The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller
Mentioned 1 week ago
What’s Epic About the ‘Odyssey’? Everything.
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In the Sunday Special episode, the hosts mentioned Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes as a whimsical cookbook option for foodie readers, noting that Dahl's prose retained its characteristic sharpness. The book was listed alongside other author-themed cookbooks as a fun, niche choice rather than a core recommendation.
This cookbook was mentioned as a fun option for a foodie reader, noting that Roald Dahl's prose was as acid as one would expect.
There's the Roald Dahl cookbook, the Rumor Garden cookbook, the Maya Angelou cookbook, the Pat Conroy cookbook.
The book was included in a holiday gift guide episode, where the hosts noted it as a suitable choice for readers who love food. It was mentioned alongside other cookbooks as a recommendation for foodie listeners.
This cookbook was listed among others by writers who care about food, recommended for the foodie reader.
the Rumor Garden cookbook,
A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes
The book was highlighted as a suitable gift for readers who love food, noting that Maya Angelou's cookbook reflects her care for culinary topics. Jumana Khatib mentioned it as an option among holiday book suggestions. The discussion presented it as a pleasant, food‑focused read without strong endorsement.
This cookbook by Maya Angelou was listed as an option for a foodie reader interested in a book by a writer who cares about food.
the Maya Angelou cookbook,
Recipes of My Life
During a holiday gifting segment, the hosts highlighted the book as a seafood‑focused cookbook, noting its especially good method for preparing bluefish. They suggested it would be an appealing gift for readers who love cooking and seafood. The tone was a light recommendation aimed at foodie listeners.
This cookbook, which reportedly contains a lot of seafood recipes including a good method for bluefish, was suggested for the foodie reader.
The Pat Conroy Cookbook. What is in The Pat Conroy Cookbook? A lot of seafood. You're kidding. Yeah. Yeah, he has a really good method for bluefish actually.
Jumana Khatib highlighted the book as a stunning blend of a food guide and a coffee‑table showcase, noting its focus on Gala Dalí's wildly elaborate dinner party menus. She emphasized that it was highly recommended for anyone looking for a unique, visually striking read during the holidays.
This was highly recommended as a book that walks the line between a food book and a coffee table book, featuring Salvador Dal's wife Gala's incredibly elaborate, absurd, and over-the-top dinner party menus.
And another one I would say kind of walking the line between food book and coffee table book. I have had very good success with Dinners to Gala, the most stunning book. It's all Gala Dahl's incredibly elaborate, absurd, over-the-top dinner party menus.
How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World
The book was highlighted as a lively, gossip‑filled account of the Ballets Russes in 1920s Paris, making it a fitting gift for a grandmother who enjoys the performing arts. Sadie Stein recommended it for its fun, accessible style, noting that even readers who aren’t ballet fans could enjoy it. The episode presented the title as an entertaining and engaging read.
This book was recommended for a grandmother who loves the performing arts, as it covers the Ballets Russes in Paris in the 1920s and is described as gossipy and fun, even if the reader doesn't particularly like ballet.
I would go for Diaghilev's Empire, How the Ballet Russe Enthralled the World, which is about the Ballet Russe in Paris in the 1920s. And it's really gossipy and it's really fun.
The Collected Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim
The host highlighted a two‑book set of Stephen Sondheim's musical lyrics, noting that the annotated collections were a joy to read alongside cast recordings and had become a personal favorite over the years. They suggested the title as an ideal gift for a grandparent or a dad who enjoys fiction, emphasizing its appeal as a thoughtful present.
This is a two-book set collecting all of Stephen Sondheim's musical lyrics, annotated and introduced by Sondheim himself, which the speaker found joyful to read while listening to cast recordings. These books were suggested as great for a grandparent or a dad who likes fiction.
These are two books that I've grown to love over the past many years. It's a two-book set, although you can buy each of them separately. These are Stephen Sondheim's books, Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat, which are collections of the lyrics for every Stephen Sondheim musical, annotated, introduced by Stephen Sondheim.
The Making of Born to Run
In a holiday gifting segment, the host suggested the title as an ideal present for a new dad because it explores the making of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album, even though they admitted they wouldn't read it themselves. The recommendation highlighted its relevance to Springsteen fans while remaining a peripheral suggestion.
This book about the making of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' was suggested as a sure bet for a new dad, even though the speaker wouldn't read it themselves.
I do think any kind of Bruce Springsteen adjacent book, even though I will never read it, is a sure bet. So there's one that came out this year called Tonight in Jungle Land, which is all about the making of Born to Run.
A Memoir
Jumana Khatib suggested the memoir for a new dad, noting the author's 70s journalism career at Rolling Stone and his colorful, undercover experiences. She described it as an entertaining read that could inspire the listener to reflect on their own life journey.
This memoir by 70s journalist Cameron Crowe, who wrote for Rolling Stone, was suggested for a new dad who might enjoy reading about a life where he went undercover and depicted his childhood in a book.
But The Uncool by Cameron Crowe, who is a journalist in the 70s. He wrote for Rolling Stone. And he had one of those sort of picker-esque lives where I think dad will be entertained and possibly could look down at his little bundle of emerging consciousness and think, oh, what a life my child might have.
The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
In a holiday gifting episode, the host suggested the book for new dads, noting it commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking—a subject many men find compelling. He highlighted that it provides a detailed account of the tragedy made famous by Gordon Lightfoot’s song, presenting it as a strong endorsement.
