Book Club with Julia and Victoria

Julia and Victoria are joined by their friend Andy Park to discuss Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and his family’s experiences as Korean American immigrants. Julia makes several K-Pop references.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin LeeInterview with Min Jin Lee on Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcastEscaping North Korea by Mike KimFred Armisen learns he’s a quarter KoreanJohn Oliver AAPI episodeParts Unknown with Anthony Bordain S2: EP1Asian Boss youtube channelConcept of “Han”Recommendations:Pachinko miniseriesThe Imperial Cruise by James BradleyGo by Kazuki KaneshiroHomegoing by Yaa GyasiThe Neapolitan Novels by Elena FerranteMr. Sunshine on NetflixWhite Paper ProjectMinari 2020 filmCurrently Obsessed:Inside by Bo BurnhamThe Mitchells Vs. The Machines on NetflixTXT album FreezeAgatha Christie novelsArlo Parks album Collapsed in SunbeamsArlo Parks episode on Song Exploder podcastOne-Punch Man animeKim’s Convenience on Netflix

Julia and Victoria contemplate how they will remember the pandemic.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Twilight by Stephenie Meyer“Why Are There Almost No Memorials to the Flu of 1918” from NYTBook Club Episode 066 We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates“McDonald’s Workers Will Strike for $15 an Hour in Fifteen Cities” from Vice

Julia and Victoria take a look at the children’s classic The Giver by Lois Lowry with fresh eyes as an extended critique of whiteness and dominant culture.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Other books by Lois Lowry:Gathering BlueMessengerSonNumber the StarsThe Willoughbys ReturnNancy Drew seriesThe Boxcar Children seriesThe Magic Treehouse seriesDescartes/Cartesian logicYou’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) by Mike McHargueThe Cozy Robot ShowAttack on TitanSmoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin DoughtyThe Red Couch PodcastPropaganda (the rapper)Recommendations:The Giver quartetOther books by Lowry:The Silent BoyThe WilloughbysGossamer“The Era” short story from Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahListen to our episode!“The Sunday Read: ’ The movement to bring death closer,’” by The DailyCurrently Obsessed:Given animeHood Politics podcastAdoreMe subscription boxes

Julia and Victoria outline the parallel narratives of We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates: 1. The journey of Coates as a writer and thinker on the rise during Obama’s presidency, and 2. His essays unraveling the true tragedy of America’s history buried underneath the country’s larger-than-life myths.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Ta-Nehisi Coates’ websiteArticle about Coates writing Superman screenplayBlack Classic PressBecoming by Michelle Obama Listen to our episode!NasIda B WellsJames Baldwin"The Case for Reparations" essay by CoatesRed at the Bone by Jacqueline WoodsonListen to our episode!"How to Write a Tragic Story" by Shaunta GrimesDecolonize Palestine FAQRecommendations:Toni Morrison“I Am Not Your Negro” documentary"13TH" documentaryNYT Magazine 1619 projectThe Next Question series by Austin Channing BrownThe Humanity Archive podcastCurrently Obsessed:Wingspan board gameKiwiCo

Where does our food come from? (And why is there so much corn in everything?) Julia and Victoria, with special guest and Book Club’s project manager Rebecca Gesme, discuss Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma in which he endeavors to answer these very important and complicated questions.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Michael Pollan’s websiteNetflix series, “Cooked”Judith Belzer, painterPollan’s interview on Fresh Air (2018)Recommendations:Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari2016 Washington Post follow-up article by PollanDocumentary, “Fantastic Fungi” Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran FoerWe Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran FoerCookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean ShermanRon Finlay Currently Obsessed:Keeping up with the Kardashians season 20The West WingCowboy Bebop

Julia and Victoria take a little interlude from reading to discuss the Instagram book community known as #bookstagram: the positive side of democratizing book reviews, the struggles of bowing to the almighty algorithm, and the weird trends that don’t make any sense.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in this episode:@bookclubwithjv #bookstagramHere’s an Annoying New Instagram Trend: Throwing Yourself on a Pile of Open Books by Hillary Kelly (Vulture)Recommendations:@maxi.mally@wellreadblackgirl@lit.memery@melanatedreader@thestackspod@alexereads@maria_reads_and_remembers

