Book Club with Julia and Victoria

Julia and Victoria discuss Sea Change by Gina Chung and how authors use the octopus to contemplate loneliness and change. They discover that life really is about the friends we made along the way in this first book of The Vampire & the Octopus series.Views expressed on Book Club with Julia and Victoria and bookclubwithjv.com are solely those of the hosts and not necessarily those of their employers, clients, guests, and collaborators. Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph. Check out Julia’s bonus discussions of How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler and World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil on our Buy Me a Coffee!Mentioned in this episode:“The Love Song of the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat” by Gina Chung in F(r)ictionGreen Frog: Stories by Gina Chung"Losing My Octopus Best Friend is the Final Straw" interview with Gina Chung in Electric Literature Recommendations:Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann FriedmanBefore the Ruins by Victoria GoslingWoman, Eating by Claire KohdaHow Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina ImblerWorld of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee NezhukumatathilCurrently ObsessedDjesse Vol. 4 by Jacob Collier (album)Jacob Collier Unites the World - Switched on PopBeyoncé's Country - Switched on PopFound Heaven by Conan Gray“Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan

Victoria teaches Julia all about the origins, tropes, and metaphors of vampire lore that create the undead monster we read about today. They discuss the origins of vampire stories in Slavic folklore, the Great Vampire Epidemic of the 18th century, the blood-sucking breakup novel Lord Byron’s “travel companion” wrote about him, and lament the loss of a key source for Victoria’s vampire-as-justice analysis that disappeared when she accidentally closed all her tabs.(And don’t forget to check out the bonus content where Victoria shares all the thoughts on Twilight that didn’t make it into the episode!)Views expressed on Book Club with Julia and Victoria and bookclubwithjv.com are solely those of the hosts and not necessarily those of their employers, clients, guests, and collaborators.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Mentioned in this episode:Dracula by Bram StokerWhat We Do In the Shadows (tv show)What We Do In the Shadows (film)Twilight by Stephanie MeyerInterview With the Vampire (tv show)Slayers and Their Vampires by Bruce McClelland“Mothers, Daughters, and Vampires: The Female Sexual Dilemma in Eighteenth-Century Vampire Poetry” by Ashley M. Quinn“Der Vampir” by Heinrich August Ossenfelder“The Bride of Corinth” by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThe Vampyre by John Polidori"Two Species of Irish Vampire" (1831)Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Vampire”118 Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu — The One with the Lesbian Vampire011 Dracula by Bram Stoker (archive)Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame SmithInterview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Julia takes Victoria on a deep dive of octopus stories throughout time and space in this first episode of The Vampire & the Octopus series. We tackle questions like “Are octopus stories a form of colonizer horror?” and “What’s with all the octopus books coming out recently?” and “Why did the 19th century French think the octopus was the physical embodiment of hell?”Views expressed on Book Club with Julia and Victoria and bookclubwithjv.com are solely those of the hosts and not necessarily those of their employers, clients, guests, and collaborators.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph.Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Mentioned in this Episode:The Soul of an Octopus by Sy MontgomeryTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules VerneFinding Nemo (film)Finding Dory (film)Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (film)Oceanic Mythology by Roland B Dixon“The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” and “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife” art by HokusaiDevilfish Bay“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” painting by Caspar David Friedrich“The Kraken” by Alfred, Lord TennysonGood Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett“The Octopus or The Devilfish of Fiction and Fact” by Henry LeeThe Toilers of the Sea by Victor HugoThe War of the Worlds by H. G. WellsThe Sea Raiders by H. G. WellsThe Call of Cthulu by H. P. LovecraftThe Kraken Wakes by John WyndhamIt Came From Beneath the Sea (film)Kraken by China MievilleThe Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (TV series)Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-SmithMy Octopus Teacher (film)The Secrets of the Octopus by Sy MontgomeryRemarkably Bright Creaturesby Shelby Van Pelt

Julia discusses disability, comedy, creativity, and treating people like people with Steven Verdile, the founder of the disability satire publication The Squeaky Wheel.Views expressed on Book Club with Julia and Victoria and bookclubwithjv.com are solely those of the hosts and not necessarily those of their employers, clients, guests, and collaborators.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Read and follow the Squeaky Wheel:Website: https://thesqueakywheel.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesqkywheel/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesqkywheel Merch: https://thesqueakywheel.org/shop/ Mentioned in this Episode:Ramy (TV series)Speechless (TV series)Give Me Liberty (film)The Squeaky Wheel: Canada (in production)Special (TV series)Recommendations:ReductressClickHoleThe OnionBroadway BeatThe Hard TimesSteve WayTina FrimlShane BurcawRyan HaddadCrip Camp (film)Disability Visibility edited by Alice WongCurrently Obsessed:How To With John Wilson (TV series)The Curse (TV series)504: The Musical

Julia and Victoria learn what the word “flannel” means in British English and formulate their own theories about what happened to a stranded deep-sea researcher in the devastatingly beautiful novel Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.Views expressed on Book Club with Julia and Victoria and bookclubwithjv.com are solely those of the hosts and not necessarily those of their employers, clients, guests, and collaborators.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Resources for Supporting Palestine::Boycott, Divestment, SanctionsResource for calling representativesAneraMentioned in this episode:Apollo 13 (film)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (film)Dracula by Bram StokerOur Flag Means Death (TV show)112 Babel by R. F. Kuang — “Boots on the Ground” StorytellingGraham Norton Book Club episode with Julia ArmfieldRegarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag122 How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu — Throw the Baby Recommendations:Arrival (film)The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan DidionHow High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia NagamatsuThe Soul of an Octopus by Sy MontgomeryThe Story of Your Life by Ted ChiangThis is How You Lose the Time War by El-Mohtar and GladstonePiranesi by Susanna ClarkF(r)iction Issue #20 - BodiesCurrently Obsessed:The Bear Season 2Home by Billy Strings (album)

