Best Booksummaries Podcasts (2024)

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Ep 447: How to fix a chronic three-star situation 1:04:41

17m ago1:04:41

1:04:41

Our reading community truly spans the globe: today Anne is in conversation with Evie, who is joining us from northern Greece. Evie grew up in Boston and after visiting family in Greece over the years, she moved back herself last year. These days she enjoys the slow pace of life and social culture in her Greek community. Today, Evie would love help …

1
Unlocking Travel Bliss: How to Make Peak Vacation Happiness Last 17:05

21m ago17:05

17:05

Ever been bored on what should be an amazing vacation? This episode is for you! This week on GHY, Lisa shares an article from The Wall Street Journal about Peak Vacation Happiness and three ways to keep that joy going and fight the travel blues. We reference also reference our review of the book SMART with Dr. Sood. If you're enjoying GHY, please l…

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Ep 446: How to balance print books with screen reading 1:16:27

3d ago1:16:27

1:16:27

If you love a good campus novel for fall, you'll love today's conversation between Anne and academic dean Karen Gold. Karen works at the oldest independent boarding school in the country, where she teaches a course on campus novels. That's not all Karen reads, though: she's especially fond of novels that span generations and highlight both the mund…

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Why It’s So Hard to Admit You’re Wrong 26:07

3d ago26:07

26:07

On this episode of GHY, Lisa shares an article about Why It’s So Hard to Admit You’re Wrong from the New York Times. Other episodes we mention: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo How to Be an …

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Ep 445: Startlingly beautiful sentences and perfect last lines 1:13:18

19d ago1:13:18

1:13:18

Get your to-be-read lists ready because today's episode is packed full of recommended titles. In today's show, Anne is hosting Hunter, a fan of literary fiction who lives in Philadelphia with his husband and their dog. Anne and Hunter talk about his years-long project to read National Book Award longlisted titles, which also leads into conversation…

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When Words Stick: The Remarkable Shelf Life of the Offhand Comment 16:52

17d ago16:52

16:52

On this episode of GHY, Lisa shares an article about The Remarkable Shelf-Life of the Offhand Comment from the New York Times. Here is the GHY episode we mention about What to Do When You Say Something Stupid. If you're enjoying GHY, please leave us a rating and review, as it helps other people find our show, too. Want more GHY? Sign up for our new…

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Ep 444: Our team's best books of summer 1:12:24

21d ago1:12:24

1:12:24

Today we're back with the 2024 installment of our popular summer reading roundup, where members of our team pair up to talk about their favorite summer reads. You'll hear our team in conversation today, exploring our summer reading experiences and the titles we can't stop talking about. Around here we talk books all year round, but episodes like th…

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Family Estrangement: Why So Many Young People Are Going No-Contact With Their Parents 28:57

17d ago28:57

28:57

On this episode of GHY, Lisa and Misty dive into the rising occurrence of family estrangement, sparked by an article Misty shares from Cosmopolitan called Why So Many Young People Are Cutting Off Their Parents by Fortesa Latifi. If you're enjoying GHY, please leave us a rating and review, as it helps other people find our show. Want more GHY? Sign …

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Ep 443: Backlist picks for immediate library hold gratification 1:00:14

24d ago1:00:14

1:00:14

A limited reading selection often leads to delightful serendipity, and today Anne's chatting with a guest who has had just that experience. Rachel Elaine Martens and her family recently lived in Budapest for a year. During this time, Rachel Elaine had access to her U.S. library's virtual collection, but she also made use of a small shelf of left-be…

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How Many Friends Are Too Many? Exploring Dunbar's Number 18:04

28d ago18:04

18:04

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Misty shares the theory of Dunbar's number, as outlined in this article from bbc.com called Dunbar's number: Why we can only maintain 150 relationships. If you'd like to try out the Fabriq app Misty mentions to get more intentional about your relationships, you can do so here. Want more GHY? Sign up for our news…

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Gut Feelings: Your Microbiome’s Impact on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress 28:55

1M ago28:55

28:55

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Misty shares an article from NPR titled Your gut microbes may influence how you handle stress by Will Stone. This sparks a compelling debate between Lisa and Misty. Is there something wrong with you if you're depressed? Should you even try to fix it, or are our modern systems the real things that need fixing? If…

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Ep 442: Your TBR is not a to-do list 54:21

