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Nerdette is supported by the Sympathizer

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listen to podcasts. From

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WBEZ Chicago, this is Nerdette. I'm

0:46

Greta Johnson. We did it. We made it

0:49

to another weekend. And to celebrate today's episode

0:51

is all about summer books. 2024

0:55

has already been an epically great year for books

0:57

and here to tell us about some of her

0:59

picks for the summer is the Liberty Hardy. She

1:02

is the host of Book Riot's All the Books

1:04

podcast and reads more than literally anyone else I

1:07

know. Liberty, welcome back to the show. Hello.

1:10

Thank you for having me. Do you

1:12

agree with my characterization that 2024 has

1:14

just been like a great fucking book

1:16

year? The best.

1:19

Right. I feel like the last three

1:21

years I read through the whole year ago,

1:23

I didn't really like love anything. I

1:26

was like, oh yeah, I loved that.

1:28

But like this is just like right

1:30

off the bat. Just like bangers. It's

1:33

so exciting. Amazing. So before

1:35

we jump into it, I would love to know,

1:37

like, do you have like, what do you think

1:39

is the perfect summer book or are you just

1:41

like, I'll read anything anytime. Let's go. Anything

1:45

anytime. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean,

1:47

I know it works differently for other

1:49

people. Some people are like winter readers.

1:51

They need like big books for the

1:53

winter or, you know, like,

1:55

like Brain candy for the summer.

1:57

But, you know, as someone who just.

2:00

Races in one spot every single day.

2:02

Disagree. Sixty Five Like it's of the

2:04

matter with sitting outside of so I'm

2:07

just like whatever. given us the Main,

2:09

although I have seeking out more fantasy

2:11

and escapism them again lane I would.

2:14

I don't know why he knows his

2:16

November possibly about ya Yas gotta say

2:18

no. Laura Love resist. Oh he's so

2:21

we each have five titles that we

2:23

are bringing listeners to. Debut on a

2:25

Stern isn't. Absolutely my

2:28

birth take his fire exit

2:30

by Morgan Told the this

2:32

comes out on June third.

2:34

This is More Games debut

2:36

novel. He. Has a sorcery

2:38

collection that came out a couple of years

2:40

ago with Ten House which is like one

2:43

of my favorite small presses there may think.

2:45

I remember reading about the collection Suit Yes

2:47

is called Night of Living Raz and everybody

2:49

was reading about it like seriously, if you

2:51

go and look at it. On.

2:54

Line. It. Is one of

2:56

the Zulu words. Was nominated for

2:58

another bazillion. And. In, it's

3:00

just incredible as break setting. He's

3:02

a fellow maynor He as a

3:04

citizen of the Pinata Indian Nation

3:06

here in Maine I'm so like

3:08

left to support my fellow Mainers.

3:11

But. He is so incredible

3:13

And fire exit. Will Destroy

3:15

You. It is about a man

3:17

named Charlie His in the middle

3:19

of his life. He's been thinking

3:21

a lot lately about the lies

3:24

that he could have had, including

3:26

the fact that the young woman

3:28

who lives nearby. Is. His

3:30

daughter a secret that he no longer wants

3:32

to keep. Oh wow, He doesn't know. A.

3:35

Lot of people don't know. He's. Hired.

3:38

He also is an alcoholic. He struggling

3:40

with his drinking. He's trying to take

3:42

care of his mother who has dementia.

3:44

He. Lost his beloved zip other

3:47

and a terrible accident. And

3:49

he says he's done. I keep as I

3:51

guess time to put all his cards on

3:53

the table. That who's that surf. Besides

3:56

hand like will that make her life better? Will

3:58

that make her life harder? Keeping

4:00

a secret. It's just that

4:02

amazing novel about family and

4:04

easing. And. Secrets. And.

4:07

As I say, I have often

4:10

found that some of the funniest

4:12

authors I have ever met, right?

4:14

The is sad as most devastating

4:16

book necessary since the it's True

4:18

Paul Hurting. One. Of the science

4:20

people I've ever met, his books, Just

4:23

so sad and amazing. So I tell

4:25

you that I think Morgan's Hobby is

4:27

the funniest person I've ever met. I've.

4:30

Met him at other events, I've watched

4:32

his events on line have been up

4:34

with eleventh to know that this book

4:36

is why to make you ugly process.

