What to read next? What to read at all? This is the dilemma of all readers, whether they are reading one or 200 books a year. James Mustich’s 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List includes many of the classics you might expect like Plato and Proust and covers fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel, biography, children’s books, history, and more.

Mustich who began his career in book-selling 40 years ago recently joined Roxanne in the Just the Right Book studios to talk about the book that has been called “the ultimate literary bucket-list” by the Washington Post.

Says Roxanne, “There’ve been lots of lists and books put together about what to read over the years, but none have done as charming and genre defying job as (James Mustich)..”

To purchase any of the books in this episode, please visit RJ Julia Booksellers

Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Tale of the Genji by Lady Murasaki

An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer

A Thousand Place to See Before You by Patricia Schultz

The Finland Station by Edmund Wilson

Growth & Form by D’arcy Wentworth Thompson

Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las by Hunter S. Thompson Vegas

Eloise by Kay Thompson

The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon

Odyssey by Homer

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban

The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban

Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban

Middlemarch by George Elliot

Memoir Mass for the Dead by William Gibson

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Take a time-traveling, fiercely independent, brave British nurse, the Scottish highland, a handsome, courageous, redheaded Scottish warrior, passionate love, conflicted love with two husbands, incredibly exciting history and dozens of riveting characters and you have a genre-defying series encompassing historical fiction, science-fiction, romance, fantasy, and of course time-travel.

Bestselling author Diana Gabaldon recently joined Roxanne to talk about her wildly popular Outlander book series which holds the #2 spot on the list of America’s best-loved works of fiction by PBS’ Great American Read.  The eight-book series has sold over 35 million copies and has been adapted into a hit TV show now in its fourth season.

Diana, who spent the early part of her career earning a BS in Zoology, an MS in Marine Biology and a Ph. D in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology told Roxanne how she knew at age eight that she would be novelist.  

Says Roxanne, “…you’ll be amazed to hear how one moves from that background to one of the bestselling authors in the world, and a (book) series that is the origin of a TV series that propelled her books right back onto the New York Times best-seller list 23 years after the books were first published.”

Books in this episode:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

This episode of Just the Right Book is brought to you by The Gift That I Can Give by Kathie Lee Gifford. For the entire month of November, listeners can get 30% off of The Gift That I Can Give with code JTRB. Visit store.faithgateway.com and apply the code at checkout to redeem your offer!

This episode is also sponsored by Warby Parker. To get started with a free home try-on just go to warbyparker.com/book and find your perfect pair of glasses today! 

Tana French’s latest novel, The Witch Elm is her first departure from her bestselling Dublin Murder Squad series, of which there are six.

The story follows Toby, a young Irish man of privilege who’s luck seemingly runs out. After being beaten and left disabled, Toby returns to his family’s ancestral home to take care of his dying uncle. The novel takes a turn when a human skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden. As detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he always believed.

Says Roxanne, “Mix in good family dysfunction, unreliable narrators, the loss of belief that your good luck is forever and a jaw dropping final 40 pages, and you have all the perfect ingredients in Tana French’s hands for an exquisite book.”

The former theatrical actress who has been called “incandescent” by Stephen King and “absolutely mesmerizing” by Gillian Flynn recently joined Roxanne to talk about her latest mystery, her love of unreliable narrators, archaeology, luck, and whether she ever considers going back to acting.

Books in this episode:

The Witch Elm by Tana French

On Writing by Stephen King

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

The Spinning Heart by Donel Ryan

True Grit by Charles Portis

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This episode of Just the Right Book is brought to you by The Gift That I Can Give by Kathie Lee Gifford. For the entire month of November, listeners can get 30% off of The Gift That I Can Give with code JTRB. Visit store.faithgateway.com and apply the code at checkout to redeem your offer!

If you haven’t read Lisa Brennan-Job’s memoir “Small Fry” yet, you will likely hear about it because Lisa’s father was Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. 

But this is not a biography of Steve Jobs. Rather, it is a portrait of growing up in California in the eighties and one woman’s quest to understand her family, her place in that family and her place in the world.

