We Read That

This week we are discussing Nicola Yoon's One of Our Kind, a fascinating book about a black family that moves to the fictional town of Liberty, CA - a town built specifically for black families to live in and enjoy their lives. Shops are owned by black people, school classes are taught by black teachers, and all cops are black as well. Jazmin and her family move there after a traumatic experience with a white police officer. While King enjoys the vibrant and affluent life style, including the weird spa at the top of the hill, Jazmin can't shake the feeling that something is way off. The book gave us horror/thriller/Get Out vibes. We dig into a conversation on race, racism, and this idea of "escaping white influence".

We also give helpful tips (or less helpful) on how to get yourself out of a reading slump.

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Links from the Episode:

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-83383/nicola-yoon-on-her-novel-one-of-our-kind-and-trauma-in-black-american-life

https://amyletter.substack.com/p/one-of-our-kind-by-nicola-yoon-will

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/11/1218506698/code-switch-black-utopians

We are reading Craig Thomas' That's Not How it Happened (2025), a fantastic novel about a chaotic family dynamic and a memoir that is being optioned for Hollywood. The book touches upon themes of parenting kids with special needs, what happens when your kids grow up, how Hollywood thinks of family's with special needs, and the joy and frustrations that parenting and adulting bring.

Also, we realize that Jenny has never read a duology after Dani explains what it is. We get in the weeds with casting choices, and Jenny has a thing about odd numbers. As always listen along as we dissect yet another book!

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Jenny and Dani did a thing! They read AND watched Project Hail Mary; the latter even in the same zip code! This special and timely episode covers the book (highs and lows) and the movie (how pretty is Ryan Gosling?). Dani talks all things science (no you do not get a degree in "science") and music in the movie. Jenny nerds out about pop culture, sci-fi, and political science. So yeah, classic episode as per usual. Join them in discussing the important themes of PHM, including collectivism vs. individualism, morality, climate science, friendship, science, and belonging.

Dani and Jenny talk all things real estate, murder durder, and whether today's book is a comedy or a thriller. They also dissect good book merch vs bad book merch. Join the fun!

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Join Jenny and Dani as they dissect Water Moon (2025), a fantasy novel by Samantha Sotto Yambao. This book, which feels like cotton candy and rosy colored glasses were a lifestyle, asks us all profound questions about the meaning of life, free will, and regret - all while waxing essentially lyrical poetry.

Jenny also gives a hard pitch for Dan Brown's Origins (2017), and Dani only has VE Schwab on her mind.

Jenny and Dani dive into the world of Alice Feeney's Beautiful Ugly, which gives them massive Shutter Island Vibes. Listen along as they also discuss their favorite book series, the beauty of book series with naval war ships, and why some series stick with us and others don't. Obviously Harry Potter makes an appearance as well, because why not?

Dani and Jenny talk "Friends of the Museum" by Heather McGowan (2025). If you enjoy chaos, museums, museum politics, and questions of provenance, this is your episode. Also, hear Jenny once again discuss Harry Potter and the genius of Stephen Fry, while Dani highlight the beauty of yet another book cover. Happy Reading!

Bookshop.org affiliate link:

https://bookshop.org/shop/wereadthat

Freakonomics on Provenance:

"Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard." (3-Part Series)

https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/stealing-art-is-easy-giving-it-back-is-hard/

Dani and Jenny discuss Olivie Blake's Girl Dinner (2025), a novel about Dark Academia, sororities, feminism, motherhood, and womanhood. We get side-tracked by our discussion on book clubs and whether cannibalism is the way to go to fight the patriarchy. Support us on Instagram, Threads, TikTok and Facebook @WeReadThatPod.

Jenny and Dani are reading and raging against Carter Wilson's Tell Me What You Did. Follow along as they discuss movie adaptations, true crime, and friendship tests.

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Show Notes:

Ronald Knox: 10 Commandments of Detective Fictionhttps://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/ronald-knox-10-commandments-of-detective-fiction

Dani and Jenny read Jenny's pick The Compound by Aisling Rawle. They discuss reality tv, its tropes, consumerism, the power of producers, and in general what fascinates them about the genre that goes behind the scenes of reality television. Evan Peters makes ones again an appearance, because why not? Enjoy!