Mini Ep. 59: Reviving Your Reading Life + Ann Patchett Deep Dive with Alyssa Hertzig (@alyssaisbooked)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.7 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2020
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Mini Episode 59, Alyssa Hertzig (@alyssahertzig, @alyssaisbooked) shares how she got back into reading after a long hiatus and we do an impromptu deep dive on Ann Patchett (one of my all-time favorite authors)…plus, celebrity memoirs.
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by Book of the Month. Use the code SARAHSBOOKSHELVES at checkout to get your first book for just $9.99!
Highlights
- How Alyssa started reading again after a long hiatus.
- The first few books that got Alyssa back into reading.
- A celebrity memoir we both loved on audio.
- How coronavirus impacted Alyssa's reading.
- Alyssa's recommendation for a great book to get you out of your coronavirus reading rut.
- The beloved book by one of Sarah's all-time favorite authors that Alyssa loved, but Sarah didn't.
- A spur-of-the-moment Ann Patchett deep dive.
- Excellent celebrity memoirs.
- A bit of a tangent about the NYC fashion scene.
Alyssa's Book Recommendations [13:15]
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett | Buy from Amazon
[13:33]
- Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradel (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[20:01]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- All Adults Here by Emma Straub | Buy from Amazon
[23:55]
- Open Book by Jessica Simpson (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
One Book She DIDN'T Love
- The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves | Buy from Amazon
One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About
- The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley (Release Date: May 19, 2020) | Buy from Amazon [35:29]
Other Books Mentioned
- The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
- A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[1:28]
- Untamed
by Glennon Doyle | Buy from Amazon [1:46]
- The Nightingale
- This Will Only Hurt a Little
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [10:23]
- The Heart's Invisible Furies
- 11/22/63
- Recursion
- Dark Matter
- The Dutch House
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[18:08]
- State of Wonder
- The Lager Queen of Minnesota
- Open
- A.L.T.
Other Links
- The Sparkly Life (Alyssa's blog)
- Alyssa's episode of 10 Things to Tell You with Laura Tremaine
- 10 Things to Tell You Ep. 63: Working from Home with Emily Freeman
- "How I've Read 50 Books in 6 Months (And How You Can Too)," The Sparkly Life
- Ep.7: Ashley Spivey
- Image of Andre Leon Talley
- "Designer Ralph Rucci says the door is open to criticize Anna Wintour", The New York Post
About Alyssa
Personal Instagram | Bookstagram | Blog | Twitter
Alyssa spent over a decade as a beauty editor at various magazines such as Allure, Brides, and Good Housekeeping.
She left the magazine world about 4 years ago to become a freelance writer.
She now splits her time as a freelance writer and editor covering primarily beauty topics…and as a blogger at The Sparkly Life, a lifestyle blog covering books, parenting, fashion, and more.
She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey (that's right across the river from NYC), with my husband and two kids.
Next Episode
Summer 2020 Book Preview with Catherine from Gilmore Guide to Books (airing Wednesday, May 27).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. |
| 0:11.3 | I'm Sarah of the blog Sarah's Bookshelves. |
| 0:14.1 | Each week I'm talking with one bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they love, one book they don't love, and one new |
| 0:22.2 | release they're excited about. We're going to get real, and sometimes a bit snarky, about all things |
| 0:27.7 | books. If you like the show, I'd really love your support. Spread the word to your reader |
| 0:32.5 | friends, subscribe to the show, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts, or get bonus podcast |
| 0:39.7 | episodes by supporting the podcast on Patreon. There's a link in the show notes and in my |
| 0:45.2 | Instagram bio to my Patreon page. Let's get rolling. Hey everyone, welcome to a mini episode of |
| 0:52.3 | Sarah's Bookshelves Live. Many episodes feature book bloggers, |
| 0:56.0 | Instagramers, or regular readers that apply to be on the show and focus solely on book recommendations. |
| 1:01.9 | I'm thrilled that Book of the Month is back as a sponsor of today's episode. As you all |
| 1:06.6 | probably know, it's a book subscription service that I have been using and loving for a number of |
| 1:13.1 | years. My May picks from Book of the Month were outrageously good. I chose the Knockout Queen, |
| 1:21.1 | which is my second five-star book of the year, and y'all have heard me talk about it many times on the |
| 1:26.9 | show already. |
| 1:28.2 | A Good Marriage, which is a mystery set in Park Slope with a legal angle, which I am finding out |
| 1:34.6 | that I love to see in my mysteries and my thrillers. I rated it four and a half stars, and you |
| 1:40.5 | will hear from the author Kimberly McCrete in a podcast episode coming in June. |
| 1:46.3 | And finally, as an add-on, I chose Untamed by Glennon Doyle. |
| 1:51.4 | When Book of the Month revealed their May selections, I was listening to Untamed on audio |
| 1:58.3 | and absolutely loving it, also a five-star book, which I have now finished listening |
| 2:02.8 | to. And I knew immediately that I wanted one of those beautiful covers for my shelves. So I ordered |
... |
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