Books I Recommend All the Time

I couldn't muster the energy for a Friday Reads this week, but I did manage to film this video about the books I recommend most often. Hopefully, that will tide you over until I'm back in Friday Reads shape. Thank you for your patience. Expand for more information. 👇
Further Viewing 🎥
The 25 Best Books of the Last 25 Years: • The 25 Best Books of t...
The Pulitzer Controversy of 2012: • Do Book Prizes Owe Us ...
My Demon Copperhead Pulitzer Reaction: • Watch Me Freak Out Abo...
My Deep Dive on Now in November: • Was the Youngest Pulit...
My Review of Fanny Herself: • Discover This Hidden C...
My Pulitzer Deep Dive on The Grapes of Wrath: • Is The Grapes of Wrath...
My husband made a cookbook! Check it out here:
www.blurb.com/b/10189765-my-m...
But wait, there's more!
Email: supposedlyfungreg-at-gmail.com
Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile...
Instagram: / supposedlyfun
Twitter: / supposedlyfun
Website: supposedlyfun.com/

[@judylanskey2934]

Hi Greg, Like you, I always recommend The Poisonwood Bible, which I read when it first came out. Although I have read many books, there are few that have stayed with me the way that one has. Another book in that same category (highly memorable) is, ‘The God of Small Things.’

[@SupposedlyFun]

The Poisonwood Bible is definitely one of those books that stays with you.

[@taravincent9699]

I’m a newbie 🙋🏻‍♀️ so thank you. I’m reading Demon Copperhead now bc of your rec videos. I’m trying to savor it and take it slow. Yeah, loving it. I think I’ll check out home going soon bc I did like the Underground Railroad the year it came out.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Hi! 👋 I’m so glad you’re loving Demon Copperhead.

[@SarkoMontaug]

the "Forgotten 1930s Novels" section of my tbr is agog 🙏🙏🙏

[@SupposedlyFun]

That makes me happy!

[@alexsarchives]

I read Now in November earlier this year on a whim, thinking it might be fun to pick up a forgotten Pulitzer winner, and was totally blown away by it. Train Dreams is the only one on this list I've read, and it's also a knockout. I think you've convinced me to prioritize The Poisonwood Bible next!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you like it as much as I do!

[@spexi513]

You’re never boring ! 📖🪱💚

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's kind of you. 🥂 🤗

[@Nina_DP]

Lovely to see you this morning, Greg. As soon as you said, "regular viewers can probably guess…" I paused the video and made a list. I got 4 out of 5. I missed the Ishugaro - guessed Night of the Living Rez instead. You made a passing reference to one of Ferber's books as a "forgotten classic." That sounds like it could make a great topic for a future video. Maybe? Hope that you and Joel are doing well. Thanks for the video. xo

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much. I'm impressed you got 4 out of 5! And the final one you guessed was still in the video. I think forgotten classics would be a great topic. Maybe when I'm a little further in my Pulitzer reading--because it's helping me find a lot of those books.

[@sherrystacks4815]

Great list going to make this my summer reading project. Of the 12 listed I have read Poisonwood Bible. As an audible reader due to vision issues 7 of these are available thru my small town library hoopla subscription no wait list

[@LifeisGoodLiveFully]

Great video and list, I've added a few to my TBR, thank you!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you enjoy any of the ones you pick up!

[@joy_ofbooks]

Thank you for making a video for us even though it must be so difficult for you. We’re all here whenever you choose to film, even if there’s not a Friday Reads. I really enjoy hearing you talk about the books you have loved. I bought Night of the Living Rez a couple of months ago, having heard you praise it so much. Hopefully I’ll get to it before the year is out.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you.

[@seamusgaelic6447]

Glad to see you included Louise Erdrich on your list. Another book by her that I repeatedly recommend is one that most people seem to have overlooked, "LaRose". Of the books she has written, it has been my favorite.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I remember being underwhelmed by LaRose but I should try again at some point.

[@readandre-read]

I am finally reading The Secret Lives of Church Ladies now and I see why you love it! This whole list of recommendations is super solid.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I’m so glad you’re loving it!

[@disasterindocs]

I know this should not have been my take away, but I giggled a little too much at the term "celantro book" bc it's SO PERFECT 😂❤

[@SupposedlyFun]

I love that phrase! I heard it used for something other than books and I’ve totally adopted it for myself.

[@leannatimmerman9922]

Thank you very much! I will read them all.

[@athertonca]

We agree on so many books! You recently recommended Address Unknown and it was so smartly done and really packed a punch-a perfect Shorty September pick!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I'm so glad you liked it! It really is a powerful book.