The outline of her story is relatively well known. Mr. Jobs fathered her at 23, then denied paternity despite a DNA match and gave little in financial or emotional support until later in her life. Surrounded by complicated relationships Lisa spends much of her childhood and adolescence seeking love and acceptance. Despite her challenges, you get a picture of a resilient, adaptable woman who emerges navigating her own way. The first-time author recently joined Roxanne to share her story first hand and unedited. 

The New York Times called Brennan Jobs “a gifted writer” and Kirkus Reviews says, Brennan-Jobs “skillfully and poignantly navigates her formative years revealing the emotional wounds that parents can often inflict on their children.”

Says Roxanne “Small Fry is not about settling scores or being vindictive. It is a poignant story of a journey that, in another writer’s hands, could have become something self centered. But with her unsentimental honesty, her wry humor and her literary grace, Brennan-Jobs succeeds in making a difficult story her own.”

Books in this episode:

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

This episode of Just the Right Book is brought to you by The Gift That I Can Give by Kathie Lee Gifford. For the entire month of November, listeners can get 30% off of The Gift That I Can Give with code JTRB. Visit store.faithgateway.com and apply the code at checkout to redeem your offer!

2018 marks 200 years since the birth of Frederick Douglass, and we now have the first major biography of Douglass in a quarter century. 

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by prize-winning historian and Yale Professor David Blight is based on nearly a lifetime of research as well as letters and private documentation to which no biographer has previously had access. It’s this revealing collection that helped shed new light on Douglass, particularly in the latter third of his life. 

Professor Blight recently sat down with Roxanne to discuss the book the New York Times Book Review called “cinematic and deeply engaging” about how Douglass escaped slavery, then went from a boy trading bread for spelling lessons to one of the most significant figures in American history. Blight also discusses Douglass’ wife of 44 years and what the political activist would think of the state of racism in the country today.

Books in this episode:

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

The Bible

This episode of Just the Right Book is brought to you by The Gift That I Can Give by Kathie Lee Gifford. For the entire month of November, listeners can get 30% off of The Gift That I Can Give with code JTRB. Visit store.faithgateway.com and apply the code at checkout to redeem your offer!

If you’re trying to fill your holiday wish list with amazing titles, look no further! Our very own Roxanne Coady recently hosted a live event with Penguin Random House publishing powerhouses Michael Kindness, Jennifer Black and author, Matthew Dicks.

The event, which took place at the Mandell JCC in Hartford, Connecticut, was titled “Buzz About Books” and Just the Right Book Podcast was there every step of the way! 

To purchase any of the books in this episode, please visit RJ Julia Booksellers

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones 

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

There There by Tommy Orange

The Mars Room: A Novel by Rachel Kushner

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Reading With Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo

The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America by Heather Won Tesoriero

Circle by Madeline Miller

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

The Silence of the Girls: A Novel by Pat Barker 

The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller

Waiting For Eden by Elliot Ackerman

Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling by Mathew Dicks

On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Seneca 

An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice by Khizr Khan

Educated by Tara Westover

I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Heart

God, if You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked: Tales of Stand-Up, Saturday Night Live and Other Mind-Altering Mayhem by Darrell Hammond

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Jane Sherron De Hart

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn’t by John Atkinson

How To Be Well: The 6 Keys to a Happy and Healthy Life by Frank Lipman, MD

Thirst by Scott Harrison

The Seeds of Life by Edward Dolnik

Washington’s Spies by Alexander Rose

Ann Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank

The Order of The Day by Eric Vuillard

Listen to the Marriage by John J. Osborn

His Favorites by Kate Walbert

White Houses by Amy Bloom

Small Country by Gael Faye

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novick

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami 

American Dialogue by Joseph J. Ellis

American Journal: Fifty Poems of Our Time by Tracy K. Smith

Dot Journaling by Rachel Wilkerson Miller

How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell

West by Carys Davies

In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman