Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 101
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
This month, we discuss books in translation, a prompt on the Winter-Spring Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. From Iceland to Argentina with several stops in between, come travel the world with us from the comfort of home.
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Carrie’s Pick
Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
This historical coming-of-age novel is about a young Icelandic woman named Hekla who moves from her small village to Reykjavik because she wants to be a writer.
It’s 1963, and Hekla soon learns that even in the big city, Icelandic society isn’t ready for women to break free of traditional gender roles.
Her friends Ísey and Jón John also struggle against the misogynistic and homophobic culture as they try to create art and find purpose.
Pairing: Icelandic rice pudding
Jacqueline’s Pick
The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi
This stunning YA fantasy novel tells the epic tale of Elin, a remarkable girl with a profound connection to mystical creatures.
Elin studies Royal Beasts at a specialized school. Her compassion and determination to become a beast doctor are tested when a baby Royal Beast refuses to eat.
Elin must decide whether to break the sacred rules to save the creature’s life. Will she succeed, and what will be the consequences of her actions?
Michael’s Pick
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
Told as a secret diary, The Unworthy is written from the perspective of an unnamed narrator living in a post-apocalyptic world. She’s part of the Sacred Sisterhood, a repressive, all-female convent housed in a former monastery.
The sisters are pitted against each other, desperate to gain favor, hoping one day to become one of the revered Enlightened—women considered so divine they’re forced to mutilate themselves under the guise of holiness.
This book is a haunting, powerful meditation on what we do to survive—and what parts of ourselves we lose in the process.