16 episodes
Books Of Your Life With Elizabeth Elizabeth Khuri Chandler
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- Arts
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4.3 • 121 Ratings
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What is Sarah Jessica Parker reading right now? Which books would Anne Lamott like to foist upon you, dear reader? Goodreads Co-founder and Editor in Chief Elizabeth Khuri Chandler wants to know. Join her as she talks to some of the most creative, dynamic, and interesting people in the world to learn about the books making an impact on their lives. Join the discussion at: http://www.Goodreads.com
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Neil Gaiman's Books of His Life
Elizabeth talks to legendary fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, American Gods, the Sandman comic series and many other bestsellers. He's also the co-author of “Good Omens,” which has just been adapted to TV by Amazon. He talks about “playing God” as a writer, about his friend and collaborator Terry Pratchett... and about the books that changed his life - including the children’s book series that inspired him to start writing what would later become “Good Omens.”
Talk about his book picks at the Books of Your Life book club on Goodreads.com
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/623569-books-of-your-life-with-elizabeth -
Helen Hoang's Books of Her Life
Author of "The Bride Test" and "The Kiss Quotient" Helen Hoang talks to Elizabeth about the (steamy!) books of her life. Helen tells Elizabeth about being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, about her rocky relationship with her family, and her love affair with romance novels. Talk about her book picks at the Books of Your Life book club on Goodreads.com!
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/623569-books-of-your-life-with-elizabeth -
Melinda Gates' Books of Her Life
Goodreads co-founder Elizabeth Khuri Chandler talks to billionaire philanthropist Melinda Gates about her new book The Moment of Lift and about the books that have shaped her life.
Melinda talks about her spiritual journey, the common frustrations she works to overcome, and being willing to show your vulnerabilities as a leader. And she's sounding the alarm about the risks of women being left out of the process of developing AI technologies.
As the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation she's had a hand in saving millions of lives, through education, health, and vaccination programs.
Her top books are:
Awakening Joy by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown -
Jared Diamond's Books of His Life
Jared Diamond, the author of Guns Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, invites Elizabeth into his Los Angeles home where he shares the books that have shaped his life. He speaks about Walden by Henry David Thoreau, If This is a Man by Primo Levi, Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and other books that reflect his adventures in New Guinea. They also discuss his latest book, Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis and why he remains optimistic for the future.
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Will Schwalbe's Books of His Life
Author, editor and entrepreneur Will Schwalbe loves to talk about the books that have changed his life. He's written two books to the subject, The End of Your Life Book Club, which was about the books he read with his mother while she was dying, and Books for Living, about the role books can play in our lives and how they can show us how to live each day more fully and with more meaning. In this podcast he talks about a few gems: The Importance of Living, Giovanni's Room, A Little Life, and Why I Wake Early among others.
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Frederic Tuten's Books of His Life
Author, essayist, art critic, and Guggenheim fellow Frederic Tuten discusses his memoir, My Young Life, Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, and why he doesn't want to live in a world without books.
*Our theme was composed by Mia Schettino. Additional music from Caius Cowgill's Atlas Orchestra and Podington Bear."
Customer Reviews
Inspiring and useful!
To those complaining about not getting plot summaries...it’s a short podcast, the important thing is what moved the authors most about the book! If you’re intrigued - look the plot up. I love the more nuanced, meaningful conversations on here about what makes a story so impactful for someone and I have found some truly awesome books I wouldn’t have known about otherwise!
Jared Diamond, my hero.
“Have you always been a reader?”, asks Elizabeth. “No”, said Diamond, “I began reading at the age of three”. Fantastic!
“Once you’ve been to New Guinea, the rest of the world is boring”, said Diamond.
“Babies learn to be careful”, says Diamond. The way Jared Diamond choose to raise his children, which he had at the age of 50, based upon his studies of New Guinea families are very refreshing in our modern helicopter parent world.
Jared Diamond (author, historian, musician, linguist, scholar, etc.) one of the last well rounded, thoughtful geniuses on planet Earth.
Shallow
If you can get past the tonally offensive voice and dimwitted comments from the host, Elizabeth, then you’ll love this podcast. Be prepared to endure endless banter with very little substance. Looking for insights on why something is worth reading? Seeking to know the style, plot, characters or anything else about the books these people recommend? No need to look here, because you won’t find it. (I would heartily recommend a certain book host from KCRW, but then you’d think I have some stake in recommending him, which I don’t. I can recognize someone, however, who knows what he’s talking about. Comparing Michael Silverblatt with this faint effort is like comparing 🍎 with 🍊.)