Pop Fiction Women

We welcome Susie Yang to discuss her debut novel, White Ivy. After some gushing about our love of this book, the story of a Chinese American girl who is trying to get her version of the American dream at whatever cost, we discuss the benefits and pitfalls of being “other.” ** Ivy Lin meets all the qualifications of a complicated woman. Listen to how Susie took inspiration from stories where people...

NO SPOILERS in our conversation with Reese Witherspoon Book Club author Christie Tate discussing her refreshingly original debut memoir, Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life. We begin by talking about how Christie, having just been named the top student in her law school class, found herself in a deep depression with suicidal thoughts and turned to group therapy to chan...

Mild spoilers in this generous, enlightening, complicated conversation with bestselling author Chloe Benjamin! We begin by talking about expectations and surprising inspiration during a global pandemic and how Chloe tries to let go of the “shoulds” and lead with compassion.  ** The Immortalists is a wonderfully ambitious novel about four siblings who learn the date of their deaths from a fortune t...

We welcome Emily Gray Tedrowe to Pop Fiction Women to discuss her new novel The Talented Miss Farwell. We begin with the do-not-miss fascinating real life story that inspired Emily's novel. *** We love a good double life slash con-artist story and Emily has turned the whole genre on its head with Becky -- or Reba -- Farwell. (04:14) *** Becky's choices -- even the ones that come as a result of coi...

SPOILERS for the Nancy Meyers remake and Father of the Bride 3 (ish) *** While this may be a departure from our recent choices, Carinn and Kate share what they love about this classic, simple, sweet movie. (01:36) *** Who do we relate to? Kate has an unlikely choice and Carinn has a unique angle on Annie Banks. (09:50) *** Best Scenes. After describing the opening as an “adult Willy Wonka” we talk...

The series comes to an end successfully conveying what Isabel Coixet wanted: “love is a very complex feeling, it’s about losing yourself in the other person and that is a never-ending journey.” We loved going on this journey with her!  *** Our couple is officially a couple and they are on their first road trip. Things get dicey when he asks her if she ever thought about having kids, but then they...

NO SPOILERS as we give our take on the complicated women of UTOPIA: characters Samantha, Becky, and Jessica, along with executive producer Jessica Rhoades and creator Gillian Flynn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Complicated Female Friendship, Murder and Mommy Issues *** What took us so long to cover Season Two of one of our favorite shows? Turns out, the timing was perfect for us! (01:36) *** Complicated Woman Rating. Jen Harding and Judy Hale, two of our most complicated female leads, show us even more dimensions this season. We didn’t think it was possible, but Jen gets softer and Judy shows a darker si...

It's Normal People in Spanish. *** In Episode Five, “The Last Supper” our two leads KNOW they are in love and that is a whole “thing” that sits and swells between them. Falling in love is scary, just like the beginning of this episode. (01:36) *** Before we get to our couple at the restaurant, our guy is messing up his neatly organized closet and Kate and Carinn discuss the ways we represent (or m...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with debut author and friend of the pod Rebecca Baum discussing her novel Lifelike Creatures *** Lifelike Creatures, set in rural Louisiana, is anchored around 13-year-old Tara and her mother Joan, who is an addict. One day there is an industrial disaster on their property and Joan becomes the accidental hero of the town, the face of a class action lawsuit and the...

*** In Episode Three our two leads meet for ramen and dumplings, and after we gush over how much we love both of those things, we discuss the easy, flirty, spontaneous banter between them about movies like Secretary. Kate thinks things are getting spicy, but Carinn thinks this is really an example of the two of them having different expectations. (01:36) *** Are these two in love yet? Not surprisi...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with debut author Alisson Wood discussing her memoir Being Lolita. *** Alisson tells us about Being Lolita, her stunning coming-of-age memoir, and how it is very much a story about power. The book traces her relationship as a 17-year-old girl who is groomed and preyed upon by a high school english teacher in her school and how she ultimately got out, finding her vo...

