Becca's pick for April's prompt to read a book based on its cover or title is Nonfiction: A Novel by Julie Myerson, because the contradiction between the title and genre was too compelling to pass up. 

Content warning: drug addiction

Our next book discussion will be Underground Barbie by Maša Kolanović. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2025.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

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The March prompt is to read a book published by an indie press, and Corinne's pick is Witches by Brenda Lozano, translated by Heather Cleary, and published by Catapult.

Content warning: brief mentions of violence, including sexual violence

Our next book discussion will be Nonfiction by Julie Myerson. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2025.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

Website | Patreon

Google Doc for Helene Recovery Resources

LESBIAN. VAMPIRES. 

We read The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez for October's prompt to read a book in one of the following genres: monster/vampire/gothic. 

Content warning: We briefly talk about violence and murder. The book also contains scenes of the main character experiencing racism.

Our next book is The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk and translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2024.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

Website | Patreon

Detransition, Baby is a debut novel by Torrey Peters that also happens to be absolutely perfect for discussion and buddy reading. We really loved this unconventional story of three women on a journey to become (or not become) mothers. We will be anxiously waiting for it to be optioned as a limited series on a premium cable network.

Next time we will be reading The Hunger by Alma Katsu. You can find it at your local library or bookstore and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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On this episode we preach to the choir and discuss why book banning is a bad thing.

Next time we will be discussing Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. You can find it at your local library or bookstore and read along with us.

Sources for this episode:

Penn Live - Ban on books by or about minorities sparks protests, national news in York County

York Daily Record - Book ban by Central York school board of racial justice materials spurs student protests

Fresh Air - Uncovering Who Is Driving The Fight Against Critical Race Theory In Schools

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

For our first read for the September Bookstore Challenge we read Sigrid Nunez's debut auto-fiction novel, A Feather on the Breath of God. It reflects on the author/narrator's parents, both immigrants, her upbringing in New York, and a later love affair with a Russian immigrant in her 20's.

Next time we will be discussing Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. You can find it at your local library or bookstore and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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For our final Women in Translation Month installment we read Thora Hjorliefsdottir's Magma. It is a challenging read about a young woman in an abusive relationship. We relate, we don't want to relate. We commiserate.

Next time we will be discussing A Feather on the Breath of God by Sirgrid Nunez.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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Way back in 2017, the first year of The Bookstore Podcast's existence, we read Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins. When the documentary about her life popped up on Becca's Netflix Recommended, we figured we'd watch and discuss. We have a lot of laughs talking about Collins' fascinating life and work. 

Barbara Cartland song

Next time we will be discussing Magma by Thora Hjorliefsdottir. It can be found at your local bookstore or through Hoopla if your local library uses that service.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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It's Women in Translation Month and our first pick for this prompt is the recently released somewhat autobiographical/historical novel about the Pinochet regime in Chile, The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernandez. Long time listeners will be pleased to note that Corinne has transcended using the word "basically" as a filler to using exclusively "essentially."

Next time we will be discussing Magma by Thora Hjorliefsdottir. It can be found at your local bookstore or through Hoopla if you're local library uses that service.

Other books/authors mentioned:
Human Matter: A Fiction by Rodrigo Rey Rosa
The Work of Eduardo Gleano
We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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For Women in Translation Month, which is our prompt for August and also celebration in the wider book world, we talk a little bit about previous episodes where we recommend works in translation, as well as some literary translation prizes. Our main topic is a translation game Corinne made, so fair warning, there is lots of laughing in this episode because we have lots of fun.

Next time we will be discussing The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernandez.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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We read and discuss 2020 Booker International Winner The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison. Content warning: language, discussion of difficult topics.

Next time we will be discussing The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernandez.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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We loved Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead so much that Corinne decided to read Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk. Our July Challenge Prompt was to read another book by an author you have loved before.

Next time we will be discussing The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld for our first August read: a book written by a woman that has been translated. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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We talk generally about our July prompt, read a backlist title by an author you've loved before.

Next time we will be talking about Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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This book has everything, except for an idea of how novels are formulated.

Our next read will be The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez.

This week we read and discuss Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo. It's Becca's pick for our July prompt: to read a book by an author you have loved before.

Next time we will be talking about Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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We talk about book settings.

Next month the prompt is to read a book by an author you have loved before and Becca's choice is Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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This week for our Beach Read June prompt we read Beach Read by Emily Henry. Which is fitting! Coincidentally the book take place in a fictional Lake Michigan town that happens to exist exactly on top of the town that Corinne's partner is from - so we've got thoughts about how it represents Michigan aside from general banter about romance tropes and feel good reading.

