Ep. 151: Angie Kim (Author of Happiness Falls) + Book Recommendations

Sept. 20, 2023

Episode 151 brings author Angie Kim back to the podcast with her sophomore novel, Happiness Falls. Angie is carving out her niche with literary mysteries featuring children with disabilities or illnesses, drawing inspiration from her own family’s encounters. I broke my own rules for podcast guests because Happiness Falls is now in the running for my #1 book of 2023 and it’s the smartest book I’ve read all year!

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CLICK HERE for full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Highlights

• Angie shares a spoiler-free summary of Happiness Falls.
• Angie’s own life experiences that shape her stories.
• How Angie’s move as a pre-teen to the United States from South Korea influenced the happiness experiments in this novel.
• Angie’s expectations going into her sophomore book release.
• How long Angie had been ideating and writing Happiness Falls.
• The differences in Angie’s approach to writing this novel compared to her debut.
• How Angie discovered Angelman’s Syndrome and decided to include it in her novel.
• The differences in perspectives between a parent of a child with disabilities and and the sibling of a child with disabilities as portrayed in Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls.
• Angie gives a small teaser about her next book!

Angie’s Book Recommendations [40:34]

Two OLD Books She Loves

• Swamplandia! by Karen Russell | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:45]
• Chemistry by Weike Wang | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [42:48]
• Other Books Mentioned:
  • Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang [44:47]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• Greek Lessons by Han Kang | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:10]
• Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:05]
• Other Books Mentioned:
  • The Vegetarian by Han Kang [45:27]

One Book She Didn't Love

• The Godfather by Mario Puzo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:48]

NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park (November 7, 2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:05]
• Other Books Mentioned:
  • Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell [54:09]

Last 5-Star Book Angie Read

• • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:24]

Other Links

• Ep. 22: Angie Kim (Author of Miracle Creek)