Category: Uncategorized

The Stacks Book Club — August 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

To close out the summer we’re keeping it light around here with a young adult (or maybe new adult) romance novel. Our August pick is Emergency Contact the debut novel from Mary H. K. Choi. If Mary’s name sounds familiar its because she was a guest on The Stacks earlier in 2021, check out our conversation here.

In Emergency Contact we meet Penny and Sam. Penny is a college freshman trying to figure it all out. Sam is a 21 year old feeling stuck and lost which working day and night at the bakery he lives in. They meet in a less than adorable fashion and exchange numbers, they begin to text and then become digitally inseparable, without seeing each other in real life. The characters in Emergency Contact are complex and unlikeable in the most relatable ways. Ultimately this is a story of falling apart and trying to hold on to something or someone until you find your way.

We will be discussing Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi on Wednesday, August 25th. You can find out who our guest will be for that discussion by listening to the podcast on August 4th. 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.

Order your copy of our August 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. 174 The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui — The Stacks Book Club (Mira Jacob)

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

It’s The Stacks Book Club day and we’re discussing our first ever graphic memoir on the show. The book is The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, and our guest is graphic memoirist (Good Talk), novelist (The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing), and cultural critic, Mira Jacob. We talk today about the moment that a good book makes the reader examine themselves, books that don’t feel like reading, and the distillation of history for the sake of narrative.
There are no spoilers on this episode.

Be sure to listen until the end of the podcast to find out The Stacks Book Club pick for July!

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher

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

Connect with Mira: Instagram | Twitter | Website

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

Support The Stacks

Plum Deluxe Tea – to get 10% off your tea order go to plumdeluxe.com and use the code THESTACKS at checkout.

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 – July 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

We are trying something new on The Stacks for July, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. This month we’re reading a gorgeous graphic memoir called The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui.

In her debut book, Thi Bui combines stunning illustrations with the story of her family’s immigration to The United States from Vietnam in the aftermath of The Vietnam War. The books spans generations of Bui’s family and ultimately settles in on Bui’s relationship with her parents and the country of her birth. The Best We Could Do is a book that functions both in a global political capacity and in the minutiae of our most interpersonal relationships.

We will be discussing The Best We Could Do on Wednesday, July 28th. You can find out who our guest will be for that discussion by listening to the podcast on July 7th. 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.

Order your copy of our June 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.

The Stacks Book Club — May 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

I’ve talked about it for a while, and now we’re finally doing it…reading a Russian Classic Novel!

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is argued to be one of the best novels of all time. We’re going to read it for The Stacks Book Club and see what all the fuss is about. The book follows Anna as she enters into an extramarital love affair that becomes a major scandal. And then there is Levin, a socially awkward socialite, who falls head over heels for Kitty. The book tackles life, love, and politics, and leaves the reader with plenty to think about. The perfect kind of book club book!

We will be discussing Anna Karenina on Wednesday, May 26th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on May 5th. 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.

Order 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.

The Stacks Book Club — April 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

April is National Poetry Month so we’re going all in with an award winning poetry collection.

The Tradition by Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for poetry and is our book club pick for April. This collection examines the many intersections of life, safety, ancestry, and Blackness. Brown’s collection has range and moves between the power of the past, the intimacy of the personal, and the strength of the collective. In under 100 pages, Brown is able to ask questions around queerness, Blackness, fatherhood, trauma, legacy, and so much more. It is also worth nothing that this collection shows diversity not only in the content of the poems but in the style choices and form each poem takes one. The Tradition is not to be missed.

We will be discussing The Tradition on Wednesday, April 28th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on April 6th. 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.

Order 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.

The Stack Book Club — March 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

We’re trying something new with The Stacks Book Club for March. We’re reading our very first novel in verse. Our selection is Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh.

Every Body Looking is a Young Adult novel in verse about Ada. This one is a true coming of age story where we follow Ada through her childhood and into your freshmen year at an HBCU. We get to see the events that have developed her into the young woman she is, and the ways she explores the freedom of being able to decide for her self. This book is ultimately about the body, questioning, and empowerment.This debut novel was a finalist for The National Book Award in 2020.

We will be discussing Every Body Looking on Wednesday, March 31st. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on March 3rd. 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.

Order 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.

The Stacks Book Club — February 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

Another month, another pick for The Stacks Book Club. This month we’re dipping our toe into speculative literary fiction, with The New Wilderness by Diane Cook.

The New Wilderness, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, is an imaginative novel about a mother, Bea, who uproots her life in an attempt to save her daughter, Agnes, in world that is ravaged by the repercussions of climate change. Cook looks at both the big picture of humanity’s relationship with nature, and at an intimate story of a mother and daughter.

We will be discussing The New Wilderness on Wednesday, February 24th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on February 3rd. 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.

Order your copy of our January 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.

The Stacks Book Club — January 2021

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

We made it to another year, and another year of The Stacks Book Club! We’re kicking off 2021 with a fantastic short story collection, The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans.

The Office of Historical Corrections is about the ways history, both personal and collective, can haunt, harm, and heal us. The stories range from a near future reality obsessed with correcting the public record to a college student embroiled in a campus wide scandal. These stories are connected in their ties to grief, inheritance, and truth, and in Evans’ skill at crafting characters and stories that leave you wanting more.

We will be discussing The Office of Historical Corrections on the podcast on Wednesday, January 27th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on January 6th. 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.

Order your copy of our January 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. 136 Dissecting with Cole Cuchna

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

Our guest today is the host of the smash hit music podcast Dissect, Cole Cuchna. Cole joins us to discuss all things Dissect; like how the show came to be, why he focuses on hip-hop albums, the show’s incredible growth, and working with collaborators. Then we transition to a conversation on books and why Cole likes to read the complete works of some of literature’s heavy hitters.

The Stacks Book Club selection for November is The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore, we will discuss the book with Cole Cuchna on November 25th.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | PodcastOne | Google | Android

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

Books

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 64F2ACD3-6D56-4D21-A091-6D49D0AA768A-7ED4F089-18B2-4995-99ED-885DC39DAC55-917x1024.jpg

Everything Else

Connect with Cole and Dissect: Dissect Website | Dissect Twitter | Dissect Instagram | Dissect on Spotify

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram| Twitter | Facebook | Apple Podcasts |The Stacks on PodcastOne | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads

Support The Stacks

Libro.FM – get two audiobooks for the price of one when you use code THE STACKS at checkout.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of this show. If you prefer to do 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 — November 2020

~ TheStacksPodcast ~ Leave a comment

This month we’re taking a look at global superstar and musical genius Kendrick Lamar in the brand new book, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America. Lamar is only in his early thirties, but has already won The Pulitzer Prize, 13 Grammy Awards, been chosen as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. He is also the voice of a generation and his songs have become part of the soundtrack to The Black Lives Matter movement. In The Butterfly Effect, Moore explores not only Lamar and his music, but also the ways his music speaks to a generation of Black Americans and their struggle for justice and equality.

We will be discussing The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America on the podcast on Wednesday, November 25th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on November 4th. 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.

Order your copy of our November 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.