Next month the prompt is to read a book by an author you have loved before and Becca's choice is Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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Content warning for sexual assault on this episode. We read Diadem From the Stars by Jo Clayton as Becca's pick for June's prompt, Genre: Romance, Fantasy, or Beach Read. It's a pulpy 70s space fantasy that left us confused and maybe even a little irate.

Next time we will be discussing Beach Read by Emily Henry. You might have to find this one used, or from your local library.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. 

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We discuss a publishing scandal that at this point feels very cliché.

Next time we will be discussing Diadem from the Stars by Jo Clayton. You might have to find this one used, or from your local library.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

This week we read Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. It's a book full of politics and yet we choose to focus (at least a little) on the sex writing.

Next time we will be discussing Diadem from the Stars by Jo Clayton. You might have to find this one used, or from your local library.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

Our May prompt was to read a book published the year you were born, so we chat about big book news that happened in our respective birth years, as well as some pop culture tidbits. Let us know what exciting things happened the year you were born!

Next time we will be discussing Becca's May prompt pick, Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

Content warnings abound because we read Katherine Dunn's 1989 novel about an abusive carnival family turned cult carnival turned ??? Geek Love.

Next time we will be discussing Becca's May prompt pick (read a book published the year you were born) Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

We read National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Do we understand how screenplays work? Not really! But we do think this is a very interesting concept.

Next week we will be discussing Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

We revisit our dear old friend, Norman Mailer. But before that, we find out the truth about the storied literary feud between Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

Next time we will be reading Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

For September's prompt to read a book by a celebrity, Corinne has chosen The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker and Dick Lochte. Al Roker is a tv personality and the resident weatherman of NBC's Today show. 

Content warnings: swearing, discussion of different types of murder, offensive accents (in the book, we do not quote the book), sexism

Our next book discussion will be Swan by Naomi Campbell. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2024.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

Website | Patreon

Discussion and review of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar for the April challenge prompt: a book that won or was shortlisted for a literary award in 2020.

Next time we will be reading Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout. See the Independent Bookstore Day details here.

Website | Patreon

We're starting April off with a Between the Books episode featuring recommendations based on our April Prompt, read a book that won an award in 2020. We talk about all the books we've read in previous episodes that won or were on shortlists, and we add a few more of our personal recommendations.

Next time we will be reading The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar for the April prompt, a book that won or was shortlisted for an award in 2020. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon

This week we read the our final book for the March prompt (read a book you already own). Because it is a 3 book episode month, we turned to Patreon to pick between our respective choices. Becca's pick won and so we read A Question of Power by Bessie Head. The book itself is a little hard to get a hold of, though it seems plenty of fairly priced used options exist. Either way, we hope you'll join us for our discussion of this auto-fiction novel about a South African ex-pat living in Botswana in the 1970s while struggling with mental illness.

Next time we will be reading The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar for the April prompt, a book that won or was shortlisted for an award in 2020. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon

Our March prompt for our 21 Month Challenge is to read a book you already own. We're here to talk about how great libraries are, why we buy books, why we don't always buy books, how we store books, you know, that kind of thing. 

Our next book discussion will be A Question of Power by Bessie Head, you may have to search some less common avenues to find that one.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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First - apologies for Corinne's sub par audio this week, but there were some issues on her end. It'll be back to normal next week.

In this episode we discuss The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi and question our Western viewpoints on gender.

Our next book discussion will be A Question of Power by Bessie Head, you may have to search some less common avenues to find that one.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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Inspired by this Reddit thread, we talk about the different things that are distracting or take us out of the book. Not necessarily pet peeves, but also maybe a little bit. This brings us to the conclusion that writing is hard!

Next time we will be discussing The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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Review and discussion of The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor for our first pick for the March book prompt: Read a book you already own.

Next time we will be discussing The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi.

____

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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To close out the February prompt for our Bookstore Podcast 12 Month Challenge, we each have some recommendations for indie publishers and books published by those indie publishers. We will list all the books mentioned on our website.

Next time we will be reading our first March Prompt book (something we already own): The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon

Our second book published by an independent publisher for the February prompt is Frontier by Can Xue. We don't actually know how to explain it or talk about it, but we try!

Next time we will be reading our first March Prompt book (something we already own): The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon

Our February reading prompt is to read books published by an Independent Publisher. Because we've received so many questions from people interested in how to find more independent presses, we have decided to rerelease an episode we did a couple of years back introducing you the wonderful world of Indies.

