In this episode, Neha and Shruti tackle the natural world in books - we zoom out to consider the eight books we discussed this season, talking about our favorite and least favorite reads, themes that emerged, and questions it raises about what fiction is for, and the way we read. Plus, we share tons of books recommendations, and talk about the books next up on our TBRs.

Books Mentioned:

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Greenwood by Michael Christie

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Euphoria by Lily King

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Playground by Richard Powers

The Overstory by Richard Powers

The Drowned World by JD Ballard

An Immense World By Ed Yong

Nothing But the Rain by Naomi Salman

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Thoureax

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Out of Africa by Isak Denisen

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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In this episode Shruti and Neha discuss the great American classic, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. We discuss the book's themes of otherness and obsession, but we also get in to so much more, including its racism and (maybe?) progressiveness, naturalism and Darwin, H.P. Lovecraft, and prophecies. Finally, we ponder its status as a classic; does this book deserve to stand the test of time?

Links:

Beige Moth [Blog]

Shelf Discovery

Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund

Ahab's Bride by Louise M. Gouge

Call me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Sky Daddy by Kate Folk

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shruti and Neha discuss Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, a novel of three stories that unfold over the course of one Appalachian summer. We discuss themes of female desire, fertility, familial love, and harmony. We also make connections between characters and their symbolic representations, discover a new critical lens to read through, and question the veracity of 'moon cycles.'

Shelf Discovery:

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The White Book by Han Kang

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Shruti and Neha discuss The Seedkeeper by Diane Wilson, exploring themes of reclamation, integration, and motherhood. We share some historical context, discuss the book's structure, and weigh in on the key relationships in the novel.

Books Mentioned & Shelf Discovery

Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses

Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shruti and Neha discuss Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy, a story of a young woman trying to reintroduce wolves into the wild in the Scottish Highlands, only to find a darker side of the town that has troubling echoes with her own past. We discuss the story through the themes of instinct, villainy, and monsters. We also share some context on real-world conservation efforts, and get into the subgenre of tragedy porn (or misery lit).

Links:

Interview with Charlotte McConaghy

Shelf Discovery & Books Mentioned

Popular Trauma Culture by Anne Roth

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Island of the Sea Wolves [Netflix]

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

The Women by Kristin Hannah

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Alli Hoff Kosik joins us to discuss her new book Too Blessed to Stress, a novel following four Christian influencers as they navigate their online lives and deal with private struggles becoming public.

We talk about communication and the internet as tools of power, how gossip can be wielded for good and for evil, and the ways social media has begun to appear in novels in a variety of ways. And, of course, we share tons of book recommendations as we talk all about how Too Blessed to Stress is in conversation with other books, media, and popular culture.

This is a spoiler-free discussion (with very minimal discussion of plot and characters) so dive in - whether you read the book and loved it, or have never heard of it until now!

Books and Media Mentioned

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

Sex and the City

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Gossip Girl

Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore

Tehrangeles by Porochista Khakpour

If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You by Leigh Stein

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Paper Cut by Rachel Taff

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Neha and Shruti discuss Greenwood, a multigenerational family saga tied together with a repeating motif of trees and forests. We discuss themes of legacy, inheritance, nature, and addiction, and we also share our critiques of the book, from its character construction to its central message.

Interview with Michael Christie

Shelf Discovery:

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Playground by Richard Powers

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Neha and Shruti discuss Annihilation, the first book of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. We discuss its world building, character development, and share our many theories about the central mystery and the book's ending.

Shelf Discovery & Books Mentioned:

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Shruti and Neha discuss What We Can Know, Ian McEwan's latest speculative novel about a lost poem, climate change, and the power of stories. We discuss this novel through the themes of memory and preservation, and talk about our differing opinions on some of the major twists in the novel.

Shelf Discovery & Books Mentioned:

Possession by A.S. Byatt

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Universality by Natasha Brown

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Neha and Shruti discuss Jon Krakauer's famous account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, Into Thin Air. They discuss his chosen narration style, clarify what actually happened on that mountain, and talk about the role of a writer in controlling their story.

Shelf Discovery

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

If you would like to get additional recommendations, analyses, and behind-the-scenes content related to this and all of our episodes, subscribe to our free email newsletter on Substack.

We love to hear from listeners about the books we discuss - you can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing us at [email protected].

This episode description contains links to Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores. If you use these links we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.