Episode 40 - Character Studies with Jocelyn Aspa

On this episode, bookstagrammer and journalist Jocelyn Aspa and I discuss books with extensive character development, how everything makes us cry, and why we gravitate towards books with low ratings on Goodreads. We also discuss how we determine books to pack on a trip which can be a little extra.    Follow Jocelyn on Instagram   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy’s reading:  Devil is Fine by John Vercher  Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing    Books Highlighted by Jocelyn: 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster  Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, trans. Sarah Moses A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara  Same as it Ever Was by Clarie Lombardo  The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: There’s a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer  Normal People by Sally Rooney  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Secret History by Donna Tartt  My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt  We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler  The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo  The Wedding People by Alison Espach  Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai  Fire Exit by Morgan Talty  Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty  Orbital by Samantha Harvey  American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede