Ep. 36: Claire Gibson (Author of Beyond the Point) + Book Recommendations
Explicit content warning
10/30/19 • 41 min
2 Listeners
In Episode 36, Claire Gibson, author of Beyond the Point (my review), talks about the inspiration behind the novel, what it was like growing up on the West Point campus, two editorial choices she made, and...of course, shares her book recommendations!
This post contains affiliate links (plus: here’s your Amazon Smile-specific affiliate link), through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights- What it was like to grow up on the West Point campus.
- A story about one of the women she interviewed as research for the book that didn’t make it into the book.
- Which of the three main characters is most like Claire herself.
- How Claire decided to more or less reveal the crux of the ending in the Prologue.
- Why Claire decided to make her three main characters competitive athletes (they all played basketball for West Point).
- A glimpse into Claire’s second novel (which she’s currently working on).
- Claire’s favorite book of all-time.
Two OLD Books She Loves
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [19:27]
- So Big by Edna Ferber | Buy from Amazon [21:22]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- A Woman is No Manby Etaf Rum (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [23:03]
- All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr | Buy from Amazon [24:36]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:09]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- The Book of Longingsby Sue Monk Kidd (Release Date: April 28, 2020) | Buy from Amazon [30:33]
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares | Buy from Amazon [3:27]
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides | Buy from Amazon [22:51]
- The Night of the Gun by David Carr | Buy from Amazon [25:02]
- All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [29:20]
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff (
In Episode 36, Claire Gibson, author of Beyond the Point (my review), talks about the inspiration behind the novel, what it was like growing up on the West Point campus, two editorial choices she made, and...of course, shares her book recommendations!
This post contains affiliate links (plus: here’s your Amazon Smile-specific affiliate link), through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights- What it was like to grow up on the West Point campus.
- A story about one of the women she interviewed as research for the book that didn’t make it into the book.
- Which of the three main characters is most like Claire herself.
- How Claire decided to more or less reveal the crux of the ending in the Prologue.
- Why Claire decided to make her three main characters competitive athletes (they all played basketball for West Point).
- A glimpse into Claire’s second novel (which she’s currently working on).
- Claire’s favorite book of all-time.
Two OLD Books She Loves
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [19:27]
- So Big by Edna Ferber | Buy from Amazon [21:22]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- A Woman is No Manby Etaf Rum (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [23:03]
- All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr | Buy from Amazon [24:36]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:09]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- The Book of Longingsby Sue Monk Kidd (Release Date: April 28, 2020) | Buy from Amazon [30:33]
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares | Buy from Amazon [3:27]
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides | Buy from Amazon [22:51]
- The Night of the Gun by David Carr | Buy from Amazon [25:02]
- All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [29:20]
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff (
Previous Episode
Mini Ep. 35: Sarah Bohl (Character-Driven Mysteries & Terrible Luck with Pulitzer Winners)
In Mini Episode 35, Sarah Bohl (@sarahbohl) and I talk about our shared terrible luck with Pulitzer Prize winners, character-driven mysteries, our thoughts on a beloved WWII novel...and, of course, book recommendations!
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights- Our mutual terrible luck with Pulitzer Prize winners.
- How does writing only memoirs impact how that author lives her life?
- Sarah’s theory about why The Last Romantics doesn’t hit with everyone.
- Why Sarah hated a beloved WWII novel.
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Celine by Peter Heller | Buy from Amazon [4:54]
- The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers | Buy from Amazon [7:25]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- Inheritanceby Dani Shapiro | Buy from Amazon [9:38]
- The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [12:16]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [15:40]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- A Good Neighborhoodby Therese Anne Fowler (Release Date: February 4, 2020) | Buy from Amazon [18:23]
- The Cuckoo’s Calling by “Robert Galbraith” (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [2:46]
- Less by Andrew Sean Greer | Buy from Amazon [3:55]
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [3:59]
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr | Buy from Amazon [4:17]
- The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [4:32]
- The River by Peter Heller (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [5:05]
Next Episode
Mini Ep. 37: More Than a Mini Episode with Elizabeth Chapman (@SamAndScout)
In Mini Episode 37, Elizabeth Chapman and I talk for so long about books that it can’t technically be called a mini episode.
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights- How blogs, podcasts, and #bookstagram helped her go from not finishing her assigned reading in high school to becoming a high school English teacher.
- A type of book Elizabeth doesn’t like to read that will surprise you given her profession.
- Books that are “mirrors” and “windows.”
- Thoughts on Dopesick from a resident of the town where it takes place.
- Elizabeth’s class’s reaction to Dopesick.
- A novel being compared to Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
- A lengthy debate about Normal People by Sally Rooney.
- Speculation on why publishers and/or authors sometimes decide not to use quotation marks for dialogue.
- We debate the New Year’s Eve release date for Elizabeth’s upcoming release she’s excited about.
Two OLD Books She Loves
- This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [8:39]
- Dopesick by Beth Macy (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [12:30]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [18:40]
- The Grace Year by Kim Liggett | Buy from Amazon [22:26]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Normal People by Sally Rooney (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:23]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- Such a Fun Ageby Kiley Reid (Release Date: December 31, 2019) | Buy from Amazon [32:35]
- Columbine by Dave Cullen (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [17:59]
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [21:23]
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding |
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