A quick episode this week with updates about how you can support the podcast and links to what Julie has been reading on her own time recently. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram Host: Julie Strauss Website / Instagram Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE! Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time. Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND...
Feb 20, 2023•14 min
Today I’m joined by Kim Sherwood, an author and creative writing lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Kim’s newest release, "A Wild and True Relation," has the tremendous distinction of a gushing review by Dame Hilary Mantel herself, who said that Sherwood’s book is “a rarity – a novel as remarkable for the vigour of the storytelling as for its literary ambition. Kim Sherwood is a writer of capacity, potency and sophistication.” In addition to that, this April Kim is releasing the first book...
Feb 06, 2023•42 min
Aleenah Ansari (she/her) is equal parts storyteller, creative problem solver, and journalist at heart who's rooted in the stories of people behind products, companies, and initiatives. She writes about travel, entrepreneurship, mental health and wellness, and representation in media for Insider, The Seattle Times, Byrdie, and more. You can usually find her searching for murals in Seattle and beyond, reading a book, and planning her next trip to New York. Aleenah joined me today for a particularl...
Jan 30, 2023•32 min
“Twenty Years at Hull House” is the acclaimed memoir of social reformer Jane Adams. It contains unflinching descriptions of poverty and degradation of the Industrial Revolution, and the steps she took to establish housing, food, clean water, and education for the poor of Chicago. Joining me today is Rebecca Sive, author of three books on women’s politics and power. She’s also a motivational speaker for women’s audiences; a former professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University ...
Jan 23, 2023•35 min
We are going a little off script for today’s episode. I’m not sure either one of us would call “Spare” the Best Book Ever, though I’m sure it has plenty of people who would. But it is definitely the book of the week, and a book that I think will come to be seen as a watershed moment in the history of the royals. Suswati Basu is a multilingual journalist, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist, and one of my favorite guests of the show. I was eager to get her take on th...
Jan 16, 2023•36 min
This week I’m joined by the fabulous Katy Leep Arditti, consumer of all things Thriller and Fantasy, business owner, massage therapist, and one of my favorite book club friends. Friends, Katy introduced me to a book so totally out of my wheelhouse, I actually contemplated not reading it, and just having her on to tell me about it. But I’m so glad I avoided that temptation, because Ordinary Monsters turned out to be easily one of my favorite reads of 2022. It was a delightful talk about the impor...
Jan 09, 2023•38 min
To kick off the new year with a very special edition of Best Book Ever, my daughter Erin is taking over the hosting duties this week, interviewing me. She asked me all the things I normally like to ask my weekly guests – favorite books, goals for 2023, Mr. Darcy, and everything in between. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Host: Julie Strauss Website / Instagram Erin Strauss Instagram Discussed in this episode: Unwind by Neal Shusterman Maze Runner b...
Jan 02, 2023•34 min
Time for an end of year wrap up with my Podcast Twin, Malavika Praseed. Malavika is putting her marvelous podcast on hiatus for the time being while she pursues a Master’s Degree in Fiction Writing. She is one of my very favorite readers, and I always love catching up with her and finding out what books she loved over the past year, and how she thinks her reading life will change now that she’s not running her podcast. As always, it was a great chat, with lots of laughs about serious and not-so-...
Dec 12, 2022•39 min
Episode 126 Memoir-Palooza with Denise Massar Today, I’m so happy to welcome back the very first guest of the show, an amazing writer and reader, and, not to brag, but my best friend and soul sister, Denise Massar. Denise is a memoir junkie, and it occurred to me that mid-December is a perfect time to host a Memoir-Palooza, since so many of us like to give them as gifts over the holiday season, and I thought it would be interesting to hear which ones she liked best over the last year. A lot of t...
Dec 05, 2022•46 min
It’s time for my favorite episode of the year – our Annual Kids/YA Gift Giving Guide. I asked a group of young people, ages 8-19, to tell me about their favorite book. As always, their answers were as smart, funny, interesting, and diverse as the kids themselves. I love talking to young people about books, and even if you don’t have any young people to buy for this year, I know you’re going to love hearing these interesting people tell me about their favorite books. A note: as always, the interv...
