It’s Tuesday, which means a new episode of What Should I Read Next!
Today I’m talking with Andrea Cumbo-Floyd. Andrea is a writer, teacher, editor, and farmer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. (“Sometimes more of one of those than the other,” she says.) She is the author Steele Secrets, Writing Day In and Day Out, and The Slaves Have Names.
Andi and I discuss strong female characters, genre-bending novels, and reading diverse books. Her favorites are all over the place, and she has strong feelings about her hated pick, which makes for a fun conversation.
Books discussed in this episode:
Some links are affiliate links. More details here.
• Head Off and Split by Nikki Finney
• Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
• The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
• The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• The Dead by James Joyce
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
• The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
• When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams
• Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
• The Killing Moon by Nora Jemison
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• Kindred by Octavia Butler
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Also mentioned in this episode:
• For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five.
• Talking about books I don’t like.
• Raising readers, books that find you, and making the library people hate you with Deidra Riggs.
10 comments
Oh, I can’t wait to listen! NK Jemison and Octavia Butler are favorites of mine!
Great episode! Loved it. More books on my to be read list!
Really appreciated this one (and all of them!). Thanks for brightening up Tuesday morning!
I have no idea what Andi should read, but I definitely cried when the book you suggested mimicked her own story.
I would love if you could mark the primary books in the show notes book list. The guest’s 1-3 and hated, and the 3 recommended books. It would make it easier to find the ones I want to add to my list! Thanks! love the podcast!
Thank you, Anne and Andi, for encouraging me to pull The Cloister Walk off my shelf. I’ve owned it for probably fifteen years. Your conversation compelled me to finally pick it up.
As for a diverse, complex read, I can recommend The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing. It’s about an Indian family that immigrates to the US and the first generation experience. It’s funny, sad, and fascinating.
I just discovered your podcast and have gone through 17 episodes in about 2 days !! Love the concept and recommendations and hearing others thoughts on what I’ve already red.
I would also recommend The Fifth Season by N.K. Jeminsin (I think she goes by her initials instead of first name). It’s the first of a trilogy and was nominated for both a Hugo and Nebula. It also deals with a dystopian future where some people that have special abilities are feared, but needed to control the surroundings.
So weird. I immediately thought of The Parable of the Sower when she was talking about Who Fears Death. I couldn’t remember the author’s name because I read it back in 9th grade in 1994! It’s amazing how a book you haven’t thought of in years and years can come back to you. Imagine my surprise when you recommended it! I almost woke my 18-month-old sleeping in the backseat with my laugh!