Your Favorite Book

This week's guest is Sanjena Sathian, author GOLD DIGGERS. We follow Neil Narayan as he navigates his tumultuous teen years entrenched in the Indian community in suburban Georgia, as he progresses to struggling grad student in the Bay area. The question of ambition looms large in Neil's life, and his lack of interest in academic and extracurricular excellence set him apart from his peers. His attentions are more focused on his neighbor, Anita. Neil soon learns the secret to Anita's ambition is a potion brewed from stolen gold. Neil gets involved in gold pilfering, and after tragedy strikes, he must decide whether to return to the practice in his mid-twenties when the stakes are even higher.

Focusing on the idea of the 'typical' South Asian novel and her own desire to eschew tradition, Sanjena chose the 1990 novel THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA by Hanif Kureishi, a book that rolls its eyes at conventions and expectations. Instead, Kureishi delves us into the wild world of Karim Amir, coming of age in mid 1970s London. Karim, half South Asian and half English, sees his immigrant father transition from mildmannered family man to newly ordained Buddhist guru for unhappy white people. When Karim's own life takes a turn into an acting career, and the roles he take on call into question his identity, Karim sees the common ground between himself and his father. Ultimately, this is a work of race, society, as well as sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Sanjena waxes poetic on influential works, how the history of South Asian America is more complicated than we think, as well as representation in a burgeoning media market. As always, all episodes are spoiler free, although we believe that a novel like THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA may not even have spoilers in the traditional sense.

Buy a signed copy of Sanjena's Book! https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/245419/sanjena-sathian/gold-diggers

Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

This week’s guest is Mia P. Manansala, author of ARSENIC AND ADOBO. In this brand-new cozy mystery novel, we follow Lila Macapagal as she returns to her hometown of Shady Palms after a stint in Chicago and the collapse of a relationship. She reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Derek, and starts working in her Tita Rosie’s restaurant. Except Derek’s a jerk, and a vengeful food critic to boot, and things immediately go awry when Derek drops dead at the restaurant. And Lila is immediately suspect number one.

Reflecting on the nature of mystery novels and what makes a favorite book, Mia chose middle grade classic THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin. Sixteen near-strangers, some neighbors and some unknowns, are summoned to the reading of a will. The deceased is Samuel Westing, an eccentric billionaire, who sees the will reading as his final game. All sixteen are challenged to get to the bottom of his untimely demise. With an immense fortune at stake and constant twists and turns, THE WESTING GAME involves children and adults working together to get to the bottom of a very strange riddle.

Mia shares her insight on writing mystery as a person of color, what makes a satisfying middle grade novel, falling in love with a genre, and so much more. Mystery lovers, this episode is for you! And of course, no spoilers for either book.

Follow Mia on instagram and twitter @mpmthewriter

Mia's website: miapmanansala.com

Buy the book! https://www.centuriesandsleuths.com/book/9780593201671

Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

Our first repeat guest on this show, Rachel Allen, returns with another enemies to lovers classic. This time, the contemporary rom-com darling THE HATING GAME by Sally Thorne. Y'all, this episode isn't the researched, educated, pseudo-intellectual content you normally get on YFB. Instead, you get a lot of laughter, a lot of rambling, and what I think is a really fun conversation. I'd have Rachel as a permanent co-host in a heartbeat! We chat about trying to do makeup in a pandemic, the joys of bookstagram, what makes a book boyfriend, why boys need to go to therapy, and so much more. And of course, I just happen to hate on a book so many other people love. Ah well. I never claimed to have great taste. 

Follow Rachel on instagram @reads.by.rae

Follow Your Favorite Book on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

Although this book has only been out around a year, Maya Shanbhag Lang's WHAT WE CARRY has already made an impact on so many people. My guest, attorney and bookstagrammer Jasmine Vyas, is one of those people. Jasmine is a longtime YOUR FAVORITE BOOK listener and has always given me wonderful feedback and helpful suggestions, and I was so happy to experience this memoir she suggested. WHAT WE CARRY touches on motherhood, cultural expectations, caring for an aging parent, and so much more. Delving in and out of the present, focusing on relationships with others and with oneself, Maya's journey as her mother's caregiver is one to learn from and reflect upon. In this episode, Jasmine shares her own insights as a parent, the disparate expectations in Indian-American households, and what it means to promote underrepresented works. Whether you love this book or are new to it, this episode is for you! After all, memoirs don't really have spoilers...right??

TW for episode/book: abuse, suicide attempt

I've dabbled into fantasy a bit, but my guest Rachel (host of the Barely Bookish podcast, all about rediscovering classic literature and picking up the books you missed in school) is an expert. We chat about book 1 in the All Souls Trilogy, Deborah Harkness's A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. It wasn't for me. Rachel and I debate a few points and talk about how there are all kinds of readers out there, and what didn't work for me may work for you! We also chat about the challenges of running a podcast, how old is too old for TikTok, my very specific pet peeves when it comes to genetics in fiction, and so much more. Rachel references tropes and elements that change in books 2 and 3, but there are no outright spoilers in this episode. If you love or hate this book, or just haven't picked it up yet, I think you'll find something to love in this episode.