This book was recommended for new dads because it covers the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, a topic the speaker noted men seem obsessed with. It details the tragedy immortalized in a Gordon Lightfoot song.
I read a book, because it's the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald called The Gales of November by a man named John U. Bacon.
Selected Journals 1841-1877
The host recommended the title as a beautiful gift for a father, noting that Emerson's observations about his son illustrated how parental love remains unchanged across time. They also mentioned that, while the content was emotionally sad, the journals were praised for their aesthetic and heartfelt qualities.
The speaker recommended these beautiful journals for a father, noting Emerson's observations about his son Waldo demonstrate that parental love hasn't changed over time, although the content was emotionally sad.
especially perhaps for a father, the journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson are so beautiful. And what he writes, his observations about Waldo, and of course, knowing what happens, it's hard to read, but it is... It just shows how parental love has not changed.
56 Breed Cat Exercises for Practicing Colors and Textures with Colored Pencils (Draw pets like a pro)
The title was highlighted as an unexpected, quirky gift option, praised for its bizarre captions and colorful cat illustrations. Sadie Stein mentioned it as a fun, random present suggested by poet Stevie Smith, noting its appeal for holiday gifting.
This was suggested as an unexpected, weird, and great random gift book from the poet Stevie Smith, featuring bizarre captions.
Look for, for instance, the poet Stevie Smith's random gift book, Cats in Color, with their incredibly bizarre captions.
The host recommended the book as an extremely odd children's title by John Betjeman, noting it would make a surprising gift for anyone interested in the author. It was highlighted for its quirky nature and novelty as a holiday present.
This was recommended as an extremely weird children's book by John Betjeman that people won't have, making it a great unexpected gift for someone interested in the author.
Look for John Betjeman's extremely weird children's book, Archie and the Strict Baptists.
and other bedtime rhymes
These children's books by Ionesco were suggested as unexpected and great gifts for readers interested in this writer.
You know, look for Ionesco's children's books. They are unexpected. They are weird. They are great.
— Episode: Sunday Special: Gifting Books for the Ho...
These children's books by Ionesco were suggested as unexpected and great gifts for readers interested in this writer.
You know, look for Ionesco's children's books. They are unexpected. They are weird. They are great.
A Novel
The book was highlighted as an anti‑algorithmic novel that captivated the speaker’s consciousness, following a documentary filmmaker’s death in Nepal and his son’s liminal experience while quoting the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It was praised for its hysterically written style and noted as deserving far more recognition.
This novel was described as an anti-algorithmic book that kidnapped the speaker's consciousness, following a documentarian who dies in Nepal and then checks in on her son from the bardo (limbo). It quotes heavily from the Tibetan Book of the Dead and is hysterically written.
I happen to know a lot of snobs in New York City. So I actually am looking at Trip by Amy Baradale. This is the book that kidnapped my consciousness and still has it as far as I'm concerned because it touches on the finer points of Buddhist ideas about life after death.
It's hysterically written. I don't think Amy Baradale is as known as she ought to be. And it's just, like, this is, if you want to talk about, like, anti-algorithmic books, this is the definition of that.
The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
The book was highlighted by David Marchese as a recent nonfiction bestseller that brought attention to global health by exposing the high death toll of a curable disease. He noted that it connected themes of suffering and worldwide illness, emphasizing its purpose of raising awareness.
This was John Green's recent nonfiction bestseller which focused on global health. The stated purpose of the book was to raise attention to the fact that 1.5 million people were dying annually from a curable disease.
And then more recently, Green turned his attention to global health with this year's nonfiction bestseller Everything Is Tuberculosis.
or in your most recent book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, writing about global-scale illness. Again, they both connect, for me, to the idea of suffering.
The book was brought up during an interview with its author, who explained that it was his final novel before stepping away from fiction. He recounted that the tour for the title left him seriously ill both physically and mentally. The discussion highlighted the personal toll the book's promotion took on him, without offering a recommendation.
This was the author's last novel before his break from fiction writing, and he became physically and mentally sick after the tour for this book.
When I got home from the Turtles All the Way Down tour, my last novels tour, I became quite sick, both physically.
The book was brought up by John Green, who said he had read it and searched for traces of the author in the story even though Salinger had explicitly discouraged such readings. He reflected that this curiosity was a natural human impulse, without offering a strong endorsement or criticism.
The interviewer mentioned reading this book and looking for hints of the author in the story, despite the author's wishes not to be read autobiographically.
I read J.D. Salinger into Catcher in the Rye, even though he made it very clear he didn't want me to do that. But I still did. You know, I still looked for hints of the author in the story. I just think that's a human impulse.
The Art of Being Persuasively Correct
During the interview, the host referenced the book when asking the author about his 2015 comment that ideological purity on the right creeped him out, noting that his views have shifted since then. The discussion highlighted his concern about ideological purity and how it appears today.
Published in 2015, Gutfeld wrote in this book that ideological purity on the right unnerved him, although he admitted his own views have changed since then.
There's a book of yours. Yes. From 2015. Called How To Be Right.
And in there, you wrote that ideological purity on the right creeps you out. Where do you see that ideological purity on the right today?
In the episode, the host cited the author's own book while discussing his earlier skepticism about vaccine claims and noting his more moderate view on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The reference was used to illustrate the shift in his stance rather than to promote the work. The overall tone was neutral, simply mentioning the title as background.
The interviewer referenced this book when discussing Gutfeld's past skepticism regarding vaccine claims, contrasting it with his current softer stance on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
From your book, The Bible of Unspeakable Truths.
Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.
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