Nov 28, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Skye Pratt Epperson writes about family, history, religion, and fitness. She is working on a memoir about her childhood in Eswatini, Africa, and the varying expectations of the different faiths represented there. Skye joined me today to talk about “Educated: A Memoir" by Tara Westover, that has some remarkable similarities to her own life. I know you will agree that it is fascinating to hear someone with real insight into the school free childhood tell me why “Educated” is the Best Book Ever. Fo...
Nov 21, 2022•41 min
Episode 123 Jessica Bell on “Housekeeping” by Marilynne Robinson I love noticing book covers, and paying attention to what I like and dislike about them, and it was really run to talk about them with a professional. Today I’m talking to multi-talented book-cover designer Jessica Bell about “Housekeeping” by Marilynne Robinson. Jessica examined the cover of my copy of the book, and we talked about why it worked on me. Even better, we talked about the insides of books, and why this one, in particu...
Nov 07, 2022•30 min
Michelle Cox is the author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, a mystery/romance saga set in the 1930s Chicago often described as “Downton Abbey Meets Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.” To date, the series has won over sixty international awards and has received positive reviews from Library Journal (starred), Booklist (starred), Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and various media outlets, such as Popsugar, Buzzfeed, Redbook, Elle, Brit&Co., Bustle, Culturalist, Working Mother, and many oth...
Oct 31, 2022•35 min
Brina Patel is a freelance content writer, copywriter, and journalist from Sacramento, California. Her writing has appeared in Business Insider, Byrdie, Well and Good, and Verywell Mind. When she isn't putting words to the page, Brina loves curling up with a thought-provoking memoir, making memories in new places across the globe, and spoiling her sassy Maltese. Today, she joined me to talk about this searing memoir of recovery from cancer, and why can be emotionally attached to people we’ve nev...
Oct 24, 2022•33 min
Today’s our lucky day, listener, because one of my favorite guests is back to talk about a book written by another one of my favorite guests. Kenya Goree Bell is herself a steamy romance author and fearless autism advocate who loves to talk books on her own show, the KGB Grown and Sexy book club. Today she joined me to talk about some of the lesser known romance subgenres and the authors we trust to make us care about common and uncommon tropes. And as always, we had a lot of laughs as Kenya tol...
Oct 17, 2022•31 min
I’ve been waiting for someone to choose this book for SO LONG! Today, V.P. Morris, an award-winning thriller author, joined me to talk about the book everyone loves, hates, or loves to hate. I fall firmly into the love category, and I loved re-reading it to see if Gillian Flynn’s twisty masterpiece holds up to a re-read. Along the way, V.P and I discussed unreliable narrators and why shady women are so interesting. I have to give you an official spoiler warning: VP and I decided there is really ...
Oct 10, 2022•33 min
Tyler Foley is an accomplished actor, public speaker, and coach. He also has the dubious distinction of being the only guest I had to contact in advance of our recording and admit that I hated the book he chose! Tyler is extremely gracious, and we went ahead anyway, which is lucky for me, because it turned out to be one of my favorite conversations ever on this show. Whether or not you decide to read “A Fool’s Progress,” I know you’re going to enjoy hearing Tyler tell me why it’s the Best Book E...
Oct 03, 2022•42 min
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen that I absolutely lost my mind over the book “Darling Girl” a couple of weeks ago. It’s a modern day examination of the Peter Pan fairy tale, in which Wendy Darling’s granddaughter Holly must take on Peter Pan in order to save her daughter’s life. I think it’s such a clever take on the story, with fresh characters and a mature, nuanced look at the real heart of the story. Today, the author of that marvelous book, Liz Michalski, is here to talk to m...
Sep 26, 2022•43 min
Thriller author J.P. Choquette writes atmospheric suspense novels with themes of nature, art, and folklore. She started writing "books" when she was old enough to hold a crayon. These were held together with staples and left some painful scratches. When she's not working, you'll find her sipping a hot beverage, reading, or in the woods with her family. Today J.P. joined me to talk about the modern gothic thriller, “The Stranger Diaries,” a book that hit every one of my literary sweet spots. We t...
