The Bookstore

What's this? Another new episode this week! Recently we had the chance to chat with graphic novel writer Mariko Tamaki ( Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, This One Summer, Skim ) about her latest novel for DC Ink,  Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass.  We chatted about how one goes about writing a graphic novel, writing popular characters, and, of course, got some book recommendations (which you can...

Alternate title: WE ARE NOT HISTORIANS. Jenny Erpenbeck's  The End of Days blew us away with how masterful she ties everything together. It's so good, we trip over our words and maybe have a slight existential crisis. We will not be releasing an episode the week of Christmas, but we'll be back in the New Year with Judith Krantz's  Scruples !

Correction: We stated that this novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, but that is wrong. One of Susan Choi's previous novels was a finalist, not  Trust Exercise . Sorry for destroying your trust in us. However, this novel DID win the National Book Award for Fiction. We attempt to figure out why. Lots of spoilers in this one, and here's an explicit content warning too.

Check out https://www.brilliant-books.net/ for their Brilliant Books Monthly book subscription service! We are here to tell you what to buy! All the books mentioned will be on the website, which you can find here: https://www.thebookstorepodcast.com/ Our next book discussion will be  Trust Exercise  by Susan Choi, you can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us!

We rave about Olga Tokarczuk's genre-defying novel, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead , which also has the best book title possibly ever conceived.  Our next read will be either Trust Exercise by Susan Choi or Autumn by Ali Smith (our beloved Patrons will decide!). 

Becca's in DC so we have an actual mini-length mini this week. It's a quick news round-up and also there's a NaNoWriMo quiz so you'll know all of the NaNoWriMo facts! But not necessarily all of the other regular facts because Corinne said that Citrus County was in California even though it said Florida right there in her notes and who also said "Revolutionary Warrrddd(???)" even though she was lit...

This week we discuss the recently translated (to English) literary fantasy/dystopia  The Memory Police  by Yoko Ogawa and Becca recalls a murder story from the 1930's that involves an attic boyfriend. There's a couple spoilers, but we warn you. Our next read will be  Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with...

Content warning on this one! We don't go into great detail about the awful events described in the books we recommend, but as these are true horror stories, it might not be suitable for all listeners. Cannibalism, pandemics, more cannibalism, you get the idea.  A list of titles discussed on this episode can be found on the episode post on our website www.thebookstorepodcast.com Costa Concordia art...

More literary prize news and ... it's dubious again! We also discuss Booker Prize Shortlist novel  10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak. Our next book discussion will be The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us!

If the Nobel Prize for literature were a body part, this year it would be two feet stuck firmly in its own mouth. That was going to be the title of the episode, but I figured it was too long. This week we break down a couple of scandals that are plaguing the prestigious award AND we have a conversation with Margaret Pinard from Another Read Through Bookstore in Portland, OR. Next week we'll be dis...

This week we give ourselves a bit of a history lesson as we read Qiu Miaojin's  Notes of a Crocodile , a satire of Taiwanese society in the late 80s and 90s. Correction for this episode: Becca refers to Qiu Miaojin as Miaojin instead of as Qiu, her surname. Apologies for that mistake. Articles referenced: https://longreads.com/2018/06/07/a-crocodile-in-paris-the-queer-classics-of-qiu-miaojin/ http...

After a bit of a mis-speak, we realized that we've read more books published by independent publishers and presses than we thought. So we're here to highlight the great work by publishers you suggested and publishers that we think are putting out great work. There's so many to talk about that we couldn't fit it all in! Next week we will be reading  Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin. You can find...

This is a long one, but it's only because we could not shut up about Trick Mirror and Jia Tolentino. We opine, we contradict ourselves, then we contradict our contradictions. But it's all just being self-reflective of our own self-delusions. You may not believe you need another thinkpiece on the internet and social media, but trust us, you need this book. Millennials, this episode is dedicated esp...

This week's mini has some themed book news. What's an embargo? You're about to find out. Big companies bum us out, but we keep punching up until we reach the obvious ending. And Corinne travelled all the way to Madison, Wi to talk with Gretchen at A Room of One's Own Books about Bookstores Against Borders and how bookstores make your community. We lied in the episode and said that next week we'd b...

This week we review The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter. Thanks to Two Dollar Radio for providing us with copies in exchange for our honest review. If you have any other indie pubs you recommend, please let us know!  Our next discussion will be Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us!

This week we are reviewing the forthcoming Young Adult/Middle Grade book by Akwaeke Emezi, Pet . Our next book discussion is The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

We're coming at this later than usual due to some serious technical difficulties (ok, fine! Corinne managed to talk an entire episode into a mic that was not recording), but here we are at last with our discussion and review of Colson Whitehead's novel  The Nickel Boys . Here be spoilers: we warn you before the big one, but if you're particularly sensitive, we suggest you read the book before list...

Becca and Corinne are here to bring you suggestions for Women in Translation Month. Everything from what to read to how to find it, after this episode you won't have any excuses to keep from reading a book written by a woman who writes in a language other than your own. Next week we will be reading and discussing The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Find it at your local bookstore or library and r...

Becca and Corinne are here to bring you suggestions for Women in Translation Month. Everything from what to read to how to find it, after this episode you won't have any excuses to keep from reading a book written by a woman who writes in a language other than your own. Next week we will be reading and discussing The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Find it at your local bookstore or library and r...

Well, well, well. It's our 100th episode and our 2nd anniversary and in this moment we swear, we're infinite. This week Becca and Corinne take a walk down memory lane, all the way back to the early 2000's and discuss their favorite books from when they were teens. For Becca, it's Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno. For Corinne: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. What were they l...

Welcome back to the Bookstore, we're bringing you more authors having fights on the Dick Cavett Show. Next time we'll be reading Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  

We return to a favorite author and read  Eileen  by Ottessa Moshfegh. What's so relatable about being a disgusting slob person? Not sure, but sometimes we know, it we. Next time we will be reading our teenage favorites,  Hairstyles of the Damned  by Joe Meno, and  The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. You can find them at your local library or bookstore and read along with us.

Corinne screwed up so this week we bring you a short little piece from last summer when we visited the Detroit Festival of Books because she also always liked this episode and no one paid enough attention to it before. Next week we'll make sure our mic batteries are fresh and we'll be bringing you a discussion of Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh so pick it up at your local bookstore or library and read...

This week we read and discuss On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. Find out how we fared with this very poetic auto-novel and how we feel about teens being romantic in our general vicinities. Next time we will be reading Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. The interview Corinne mentions is on the podcast Literary Friction the ep...

This week we make gin drinks and play the Paperback Game, because it is too hot. There is laughter. Next week we will be discussing  On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous  by Ocean Vuong. Get it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.