4:38

Okay because he is so funny and

4:41

person so it as you ever had

4:43

a chance to see him. Let's talk

4:45

online or at an event like Easy

4:47

Ticket because his incredible This Is Fire

4:49

Exit by Morgan's How The Out June

4:51

third Amazing! So my first take is

4:53

already out. It's called the Ministry of

4:55

Time as by Pulliam, Bradley and Liberty

4:57

A How The Ceiling You have read

4:59

this or. Any I did. Ah,

5:02

I loved it so much so it's

5:04

blurb by Emily Henry who have courses

5:06

like a very revered rom com author

5:09

and Eleanor Catton. This is written a

5:11

couple really great books based out of

5:13

Australia and it's funny. I feel like

5:15

they're probably marketing this a little too

5:17

hard as a rom com E s

5:19

don't you think? yeah and a cozy

5:22

what yet either of those things. Yes,

5:24

I mean there is a, you know,

5:26

there's like a comparison to Outlander and

5:28

there is definitely like a hot guy

5:30

from the past and a lot. Of

5:32

Longing and this book but it's also

5:34

a time travel book and it is

5:37

also like pretty violent and gets really

5:39

intense so I will say that about

5:41

it but I loved it. I thought

5:43

it was really good. I thought were

5:45

really stood out to me about it

5:47

is. That it

5:50

is so much about like.

5:52

Colonialism. And

5:54

Empire and it wrestles with

5:56

a lot of. Those. Really

5:59

big questions that. Some people are privileged

6:01

not have to think about as much as others

6:03

and I just thought it was really well done

6:05

in that sense. Do you agree with that? Oh

6:08

absolutely it's it's. a little bit

6:10

of everything the off the know

6:13

there's like actual people from history

6:15

in it and. It

6:17

it was amazing. I just like he

6:19

said it. They are putting it

6:21

to me as a a cozy and other. I

6:24

don't know that that word means what

6:26

you think It's right. pretty violence, but

6:28

also. Ah, a good romp I

6:30

would say. And also the ask. Their.

6:33

One of my favorite characters in it is

6:35

too late for queer women from like I

6:37

don't even know what may be like the

6:40

twelfth Century or something and then just like

6:42

so much fun. So there is like there

6:44

are some candy bits in it's By it's

6:46

ah I think it is a lot more

6:49

like on the side by side of things

6:51

then. You. Know just to warn

6:53

apple either get a really good way. It's.

6:55

Like a party well as and l a same

6:58

time and I had a baby. oh that's a

7:00

really nice we're putting that yeah which is like

7:02

guess I would love to read that and edition

7:04

and an Apples in the Ministry of Minutes out

7:06

already and it's great. Mine. I

7:09

expect is. From. The

7:11

other of are my favorite books from last

7:13

year. The last year's time goes of us

7:15

in my and know I think it lesser

7:17

is the stars us Grail by you meet

7:19

it has a comes out on June eleventh.

7:22

It does. He wrote the Deep Sky. Which.

7:25

Was a lot Spaceship mystery. Yes, you

7:27

haven't read it. Pick it up. I

7:29

might as well here you day. but

7:31

how about a lot? Yeah, totally. I

7:33

loved it Says this is a nother

7:35

say. Space. A. But.

7:37

This time there's actually a

7:39

lands like Nasa Space and

7:42

Humans But Aliens about a

7:44

young woman named Maya Hashimoto.

7:46

Who. Isn't Rcs and Retirements?

7:49

She's kind of silly now

7:51

trying to hide now. Been.

7:54

On this straight narrow for a

7:56

while and this used to work

7:58

stealing back alien artifacts. I'm

8:00

returning and to their proper civilizations

8:02

policy and then in retirement since

8:04

a job that went wrong. So.

8:07

The subways are into a Why

8:09

My Job novel. I love Those

8:11

Nick, I love have one myself.

8:13

When an old friend shows up

8:15

and asks her to help them

8:18

retrieve an alien artifacts that will

8:20

stop the. Extinction. Of

8:22

an alien race. Extend like a

8:24

noble cause Yes, so she sat there

8:26

for the crew, but there's gonna be

8:28

the a cruising. there's going to be

8:31

dangerous and it's possible that this job.

8:33

It's us may bring about the end of

8:35

humans on earth than doubled heard her say

8:37

now. Is that

8:40

pressure by as so smart

8:42

and spineless and imagine and

8:44

say is and just absolutely

8:47

Wilde. It's. The started scale by

8:49

you make it has a out soon eleventh.

8:51

Who I'm really excited for that one that sounds great.