[@mradcaqbdb]

Great lists! I may do a sorta-kinda readalong of Interpreter of Maladies in September so I have read it when your deep dive comes out! Thinking about you and Joel lots. 😘

[@SupposedlyFun]

I just got access to Roman Stories and read the first three stories this morning, so I'm thinking Interpreter of Maladies will be next for me. Thank you for all the support. ❤️

[@AntisocialAuntie]

A friend recommended your channel this morning. I am so happy to "meet" you! Subscribed, library app open, and will try some of your recommendations. Lots of love from the Pacific Northwest 🧡

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much! I hope you love any of the books you pick up.

[@AntisocialAuntie]

@@SupposedlyFun I am really happy to see you promote local libraries as well 🧡😊

[@RSelcov]

I recently listened to the audiobook of Milkman, by Anne Burns. I started enjoying audiobooks only recently and was looking for one that was well reviewed for the quality of the narration. The narration here, by Brid Brennan, is excellent. I still hear her voice in my head often, more than two months later. The book won the 2018 Booker Prize. I've been recommending it to all of my book-friends.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's good to know. I've been a bit nervous to try Milkman and the audio would probably be a good entry point for me. Thanks!

[@nadiadixon5805]

Homecoming is one of my favourite books...brilliant

[@SupposedlyFun]

It’s such a good book!

[@jackwalter5970]

Living Rez is spectacular. Lahiri is always great, Johnson too.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I just got access to Lahiri’s new book on NetGalley and I’m so excited.

[@barbaralemon4170]

Just downloaded Homegoing. Thanks for that recommendation!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you like it as much as I did!

[@KurtAnderson812]

I pretty much knew that “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” would be on this list as soon as I saw the title. Continuing to send you and Joel all my best possible thoughts during this time. ❤

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much. 🥂 ❤️

[@marciajohansson769]

I have read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Night of the Living Rez, The Plague of Doves and Now in November and have found these to be solid recommendations from you and a few other booktubers I follow. I have enjoyed each of them and look forward to reading more on this list (and of course I have already added them to my book collection). I have found my taste in books maturing even this late in my life. One of my favorite authors is Sheri Reynolds who I rarely see mentioned if at all. Her book A Gracious Plenty was so impactful to me emotionally as well as many of her books. Currently I am listening to When We Fell Apart A Novel By: Soon Wiley and immediately knew I needed a physical copy. Take all the time you need to reenergize. My heartfelt regards to both you and Joel.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much. I haven't heard of Reynolds or Wiley so I will have to look them up. Thanks for the recommendations.

[@sniffingthesheets]

Never Let Me Go is on my TBR. Must get to it soon! I recently recommend In Memorium and Secret Lives of Church Ladies A LOT.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I still need to read In Memoriam. Secret Lives of Church Ladies is just so good.

[@karenmercurio1980]

I want to thank you for your recommendation of Like a Love Story. I just finished it and it was fantastic. I loved it so much.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I'm so glad you loved it! Thank you for letting me know.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

I put a couple of your books on my library list. Thanks.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you enjoy any of the books you pick up!

[@lifewithpatti9531]

I just ordered now in November. We don’t seem to read any of the same books but this sounds like a good one. I’ll do a book review on it when I finish it.

[@alldbooks9165]

Thanks for holding these up. I found a couple more shorties. 😀

[@SupposedlyFun]

Always happy to help!

[@Phillybookfairy]

If it makes you feel better Homegoing did get a good amount of attention from bookstagram when it came out. I read and reviewed it and loved it. I also have The Underground Railroad on my shelves but haven’t read it yet. I’ll definitely pick up that Now in November! I’ve been wanting to read the Pulitzer Prize winners for years now but keep getting distracted by new releases!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I can relate to the distraction. The struggle is real. I hope you like Now in November as much as I did if you pick it up. And that's good to know about Homegoing.

[@angelacraw2907]

I'm reading Never Let Me Go and Home Going at the Moment. They are both beautifully written.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you love them as much as I did!

[@deborahmink5159]

Just finished If I Survive You which reminded me of a lot of Night of the Living Rez, which I also loved.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hadn't thought of that but there are definitely similarities.

[@benreadsgood]

Hadn’t heard the phrase ‘cilantro book’ before but kind of love it. Really want to read Night of the Living Rez, but it still hasn’t had a UK release 😢

[@SupposedlyFun]

Cilantro book is my new favorite descriptor. It’s so annoying when books aren’t available on both sides of the ocean in these times, but at least it’s a lot easier to order from overseas, I guess.

[@JentheLibrarianreads]

Homegoing is a also a book I’m constantly forcing into people’s hands, SO good!