1M ago54:21

54:21

Readers, we have celebrated birthday milestones here on the podcast before, and today Anne is talking with a guest who designed the ultimate book party for her recent 50th birthday. Kelly Davis lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she works for her alma mater and enjoys caring for her garden and listening to audiobooks. For Kelly's recent…

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Ep 441: Lucy Foley talks secrets, lies, murder, and mystery writing 55:08

1M ago55:08

55:08

Today we're excited to share Anne's recent conversation with author Lucy Foley, from a live event hosted by Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. In today's show, Anne and Lucy kick things off by discussing Lucy's new revenge thriller The Midnight Feast and the real-life places and trips that inspired its atmospheric setting. Lucy also sh…

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How to Defeat Nosy Questions 13:40

2M ago13:40

13:40

This week on GHY, Misty shares an article called A Magic Phrase to Defeat Nosy Questions by Jancee Dunn from The New York Times' Well Newsletter while Lisa shares her favorite ways of shutting down predatory curiosity. If you find yourself on the receiving end of nosy questions, try these tips: Remember that you don’t owe anyone an answer. Tell the…

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Ep 440: Anne's midyear reading check-in 54:49

2M ago54:49

54:49

With the year just over half way through, Anne is stepping back to see how her reading year is going. Today, she and Shannan Malone are doing a little midyear check-in to see how this year has been going so far reading-wise, and what they are most excited about in the coming months. They consider whether they're actually reading what they want to b…

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The Power of Awe: How It Drives Us to Help Others 24:37

2M ago24:37

24:37

This week on GHY, Misty shares an article from Greater Good Magazine that outlines the science about how awe can make us more likely to help others. Here's the 10-minute painting focus challenge Lisa mentioned from the NYT And here's our episode covering SMART with Dr. Sood Want more GHY? Sign up for our newsletter at gohelpyourself.co Get in touch…

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Ep 439: How many book clubs is too many book clubs? 57:07

2M ago57:07

57:07

In today's episode from the WSIRN vault, Anne is sharing her very first podcast conversation with Brigid Misselhorn. Like so many of our guests, Brigid came to the show through our WSIRN guest submission form. But these days she works on our team as our MMD Book Club Community Administrator. This is fitting, because as you’ll hear in today’s episod…

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Pivotal Updates From Everyone’s Favorite “Old Person” Magazine 20:43

2M ago20:43

20:43

On this episode of GHY, Lisa brings back her favorite "old person" magazine to share some action-packed (and research backed) life tips from The Bottom Line magazine, including: Why Dissatisfaction with life is normal How overtraining leads to lower moods Extreme heat is linked to more mental health emergencies Women are both happier and sadder tha…

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Now You See Them, Now You Don't: The Psychological Fallout of Ghosting 49:38

2M ago49:38

49:38

On this episode of GHY, Lisa and Misty dive deep into the topic of ghosting in dating. Lisa shares two recent articles: Ghosting Is an Inescapable Part of Dating. Is It Ever OK? and 7 Ways to Respond to Ghosting. This leads to a very lively discussion about the fabric of humanity and brings up the question... are we owed anything by anyone? We also…

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Ep 438: Life is short & my TBR is way too long 50:34

2M ago50:34

50:34

Today we're excited to continue our mid-summer series featuring our team members! Learning more about our team members and who shares your tastes may help you identify some good books in a way that might not land on your radar otherwise. We hope you love this conversation. Anne is revisiting her very first conversation with Alabama reader Shannan M…

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Ep 437: An epic birthday bookstore roadtrip 52:26

2M ago52:26

52:26

Welcome back to our July series brought to you by the What Should I Read Next? time machine. This month, we're going back in our archives to share episodes with four of our team members. When these episodes were originally recorded, no one involved had any idea that these readers would be on our team eventually, so it's especially fun to re-listen …

1
The Power of the Pen: Why Handwriting is Crucial for Learning 20:47

2M ago20:47

20:47

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Misty shares an article about why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning by NPR. Don't let handwriting die, everyone! We also mention our episode of How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens. Want more GHY? Sign up for our newsletter at gohelpyourself.co Get in touch with us: gohelpyourselfpodcast@…

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The Art of Gray Rocking: Navigating Interactions with Difficult People 23:34

