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Russell Reads with the Rach(a)els
Russell, Rachel, and Rachael discuss their favorite books, the library, and, without keeping their feet as Bilbo Baggins so wisely suggested, wherever they might be swept off to.
Russell Reads with the Rach(a)els
Virginia is for Readers [July Challenge 2026]
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Russell Carter, Rachel Timm, Rachael Miller
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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Russell, Rachael, and Rachel discuss the July Reading Challenge, Virginia Is for Readers, reading books set in Virginia, by a Virginia author, or perhaps by an author named Virginia. We discuss the rich history of Virginia, the beauty of reading about tough topics, and of course, vampires.
Books/Authors we discuss include:
- “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane
- “Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani
- “Bearskin” by James A. McLaughlin
- S.A. Cosby
- “The Jackal’s Mistress” by Chris Bohjalian
- “The Awakening” by L.J. Smith
- “Blood on the River” by Elisa Carbone
- “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson
- “My Monticello” by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
- “Children of the Wild” by Kevin Powers
- “The Book Club for Troublesome Women” by Marie Bostwick
- “Mrs. Murphy” series by Sneaky Pie Brown & Rita Mae Brown
Extras:
- Jenna Elfman starred as Iva Lou, book mobile librarian, in Big Stone Gap (2015). Read more about her visit to my friends’ bookstore here.
- Locals in Crozet, Virginia do pronounce it Cro-zay, the French way, in honor of Colonel Claudius Crozet, the civil engineer who directed the construction of the Blue Ridge Tunnel.