Julia and Victoria endeavor to answer some fundamental questions about Untamed by Glennan Doyle, such as “What is this book exactly?” and “What’s it about?” and “Who is actually it for?” Unclear whether they succeed.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Brené Brown Episode 054: “Braving the Wilderness”Glennon Doyle’s Blog, MomastaryAbby WambachThe Feminine Mystique, by Betty FriedanBook Club Minisode: “The History of the Novel”The Defining Decade by Meg Jay, PhDEducated: A Memoir by Tara WestoverScary Close by Donald MillerRecommendations:This by Michael GungorThe Liturgists podcastDirty Rotten Church Kids podcastKevin GarciaI’m Still Here by Austin Channing BrownWhite Homework (website & podcast) by Tori Williams DouglassAndre Henry’s podcast, Hope and Hard PillsHenry’s newsletter, It Doesn’t Have to Be This WayShameless by Nadia Bolz WeberInvisible Women by Caroline Criado PerezDaring Greatly by Brené BrownMothers, Daughters, and Body Image by Hilary McBride, PhDCurrently Obsessed:Nlve, “Tired”Natalia LaFourcade deluxe album, Hasta La RaizPropaganda’s new album, Terraform: The PeopleHidden Brain podcast episode, “The Easiest Person to Fool”Misterwives album, Superbloom

Naoki Higashida brought the tea with his most recent book in translation Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 about his experience as a non-verbal autistic young adult, and an extremely successful writer and speaker. Julia and Victoria share some of their favorite insights from his work on everything from ableism in education to the importance of allowing disabled people to express their full humanity in a world that prefers to pretend they do not exist.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, Book Club episode 046Haruki MurakamiNaoki Higashida’s Japanese blogMindset by Carol S Dweck PhDPandemic Parenting webinar about building resiliency in childrenDr Bruce Perry’s work on trauma and resilienceInvisible Women by Caroline Criado PerezWomanism and Alice WalkerRecommendations:I am Greta film on HuluCrip Camp film on NetflixJoin the Book Club With JV ‘Tism Tier for more of Julia’s autism articlesNeurotribes by Steve SilbermanMorgan Harper NicholsCurrently Obsessed:DPR Ian album Moodswings In This OrderLucy (band) and their new song “Flowering”Half-Alive song “Rest” ft. Samm HenshawRecipe Club podcastSamin Nosrat’s tahdig recipeMy Persian Kitchen recipe blog

This week on the podcast, Julia and Victoria try to define just what exactly Red at the Bone by Jaqueline Woodson is about, and after an hour of conversation, they land on “nothing and absolutely everything,” which does not do this incredible and soul-stirring book justice. But it’s the best they’ve got.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Rudine Sims Bishop, Ph.D, mirrors and windows conceptBaldwin for the Arts fellowshipNYT interview with Jaqueline Woodson“A Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi CoatesWatchmen tv show on HBORecommendations:The Poet X by Elizabeth AcevedoTalking to Ourselves by Andrés NewmanCurrently Obsessed:Run River North, Creatures In Your Head albumTablo podcastStaged season 2 on HuluDirty Rotten Church Kids podcastSemler music

Julia and Victoria are back to discuss The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion about an undiagnosed autistic man trying to navigate all the weird social rules of dating and relationships with a bunch of people who won’t explain anything. So for Julia, it was a comical reminder of her own journey not knowing how to make friends in college, and for Victoria, the book was a super fun love story and a good reminder on the importance of open and clear communication.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Yuri on Ice on CrunchyrollThe Unkindest Cut by Joe QueenanI Am the Messenger by Markus ZusakScholastic Dictionary of Idioms by Marvin TerbanThe Rosie Effect by Graeme SimsionThe Rosie Result by Graeme SimsionTwo Steps Forward by Anne Buist and Graeme SimsionElf (2003)Recommendations:The Kiss Quotient by Helen HoangAct Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia HibbartGold-Plated Girls pop culture newsletterConSensual romance fiction podcastCurrently Obsessed:Julian Baker new album “Little Oblivions”The Untamed on NetflixThe West Wing on HBO MaxRoeser’s Bakery ChicagoPan Artesenal bakery ChicagoLet’s Throw a Party by Sammy Rae & The Friends