Feminist Book Club: The Podcast

Pride Month is here and we've got our queerly beloveds on our minds. In this double header, you'll first hear Rah and Jordy discuss their favorite sapphic romances and why they love a good WLW love story. Then, Ashley and Mhairie tackle the question of whether we can ever separate a piece of art (such as a certain nostalgic magical series) from the artist when they actively harm the people we love. Queerly Beloved - Sapphic Stories to Light Up Your Pride Month (1:47) Happy Pride Month! We don’t need an excuse to read sapphic romances, but if you're looking for one, this is the perfect month to dive in! Tune into this segment where Rah and Jordy discuss a few of their favorite sapphic romances and books with sapphic romances in the background. Get ready to have your TBR list bursting with books that showcase some delightful WLW antics. The FBC Community asks, Can we separate art from the artist? (20:46) Ashley and Mhairie delve into a question from a Feminist Book Club community member posed in our online community : how do you deal with authors whose beliefs go against your own yet their books were some of the most meaningful to you? The conversation includes what cancel culture means, accountability culture, and if you can separate art from the artist.  Books/Resources Mentioned: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake The Fiance Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur  This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé  Outdrawn by Deanna Grey No Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall - (listen to Nox’s Review here!)  Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton Chlorine by Jade Song Payback’s a Witch and In Charm’s Way by Lana Harper Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma Alban One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur Here we go again Alison Cochrun Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Rah: Instagram // TikTok // The StoryGraph Follow Jordy: Instagram Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website Follow Mhairie: Instagram Today’s episode is sponsored by Thank You, More Please by Lily Womble from Legacy Lit and The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent from HQ Digital, an imprint of HarperCollins. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media. Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here. Check out our online community here!  This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people. Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

We’re truly in the golden age of book adaptations but move over, Reese Witherspoon, Patricia Highsmith is the reigning queen. Tune in to listen to Renee, Ashley, and Mariquita thoughtfully and hilariously discuss the 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, as well as the 1999 film, and the new Netflix series. They compare and contrast the three texts, dive into the enduring themes of queerness in each, why the book withstands the test of time, Matt Damon vs. Andrew Scott, and all the aspects they loved in the latest series. Finally, they attempt to answer the question, “What the hell is Mr. Ripley’s talent anyhow?”   Books/Resources Mentioned: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999 film) Ripley (2024 Netflex series) The Guest by Emma Cline Sociopath by Patric Gagne Mindhunter (TV series) Sugar (TV series) Bad Sisters (TV series) The Tragedy of Macbeth (film)   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Mariquita: Instagram  Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website   Today’s episode is sponsored by Thank You, More Please by Lily Womble from Legacy Lit and The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent from HQ Digital, an imprint of HarperCollins. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media. Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here. Check out our online community here!  This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people. Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

When Sally mentioned in our team Slack that she was considering reading the six books on the short list for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Renee chimed in that she’d already read two of them. Like the true feminist nerds they are, they teamed up to read three each. In this podcast episode, Sally and Renee rank the six books and make a prediction for which one will win the prize later this week.     Books/Resources Mentioned: Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles A Flat Place: Moving Through Empty Landscapes, Naming Complex Trauma by Noreen Masud Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair   Special thanks to Melville House for providing a complementary copy of A Flat Place.   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Sally: Instagram // The StoryGraph   Today’s episode is sponsored by Thank You, More Please by Lily Womble from Legacy Lit and Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Beach read season is upon us! There are lots of definitions of beach reads out there but to us, a good beach read is something that is smart, sexy, funny, and full of heart. Tune in to hear Jordy and Mariquita discuss This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune and then stick around for Renee’s review of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.   This Summer Will Be Different discussion (0:23) Jordy and Mariquita sit down to discuss Carley Fortune’s newest book, This Summer Will Be Different. This is a heavy-hitting romance novel that explores the love we receive from friendships, found family, and romantic partners. You’ll laugh, cry, swoon, and get into all your feels with this summer read.    Renee’s Review Corner: The Husbands (25:33) Lauren comes home from a bachelorette party to find her husband waiting up for her. But she doesn’t have a husband. It turns out, she has a magic attic. If you like funny books that are smart but irreverent, listen to Renee’s review of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. Books/Resources Mentioned: This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune Every Summer After by Carley Fortune The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Happy Place by Emily Henry David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery  Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys The Husbands by Holly Gramazio Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Jordy: Instagram // TikTok Follow Mariquita: Instagram  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Today’s episode is sponsored by Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose   Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Today’s episode features two seemingly disparate segments with a lot in common. Alternate titles included Wisdom from the Windy City, Voices of Chicago Youth and Elders, Notes on Compassion, or something about absurdism and groundedness. Mariquita, Rah, and Renee discuss the new book Kittentits by Holly Wilson, then Ashley interviews Chaz Ebert about her book It’s Time to Give a FECK. Kittentits and the Absurd (1:40) Mariquita, Rah, and Renee discuss Kittentits by Holly Wilson and grapple with elements of the absurd. Mariquita shows off her pop culture knowledge by pointing out millions of references to Return to Oz that went way over Rah’s and Renee’s heads and also schools us on the Chicago World’s Fair of 1992 that never was. Renee shares a bit about absurdist philosophy and Rah straps in for a good time.   It’s Time to Give a FECK with Chaz Ebert (27:50) Ashley spoke with Chaz Ebert about her book, It’s Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness. The conversation includes writing the personal stories with the research and how FECK can be better shown in the media.    Books/Resources Mentioned: Kittentits by Holly Wilson Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll It’s Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness by Chaz Ebert   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Mariquita: Instagram  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Rah: Instagram // TikTok // The StoryGraph Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website Follow Chaz Ebert: Instagram Today’s episode is sponsored by The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté from Page Street YA and Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose   Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Is anyone else just generally Going Through It? Here at Feminist Book Club, we all kind of feel like life is a lot at the moment. So today we’re here with some feminist brain candy to keep you company when the going gets rough. Renee shares some books she’s read recently, then Ashley and Rah discuss the new film Challengers.    What to Read When Everything Sucks (1:40) When times feel especially heavy, Renee leans on genre fiction and what she calls “feel-good literary fiction.” In this segment, she shares a bunch of the lighthearted books that have been keeping her sane while the world feels like it’s on fire.    Challengers: More Than a Horny Tennis Movie (12:18) Ashley and Rah both scored discounted tickets to see Challengers recently so they teamed up to discuss what they thought about this film and Zendaya’s breakout leading role.      Books/Resources Mentioned: Comedic Romantasy is My Self-Care by Steph on the FBC Blog Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto The Kielbasa Killer by Geri Krotow Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano Glory Be by Danielle Arcenaux None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez The Society of Shame by Jane Roper The Husbands by Holly Gramazio   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website Follow Rah: Instagram // TikTok // The StoryGraph Today’s episode is sponsored by The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté from Page Street YA and Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose   Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

