Book Club with Julia and Victoria
Julia Clausen and Victoria Bruick
Welcome to Book Club With Julia and Victoria, the podcast for book friends!
If you just finished a book and HAVE to talk about it with someone, if you’re a casual reader looking for book recs, or if you’re the type of deep thinker who has formative memories of their high school English teacher, you’re in the right place.
We believe a good book can come from anywhere, so we read classics and recent releases, bestsellers and little-known gems. But ultimately, this podcast is for the books we just can’t shut up about.
If you just finished a book and HAVE to talk about it with someone, if you’re a casual reader looking for book recs, or if you’re the type of deep thinker who has formative memories of their high school English teacher, you’re in the right place.
We believe a good book can come from anywhere, so we read classics and recent releases, bestsellers and little-known gems. But ultimately, this podcast is for the books we just can’t shut up about.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 30, 2021 • 52min
080 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Julia and Victoria make another foray into the gothic genre with Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and spend a fair amount of time talking about mushrooms.Quick note: In this episode we misspoke when discussing War of the Worlds. It was in fact written by H.G. Wells and not H.P. Lovecraft!Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram or 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 the episode:The Shining by Stephen KingGods of Jade and Shadow by Moreno-GarciaMoreno-Garcia interviewThe Dark (horror magazine)Innsmouth Free PressBook Club Jane Eyre episodeBeloved by Toni MorrisonVoyage Into Genre podcastRecommendations:Fantastic Fungi documentaryIf I Can’t Have Love I Want Power by Halsey on HBOFriction Vol. 18 LegacyVelvet Was The Night by Moreno-GarciaWar of the Worlds by H. G. WellsIn the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi LuHer Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria MachadoCurrently Obsessed:Koval whiskeyPodnews.netThestorygraph.comSquid Game

Oct 22, 2021 • 56min
079 And Then We Grew Up by Rachel Friedman
Julia and Victoria have an impromptu therapy session discussing And Then We Grew Up by Rachel Friedman about the complicated relationship creative adults have with the art forms they pursued in their youth.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!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 the Episode: Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman Cave Painting article in The Guardian Recommendations: On Balance by Adam Philips Missing Out by Adam Philips Still Writing by Dani Shapiro Scratch by Manjula Martin Having and Being Had by Eula Biss EveningCrickets YouTube channel Veronique Doisneau from Paris Opera Ballet on Youtube Currently Obsessed: Wheelchair Sports Camp (musician) Kikwetu coffee roaster in Chicago Sam Trump (musician)

Oct 15, 2021 • 56min
078 Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade
No philosopher ever needs to ponder the nature of humor or ask the question, “What makes something funny?” ever again because Julia and Victoria have definitely solved it with this episode’s discussion of Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!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 the episode: The West Wing (HBO) View From the Top (film) The West Wing Weekly (podcast) The Graham Norton Show The Mighty Boosh The Double (film) Submarine (film) The Crystal Maze (game show) The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger John Oliver The Arctic Monkeys Radiohead The YeahYeahYeahs Vampire Weekend Kasabian The Great British Baking Show “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper Heideger (philosopher) Ways of Seeing by John Berger Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett Watching the English by Kate Fox Shrill by Lindy West Samin Nosrat Hrishikesh Hirway Recommendations: The Grip of a Film by Richard Ayoade Gold Plated Girls newsletter Big Fat Quiz of the Year IT Crowd How Did This Get Made (podcast) Shit, Actually by Lindy WestCurrently Obsessed: Big Mouth (Netflix) The Allusionist (podcast) “ Isolation,” by The Parasocial Club Dear White People season 4 (Netflix) Money Heist season 5 (Netflix) Montero by Lil Nas X Starcrossed by Kacey Musgraves Screen Violence by Chvrches

Oct 8, 2021 • 58min
077 Leave It to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse
Julia and Victoria, along with Julia’s mom, chat about their comfort books and the novel Leave It To Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram and 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 the Episode:A Bounty of Blandings by P. G. WodehouseAll Creatures Great and Small by James HerriotTake a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia HibbertTwelfth Night by ShakespeareShe’s the ManKing Lear by ShakespeareAyoade on Top by Richard AyoadeBlade Runner 2049Recommendations:Psmith series by WodehouseGood Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry PratchettFunny Girl by Nick HornbyThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsThe Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha ChristieCurrently Obsessed:Victoria’s storygraph accountCan’t Believe It’s Not Meat (restaurant)Sex Education season 3Dune (film)If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power album by Halsey

Sep 13, 2021 • 1h 4min
076 Watching the English by Kate Fox
Julia and Victoria read their favorite (and only) social anthropology book, Watching the English by Kate Fox, which helped Julia tap into her innate anthropological powers.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Topping and Company Booksellers, ElyAnthropologist Robin FoxStar TrekRecommendations:Quiet by Susan CainUgly Delicious on NetflixHome Game on NetflixX by Daniel SlossThe Culture Map by Erin MeyerNativLang on YoutubeLost in the Pond on YoutubeCurrently Obsessed:Exiles by Max Richter

