Season 2, Episode 22: A Record Number of Five-Star Books + "Goodreads, You're Fired"

Kaytee and Meredith are excited for a new year and some new bookish recommendations!

As always, we start out with a “bookish moment of the week” from each host. Some fame-treatment and bonus reading time.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We’ve got five-star books and strong opinions and all the things you love in this segment this week, so it’s a fun one!

We are skipping our Slow But Steady check-in this week, but be sure to chime in with your picks on Instagram or Facebook for this challenge!

For our deep dive, we are throwing some serious side-eye at the Goodreads Best Books of 2019 lists and the ways these collections are put together. We have STRONG opinions about the winners for a number of these categories, but it’s not all negative. We’ll also share our picks for “best lists that actually reflect good 2019 reading” with you.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we’re trying something a little different with a “guest press” this week, and including a category of book that has never shown up on the press list before.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down! 

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

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Current Reads:

6:52 - Bookshelf Thomasville Shelf Subscriptions

7:01 - The Last by Hannah Jameson

9:37 - Stephen King’s books

9:38 - Agatha Christie’s books

9:56 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

11:10 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

11:20 - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

11:21 - Run by Ann Patchett

11:22 - State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

11:23 - This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

11:27 - The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett

11:32 - Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

18:18 - The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson

18:30 - Read Aloud Revival

20:05 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

21:19 - Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

21:22 - Naturally Tan by Tan France

24:57 - @girlaboutlibrary on Instagram

25:04 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

26:46 - Furious Hours by Casey Cep

30:05 - Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

30:13 - Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines

Deep Dive:

34:35 - Goodreads Best of 2019 List:

35:18 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

36:10 - Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

36:18 - Audible’s Best of 2019 List

37:08 - Recursion by Blake Crouch

37:31 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

37:49 - The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

38:40 - The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan

39:43 - Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

40:07 - Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

40:20 - Book of the Month (DJ&TS is their Book of the Year)

40:38 - The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

40:45 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

41:11 - Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis

41:13 - American Royals by Katherine McGee

41:25 - Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

43:14 - New York Times Best of 2019 List

43:16 - NPR’s Best of 2019 List

43:24 - Libraryreads.org Best of 2019 List

44:03 - Lithub.com best of best of lists

44:33 - Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

44:34 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

44:36 - Normal People by Sally Rooney

45:00 - Amy Allen Clark at Momadvice.com best of 2019 List

Presses:

47:37 - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

50:14 - El Deafo by CeCe Bell