Welcome to Books & Beyond, a podcast series that’s more than book recommendations (although there will be plenty of those)—it’s a space for extended conversations about reading. In Books & Beyond, I sit down with a different guest each episode to explore what’s on our reading minds. From the books we love to thoughts on publishing, reading goals, and the literary world at large, these conversations will go beyond the pages, providing a deeper dive into what it means to be a reader.
In today’s episode, I sat down with Virginia Evans, author of The Correspondent, a book I read and loved so much that I decided to reach out to Virginia to ask her to join me for an extended literary conversation.
I’ll share some highlights of our chat below, but do know, we do not share any spoilers, so even if you haven’t yet read the book, you can listen and enjoy our conversation. If you enjoy behind the scenes into an author’s writing and reading life, you’ll love this episode!
Highlights of Our Conversation
How Virginia likes to describe her book
Her inspiration for Sybil
How she crafts her stories
Her journey to becoming a published writer, including details about her year at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland
Why she believes in the lost art of letter writing
The authors she’s written to and who has/hasn’t written back
The Irish books she loves
How she reads
Her all time favorite books
So many great book recommendations!
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Books Mentioned in Order
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
The Butcher Boy by Pat McCabe
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine
One By One in the Darkness by Deidre Madden
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell - Virginia’s fav of Maggie’s
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
The Green Road by Anne Enright
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Martian by Andy Weir
Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks Dalton
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Cormoran Strike Series by Robert Galbraith
Dublin Murder Squad Series by Tana French
Faithful Place by Tana French
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Wolf At the Table by Adam Rapp
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Notes On Infinity by Austin Taylor
Connect With Virginia
Virginia’s Website - Virginiaevansauthor.com
Virginia’s Instagram
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