8:54

Ah my next pick his way by

8:56

Melissa Mogul Yawn which I first heard

8:58

about because we read told me she

9:00

liked it and I would read anything

9:02

highly read tells me she likes and

9:05

this is probably one of the voice

9:07

the his novels that I have read

9:09

and a really long time have you

9:11

read it Liberty. I had it,

9:13

but my coworker was telling me this

9:15

morning that it's probably your favorite novel

9:17

of the year. It's a real pleasure

9:20

and when I say as we see

9:22

that is because like the the narrative

9:24

device that you get throughout this book

9:26

is that is a teenage girl talking

9:28

to her sister on the phone, The

9:30

entire book is accepted only. Her

9:33

side of the conversation. Which.

9:35

Is such a fun device and it's

9:37

really interesting way to get hear the

9:40

story and I think it's also there's

9:42

a really interesting dynamic between the sisters

9:44

were loose ya know, who is or

9:46

teenager. She's. A high school senior

9:48

in Florida and her older sister has like left.

9:51

To go to college in Washington, D C. Which

9:53

is lovely, but that means that she's like. Sort

9:55

of. Abandoned her family so that. She can

9:57

be selfish and pursue her own dreams. Meanwhile,

10:00

The teenager is stuck at home managing

10:02

all the silly stuff and she's like

10:04

very annoyed by it and also like

10:06

has a crush on acuity bartender and

10:08

I think it's just a really lovely

10:11

combination of you know that push and

10:13

pull when you're a teenager of like

10:15

desperately wanting to leave and be an

10:17

adult, but also being really like, resentful

10:19

and annoyed by all the responsibilities you

10:21

already have. And it's just. Really?

10:23

Lovely and gorgeous and think everyone should

10:26

or yes definitely on my shortlists good

10:28

wishes by the like thousand to settle.

10:31

At ages To reiterate that was way

10:34

by Melissa Mogul. yeah on and it

10:36

is also out now a Sig, a

10:38

quick break and then Megadeth with with.

10:45

Near. Dead is supported by the Sympathizer

10:47

podcast from H B O J host

10:49

Silicon when in conversation with the cast

10:52

crew and author V At Ten when

10:54

as they discuss the making of this

10:56

historic H B O Original Limited

10:58

series. Stream. New episodes

11:00

of H B O The Sympathizer

11:03

Sundays exclusively on Max and Listen

11:05

to The Sympathizer Podcast Wherever you

11:07

listen to podcasts. Big

11:10

on your feet for are fast and

11:12

furious. Five or one of a crime

11:14

rates for the by Wbz and Chicago

11:16

Sun Times on Saturday July twenty seventh

11:19

of Habit. More info as early bird

11:21

registration at wbz.org Flesh of Us. Liberty.

11:27

Or next book we have the same pick.

11:30

Retail. Yeah. Because it's

11:32

the best Ruby Thorpe. The. Other

11:34

me then? Yes, I do believe the rights

11:36

to the So Soon Nicole Kidman. Before

11:39

she was even done writing Ssns it was

11:41

great of eat a movie. I'm well let's

11:43

say it's called Margo. Got money trouble all

11:46

right I forgot that for yeah And I

11:48

mean all you probably need to know from

11:50

my point of view is that the blurb

11:52

on the covers from Kevin Wilson on which

11:55

I think the us a lot about like

11:57

the general flavor you're going to get. but

11:59

yeah. Want to give us like a rough rundown of of

12:01

what's going on in the sun? Visor that

12:04

a young woman newmark out. Of

12:06

his late and. See.

12:09

Is to see see see both. She.

12:12

Has an infant see you grew up the

12:14

tiles of a Hooters waitress and extra wrestler.

12:16

Knowing that she was going to have to

12:18

make things happen for ourselves they didn't have

12:21

a lot of money, shouldn't have a lot.

12:23

Associate know what she wants to do with

12:25

the life after school. So she enrolled in

12:27

a local junior college, but ends up hooking

12:30

up with a professor, getting pregnant and having

12:32

a baby. So now. Margot. That

12:34

money troubles and she decides she's going to

12:36

fix it by asserting and only fan page.

12:40

Performance use to learn from your

12:42

wrestler dad know it and it

12:45

becomes wildly popular on. but along

12:47

with that comes attention and scrutiny.

12:49

And. Is the saliva Margot really

12:51

wants? I loved this book so much,

12:54

partly because it's got such a great

12:56

cast of weirdo characters and it is

12:58

isn't so it doesn't shy away from

13:01

talking about like very difficult, hard, sad

13:03

things, but it also is ultimately so

13:05

Joyful and Blades and Spawn which is

13:08

such a pleasure to read. Our

13:10

Buses, The Oliver novels, Made. In says.

