The Drip

In Part II of our Parable series, the Spoilers continue their discussion of Butler's amazing novels. While Sower is definitely a shockingly accurate book in so many ways, Talents hits home with even more power. President Jarett and a Christian Nationalist movement whose motto is "Make American Great Again"? Yikes, you guys. The parallels between this book and our current world are enough to make t...

The first of two episodes on Octavia Butler's Parable series, this show finds the Spoilers discussing one of the most beloved books of the last 40 years -- Parable of the Sower. The Spoilers have a lot to say about this amazing novel. They are amazed at Butler's prescience in depicting the world of 2024, as well as her drawing of the captivating character Lauren Olamina. There are a lot of feeling...

This episode, though subdued, is a fascinating journey into the critical minds of the spoilers as they try to figure out what it is about Mukherjee's stories that has a hold on them. It's probably fair to say that we didn't LOVE this collection, but there were stories here than really get in our minds. A book of its time that resists neat categorization, THE MIDDLEMAN is one of those books that sp...

In this, our 50th episode, the Spoilers discuss everything from the inception of our little show to our favorite books and episodes. As you can imagine, it is celebration of everything that has kept us going all these years, including poetry, coffee, book covers, and the eternal question of genre! Come join us for a trip down memory lane as we revisit our favorite moments from the first 50 episode...

The Spoilers are back with the penultimate episode on their way toward the big 50! In this episode they heap praises upon Jesmyn Ward's latest triumph about a young, enslaved woman being led on a journey to the dark and deep of slavery's corrupt heart. They spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to understand this novel and what to do with its beauty and horror. In the end, they just follow...

The gang is back, you guys! It's been awhile, but we are back to discuss Shannon Gibney's amazing memoir of transracial adoption, family, and love. We've read a lot of books doing this show over the years, but you can be sure that we have never read one like this -- and it definitely shows in the episode. So come along with us again and take a wondrous ride through time. It's not technically a wor...

The Spoilers are back with an episode about Charmaine Wilkerson's worthy novel, Black Cake -- just in time for the Hulu release of the series on November 1st. If you haven't read the book, all you have to do is listen to our episode and you'll be ready to watch whatever Oprah ends up doing for this adaptation. As for us, we have a lot to say about this sprawling novel. There's a lot we love and so...

In this episode the Spoilers talk about Aidoo's wonderful novel, but as you might expect, they end up talking about patriarchy. And in particular they spend a lot of time talking about Esi and her car. You know, we don't always understand Esi (there are lots of questions), but in the end we all really love her and we all wish we were riding in that car with her wherever she wants to go. Don't miss...

In this, our 45th episode, the Spoilers are back with what they thought would be a frolicking, early summer show about Baxter, a Black Canadian aspiring dentist who works as a sleeping car porter on a cross-continent train in the late 1920s (surprise! it took a while to edit!). Paced like a marathoner in a Dodge Challenger, this novel is relentless in its depiction of racialized labor in a very cl...

In this special Driplet, Anita gives Todd the chance to share his narrative of injury and recovery. After suffering a hemorrhagic stroke in February of 2020, Todd had to learn to read again while teaching a literature class, living away from his partner, and dealing with the fallout of a pandemic. In this funny, but personal episode, Anita and Todd explore the challenges of illness and recovery, a...

Did you know many Black writers including Zora Neale Hurston, Frank Yerby, and Lorraine Hansberry wrote works in which most or all of the characters were white? One of the best of these is James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. In this episode, we discuss Baldwin's classic second novel, with its tortured main character, David, an American marking time in Paris. While not a book with a propulsive plot, w...

Let's be honest -- when the Spoilers first started reading Leone Ross's Popisho, they were kind of confused. But as this lively conversation reveals, we came to really love this strange, original, endearing book. It never missed an opportunity to surprise and delight us. Take a listen to this episode to hear how we go from perplexity to wonder and happiness. Take our word for it -- this episode wa...