We love to celebrate women who defy gender roles and today we’re celebrating two groups of fascinating women. First, Ashley gives an update on all the exciting happenings in women’s sports around the country. Then, Renee chats with Laura Carroll about her book A Special Sisterhood, a collection of profiles on women in history who chose not to have children. Tune in to celebrate women athletes and child-free women!   Ashley Is Back in Her Women’s Sports Bag (1:40) Ashley shares her experience attending an Angel City Football Club game. She also shares exciting updates on WNBA partnerships (including over-the-counter birth control!), this year’s draft, and Candace Parker’s retirement from the WNBA.    A Special Sisterhood of Child-Free Women (13:10) Renee sits down with Laura Carroll to talk about women who choose not to have children. They discuss Laura’s long history of researching and writing about child-free women, some child-free icons from history, and the importance of celebrating the lives we choose.     Books/Resources Mentioned: WNBA announces multi-year partnership with Opill A Special Sisterhood by Laura Carroll The Baby Matrix by Laura Carroll   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Laura Carroll: Website // Instagram // Facebook // X Today’s episode is sponsored by The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté from Page Street YA and Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Here at FBC, we wanna diversify your bookshelf in all sorts of ways and we’re here to remind you that reading Black stories doesn’t just mean reading literary fiction about pain or suffering. Genre fiction, or popular fiction that falls into certain predictable categories, is full of incredible Black women writing at the tops of their games. In this episode, we recommend two in particular, one romance author and one thriller author. Renee’s Reading Corner: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde (1:47) The hill Renee will die on is that fans of Emily Henry need to be reading Tia Williams’ books. In this segment, she compares Henry and Williams to make a case for more white women to read Tia Williams’ romances, specifically her newest book A Love Song for Ricki Wilde.   While We Were Burning and Messy Black Women (8:48) Tayler has a chat with Sara Koffi, author of the novel While We Were Burning, a domestic thriller. Tayler and Sara chat about unlikeable Black women, how that shows up in Sara’s book, some of their favorite unlikeable Black women in pop culture, and who gets to tell those stories.     Books/Resources Mentioned: Funny Story by Emily Henry A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams  Seven Days in June by Tia Williams While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra   Support this episode’s hosts and guests:  Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph Follow Tayler: X // Instagram // TikTok Follow Sara Koffi: Instagram // X // Website Today’s episode is sponsored by Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannan and Moral Code by Lois and Russ Melbourne. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Amanda Montell, author of The Age of Magical Overthinking, is reviewed by Renee who praises the book's relatability. Jordy shares her cross-country road trip book adventures, including visits to bookstores and audiobook companions. Books discussed include The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Siren Queen, and American Mermaid.

We’re big fans of getting uncomfortable with your reading life, whether that be reading about a topic that has been misunderstood for most of history or reading translated literature in a whole new format. In this episode, our contributors share two ways to get a little outside your comfort zone when it comes to reading.   Reframing and Reclaiming: Using Horror to Come into Power (1:47) Mariquita talks with V. Castro about her latest book, Immortal Pleasures, which reframes the life of La Malinche, the Nahua woman who translated for Cortes. Their discussion covers the role of horror in holding a mirror to the atrocities carried out against indigenous people and people of color, reclaiming the stories of women that heretofore had only been told by their abusers, and how telling our own stories can give us power. CW include rape, sexual content, and sexual violence   Manga Mania (18:17) Jordy, Rah, and Mhairie sit down to discuss their varying degrees of love and experience when it comes to all things manga and anime. In this discussion, they delve into a brief history of manga - including an overview of the genres, how they each got into manga, and a bookish discussion on the first volume of the Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama.     Books/Resources Mentioned: Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama Creepy Cat by Cotton Valent Ghostly Things by Ushio Shirotori My Cat is Such a Weirdo by Tamako Tamagoyama  Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge. InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi Full Metal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa Fruit Baskets by Natsuki Takaya Happy Marriage by Maki Enjōji How Manga Took Over American Bookshelves - from It’s Lit! on PBS A Brief History of Manga by Merri Kiwi   Support this episode’s guest and hosts: Follow V. Castro: Instagram // TikTok // Website // Twitter Follow Mariquita: Instagram // Threads Follow Jordy: Instagram // TikTok  Follow Rah: Instagram // TikTok // The StoryGraph Follow Mhairie: Instagram   Today’s episode is sponsored by Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannan and Moral Code by Lois and Russ Melbourne. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.   Get our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday here.   Check out our online community here!    This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.   Original music by @iam.onyxrose   Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.