Check out Rachel's podcast at www.barelybookish.com

Follow Your Favorite Book on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

This week’s guest is Morgan Jerkins, author of CAUL BABY. This novel combines folklore and Black womanhood with gentrification and healthcare disparity, creating an unforgettable work of magical realism. The book follows the Melancon family, born with a layer of skin (the caul) that protects them from harm and imparts good fortune on those that carry it. The Melancons choose to sell pieces of their caul to ensure their safety and social standing, and for years this occurs without issue. Until the day they refuse sale to a pregnant Black woman and she loses her pregnancy. This sets into motion a series of events, including the adoption of a caul-bearing girl, that shakes the Melancon family and the Harlem community to its core.

In this pandemic, with our society questioning the nature and importance of employment, Morgan’s mind went to TEMPORARY by Hilary Leichter as an all-time favorite book. This short, idiosyncratic novel follows an unnamed narrator that exists as a temporary worker. She fills in for roles that need filling, everything from a barnacle on a rock to Chairman of the Board. Jobs, relationships, friendships, these are as fleeting as a few hours of PTO. The goal is steadiness, but as the novel progresses, we wonder if steadiness is a reality or just a means to an end.

Morgan shares her thoughts on moving from nonfiction to fiction, the status of gentrification in Harlem, millennial work culture, and so much more. And as always, the episode is spoiler-free.

Buy the book: https://bookshop.org/books/caul-baby/9780062873088

Follow Morgan on twitter @morganjerkins and on instagram @_morganjerkins

Follow Your Favorite Book on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

A long time ago I wanted to be a sportswriter. I still kinda do. Thanks to writers like Jeff Pearlman, I've been able to immerse myself in the world of sports and in the incredible stories that sports can create. Jeff is the author of nine books, several of which are NYT bestsellers. His 2018 book FOOTBALL FOR A BUCK was one of my favorite reads last year, and his podcast Two Writers Slinging Yang has become one of my go-tos every week. Jeff's choice for this week is A FALSE SPRING by sportswriter Pat Jordan. This memoir catalogues Pat's failed minor league baseball career and the slow transition from youthful dreams to adult reality. It's a detailed, dated, bitter book and there's so much to discuss. Jeff and I talk about the nature of print journalism, what it's like interviewing a curmudgeon, going to school with an athlete's kid (ok, maybe that one's just my story). Nevertheless, even if you're not into sports, great prose is great prose and I think you'll still love this episode. 

Jeff's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-writers-slinging-yang/id1252080948

Follow Jeff on twitter @jeffpearlman

Follow Your Favorite Book on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

This week’s guest is Nicola DeRobertis-Theye, author of The Vietri Project. This novel combines millennial disillusionment, historical and present-day Rome, the resurfacing of childhood trauma, and a healthy dose of intrigue. Gabriele, a 25 year old woman struggling with purpose after graduating from college, travels to Rome in search of Vietri, a former client of hers at the bookstore where she worked. Gabriele knows nothing of Vietri other than his taste in dense academic books, and her quest brings her not only knowledge of Italy’s sordid colonial past, but also brings her face to face with family she left behind, as well as her own sense of self. This is an introspective novel with a strong sense of setting and nuanced characterization. If you’ve been yearning to travel, this might be the book for you.

Nicola reflects on an all-time favorite book, Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. This dense, ambitious project, somewhat overshadowed by Atwood’s speculative fiction, is a blending of genre and narrative style in its own right. Comprised of newspaper clippings, character recollections, and a novel within a novel, readers piece together the disintegration of a family and the legacy its members have left behind. DeRobertis-Theye shares her story of reading The Blind Assassin as a teen, finding new insight in the book as an adult, the other writers that have influenced her prose style, and so much more.

All episodes are spoiler-free!

Buy The Vietri Project: https://bookshop.org/books/the-vietri-project/9780063017702

Follow Nicola on Twitter @NicolaDeRT

Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

Kati Kostyk is a bookstagrammer, podcaster, and mental health advocate. Her two podcasts, Books and Boobs and Shelf Made Women, have contributed so much to the literary conversation in just a few months. Today, Kati sits down with me and chats about LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS WOMEN by T. Kira Madden, a beautifully crafted and harrowing memoir. Privilege, neglect, sexuality, family, all of these are tackled and more, and with exquisite prose to back it up. Along the way, Kati and I also talk about redefining memoir as a genre, being a literary citizen, the challenges of podcasting, and so much more. 

TW for episode/book: abuse, neglect, sexual assault, overdose

Follow Kati on instagram and twitter @shelfmadewoman

Books and Boobs: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/books-and-boobs/id1504008765

Shelf Made Woman: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shelf-made-women/id1545958142

Follow Your Favorite Book on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast

We've got another all-time classic on the podcast today, that controversial piece of early YA fiction, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. To some of us this is an overrated slog about a whiny privileged kid pointing fingers at everyone. To others it's a heartfelt piece of literature with real insight and beautiful storytelling. To Kaylee Craft Mitchell, a middle school English teacher and mother of two, this book is the latter and so much more. She shares with us how Holden Caulfield helped her feel seen, and about her own journey with mental illness and its stigmatization today. We also talk about making literature appealing to kids, broadening the literary canon, and why impulse buying Lady Gaga tickets at Madison Square Garden was probably the best decision ever. To me, CATCHER is both overrated and underrated at the same time. Hopefully this episode will let you know why.

Follow Kaylee on instagram @kayleeisreading

Follow the Your Favorite Book podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast. New episodes every Thursday!