Next week we will be reading and discussing Frontier by Can Xue, published by Open Letter at the University of Rochester. You can find it at your library or local bookstore and read along with us.

Original Description:

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!

A list of titles and publishers discussed in this episode can be found on the episode post on our website.

Our last book for August's prompt to read a book that won a translation award is Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz. Very poetic and beautifully written, it might have been too spiritual for us to fully engage with.

Content warning: mentions of ethnic cleansing and genocide, rape, sexual assault

Our next book discussion will be The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2024.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

Website | Patreon

Our first pick for February's prompt is Temporary by Hilary Leichter, published by Coffee House Press. It gets us talking about the mundanity of office life and the strangeness of life under capitalism.  

Next week we are reading Frontier by Can Xue. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us!

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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Alternate title: TRUST NO ONE!

A list of sources for this episode can be found here.

Next week we will be discussing Temporary by Hilary Leichter.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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Our January prompt for The Bookstore's 12 Month Challenge is "a book you think you really should have read by now." Becca's pick for that prompt is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. 

February is indie publisher month, if you have a favorite indie pub book, we'd love to hear about it! Our first book for February is Temporary by Hilary Leichter. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us!

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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This week we have a bit of news, Corinne explores a new GoodReads (and Amazon) book tracking contender called The StoryGraph, and we consider some interpretations for the January challenge prompt: a book you feel you should have read by now.

Becca is beckyramone and Corinne is corinnekeener on The StoryGraph. Add us and we will follow back!

Next week we will be discussing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon

If you are a die-hard Jane Austen fan, you may want to skip this one. We read Corinne's pick for our January prompt, "A book you think you really should have read by now." P&P is embedded in our cultural consciousness and it was time for us to see what the fuss is all about. Note: Even though Austen is G-rated, this episode contains swearing.

Next up is Becca's pick, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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We look back on our reading in 2020, pick some favorites, and make plans (lol, sure) for 2021.

Next week we will be reading and discussing Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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This week we read Samanta Schweblin's Little Eyes, a very Black Mirror-type story featuring, you guessed it, some little eyes. We have a conversation about if a kentuki is more like a drone or a phone app, and talk about why exactly someone would want to have a stranger staring at them all the time. 

We are off next week, returning December 29th with our Year in Review episode!

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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We've been at it for a little over three years and at the suggestion of a Patreon Patron, we have decided to finally do a comprehensive GET TO KNOW US episode. In this episode you will learn such incredible life details as: 

• What is our favorite sandwich meat
• Joey Ramone or Joey Fatone
• How good is Corinne's Pee Wee Herman impersonation
• Does Becca know the name of her favorite Star War

A list of titles and other recommendations can be found on the blog post for this episode.

You can follow Becca and Corinne on GoodReads.

Next time we will be reading Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin. Get it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

___

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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This week we wanted something very chill, and so we picked the cozy mystery queen, Agatha Christie. Other than the main question of the book, which is who did the murdering, we also wonder if people are really climbing in and out of windows, and why is blancmange so popular? 

Next time we're reading Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin. 

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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During Pandemic Times ™, it isn't every day you get to meet new friends. This week we talk with Marci and Ako from The Colored Pages Book Club Podcast about what their podcast is about, how it came to be, and what books they love and have been recommending.

Make sure you subscribe to The Colored Pages Book Club Podcast.

Here's the books Marci and Ako recommended on this episode.

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Our first book for August's prompt to read a book that won a translation prize is Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. Corinne picked this one, and we both loved it. It's a beautifully illustrated graphic novel split into 3 stories, all revolving around 3 First Class Wishes. What are first class wishes? Listen and learn about the incredibly imaginative world Mohamed created!

Our next book discussion will be Every Fire You Tend, by Sema Kaygusuz. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. 

If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2024.

Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD.

Website | Patreon

This week we read How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang. We love the Western setting, the lyrical, atmospheric descriptions of the landscape. We have some complicated feelings about the plot and character development.

Next time we're reading The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. 

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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We're putting our gift guide out a little early this year to give you time to order from your favorite indie bookstore! We have a list of Black-owned bookstores on our website. The books we recommended on this episode can be found here.

Next week we'll be discussing How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

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If you're receiving this on the day it is released, that means it's Election Day in the US and I hope if you're eligible to vote, you've either done so or are on your way to the polls. Take care of yourself today and all days!

This week we discuss Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, why it's better than classics by old white guys and how it manages to make us swoon over a guy who gets stabbed while gambling despite ourselves.

Next time we will be discussing How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us.

Get two months for the price of one at Libro.fm with code 'bookstore' at checkout.

Website | Patreon