Julia and Victoria conclude that How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu is a very good book–Julia is just sad.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Mentioned in this episode:How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia NagamatsuAWP ConferenceVictoria’s StoryGraph: @victoriafrombookclubPsychopomp magazineWhere We Go When All We Were Is Gone by Sequoia Nagamatsu“How a fictional plague helped Sequoia Nagamatsu overcome grief” by Michael Berry Character map star chart by @bookographicRecommendations:This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max GladstoneLucy By The Sea by Elizabeth StroutThe Great Believers by Rebecca MakkaiHomegoing by Yaa GyasiInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriCurrently Obsessed:Quiz Lady on HuluSamba Schutte’s Our Flag Means Death Behind the Scenes seriesThe Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Julia and Victoria grapple with the grotesque narrative choices in Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan, translated by Chi-young Kim. Julia incorrectly uses the word “epigraph” when she means “epitaph” approximately 25 times.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn moreMentioned in this episode:Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwanBonus: Weird Short Fiction with Evan James SheldonMinari (film)Pachinko (TV series)Modern Family by Cheon Myeong-kwanThe Neapolitan Novels by Elena FerranteOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia MarquezInternational Booker Prize – WhaleNamjoon’s Bookshelf Twitter thread on WhaleAschenputtel - Grimm Fairy Tale version of CinderellaBakhtin on The GrotesqueRecommendations:David Copperfield by Charles DickensChildren and Their Cages by Evan James SheldonBooks that inspired Cheon Myeong-kwan's Whale Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt VonnegutCurrently Obsessed:Handsome (podcast)Guilty EP by TaeminMarry My Dead Body (TV series)Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia by David GraeberMadewell curvy jeans

Julia and Victoria try to decipher the rules of Eight Billion Genies, the newest comic book series from Charles Soule and Ryan Browne, because Julia likes rules. They also learn about how one random French guy playing fast and loose with a One Thousand and One Nights translation made up most of what the “Western” world “knows” about “genies.” Tale as old as time.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Mentioned in this episode:The very important Arthur Library Card DanceCurse Words by Charles Soule and Ryan BrowneUndiscovered Country by Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, and othersGod Hates Astronauts by Ryan Browne'Eight Billion Genies' Graphic Novel Sparks Hollywood Bidding War, Amazon Deal For Chicago Artist by Web Behrens (Block Club Chicago)Paper Girls (Prime Video)Orientalism by Edward SaidRecommendations:Saga by Brian K Vaughn and Fiona StaplesPaper Girls by Brian K Vaughn and Cliff ChiangInvincible by Robert Kirkman and Cory WalkerInvincible (Prime Video)My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel by Chiara Lagani, Mara Cerri, Elena Ferrante, Ann GoldsteinLore Olympus by Rachel SmytheInto the Woods“Disasterology” episode of Ologies podcastI Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline HartmanThe Question of Palestine by Edward SaidSalt Houses by Hala AlyanCurrently Obsessed:Our Flag Means Death (season 2)Normal Gossip podcastNora From Queens (final season)Natalia LaFourcade’s album De Todos Los FloresIN the Mood album by Whee InSomething to Give Each Other album by Troye SivanJavelin album by Sufjan StevensFreefall album by TXTthe rest EP by boygenius

Exploring the transformative perspectives in 'The Dawn of Everything,' the hosts dissect new ideas that challenge traditional views of humanity. They discuss the complexities of social inequality and question historical narratives shaped by Enlightenment thinkers. The impact of anthropology pioneers Graeber and Wengrow is highlighted as they reimagine past societies. With a blend of humor and insight, the conversation inspires hope through literature while advocating for diverse experiences and inclusive understandings of history.

Julia is truly bamboozled, Victoria embraces that she is a vampire girlie, and they both dig into the context of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla, edited with commentary by the absolute legend Carmen Maria Machado.Become a Member! Shop with us on Bookshop.org! Follow the podcast on Instagram and hang out with Victoria on The StoryGraph:Book Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 1-100) Reading ChallengeBook Club with Julia & Victoria (Episodes 101+) Reading ChallengeDisclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that give us a commission if you decide to make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Learn more.Mentioned in this episode:Carmilla (1872) episode of Queer As FactThe Museum of Jurassic Technology“A Perfectly Normal Interview with Carmen Maria Machado Where Everything Is Fine” by Theodore McCombs (Electric Literature)Twilight by Stephanie MeyerMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia080 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web seriesCarmilla web seriesEuropean Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora GossCarmilla the First Vampire by Amy Chu and Soo LeeRecommendations:Dracula by Bram StokerJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëHer Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria MachadoFriday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahTár (film)F(r)iction – The Monsters IssueInterview with the Vampire series on AMCGentleman Jack series on HBOCurrently ObsessedMy Invented Country by Isabel AllendeYellowjackets on ShowtimeNormal Gossip (podcast)Past Lives (film)The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun