Description
In Episode 32, Cristina talks about her job as Senior Books Editor at Bustle and her path to that job, Bustle’s approach to recommending books, and shares her book recommendations (some by Latina authors).
PLUS – You can now get bonus podcast content by supporting Sarah’s Bookshelves Live on Patreon! Check out details here and sign up here!
This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights
- Cristina’s path to becoming Senior Books Editor at Bustle.
- How Cristina’s path would have been different had she known about all the book jobs that existed right when she graduated college.
- The qualities Cristina looks for when bringing on new freelancers or contractors.
- Cristina’s main job responsibilities.
- Bustle’s approach to recommending books.
- How Cristina organizes the ARCs and decides which of them to read.
- Cristina’s take on the January 2020 releases so far (yes, already!).
- One of Cristina’s favorite “bad reviews” of all time.
- How Cristina and I try to fit backlist books into our reading lives.
- Cristina’s experience attending the National Book Awards.
- What it’s like to compile Bustle’s Best Books of the Year lists.
Cristina’s Book Recommendations
Two OLD Books She Loves
- I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell | Buy from Amazon [21:41]
- Author Megan Abbott (particularly The Fever) | Buy from Amazon [23:53]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- Sabrina & Corina: Stories
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine | Buy from Amazon [25:58]
- Optic Nerve by Maria Gainza | Buy from Amazon [28:21]
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Eligible
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- Wild Game
Other Books Mentioned
- This Must Be the Place
by Maggie O’Farrell (My Review) | Buy from Amazon
[23:19]
- You Will Know Me
- Give Me Your Hand
- Dare Me
- The Fever
- The Outline Trilogy by Rachel Cusk | Buy from Amazon
- Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld | Buy from Amazon
- Pride & Prejudice
- The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff | Buy from Amazon
Other Links
- Bustle Books
- Kali Fajardo-Anstine on Instagram
- New York Times review of Optic Nerve
- Lit Hub‘s profile of Maria Gainza
- Ursula K. Le Guin’s review of Eligible (The Guardian)
- Details about Wild Game’s publishing deal and film rights
- “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky” by Garrett Graff (Politico Magazine)
- “The 20 Best New Books of Fall 2019, According to Authors” (Bustle)
About Cristina
Cristina Mari Arreola is the Senior Books Editor at Bustle, where she writes about literary fiction, nonfiction, young adult novels, romance novels, and whatever Reese Witherspoon posts about on Instagram. Cristina also talks about books at Book of the Month, where she recommends books on an intermittent basis. She also served as a judge for the 2018 PEN America Open Book Award. In her free time, Cristina reads books, talks about books, hangs out with other people who loves books, visits bookstores, and thinks about how she should maybe get another hobby.
Support the Podcast
- Support on Patreon - When you support the podcast on Patreon for $5/month, get bonus podcast episodes and other goodies!
- Share - If you like the podcast, I’d love for you to share it with your reader friends…in real life and on social media (there’s easy share buttons at the bottom of this post!).
- Subscribe...wherever you listen to podcasts, so new episodes will appear in your feed as soon as they’re released.
- Rate and Review - Search for “Sarah’s Book Shelves” in Apple Podcasts…or wherever you listen to podcasts!
- Feedback - I want this podcast to fit what you’re looking for, so I truly do want your feedback! Please tell me (email me at sarahsbookshelves@gmail.com or DM me on social media) what you like, don’t like, want more of, want less of, etc. I’d also love to hear topics you’d like me to cover and guests you’d like to hear from.