Book Club with Julia and Victoria

Julia and Victoria revisit the hugely influential essay “The Case For Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates and examine the ways reparations have played out in the US and beyond.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Austin Channing Brown’s newsletterWe Were Eight Years In Power, essay collection by Ta-Nahesi CoatesListen to our eposide!National Sorry Day in AustraliaEvanston, Ill. sets a plan for reparationsInformation from the city of EvanstonNPR articleEpisode from The DailyTrevor Noah / The Daily Show, video about the history of black farmersArticle about Mackenzie Scott’s donations since divorceArticle about black-owned textured hair care brandsRecommendations:Dear Church by Lenny DuncanWatchmen on HBOThe New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander“The Power of Apologies” episode of Hidden BrainRed at the Bone by Jacqueline WoodsonListen to our episode!Ben and Jerry’s website page on reparationsCurrently Obsessed:The Friendship Onion podcastBraving the Elements podcastSolar Opposites on HuluChef’s Table on Netflix

Julia and Victoria try to figure out why their 2011 Harper Teen copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte looks suspiciously like Twilight and why that’s interesting for the genre of Gothic literature.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:Twilight, by Stephanie MeyerJane Eyre (2011), directed by Cary Joji FukunagaFallen, novel by Lauren Kate  Beautiful Creatures, first novel in Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margaret StohlThe Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann RadcliffeNorthanger Abbey, by Jane Austen Jane, graphic novel by Aline Brosh McKennaThe Madwoman in the Attic, book by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar Sour, album by Olivia Rodrigo  Shrill, TV series by Lindy West        Recommendations:Agnes Grey, by Anne BrontëWuthering Heights, by Emily BrontëMiddlemarch, by George Elliot (Mary Anne Evans)Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott    Currently Obsessed:Shit, Actually, book by Lindy WestCall Me If You Get Lost, album by Tyler, the CreatorBaumgartner Restorations YouTube channel

When Julia and Victoria found out there was a book out there in the world which combined feminism, writing, and data (aka their three favorite things) called Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, they absolutely had to read it for Book Club. Victoria talks very fast about women’s unpaid labor, and Julia realizes she can ask the world to design things that actually fit her tiny hands. Fair Warning: This is not the book to read before bed because it will fill you with a burning feminist rage that cannot be contained.Become a Member! Follow Us on Instagram! or Join the Storygraph Challenge!Mentioned in the Episode:The Women’s Room projectDo It Like a Woman by Caroline Criado PerezOlivia RodrigoSeven-Eights PianoGender-inclusive Bible translationUS Army expanding acceptable hairstyles for womenBook Club episode on This Is Your Brain on Birth Control by Dr Sarah E HillJohn Mulaney Kid GorgeousArticle about doctors ignoring self-reported pain of black womenShark Tank on ABCThinx period underwearHuffPost article on Twitter report buttonBook Club episode on Feminist EssaysRecommendations:Perez’s Invisible Women newsletterMen Explain Things to Me by Rebecca SolnitRoxanne GayThis Is Your Brain On Birth Control by Dr. Sarah E. HillPeriod. End of Sentence. documentaryWanda Sykes Not NormalCurrently Obsessed:Master of None season 3The Legend of Korra on NetflixThe Queen’s Gambit miniseriesGatcha! by LucyprAna activewear

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