The Stacks Book Club – May 2024

The year 2024 marks the centennial of the legendary James Baldwin. To celebrate, we will be reading his sprawling and personal memoir No Name in the Street. In striking and confessional detail, Baldwin chronicles his evolving consciousness during major historical events (like the murders of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King), and his violent reckoning with the American South. It’s a powerful chronicle of the sixties and early seventies with discussions on race that still inform our present reality. No Name in the Street was first published in 1972 as the fourth nonfiction title from Baldwin, who won many awards over his career and remains one of the most important Black writers of all time. 

We will discuss No Name in the Street by James Baldwin on Wednesday, May 29th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to our May 1st episode. If you’d like even more discussion around the book, consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon to participate in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

LA’s indie bookstore Reparations Club offers you 10% off your copy of No Name in the Street via this link using the code STACKS10 at checkout! (Or get your copy of our May 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. 317 The Ill Is Not the Outcome with Yahdon Israel

Today we are joined by Yahdon Israel – writer, founder of Literaryswag Book Club, and Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster. A Brooklyn native and community-builder, Yahdon breaks down the distinction between the literary world and the publishing industry. Plus, Yahdon breaks down how he thinks about audience as who are you writing to, and who are you writing for?

The Stacks Book Club selection for May is No Name in the Street by James Baldwin. We will discuss the book on May 29th with Yahdon Israel.

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 Yahdon: Instagram | Twitter | Website | Literaryswag
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.

Ep. 316 The January Children by Safia Elhillo — The Stacks Book Club (Hala Alyan)

It’s The Stacks Book Club day and writer Hala Alyan is back to discuss this month’s pick, The January Children by Safia Elhillo. It is an award-winning poetry collection by the Sudanese-American poet Safia Elhillo. We examine the prevailing themes of displacement and duality, the urgency with which a poet writes, and we ask, how should one judge poetry?

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our May 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 Hala: Instagram | Website
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 – April 2024

National Poetry Month means another collection of poems for our April Book Club. This time we’re reading The January Children by Safia Elhillo, a Sudanese-American, Maryland-born poet. Her heartfelt and award-winning debut 2017 collection explores displacement, post-colonialism and intense, personal longing. It’s dedicated to the titular generation of those born in Sudan under British occupation, all assigned the same January 1 birthdate. Elhillo’s poems speak to the experience of being a stranger in one’s own homeland, and seeking buried truths while occupying two worlds at once.

We will discuss The January Children by Safia Elhillo on Wednesday, April 24th. You can find out who our guest will be by listening to our April 3rd episode. If you’d like even more discussion around the book, consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon to participate in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

LA’s indie bookstore Reparations Club offers you 10% off your copy of The January Children via this link using the code STACKS10 at checkout! (Or get your copy of our April 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)

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.

Ep. 306 I Love Our Romance Community with Tia Williams

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

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

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)

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.

Ep. 300 A Lover of Place with Zach Stafford

Writer, Vibe Check cohost, and Tony winning Producer, Zach Stafford joins The Stacks to discuss being a journalist, his many jobs over the year, and of course, books!. Zach reveals his surprise problematic favorite book, explains how his love of geography has informed his entire professional career and addresses the challenge of squaring his upbeat personality with being a serious journalist.

The Stacks Book Club selection for January is Erasure by Percival Everett. We will discuss the book on January 31st with Zach Stafford.

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.