We are OBSESSED with this show. Please listen even if you haven't watched -- spoiler, they go on a second date. *** We are so IN love with Foodie Love. Whether you like subtitles or not it won’t matter, this series is so visually stunning and the beauty of the language, the food porn, and the chemistry between the two leads will draw you in. It makes us think of Normal People, where almost nothing...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with powerhouse author Alyssa Cole. *** Alyssa has one of the most prolific and diverse author bios we have seen so we start by talking about when Alyssa knew she wanted to be a writer, and when she ultimately started to take it seriously. (02:26) ***Alyssa tells us about When No One Is Watching, a thriller about a black woman who is born in Brooklyn and returns af...

MAJOR SPOILERS as Kate and Carinn discuss I May Destroy You Episodes 11 & 12, the brain child of Libra creator, Michaela Coel. We've launched a platform at patreon.com/popfictionwomen to keep making the podcast you love -- and to make it even better. For a one time contribution to support this episode, use venmo @ carinn-jade. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @popfictionwomen and on Twitter @po...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train. Join us with Christina Baker Kline discussing her newest novel, The Exiles. *** Christina shares why it is so important for her, through her writing, to illuminate little-known aspects of history from the perspective of ordinary people, including women and children of a certain social class. She likes stori...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with debut YA author Jennifer De Leon *** We learn about Jennifer’s decision to write Lilliana's story as a YA novel, which turns out to be a fortuitous turn of events helped along by her years as a teacher. (02:50) *** Jennifer tells us about her complicated young female protagonist and her many contradictions and inner conflict. Liliana is for the first time real...

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @popfictionwomen and on Twitter @pop_women. To do a full deep dive, check out our website at www.popfictionwomen.com. Stay Complicated! We've launched a platform at patreon.com/popfictionwomen to keep making the podcast you love -- and to make it even better. For a one time contribution to support this episode, use venmo @ carinn-jade. Thank you for your support...

*** Complicated Woman Rating - Eleanor Oliphant: Eleanor certainly qualifies as complicated -- she is surprising and unpredictable, blunt, ignorant of social norms, deeply repressed, but ready for change. In the end, we love her growth and the fact that Eleanor is the agent of her own life, not a self-pitying victim. Carinn somehow manages to draw parallels to Marianne from Normal People and even...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with debut novelist and lawyer, Erica Katz!! *** This episode proves just how complicated and fun things can get when three women who worked in BigLaw start a conversation! *** Erica tells us about The Boys Club, a book that draws parallels to Sweetbitter, The Firm, The Devil Wears Prada, and Luckiest Girl Alive. She explains that she was inspired to write this nov...

We've launched a platform at patreon.com/popfictionwomen to keep making the podcast you love -- and to make it even better. For a one time contribution to support this episode, use venmo @ carinn-jade. Thank you for your support and enjoy the show!! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've launched a platform at patreon.com/popfictionwomen to keep making the podcast you love -- and to make it even better. For a one time contribution to support this episode, use venmo @ carinn-jade. Thank you and enjoy the show!! *** Just when we thought this show was focused on the aftermath of Arabella’s sexual assault, we get Episode 6: an exploration of race, progress, inclusion, exclusion,...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with bestselling and award-winning author Tia Williams!! *** Tia tells us about The Perfect Find, a story of Jenna, a 40-year-old fashion editor who was the “it girl” with a sparkly life, but then loses it all overnight. Jenna has to find a way to reinvent herself and in doing so finds herself in a whole new world, working for her frenemy, and falling in love with...

We've launched a platform at patreon.com/popfictionwomen to keep making the podcast you love -- and to make it even better. For a one time contribution to support this episode, use venmo @ carinn-jade. Thank you and enjoy the show!! *** Episode 4 shows Arabella dealing with the uncomfortable and difficult aftermath of her assault, seeing a psychologist and finding her own coping mechanisms. (00:46...

NO SPOILERS in this conversation with author Robin Wasserman! *** Robin talks Mother Daughter Widow Wife, a novel about a woman who wakes up on a bus with no memory and is diagnosed as being in a psychogenic fugue, which is a kind of amnesia. The protagonist is trying to build a new life from scratch with the help of various women circling around her. The novel questions what kinds of life a woman...