Red All Over Reading List: Season 1
If you’re a fan of Red All Over: A Handmaid’s Tale Podcast you know we (your fun-dad Kelly and I) freaking love books. When we’re not going on tangents about which celebrity butts we’d like to see we’re going on tangents about cool books we’ve read. And since some of you seem to really dig those tangents here’s a reading list of every book we’ve mentioned on season one of the podcast. Read on sister, read on!
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Sure you read this in high school but read it again and appreciate Vonnegut’s Atwoodian jumps in time and sardonic humor. PLUS if you like this listen to an episode of a podcast even bookier than ours, Vonneguys.
Flight #116 Is Down by Caroline B Cooney
Caroline B. Cooney is the OG of young adult suspensy novels and this one about a plane that crashes into someone’s yard is no different.
Into The Forest by Jean Hegland
You like women-focused dystopian novels? WE GOT women-focused dystopian novels! This book about two sisters living at the edge of a forest and the apocalypse with a metronome, their sisterly affection, and one tank of gas will simultaneously make you want to build a bunker and never put this book down. Plus theres a decent movie version with Evan Rachel Wood and Ellen Page.
This book made the breakfast cake that sustained us during one of our early episodes possible! It has super delicious and easy recipes and homegirl’s food writing is super hilarious. Read this book so you have something to talk about when you eventually become Chrissy and John Legend’s handmaid.
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Your fun-dad Kelly has listened to this audiobook roughly 17 times. This love story is perfect for the beach or anywhere else you’d go to de-tox from a stressful ass dystopian tv show/book.
Ok so a lot of our reading list is YA books. CAN WE LIVE?? This book is a spooky historical fiction that’s a crazy page turner. Bonus, it’s part of a two book series.
The Madd Addam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Another Atwood book to keep you primed between seasons of the Handmaid’s Tale. Kelly swears by this scifi (oops sorry, speculative fiction) series and is DYING to talk to someone about it so read this series to make her happy. PLUS Maggie Atts is turning this into a tv show soon.
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
On the theme of reading about strong, weird women, check out this biography on Egypt’s most famous queen.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Caron Levine
GURL! If I do nothing else with this podcast than get all of you to read this book and have a deep discussion about its feminism with me I will consider my life a SUCCESS! This re-telling of the Cinderella story as the story of a young woman cursed to be obedient is one of my favorite books and if nothing else will scratch your itch until we do our Ever After podcast.
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
Ok last YA book we SWEAR! This one is a great thriller that explores the Atwoodian theme of how ignorance is different from ignoring. This book will make you scared but also glad you don’t live in the 80’s anymore. Be warned, this is book one of about a 5 book series with only about two worthwhile books. Also Reed is one of the BIGGEST fuckboys in all of literature.
We hope you liked this reading list! If we mentioned a book you don’t see here, or if you want to tell us your favorite books leave a comment below! Also check out this infographic to see all the work that goes into our podcast.
Happy reading, Redheads!
Here’s the Season 2 Alias Grace list too!