Sep 19, 2022•34 min
Like nearly everyone else in the world, I am watching the funeral preparations for Queen Elizabeth II, and the transition to the new King, with great interest. I thought you might like a compilation of my favorite books about the royals, and royally-adjacent fiction that I return to again and again. In addition to what I have already read, I am also very fascinated by all of the work that writers and activists from colonized countries are providing, and I look forward to broadening my understand...
Sep 12, 2022•18 min
Victoria Snow is currently in her second year of grad school, working towards licensure of a marriage and family therapist. A bookstagrammer since 2019, she spends her free time reading an eclectic array of literature. She also enjoys her guilty pleasure of watching reality TV (especially any Real Housewives series). Victoria joined me to talk about the challenges of reading for pleasure while in school, and how to use Net Galley to read early release books. That’s where she found today’s book, ...
Sep 05, 2022•29 min
Naima Simone is a USA today bestselling romance author I’ve admired for so long, and I knew we would have a lot of laughs when we finally got to sit down and chat. We had so much fun discussing the art of a perfect sex scene, which this book is full of, and why she and I are the perfect historical romance fans (spoiler alert: it’s because neither of us are interested in looking up the accuracy of the historical details, so we pretty just go with the flow.) This book is new to me, but I absolutel...
Aug 29, 2022•35 min
The only thing better than talking to Valerie Francis about writing is talking to Valerie Francis about reading. She is a writer and literary editor who thinks very deeply about story, and we had a blast talking about why Agatha Christie's classic "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is the Best Book Ever. Note: this episode is spoiler-free! Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Host: Julie Strauss Website / Instagram Guest: Valerie Francis Website / Instagram ...
Aug 22, 2022•32 min
Whenever someone new to my podcast asks me where they should start, I recommend this episode. It’s one of my all-time favorite conversations with one of my all-time favorite people. Since I’m on vacation this week, I thought it was time to reach back into the archive and replay this episode, in the hopes that you will pick up this lovely book. The only reason I agreed to read another pandemic book was because I totally trust my friend Lisa Marie Cabrelli, who is a writer, academic, and adventure...
Aug 15, 2022•37 min
It is so much fun for me when a guest takes me up on the offer to return to the show when they have a new book to talk to me about. Jasmine Vyas is one of my all-time favorite guests, an avid reader with incredible taste. Jasmine primarily focuses on books by underrepresented authors, and she posts reviews books under the handle @bookblanketfort on Instagram, GoodReads, and Storygraph. During the day she works as an attorney and privacy professional and is a mother of three school aged children....
Aug 08, 2022•36 min
Guests and listeners recommend new books to me every week, and I always intend to read them. But since I only have 24 hours a day, it’s tough to get to all of them. This week’s guest is someone I frequently bump into at my local library, and so she had more opportunities than most to remind me to read her favorite. Ultimately, I cut a deal with her: I’ll read the YA Fantasy book you want me to read, but only if you come on back on the show. Lauren Regenhardt is the Senior Children's Librarian at...
Aug 01, 2022•35 min
For today’s episode I got to sit down with Chelsea Hoffman and Yolanda Skeete, founders of Thrillers by the Book Club. I can tell you from personal experience that both of these women are sweet and kind in real life, but they have an affinity for, as Chelsea calls it, murder-y books. They found each other online and formed a book club, which has morphed into a real-life book group with 27 chapters around the world. I asked them to join me for a Thriller-Palooza, because I wanted the lowdown on t...
Jul 25, 2022•47 min
Maci Nelson is a landscape designer, educator, and podcaster. She launched the Landscape Nerd Podcast in 2020, and has collaborated with leaders in landscape architecture, ecology, and art. She is also an avid reader, and she joined me today to talk about “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a book she loves because the landscapes in the animated movie deeply inspired her. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to ...
Jul 18, 2022•34 min
Becca Syme is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and holds a Master’s degree in Transformational Leadership. She is the host of the Quitcast for Writers and the teacher of the popular Write Better-Faster class. Becca has coached 5000+ authors using success alignment and predictive reasoning to help authors write and market better-faster. She lives in the mountains of Montana where it is always winter and never Christmas. Becca joined me to today to talk about Jennifer Crusie’s hilarious rom-com ...
Jul 11, 2022•41 min
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Jul 04, 2022•38 min