Aug 24, 2021 • 53min
075 Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Julia and Victoria try to solve the Who, the How, and the Why of Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu and may or may not reach a verdict. Victoria invents a new grammatical tense.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in this Episode:- Birdman (film)- Master of None on Netflix- Bob’s Burgers on Fox- Westworld on HBO- Legion on Hulu- Sorry For Your Loss on Facebook Watch- Charles Yu on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah- Law and Order: SVU on Hulu- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl- Jane Austen’s Use of Free Indirect Discourse- Virginia WoolfRecommendations:- Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade- Community on Netflix- The Truman Show (film)- How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe by Charles Yu- Sorry Please Thank You by Charles YuCurrently Obsessed:- Duolingo- Bleachers new album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night

Aug 17, 2021 • 52min
074 Beloved by Toni Morrison
Julia and Victoria enter a dream state to talk about Beloved by Toni Morrison and its place within both the horror genre and American history.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:- American Horror Story, TV Series- National Women’s History Museum- St Anthony- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison- Sula by Toni Morrison- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison- True story of Margaret Garner- Charlotte Brontë- Get Out film, directed by Jordan Peele- Rosemary’s Baby film, directed by Roman Polanski- Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf- Outlander, TV series- Beloved film directed by Jonathan Demme- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks film, directed by George C. Wolfe- BROCKHAMPTON, band Recommendations:- Atlanta, TV Series- Tar Baby by Toni Morrison- Jazz by Toni Morrison- Paradise by Toni Morrison- Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria MachadoCurrently Obsessed:- American Boyfriend, album by Kevin Abstract- Atypical season 3- Olympics story of male high jumpers sharing gold- Hotel TV, album by Lawrence- Anna Locke moon circles

Aug 10, 2021 • 13min
Minisode: What Your Autistic Body Feels is Real
Julia reads her essay “What Your Autistic Body Feels Is Real: How I Found Out I Was Gaslighting Myself For Years and What I’m Doing Now.”Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:The Cozy Robot ShowNeurotribes, by Steve Silberman (and Book Club episode)The Reason I Jump, by Naoki Higashida (and Book Club episode)Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8, by Naoki igashida (and Book Club episode)The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion (and Book Club episode)Book Club membership tiersThe original essay on medium

Aug 3, 2021 • 53min
073 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
Julia and Victoria, who had somehow never read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery, are joined by ANGR Podcast host Sofia Syntaxx, who has collected upwards of ten editions of the book from all over the world, including the most recent translation into their indigenous language Anishinaabemowin. They talk about translation across languages and cultures, childhood dreams, and being haunted by the Duolingo owl.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:ANGR podcastSofia’s blog Too Sexy for Contactslink.tree/sofiasyntaxxBook Club #bookstagram episodeThere There by Tommy OrangeGambit from X-MenAnishinaabemowin language - The Seven Grandfather teachingsA Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’EngleWind, Sand, and Stars by Atoine de Saint ExuperyOgimaans: Ojibwe translation of The Little PrinceReading Rainbow“The Emperor’s New Clothes”Lemonade (film) by BeyonceRecommendations:Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard BachThe Hobbit by J. R. R. TolkienWaiting for Godot by Samuel BeckettThe Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoThe Velveteen Rabbit by Margery WilliamsCurrently Obsessed:This Way Up season 2 on HuluHalsey’s new album/film If I Can’t Have Love I Want PowerBlack Widow filmCamp Creep podcastYou’re Wrong About podcastMaintenance Phase podcastYou Are Good podcast

Jul 26, 2021 • 59min
072 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
Julia and Victoria contemplate mortality (and whether they could be buried under paper trees to become books in their next lives) with the help of the darkly comic memoir Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Katelyn Doughty about a young woman trying to become a mortician and revolutionize the way Americans handle death.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:The OfficeParks and RecreationThe Order of the Good Death, website“Ask a Mortician” YouTube seriesFrom Here to Eternity, book by DoughtyWill My Cat Eat My Eyeballs, book by DoughtyThe Nightmare Before ChristmasKeaton Henson, musicianGiri / Haji, on NetflixOmnivore’s Dilemma, book by Michael Pollan - listen to our episode here!Science Mike from the podcast, The Cozy Robot Show “Stories of the Pandemic” Book Club minisode - listen here!The Great British Baking ShowRecommendations:“Dark,” comedy special by Daniel SlossInstitute of Human Anatomy YouTube channel“Movement to bring death closer,” episode/article from The Daily/New York TimesTale for the Time Being, book by Ruth OzekiCurrently Obsessed:Perfect Sounds, podcastLaura Mvula, musician