’ll have to do the same as Michael mentioned and find a sitter so that we both can go.
Last, since podcast #39 when Ann mentioned Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis (about three generations of women in Uruguay), I wanted to suggest that you do a podcast on classic books in other countries (similar to your friends’ list of “books that should be in every American home”).
My suggestion for Brazil would be “Dom Casmurro” by Machado de Assis. It’s one of the most classic Brazilian books (every kid has to read at school) and even though it was first published in 1899, Machado’s style still captivates readers in this brilliant story about jealousy.
In fact, I love this book so much that now I think I should publish a post on my blog just talking about it.
Thank you for your amazing podcast. It is always a pleasure to listen to it.
Best,
Leo
Leo, that is a fantastic idea for a podcast episode — though I wonder if our listeners would forgive us for butchering names and places in other languages
We’ll add it to the list of episode ideas, and do some more research. It’s an excellent idea.
Again, it was a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry I was never able to connect with your wife (I looked for someone in a hat, but came up empty). I hope to meet her at our retreat
So many great suggestions from listeners. I would definitely second the Mark Twain suggestion–probably Huck Finn. And for some poetry, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.
I love the Manic Mommies and was so excited this morning when I heard you mention them Anne!
I too think a retreat would be nice. Maybe October in the White Mountains of New Hampshire or in Vermont? I prefer the White Mountains…Lincoln, Littleton, Franconia all have nice places!!
I would love a “BOTNS” retreat and am crossing my fingers for more word on the plans to make it happen…Its so nice to be a part of a community of book lovers like myself. Thanks for continuing to put out such great blogs and podcasts, it makes my day
Just paused the podcast to throw out the American authors who came to mind first for me (and that as it happens, I as an expat down under do keep, in paper format, on my shelves)- First I thought of was Philip Roth, then Kurt Vonnegut, then David Foster Wallace. Someone already said Updike, right? And of course the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, a complete set
Melissa and Carla – yay! See you in New England!
Hope – Laura Ingalls Wilder is a brilliant suggestion!
[...] a big-shot in shorties world. She also just released a new novel titled A Gate at the Stairs which Ann Kingman raved about a while [...]
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