It's been a minute, but the Spoilers are back with another compelling book conversation -- this time about Attica's Locke's best-selling mystery. The novel takes place on a plantation, so you know we have to ground things with a little bit of history (Dr. Moten would have it no other way). As usual, we have a lot to say about this book. We offer some praise and some criticisms, but in the end we g...

In this special "bookless" episode (in which we actually talk about many books), the Spoilers take on the question of language use in the classroom -- specifically, what do we do as teachers when material we want to use with students contains offensive and/or hurtful language? We decided to discuss this subject, first, because Anita had been thinking about it a lot and wanted to see what we though...

It's been a while, but the Spoilers are back -- this time taking on the dangerous, seedy underworld of 1940s Los Angeles in Walter Mosley's classic novel about the factory worker turned private detective, Easy Rawlins.  Not surprisingly, the conversation quickly turns to the racial and gender politics of the book. It's a spicy discussion that ends with an inevitable extended comparison of the book...

The Spoilers have been on a roll lately, doing shows about books that have just blown us away -- and this show is no exception. In this episode we talk about Toni Morrison's perplexing and captivating heroine, Sula Peace. What a woman! Just when you think you hate her, you realize that apparently, you love her. The novel itself is filled with unforgettable characters and amazing moments, and we ta...

In this episode, the Spoilers can't stop gushing about Eloghosa Osunde's new novel, VAGABONDS! Structured like a spiritual text that challenges the orthodoxy and self-righteousness of those who would deny freedom and life to those on the margins of Nigerian society, this novel expertly constructs a narrative of self-salvation, told from the perspective of the vagabonds of Lagos. In reading this no...

In another quiet episode, the Spoilers dig deep into issues of borders and migration both in Poddar's novel and in their own lives. It quickly becomes clear that while migration is a more immediate issue for some, it really impacts us all in significant ways. Whether you're venturing around the world or around the corner, we all have to reckon with the impact of moving and crossing boundaries in o...

In a bit of a quiet episode, the Spoilers revisit 2020 with Tookie, the protagonist of Erdrich's beautiful novel. The novel takes them back to the beginning of the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the tumultuous summer that followed. But while Erdrich's book is about the haunting reverberations of the past, it is also about efforts toward individual and collective healing. It is about how...

In this episode the Spoilers engage in a crescendoing conversation about Harris' NYT best selling debut novel. Uneasy with their reading of the book, anxious about their commentary, and unsure if they are on steady ground, the Spoilers carefully inch forward, refusing any relaxing balm, eventually careening toward inevitable exasperation. You're going to love this sometimes quiet, sometimes rollic...

The Spoilers are back after a long hiatus, anxious to take on this compelling novel by Afia Atakora. Right from the git go they have a lot of questions to answer, but Crystal, Anita, and Todd eventually arrive at an acceptable understanding of this rich novel of slavery and the ties that bind together the enslaved and the enslavers on this plantation: when do they break and when do they hold fast?

The Spoilers are back with an intense conversation about Deesha Philyaw's award-winning story collection. We have a lot to say about it and all of it is good. Known for sidestepping the sexy stuff, the Spoilers bravely tackle the intimate elements of this often steamy text -- and just for good measure, Adriana says the d-word at least once. It's definitely worth a listen. You're welcome America!

in this episode the Spoilers get nasty with Sister Souljah's classic tale of the ice-cold Winter Santiaga, one of the great characters of Black street lit. The crew is serious, funny, and informative as they employ their own impeccable skills to break down SIster Souljah's masterpiece -- and luckily no one gets cut in the process. 

For this, our first foray into the romance novel genre, we went in craving a bodice ripper, but ended up with teenage dress mending -- only a little less hot. However, we must admit that the results of our reading of the great Beverly Jenkins' YA novel, Josephine, were more than satisfying! In this episode we discuss antebellum Michigan and the small town of Whittaker, where all the men have left...

In this rather intellectually searching episode, the Spoilers wrestle with Robert Jones' beautiful and challenging debut novel. We try to figure everything out at first, but ultimately settle upon a rather comfortable acceptance of un-knowing and dwelling in the wonder of ambiguity. Arriving at the conclusion that there has not really ever been a novel like this one (EVER!) doesn't take us too awf...