[@SupposedlyFun]

It is SUCH a good book!

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’m looking back through my current book journal. It goes back to 2020. ( I’ll have to find others that go back to 2016) Best books of last 3 yrs? The Erratics Cantoras The Glorious Heresies Mussolini’s Island The Prettiest Star Swimming In The Dark A Ghost in the Throat We Begin At The End Cloud Cuckoo Land Standard Deviation Small Things Like These The Power of the Dog Great Circle The Lacuna The Poisonwood Bible The Sleepwalkers Guide to Dancing Interpreter of Maladies Oh William The Innocents Arsonists City The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Tresspasses Foster Young Mungo Elena Knows What Willow Says ☘️👋🍀📕📖📚☕️🇮🇪

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's a pretty solid list! Thanks for sharing.

[@bookofdust]

Hey Greg, did you see that the Kirkus Prize nominees were announced this week and Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend is in the running along with the Booker long list Bee Sting? I’m hoping to read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store this weekend, which is a third title of the five, he’s giving an author reading at a local bookstore and it would be the first bookish event I’d be going to since before the pandemic. One of the Young Reader nominees is The Skull, which is a quirky retelling of of a folktale with exceptional art, it looks like a chapter book, but can be read in under 15 minutes. I need to reread both Never Let Me Go and Interpreter of Maladies next year, they both haunt me and were favorites, but I need to strengthen my memory of them and lock them in as exceptional. Does Maladies have a story that kind of rifts on Passage to India? I know there was a short story in the last two decades plus by an Indian or Indian Anglo/American that played with what happens in the novel, but looks at it from an anti colonial aspect. Hopefully reading Passage for the first time this month I want to go back and reread the story, I knew the premise of what happened in the novel, but not the nuance. All this has to do with mysterious happenings in the cave.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I had not seen that! I'll look up the list. I would ordinarily think about a video for that list, but at this time it's probably unlikely. Thank you for pointing out that it was released. I don't remember a story in Maladies that riffs on A Passage to India, but I would not have had Forster on my cultural radar when I last read it. A Passage to India is the only Forster novel I did not finish, so this month will be interesting.

[@AvAlanchian]

You know Greg I haven’t seen you talk about my favourite author of all time: David Mitchell, have you read any of his work? I think you would like Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas. Tho I just read Giovanni’s Room by Baldwin and he might be my new favourite author, we’ll see

[@SupposedlyFun]

I did not finish The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, to be honest, and that has been my only experience of Mitchell's writing. I should try again at some point.

[@LiterateTexan]

If I keep watching your channel, my #tbr might become unwieldy.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Sorry not sorry! 😉

[@spexi513]

Cilantro 📖 😂 💚

[@SupposedlyFun]

It's my favorite book descriptor now!

[@jennthecapricorn]

Never Let Me Go still haunts me. I didn't like it at first because the main characters were annoying me for some reason but once I understood what was happening I cried the rest of my reading. Such a good read! Andrew Garfield was amazing in the film. He definitely made me ugly cry.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I still need to see the movie. I feel like I've been holding off because I'm worried it won't live up to the book.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

Here are some that I recommend frequently. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Field of Blood by Joanne Freeman, Revolutionary Backlash by Rosemarie Zagarri, As You Wish by Cary Elwes, Red Notice by Bill Browder, They Were Her Property by Stephanie Jones-Rodgers, Floating Coast by Bathsheba Demuth, Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes DuMez, The Russian Affair by David Walsh, How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen, The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross

[@SupposedlyFun]

I need to get to reading some of your recommendations! Thanks for sharing.

[@thisisveryannoying]

How to Train Your Dragon audiobook read by David Tenant is a treat!

[@annegibson6072]

Good morning. I have two other Denis Johnson books to read. One is the collection of short stories called Jesus Said and Tree of Smoke. Night of the Living Rev is up for the Kirk's Prize

[@annegibson6072]

Kirkus Prize

[@marciajohansson769]

I picked up Tree of Smoke on someone's recommendation. I can't remember who but it was highly rated. I have yet to get to it! I hope it is as good as it sounds.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I started reading Tree of Smoke when I had the flu, put it down, and somehow lost my copy. I never finished it!

[@lynniepie52]

I consistently recommend The Trees by Percival Everett!!!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I really need to read that book.

[@lynniepie52]

@@SupposedlyFun it’s a really great thought provoking book…eye opening for this old white lady from the south(Texas).

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@lynniepie52 I'm sure it would do the same for me!

[@camillodimaria3288]

I’m eager to read Interpreter …

[@RovingReader]

I have no idea how Homegoing is a debut!

[@SupposedlyFun]

It's so confident and well done.