Books, Beach, & Beyond

Barbara Kingsolver

Elin Hilderbrand, Tim Talks Books, N Magazine Season 2 Episode 9

Barbara Kingsolver is the Pulitzer Prize winning, #1 best-selling author of Demon Copperhead, The Bean Trees, and The Poisonwood Bible. Elin, Tim, and Barbara start by telling listeners their favorite literary quotes inspired by a character in Demon Copperhead and then continue into Barbara’s origin story as a reader and a writer. They talk about the importance of setting in Barbara’s books, the Belgian Congo in The Poisonwood Bible, and Charles Dicken’s inspiring Demon Copperhead. They cover Barbara’s writing process, writers’ block, her favorite writers, the three characters in her own books she would take to dinner, and an exclusive on what she is working on next. What an absolutely delightful episode with this literary sensation.

Barbara Kingsolver Reading List:

  • Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver 


What else are we reading in this episode?

  • Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon
  • A Little Life by Hanya Yangagihara
  • Family Happiness by Laurie Colwin
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Martha Quest by Doris Lessing
  • Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason


Other Authors Mentioned:

Vaclav Havel, Doris Lessing, Marilyn Robinson

Favorite Literary Quotes:
Tim’s Literary Quote

"What he knew, he knew from books"
  -  Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

Elin Hildebrand's Literary Quote

“Once she had divided the world  into the sort of women who had love affairs, and the sort of woman who do not, but now she, a women who did not, did, and with considerable expertise.”
  -  Laurie Colwin, Family Happiness

Barbara Kingsolver's Literary Quote

“Hope is an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.”
  -  Vaclav Havel

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Happy Reading!

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