2M ago23:34

23:34

In this episode, Lisa and Misty review the Gray Rock method for navigating interactions with difficult people, based on this article from the New York Times. If you'd like to listen to the Bruce Bryans book reviews we mention, you can find those here: Texts So Good He Can't Ignore: Sassy Texting Secrets for Attracting High-Quality Men (and Keeping …

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Ep 436: The reality of bookworm problems 36:42

3M ago36:42

36:42

Today we are kicking off a summer series from the What Should I Read Next? archives: we're sharing the first episodes and sometimes the very first conversations Anne had with readers that are now members of our team. Many of you know our team members by name, and you have a good sense of their reading tastes, too. But we also know that many of you …

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Closing Time: The Dos and Don'ts of Email Sign-Offs 13:42

3M ago13:42

13:42

In this episode, Lisa and Misty discuss email signature and sign-offs: the good, the bad, and the truly savage (according to survey respondents). Check out the article Lisa shares from The Muse, Bored Panda’s crowdsourced suggestions, or this blog post from Omnisend that has links to the studies we referenced. Cheers! If you'd like to help shape th…

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Self-Help vs. Therapy: When to Work With a Professional + How to Spot Toxic Self-Help 19:54

3M ago19:54

19:54

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Lisa shares an article from Forbes where a psychologist analyzes self-help vs. therapy, as well as how to spot and avoid toxic self-help. If you want to learn more about the author, the studies mentioned, or to read the article, you can do so here. If you'd like to help shape the future of GHY, please fill out o…

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Ep 435: A deep dive through a massive TBR 59:15

3M ago59:15

59:15

Today's guest is a native Parisian who is planning a road trip this summer to the northern Alps of Italy to escape the Summer Olympics. Corinne Yan is here today to get Anne's help in discovering great audiobooks to pair with this long drive. But before diving into recommendations, Anne and Corinne chat about Corinne's dreamy book job: she works as…

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The Paradox of Productivity 28:06

3M ago28:06

28:06

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Misty and Lisa discuss the paradox of productivity -- how being productive can actually make you more overwhelmed, and the ways to keep productivity culture (and toxic productivity) in check. Other episodes mentioned: How to Fight Internalized Capitalism to Increase Your Self-Worth Four Thousand Weeks: Time Mana…

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Ep 434: Hospitable books with a strong sense of welcome 48:17

3M ago48:17

48:17

Reading offers a wide range of vicarious experiences, and today's guest is looking for books that make her feel warmly welcome. Adrianne Carnes is a bookseller and marketing director for a local independent bookstore in Texas, where she loves to create an inviting space for the readers who frequent her shop. Adrianne's interest in hospitality start…

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Optimism as a Purposeful Act with Bill Burke 46:31

3M ago46:31

46:31

On this episode of Go Help Yourself, Lisa and Misty are joined by special guest Bill Burke, founder of The Optimism Institute. This conversation covers all things optimism, including the relationship between dissatisfaction and optimism, how optimism contributes to personal resilience, and how (and why) to cultivate optimism as a purposeful act. Ab…

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Ep 433: I'm not afraid of a fifty-hour audiobook 53:36

3M ago53:36

53:36

Audiobook lovers, today's conversation will help you make the most of your audiobook credits, whether you love short or long listens. Stephanie Van Parys is a devoted gardener in Decatur, Georgia, where she loves to pair audiobooks with working in the dirt. Since she discovered this way of merging her two passions back in 2020, she's never looked b…

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Energy Balancing Yoga Nidra Meditation with Nadine Dalati 25:18

4M ago25:18

25:18

On this special episode of Go Help Yourself, friend of the podcast Nadine Dalati guides listeners through a soothing Yoga Nidra meditation. Yoga Nidra is a relaxation technique that combines guided mental imagery with the yoga pose "corpse pose" (Shavasana) while lying on your back. The goal is to achieve a deep state of relaxation that's different…

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Ep 432: Live from Word of South: Lauren Groff talks Time 100, her new bookstore, and Florida! 49:42

4M ago49:42

49:42

Joining Anne today in a live conversation from the recent Word of South festival is listener favorite Lauren Groff! This conversation happened in the midst of a big moment for Lauren: she was recently recognized on the Time 100 list, and her new bookstore, The Lynx, just opened in Gainesville, Florida. Lauren and Anne talk about what led Lauren to …

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