Today’s guest, Karuna Riazi, is here to talk about magic. The magic of carrying a book in your bag that can teleport you to another world, the magic of a beautiful translation, and the magical pairing of a hot cup of tea and a good story. We’re also chatting about pen names, how to keep a book journal if you’re a total perfectionist, and a host of other things, but at the root of it all is everyday magic, and the books I’m recommending Karuna pick up next are totally on-theme.
Let’s get to it!
Connect with Karuna Riazi: Book | Website | Twitter
Click here to read the full episode transcription (opens in a new tab).
Books mentioned in this episode:
Some links are affiliate links. More details here. If you’d like to support your local indie, check out Indiebound.com. And by all means, go grab one of these from your local library!
• The Gauntlet, by Karuna Riazi
• The Battle, by Karuna Riazi
• Author G. Willow Wilson (try Ms. Marvel)
• Author N. K. Jemisin (try The Inheritance Trilogy)
• Shiver, by Maggie Stievater
• We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour
♥ Mr. Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi
• Gingerbread, bu Helen Oyeyemi
♥ Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
• The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
♥ Strange Weather in Tokyo, by Hiromi Kawakami
• After Dark, by Haruki Murakami
• Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami
▵ Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
• To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
• Persuasion, by Jane Austen
• In the Woods, by Tana French
• The Trespasser, by Tana French
• Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire
• The Science of Breakable Things, by Tae Keller
• Ayesha at Last, by Uzma Jalaluddin
• The Time in Between, by Maria Duenas
Also mentioned:
• Simon & Schuster’s Salaam imprint
• Modern Mrs Darcy’s 2019 reading challenge
• Book Riot’s 2019 Read Harder challenge
What do YOU think Karuna should read next?
Let us know in the comment section below!
26 comments
Oh dear! I get “page not found” when I click on the transcript. Would you mind checking it? Thanks!
Same!
Is there any way Karuna would be willing to share her lemon bar recipe? 🙂 Also, I love Ann Patchett and was happy to hear her mentioned. I was not aware she had a new book coming out! Yay! Great episode!
Thank you both!
I also hoped she might share her lemon bar recipe!
Yes please!!! I second this! 🙂
Would love the lemon bars too!
I hope she will share her recipe! I came to check on some titles and look for the lemon bars! Thank You!
I’ve just started using the Book Buddy app. I paid for the upgraded version ($4.99?). I tried a written journal but I found tracking on my phone easy and more convenient. The App includes sections for Tags, Notes, etc. Thank you WSIRN!
The transcript doesn’t come up.
I just picked up Strange Weather in Tokyo last night…what timing!
Regarding book journaling, I keep it super simple with just a page or 2 in my journal with that year’s list of books read or DNFd and a tab that lets me easily flip to that page. I capture title, author, and rating as well as if it was a pick from my IRL book club. I admire the pretty lists people maintain but it is just beyond my abilities. If I waited until I could put together a pretty book list page, I would be waiting forever.
Don’t know when it changed, but it just worked for me (hadn’t earlier!) I appreciate being able to read that. Thanks!
This was a great episode! Some books I might recommend are: A Tale for the Time Being, The Snow Child, The Cave/The Cavern (Saramago), and Shadow of the Wind
Oh please! Will you share the lemon bar recipe??
I absolutely loved this episode and the breadth of the books discussed.
Great episode! Some books Karuna might enjoy: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, books by Sarah Addison Allen (The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, and Garden Spells).
I’d love to read your books, The Gauntlet and The Battle. They sound amazing.
Very nice episode:) I think Karuna will also like a bit magical books like Kate Atkinson Life after Life and Sarah Winman’s books like When God Was a Rabbit, maybe also Florida by Lauren Groff.
I agree, great episode and such interesting range of topics, books, ideas about reading and writing.
Karuna (and everyone!) I recommend Waking Lions by Ayelet Gunnar-Goshen.This is beautifully translated and is a combination of suspense/mystery/family/culture/view of violence and conflict. Many points of view we dont read about here including African refugees’.
I loved this episode so much! Karuna, when you said, “Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi” I screamed “Yes!” even though I had a sleeping baby in the car. (So much for the “sleeping” part. Sheesh.) Anyhow, hearing you talk about that book reminded me of the Sabine trilogy by Nick Bantok. Have you read those? Thanks to both you and Anne for such a lovely conversation and for many wonderful book recommendations. I look forward to reading your books, too, Karuna.
I HATED Catch-22 too. I had to read it for AP English over Christmas vacation. It was awful on so many levels.
Karuna’s comment about her students reading To Kill a Mockingbird at too young of an age reminds me of my experience of my 6th grade teacher reading us “Animal Farm.” We were just FAR TOO YOUNG to understand the concepts in that book!
I’ve recently started an analog book journal. I include a short paragraph with my thoughts on the book and will note 5-star reads. I change the color of ink each month so I can see which books were read in which months. I’ve become more of a minimalist since marrying a minimalist so I don’t own many books anymore, besides ones for our son. So this is a way to document what I’ve read. It was making me kind of sad that I didn’t have a bookshelf showing what I read and loved so this is my answer to that problem! I’m a perfectionist but since the reading journal is for my eyes only (I think it would bore most people!), I don’t put any pressure on myself to make it pretty.
I have a very basic book log in a journal just for that purpose. It’s a numbered list and I only include the title, author, and date read. Very simple and easy to maintain. I started it in 2005 and I’m so glad I have the record!
Lucky to be a Canadian!! “Ayesha At Last” was published here last year! I’m going to pick it up from my library this week! Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
This is one of the best episodes until now. Thank you for your efforts! I really enjoyed it.
Karin’s might enjoy using the Book Buddy app even though it’s digital and not analog. You scan the book and it takes a photo and you are able to rate it and also make notes as well as keeping track of if you e finished or are still reading.
I recommend Aru Shah and the End of Time 🙂