Author: TheStacksPodcast

Ep. 309 Chasing Artificial Standards with Elise Hu

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Author and TED Talks Daily host Elise Hu joins The Stacks to discuss her book Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital. Elise explains how Korea became a pop culture superpower, and how she approached writing about a culture outside of her own. We also discuss “cultural technology” and anti-Blackness in Korean beauty standards, and Elise slips into journalist mode to interview Traci.

The Stacks Book Club selection for March is Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. We will discuss the book on March 27th with Elise Hu.

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Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Elise: Instagram | Twitter | Website | Substack | TED Talks Daily
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

The Stacks Book Club – March 2024

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This month we are reading the New York Times bestselling novel Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. It follows Willis Wu, a generic background actor in his own life, as he’s flung into stardom and adventure by a sudden spotlight. When one of his daily visits to the Golden Palace restaurant turns into a big production, Willis is called to action and sent down a rabbit hole of buried potential, history and family legacy. The darkly hilarious and deeply personal story touches on race, assimilation and culture, examining how we reckon with all the roles we are assigned to play.

We will discuss Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu on Wednesday, March 27th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to our March 6th episode. If you’d like even more discussion around the book, consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

LA’s indie bookstore Reparations Club offers you 10% off your copy of Interior Chinatown via this link using the code STACKS10 at checkout! (Or get your copy of our March book on Bookshop.org or Amazon.)

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed. For more information click here.

Ep. 308 Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin — The Stacks Book Club (Uché Blackstock)

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Physician and bestselling author Uché Blackstock returns to discuss the memoir-manifesto Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want by Ruha Benjamin. We talk about viral justice and viral injustice, and how American individualism is one of the biggest challenges to the work of abolition. We also unpack why we struggle with owning the power we have, and how viral justice can show up in our communities, from education to labor and beyond.

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our March book club pick will be.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Uché: Instagram | Twitter
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Unabridged: No One Wants to Talk About the Sex with Kiley Reid

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This episode features audio from a February live show at Vroman’s Bookstore with NYT bestselling novelist Kiley Reid (Such a Fun Age, Come and Get It). Kiley talks about her approach to character development and satire; she also reveals what she hopes her audiences take away from her work, and why she primarily cares about being entertaining.

*This episode is exclusive to members of The Stacks Pack on patreon. To join this community, get inside access to the show, and listen now, click the link below.

JOIN THE STACKS PACK TO LISTEN

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find what we talked about on Amazon.


Connect with Kiley: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 307 A Story We Tell Backward with Lauren Markham

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This episode features a discussion with journalist and writer Lauren Markham about her new book A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging. She explains why Greece interested her as a base for her writing about immigration, and how the border is used as a tool for autocracy. We also talk about the criminalization of migrants and refugees and what abolition in immigration could look like.

The Stacks Book Club selection for February is Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin. We will discuss the book on February 28th with Uché Blackstock.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Lauren: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 306 I Love Our Romance Community with Tia Williams

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Romance novelist Tia Williams visits the show to discuss her latest book A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. Tia shares why she wanted to venture into historical romance, how being a beauty editor has helped her create characters, and why telling this fated-mates story forced her to work even harder than usual. Plus, we break down trends in romance covers.

The Stacks Book Club selection for February is Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin. We will discuss the book on February 28th with Uché Blackstock.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Tia: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 305 Going from Pet to Threat with Uché Blackstock

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Physician, educator and author Uché Blackstock shares her New York Times Bestselling book Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. The book is both a memoir and an indictment of disparities in our healthcare system. We hear what legacy means to Uché, and how racism shows up in medicine for Black doctors. We also talk about her most beloved books, and the Pet to Threat phenomenon.

The Stacks Book Club selection for February is Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin. We will discuss the book on February 28th with Uché Blackstock.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Uché: Instagram | Twitter
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

The Stacks Book Club – February 2024

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Our book club selection for February 2024 is Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want by Ruha Benjamin. The book is a clarion call for individual responsibility in the face of rampant injustice. Part memoir and part manifesto, it was inspired by Benjamin’s revelations during the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM movement; it followed years of groundbreaking research on social justice, race and technology that centered large-scale structural change. Viral Justice argues for a shift toward making everyday, small-scale choices that would inevitably add up to major progress once enacted en masse. The author is also a sociologist and professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, mainly focusing on the relationship between innovation and equity.

