Beste Must Reads podcaster (2025)

“January 1839. At first he did not hear the voice behind him. The red sun was glaring in his face as he rode across the center of the world. ‘Mr. Jiang!’ He heard it this time. ‘Jiang Shi-Rong! Wait!”Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must Reads: Cloud Cuckoo Land 1:51

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18d ago1:51

1:51

“Set in Constantinople in the fifteenth century, in a small town in present-day Idaho, and on an interstellar ship decades from now Anthony Doerr’s gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story of children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope and - a book.”…

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Martin's Must Reads: 'A Girl Named Zippy' 1:40

25d ago1:40

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I’m Betty Martin with "Martin’s Must Reads" and Haven Kimmel’s autobiography A Girl Named Zippy took me back to those glorious days of childhood freedom and innocence. Haven grew up in the 1960’s in the small town of Mooreland, Indiana, population 300. Her book is about her life from birth through age 10.…

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Martin's Must-Reads: 'The Good Neighbor' 1:42

1M ago1:42

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“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?”Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must Reads: 'Virgil Wander' 1:44

1M ago1:44

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This week, Betty reviews Leif Enger’s newest book Virgil Wander. Enger is a master storyteller and this book does not disappoint.Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must Reads: 'Lessons from Lucy' 1:43

2M ago1:43

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Years ago when we enjoyed life with a scrappy Jack Russell terrier named Little Bit, we had a poster hanging on our refrigerator that reminded us of life lessons to learn from her. Things like “live in the moment” and “don't’ hold grudges” and “show compassion.”Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must-Reads: "The Frozen River" 1:48

2M ago1:48

1:48

“The body floats downstream. But it is late November, and the Kennebec River is starting to freeze, large chunks of ice swirling and tumbling through the water, collecting in mounds while clear, cold fingers of ice stretch out from either bank, reaching into the current, grabbing hold of all that passes by."…

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Martin's Must-Reads: "A Court of Thorns and Roses" 1:45

2M ago1:45

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“The forest had become a labyrinth of snow and ice. I’d been monitoring the parameters of the thicket for an hour, and my vantage point in the crook of a tree branch had turned useless."Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must-Reads: "James" 1:44

2M ago1:44

1:44

“That evening I sat down with Lizzie and six other children in our cabin and gave a language lesson. These were indispensable."Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must-Reads: "The Other Mothers" 1:41

2M ago1:41

1:41

“London Evening Post, November 21, 2017. A warning about the dangers of open-water swimming has been issued following the death of a young woman at a local nature reserve. Sophie Blake, twenty-one, went missing on the evening of July 7, 2017."Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must-Reads: "Off the Books" 1:45

3M ago1:45

1:45

“She examines him again, this immaculate twenty something, his tall form folded into the back seat with the large suitcase he’s kept beside him, opting to fill the trunk with smaller things: his tablet and laptop, backpack, duﬀel, cooler bag. Miserable yet sincere."Av Betty Martin

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Martin's Must-Reads: "The Princess of Las Vegas" 1:45

3M ago1:45

1:45

“I’m going to tell you what happened in Las Vegas, and I’m going to tell you everything as best I can, but my best is hampered by the fact this all occurred when I was doing two shows a night, channeling a dead princess, sleeping until lunchtime, popping a bit too much Adderal and Valium (yes both), and periodically - like that princess - purging o…

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Martin's Must-Reads: 'America Redux' 1:49

3M ago1:49

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“This book is nothing like the history textbooks I grew up with. It’s visual, it’s handwritten, it jumps around in time. It’s an attempt at a new way of seeing history - placing movements and events and people from across time in conversation with one another in a way that, I hope, offers some insight into who we are as a country, and who we have t…

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Martin's Must-Reads: 'The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store' 1:44

4M ago1:44

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“Forty-seven years before construction workers discovered the skeleton in the old farmer’s well on Chicken Hill, a Jewish theater manager in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, named Moshe Ludlow had a vision about Moses. Moshe had this vision on a Monday morning in February as he was cleaning out the remnants of a Chick Webb one-night stand at his tiny All-A…