051 Jhoanna Belfer on "The Body Papers" by Grace Talusan
05/31/21 • 39 min
I was introduced to Bel Canto Books from previous guest of the Best Book Ever, Asha Sabbella, who travels there frequently with her book club. Jhoanna has impeccable taste in book curation, and is a fierce advocate for BIPOC and women authors. Major warning: this episode will make you want to open a bookstore. I have spent many hours – many, many hours – researching bookstore ownership since my talk with Jhoanna.
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Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website
Host: Julie Strauss
Guest: Jhoanna Belfer of Bel Canto Books
Want to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast? Go here!
Discussed in this episode:
The Body Papers: A Memoir by Grace Talusan
Page Against the Machine Bookstore, Long Beach, CA
Books are Magic Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY (Emma Straub’s bookstore)
Paz and Associates Bookstore Bootcamp
Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, MA
BFAB: Boston Filipino American Book Club
America is Not the Heart – Elaine Castillo
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber
Discussed in our Patreon Conversation
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Underground Railroad TV Series
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam by Paisley Rekdal
(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)
I was introduced to Bel Canto Books from previous guest of the Best Book Ever, Asha Sabbella, who travels there frequently with her book club. Jhoanna has impeccable taste in book curation, and is a fierce advocate for BIPOC and women authors. Major warning: this episode will make you want to open a bookstore. I have spent many hours – many, many hours – researching bookstore ownership since my talk with Jhoanna.
Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon
Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website
Host: Julie Strauss
Guest: Jhoanna Belfer of Bel Canto Books
Want to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast? Go here!
Discussed in this episode:
The Body Papers: A Memoir by Grace Talusan
Page Against the Machine Bookstore, Long Beach, CA
Books are Magic Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY (Emma Straub’s bookstore)
Paz and Associates Bookstore Bootcamp
Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, MA
BFAB: Boston Filipino American Book Club
America is Not the Heart – Elaine Castillo
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber
Discussed in our Patreon Conversation
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Underground Railroad TV Series
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam by Paisley Rekdal
(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)
Previous Episode
050 Lisa Marie Cabrelli on "Severance" by Ling Ma
The only reason I agreed to read another pandemic book was becuase I totally trust my friend Lisa Marie Cabrelli, who is a writer, academic, and adventurer. She told me I would love it, and she wasn’t wrong. Holy moly. There was so much to talk about.
Lisa Marie and I had different interpretations about the end of the book. But I don’t want to spoil it for you. So I moved that part of the conversation to the very end of the podcast, and added a warning so you know when to hit the pause button if you don’t want to hear that part.
Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon
Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website
Host: Julie Strauss
Guest: Lisa Marie Cabrelli
Want to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast? Go here!
Discussed in this episode:
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Discussed in our Patreon Conversation
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)
Next Episode
052 Leah Koch on "Vision in White" by Nora Roberts
It’s no secret that bookstores are my favorite places on earth, and The Ripped Bodice in Los Angeles is extra extra special to me. Today I have one half of the sister duo who owns the shop, Leah Koch, with me to talk about "Vision in White" by La Grande Dame of romance novels, Her Royal Highness, Nora Roberts.
Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon
Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website
Host: Julie Strauss
Guest: Leah Koch of The Ripped Bodice Bookstore
Want to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast? Go here!
Make sure you check out The Ripped Bodice’s Annual State of Racial Diversity in Romance Report.
Leah spoke a lot about her sister/business partner’s love of Historical Romance. Be sure to check out Bea’s fantastic book Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency.
Discussed in this episode:
Vision in White by Nora Roberts (Book 1 of the Bride Quartet)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts (Book 2 of the Bride Quartet)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (Book 3 of the Bride Quartet)
Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts (Book 4 of the Bride Quartet)
Now I’ll Tell You Everything by Phillis Reynolds Naylor (Book #25 of the Alice Series)
The Ripped Bodice Subscription Box
I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander
(Note: All of this week's links lead you directly to the Ripped Bodice catalog, where they can sell you any book, not just romance. Thank you for keeping an indie bookstore in business! )
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