We will discuss Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin on Wednesday, February 28th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to our February 7th episode. If you’d like even more discussion around the book, consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

LA’s indie bookstore Reparations Club offers you 10% off your copy of Viral Justice via this link using the code STACKS10 at checkout! (Or get your copy of our February book on Bookshop.org or Amazon).

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed. For more information click here.

Ep. 304 Erasure by Percival Everett — The Stacks Book Club (Zach Stafford)

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Vibe Check host Zach Stafford returns to discuss our January book club selection, the 2001 satirical novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Our conversation today delves into ownership of art and stories, what the joke of the novel is, the title of the book, and we even dabble (spoiler-free) into the movie based on the book, American Fiction.
There are spoilers for the book, Erasure, on today’s episode.

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our February book club pick will be.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Zach: Instagram | Twitter | Vibe Check
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Stackies

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The Stacks’ annual book awards are voted on exclusively by members of The Stacks Pack, so if you want to weigh in on the best of the best, talk books all year long, and meet your new bookish besties, join us! Check out our picks for the best books of 2023 here below.

Best Debut

The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
Maame by Jessica George
We Were Once a Family by Roxanna Asgarian
When Crack Was King by Donovan X. Ramsey

Best Nonfcition Book

The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland
The People’s Hospital by Ricardo Nuila
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
We Were Once a Family by Roxanna Asgarian
When Crack Was King by Donovan X. Ramsey
“You Just Need to Lose Weight” by Aubrey Gordon

Best Novel

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Best Memoir

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
You Could Make this Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta

Best Science Fiction Fantasy

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
Flux by Jinwoo Chong
The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane

Best Romance

Elysium by DL White
Power Forward by Nicole Falls
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Best Thriller

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

Best Short Story Collection

Call and Response by Gothataone Moeng
Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele
The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela
White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
Witness by Jamel Brinkley

Best Essay Collection

Congratulations, the Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas
Creep by Myriam Gurba
Monsters by Claire Dederer
Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Best Young Adult Book

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

The Best Graphic Book

Dreamer by Akim Aliu
Something Is Killing the Children Vol 6 by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’edera, Miguel Muerto
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi & Joel Christian Gill
Superman: The Harvests of Youth by Sina Grace
The Talk by Darrin Bell

Best Poetry Collection

Above Ground by Clint Smith
The Ferguson Report by Nicole Sealey
The Kingdom of Surfaces by Sally Wen Mao
Promises of Gold by José Olivarez
So to Speak by Terrance Hayes

Best Book in Translation

Blaze Me A Sun by Christoffer Carlsson
Dandelion Daughter by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
The Postcard by Anne Berest

Best Cover

American Gun by Cameron McWhirter & Zusha Elinson
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
Monsters by Claire Dederer
Promises of Gold by José Olivarez

Best Main Character

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson
The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley

Book That Made Me Laugh

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Congratulations, the Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas
How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key
Is It Hot in Here? by Zach Zimmerman
Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Book I Hate

Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess
Monsters by Claire Dederer
Night Watch by Jayne Allen Phillips
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus

Favorite Bookstore

Loudmouth Books, Indianapolis, IN
Loyalty Bookstores, Washington D.C.
Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN
Reparations Club, Los Angeles, CA
Semicolon Bookstore, Chicago, IL

Book I’d Recommend to the President

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
The People’s Hospital by Ricardo Nuila
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Punished for Dreaming by Bettina L. Love
We Were Once a Family by Roxanna Asgarian

Best Pick for The Stacks Book Club

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

Best Episode of The Stacks

Ep. 292 Writing Toward Beauty with Jesmyn Ward
Jesmyn Ward on her novel Let Us Descend

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website,