Welcome to Top Shelf Reads, on today’s episode we review Zama, Giovanni’s Room, The Deep, Ace of Spades, and The Forest of Stolen Girls. And we discuss reading fiction for the self. 3:47 -- Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (teaser impressions) 6:00 -- Ace of Spades  by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 11:06 -- Zama by Antonio di Benedetto 28:45 -- Nick teases current reads The Morning Star by Karl Ove KnausgaardThe Books of Jacob by Olga TokarczukMy Struggle series by Karl Ove Knausgaard34:15 -- The...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads, on today’s episode we look back on our 2021 reading year and set our reading resolutions for 2022. 02:48 -- Chatting about our holidays Youtube Channels:KDbooksRachel is ReadingPaper Knot BooksBooks mentioned:PersuasionGiovanni's RoomMakioka Sisters The Morning StarChess StoryIndependent PeopleSleepless NightsLouise Gluck Poems 1962-2012A Novel by Steven More Volume 1Breakfast of ChampionsBats of the RepublicThe TrialZamaKin by JergovicChronicle of a Death...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode, we chat about Chicago bookstores and an online book club. Nick reviews If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino and we share book gifting ideas for the holiday season. Enjoy the show! 00:55 -- Chicago Bookstore Adventures AfterwordsNewberry (in library)Exile in Bookville (in Roosevelt University)Book Haul:The Conformist  by Alberto MoraviaButcher's Crossing by John WilliamsThe Bear by Andrew KrivakParakeet by Mari-Helene BertinoThis...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode, we chat about Booker Prize news, I review The Rifles by William T Vollmann, and we discuss classic literature. 00:00 -- holiday schedule news update 2:28 -- Booker Prize 2021 news update (and winner announcement) Eric Karl Anderson's Booker 2021 rantGuardian Article14:20 -- The Rifles by William T Vollmann (a review--or a book report?) 32:33 -- Discussion: TSR talks about the classics  Literature erasSome books discussed: The Count of Monte...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads on today’s spooky 13th episode we review Brian Evenson’s horror short story collection Song for the Unraveling of the World and Nick chats about his latest book haul. 00:58 -- Nick's Birthday Book Haul: If On a Winter's Night a Traveler2666XXThe Seven DreamsThe RiflesFathers and CrowsThe Dying GrassOther books mentioned:Rising Up and Rising Down, Carbon Ideologies, The Ice-Shirt18:23 -- Speedboat by Renata Adler (a review) 24:50 -- Cooking Companions (story based...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode Naomi chats about the national book award finalists, Nick reviews The Promise and The Satanic Verses and we discuss creepypasta. 00:00 -- Abdulrazak Gurnah wins the Nobel Prize in Literature 02:15 -- National Book Awards 2021 Finalists 09:15 -- Short teaser impressions about Song for the Unraveling of the World 11:52 -- The Promise by Damon Galgut (Nick reviews) 21:20 -- The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (Nick reviews) Other books mentioned:...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode we talk about the Booker Prize shortlist, chat about our new book acquisitions, and discuss reading fiction for educational value. 00:00 -- October Book Announcement and Giveaway Results 01:50 -- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (Naomi reviews) 14:06 -- New mini book hauls 24:20 -- Booker Prize 2021 Short List Announcement  31:35 -- Discussion: Reading Fiction for Educational Value [email protected] | Instagram | Twitter topshelfreads...

