Beyond the PhIrst Page

The siblings discuss Patriot by Alexei Navalny with Greg Wall who shares a great perspective on the background of the Russian opposition leading up to the attempt on Navalny's life and subsequent incarceration. The discussion really has the reader thinking with topics like Kissinger's Philosophy and Letter from Birmingham Jail. The siblings and Greg also discuss love of country vs state to round out the discussion. As always listen to the end to find out what the book clubbers recommend if you liked Patriot!

Beyond the PhIrst Page discusses another fantasy read this week! Blood Over Bright Haven has a shocking magical system for the siblings to discuss in this weeks book club. The book also has the siblings contemplating what real life injustices this book is drawing comparisons. They get a bit philosophical as well discussing intent versus' actions and what makes a good person. Listen till the end to get recommendations if you liked Blood Over Bright Haven and to hear what they are discussing next time on the podcast!

This episode will have listeners laughing along with the siblings as they discuss the hilarious novel by Jonas Jonasson. This book creatively weaves the past 100 years of history into one mans life in the most light hearted way possible. The siblings discuss the translation and how well done they think it is along with all their favorite parts from The 100-Year-Old-Man. As always at the end they discuss ratings and what listeners should read if they liked this book!

This weeks read got 5 stars from all 3 of the siblings! It was a must read book for the PhIrst Page Podcast and the siblings discuss many of the things they loved about this book. The historical aspect of this book spanned a time period and part of the world that none of them were familiar with and that is what really stood out to them. They also discuss the cultural aspect of this book and how the characters customs were very different than their own. As always the ended with recommendations on what to read next for readers if they like this book.

The siblings take on a gothic novel that delivers on all things grotesque for Club Meeting 41. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn is a masterpiece that the siblings speculate wouldn't have seen the light of day in today's day and age. The characters give the siblings endless things to discuss making this book yet another awesome read for the club. The siblings also reminisce about their favorite fair memories. They wrap up with their ratings and books people should read if they enjoyed Geek Love.

At the recommendation of the second pagers, the siblings discuss We Do not Part by Nobel winner Han Kang for their 40th club meeting. They are joined by Bo Stewart, a childhood friend and avid book recommender! Bo shares some great thoughts on the overall meaning he took away from the book as well as a few disclaimers on how this book is definitely one to pick up if you are looking to challenge yourself. As always the club meeting ends with books to read if you liked this book and the siblings shared what they plan on reading next club meeting to kick off Q3!

In episode 39 of Beyond the PhIrst Page Podcast the siblings get to talk to Sydney Mayes, the 2024 Only Poets, poet of the year. Sydney gives a mini master class in all things poetry. The siblings got the chills after hearing her read her poem the walker system which won the 2024 Academy of American Poets Prize. The discussion is centered around how to analyze poems for amateurs, structure of poems and all of Sydney’s amazing poems. Tune in at the end to get some more literary works like Sydney’s!

In Episode 38 of Beyond the PhIrst Page Podcast the siblings discuss the runner up of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize, Headshot, by Rita Bullwinkel. This unique novel follows young female boxers through a national boxing competition and the siblings talk about the themes of feminism throughout this novel. They also discuss the realistic characters and the way this book was written as a sporting event would be announced. As always the siblings sign off with recommendations for books like Headshot.

This episode the siblings get to discuss the winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize, Trust, by Hernan Diaz. This incredibly original novel is broken up into four parts weaving an extraordinary story with quite a few unexpected twists. The siblings discuss how the artful writing created very believable complex characters. The discussion also covered multiple instances of financial crashes throughout American history as well has some hot takes by Phil... as always! The episode concludes with all the siblings giving this award winner 5 stars and their thoughts on what people should read if they liked this unique novel.

In this lighthearted episode the siblings discuss Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto. This San Fransisco “cozy” murder mystery features Vera, a tea shop owner as the main character. The siblings discuss the believability of her character, the plot and who they would recommend this book to! As always they end the podcast with their ratings of the book and recommendations for their listeners for other books like this one!