13:13

To movies and Tv so some ways assertive

13:15

and and go backwards. That's fine with me.

13:17

Access I thought that was you Read that

13:19

you're going to. I read everything else. He's

13:21

yes and you will not be disappointed either.

13:23

All of her stuff is just like consistently

13:26

weird and great which I love yes ah

13:28

much. Well you wanna take our next pick?

13:30

Visa. I'm gonna make. A bull

13:33

semen and say. Of all the

13:35

amazing bucks that I read, this is

13:37

my favorite. Further Summer. And. I

13:39

love the other one so much. but

13:41

this line. if

13:43

you ever like had like a bag of chips

13:46

and you finish a put your he'd grown back

13:48

because you for other youth and estate the i

13:50

like and i've and assess both and i kept

13:52

going that i am sit down up and no

13:54

i didn't have any more to read a to

13:56

a over five hundred pages long as you that

13:58

one is an amazing is The God

14:00

of the Woods by Liz Moore. It's

14:04

so remarkable. Liz Moore is incredible.

14:07

Long Bright River, she's just great. But

14:09

this one, oh my goodness, is this

14:11

cutting the heartbreaking novel about

14:14

class and loss and family

14:16

and sexism. The

14:18

main story revolves around a

14:20

summer camp owned by a very

14:22

prestigious family. They have a summer

14:25

house on all this land

14:27

and they started a camp. And

14:30

it's 1975 and at the beginning of the

14:32

book, as it happens,

14:34

the daughter of Peter and

14:36

his family is attending

14:39

the camp, which is usually

14:41

like, you're not supposed to mingle with the common folk.

14:44

But she's kind of a handful and

14:47

they send her to camp. And now

14:49

she is missing. Oh, I'm

14:51

missing. Turns out the counselors who are

14:54

supposed to be watching her were not in

14:56

the cabin all night, like where they

14:58

were supposed to be. And this is

15:00

alarming enough that this 12-year-old girl has

15:02

gone missing. But 13 years earlier, her

15:05

eight-year-old brother disappeared in the woods by

15:07

the camp. Oh. So this is the

15:09

second time one of their children has

15:11

gone missing. It goes back and forth

15:13

and back and forth in time. There

15:15

are so many other characters, but it's

15:17

never confusing. It's gorgeous

15:19

and incredible. It reminded me

15:22

a lot of atonement. An

15:25

American atonement about childhood

15:27

and lots of atons and horrible

15:29

men and secrets and keeping up

15:31

the facade no matter what. It's

15:33

just remarkable. Like

15:36

I said, I kept trying to finish it, even though

15:38

I said it. I was like, please, maybe if I

15:40

just look again, there will be some more. Is there

15:42

more? It's just so good. It's

15:46

called The God of the Woods and it's by

15:48

Liz Moore. That's on July 2nd. That sounds great.

15:50

I can't wait to read the heck out of

15:52

that one. Yeah, everyone's going to freak. My

15:56

next pick is Bear by Julia

15:58

Phillips, which is... is a pretty

16:01

buzzy one. Now, have you read this

16:03

one yet? I haven't.

16:05

Okay. So yeah, I am usually

16:07

like a big plot person. I

16:09

love like a really soapy, frothy

16:12

book where beautiful people do unhinged

16:14

things. And this is not that

16:16

book, but it also kind of

16:18

isn't not that. It

16:21

is about two sisters who live on

16:23

a really isolated island off of the

16:26

coast of Washington state and

16:28

a very large bear comes

16:30

to visit and

16:32

that's not supposed to happen.

16:34

And the two sisters respond

16:36

very differently to this bear.