We are asking you to help us select our October book of the month to be discussed at length at the end of October. The books are listed below. Please send an email to [email protected] with October Contest or something similar in the subject line. You may vote for one book, multiple books, or do ranked choice. Deadline for submission is Friday September 24th 2021. Best of luck! The Book of Accidents by Chuck WendigThe Little Stranger by Sarah WatersDracula by Bram StokerSong for the...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode we provide brief reviews of a few books we’ve read recently, ask you the listener to help select our spooky book of October, and discuss prioritizing the books we read. 00:00 -- Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Winner 04:27 -- Spooky October Read Along Announcement (and giveaway!!) The Book of Accidents by Chuck WendigDracula by Bram StokerThe Little Stranger by Sarah WatersSong for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson14:34 -- We Have...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode we juxtapose Robert Burton’s lifework, The Anatomy of Melancholy, with our discussion on popular fiction. 00:00 -- Leaf by Leaf (A BookTube Recommendation) 13:28 -- The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (an introduction) 23:06 -- Popular Fiction/Genre Fiction discussion

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads, on this episode we review the books A Passage North and Firekeeper’s Daughter and discuss our opinions on assigned reading in school. 00:00 -- Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley Review 02:50 -- The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin 04:03 -- Dark Star Trilogy by Marlon James, a Release Update!! 05:55 -- A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam Review 19:55 -- Discussion: Assigned Reading in School: What did we like about assigned reading in school?What did we...

Welcome to Top Shelf Reads, on this episode we chat about the Booker Prize 2021 longlist and newer books Naomi is keen to read. We also welcome you to our physical and figurative bookshelves via a tour of superlatives. 00:50--Booker Prize 2021 Longlist 39:52--New books on Naomi's radar The Anthropocene Reviewed by John GreenChina Room by Sunjeev SahotaThe Book of Ancients by Chuck WendigShe Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-ChanThe Hill We Climb and Other Poems by Amanda GormanCloud Cuckoo...

On today's episode we discuss Obama's 2021 reading list and some of our favorite short stories, novellas, poems, and essays. 00:30--Obama's 2021 Reading List 13:04--Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley--reading update 16:56--Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay--final thoughts 25:22--Marlon and Jake Read Dead People (podcast recommendation) 30:43--Short-form storytelling and poetry discussion covering: The Road Not Taken by Robert FrostStill I Rise by Maya AngelouOCD by Neil...

On our fifth episode we chat about Nick’s recent book haul and discuss reading to expand our worldviews. Book talk: 00:45--For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten 01:20--Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke 05:16--Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann 12:43--The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn Discussion topic: 16:30--Discussion on reading to expand our worldviews Books discussed: Full Body Burden by Kristen Iversen, A Fine Balance by Rohinton...

On today's episode Nick and Naomi discuss Piranesi at length (spoiler section tagged below so you can avoid it) and then discuss unorthodox storytelling. 00:30 -- The International Booker Prize Short List 1:45 -- At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop 7:05 -- The Employees: A Workplace Novel in the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn 13:50 -- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (pre spoilers) 21:08 -- Piranesi SPOILERS 38:15 -- Unorthodox Storytelling Eric Karl Anderson's video on the International Booker...

On this episode, Nick and Naomi discuss the coronavirus pandemic inspired book of essays by Zadie Smith called Intimations, the new Hugo nominated novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and chat philosophy. Afterwards, they discuss their reading habits. 00:30-- Intimations 11:38 - Piranessi 20:29 - Sailing to Sarantium 25:34 - The History of Philosophy 33:00 - Reading Habits Discussion Ambient Reading Playlist Jazz Reading Playlist Piano album great for reading: Pianoworks by...

**Note** Apologies for Nick's sound quality--the audio recorded louder than normal and affected the sound. I tried my best to balance it and will avoid this on our next episode! On the second episode Nick and Naomi chat about their recent reads including The Lost Apothecary and Boy's Life and then discuss people based story structures using Pachinko and A Fine Balance as talking points. Enjoy. Reading Talk: The Lost Apothecary--0:00The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August--1:45Boy's...

On TSR's pilot episode Nick and Naomi discuss what books they've been reading lately and then discuss their personal reading tastes. Reading updates: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - 1:35The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner - 11:30The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris - 14:10Our reading tastes - 20:40 Books discussed during this segment include Wolf Hall, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pachinko, Black Leopard Red Wolf, Song of Achilles, House of...