16:40

And it's also

16:43

oddly rooted in some like myth stuff. Like

16:48

there are some fairy tale elements to

16:50

this book that are really interesting, but

16:53

more than anything, it's just

16:55

really beautifully written. And I

16:58

adored it and I just think it's phenomenal. And

17:00

it is out on June 25th and I think

17:02

everybody should read it. It's called Bear and it's

17:04

by Julia Phillips. I

17:07

also have a book by someone whose

17:09

last name is Phillips. Oh, what is it? For

17:11

my last pick. It is

17:13

Hum by Helen Phillips, which is out

17:15

on August 6th. Love

17:18

Helen Phillips. I mean, I feel like last

17:20

year, half of my favorite authors have booked

17:22

out, except Donna Turt. And

17:25

then this year, the other half of my favorite authors

17:27

have booked out, except Donna Turt. And

17:29

I guess I should say Sarah Waters. Why

17:32

are you here? Anyway, so Helen Phillips has

17:34

written The Beautiful Bureaucrat and The Need, which

17:36

I believe was nominated for the National Book

17:38

Award and an amazing short story collection. And

17:41

she writes these weird, smart,

17:44

funny, alarming novels that

17:47

are just slightly off from

17:49

real life, although this one

17:51

is way off from real life, but

17:53

also not really, because this one tackles

17:55

AI. Oh. It

17:58

is about a future city that... has

18:00

been ruined by climate change and

18:03

is now mostly run by robots called

18:05

hums. And

18:07

there is a woman, our main character, May, who

18:10

becomes the latest casualty of AI when

18:13

she loses her job. And now

18:15

desperate for work, she agrees to become a

18:17

test subject and an experiment to outwit AI

18:20

in which she agrees to have her

18:22

face altered in such a way that

18:24

it is unidentifiable to cameras. Ooh. Like

18:26

they won't be able to pick out

18:28

who she is. So

18:30

while she's doing this, she's

18:33

also just fed up with technology. She's

18:36

tired of her children, her husband being

18:38

glued to their devices and dependent upon

18:40

our devices. So she decides to take

18:42

a family vacation to a

18:44

botanical gardens without devices,

18:46

like no devices allowed. It's

18:48

all gonna go horribly wrong. It's

18:51

just so imaginative

18:55

and in part about our very real present,

18:58

like what is AI going to bring and

19:00

our possible future, like what is it going

19:02

to do to us in the future with

19:04

jobs and technology

19:06

cameras, as

19:08

well as a novel about family and motherhood

19:10

and what we sacrifice for those we love.

19:13

She's very smart and so

19:15

interesting. It's called Hum by

19:17

Helen Phillips and it's out August 6th. Wow,

19:20

that sounds great. So my

19:22

last pick is from a Maynor. It

19:25

is The Most by Jessica Anthony. Have you read it yet?

19:29

No. So it's out on July 30th and

19:32

all I wanna say about it is that it's

19:34

about a wife and mother in the 1950s who

19:37

won't get out of her decrepit

19:39

apartment complexes pool on an unseasonably

19:42

warm fall day. And everybody's

19:44

like, why is she still in the pool? And

19:46

I think that's really all

19:48

I knew going in and I just loved

19:50

it. I thought it was a really fascinating

19:53

and lovely book that

19:55

is page-turny in a series.

20:00

Surprisingly given the fact that it's

20:02

as domestic as it is. Ah,

20:04

I'm. An like nobody is

20:06

murdered at. but it's really good and

20:08

I just loved it. It's such a

20:10

great lake! Yeah, no, I'm not getting

20:12

out of the pool, I just think

20:15

it's delightful, has amazing. That. Is

20:17

if we we think of another book I read the

20:19

i think this is Alex Smith line where the guess

20:21

won't come out of the house at the party. Oh

20:23

millennium. I. Love known as

20:25

us. It's such a grand final narrative device.

20:28

You know it's like owed as out all

20:30

you need you know just one little thing

20:32

exactly. And then Buddhists the top of malice

20:34

I said I'd and like I love the

20:36

book but I didn't know what it was

20:38

about or that it with that name yet

20:40

though I mean I don't have to read

20:43

books and mean that we are a very

20:45

literary seat and losses of rock So liberty

20:47

I always have Huckabee about with see cause

20:49

your enthusiasm isn't contagious and it's and like

20:51

whatever you mention I'm like god and need

20:53

to read that raises the now. So

20:56

updates Yeah, it's such a pleasure! Wow!

20:58

I look forward to doing this again.

21:00

My you. If

21:11

is a sweet Things you as always been

21:13

listening. We would love to know what you

21:15

are excited to read This summer Listed a

21:18

little Fred going over under headquarters on Facebook

21:20

You can find out if these book.com flash

21:22

group, flash internet and que just ask to

21:25

be hated and I'll let you And it's

21:27

not a very exclusive the Jewish and we're

21:29

glad to have called. Also,

21:32

our last episode with Wbz is coming

21:34

up on May twenty eight So and

21:36

of or last call for if you

21:38

like to send us at the ball

21:40

for now message. To the Love

21:42

securing if you're willing to to them,

21:44

you just record yourself. On with your

21:47

voice memos and up on your phone

21:49

and then email it's hundred our podcast

21:51

xml.com her deadline. Is Wednesday

21:53

May. Twenty Skins your.

21:55

Diet is produced by me and in a bomb in as

21:58

little you be and the in Chicago is pretty. We

22:00

will see you next week. And

22:30

I'll see you next week.