Ep. 270 My Whole Self Is Here with Hannah Oliver Depp

Today we’re joined by the owner of Loyalty Bookstores, Hannah Oliver Depp. We hear about Hannah’s road to owning her own bookstores in the Washington D.C. area, how she decides what to have in stock, and how indie bookstores influence the publishing world. We also discuss the best ways to support indie bookshops, and where the name Loyalty came from.

The Stacks Book Club selection for June is Oreo by Fran Ross. We will discuss the book on June 28th with Hannah Oliver Depp.

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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 Hannah: Instagram | Twitter | Loyalty Bookstores 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. 269 This Boy We Made by Taylor Harris — The Stacks Book Club (Nicole Chung)

Author Nicole Chung returns to discuss our May book club selection This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris. We discuss the importance of specificity in memoir, and how much likability and reliability matter. We also talk about where this book shines and where it falls short.

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our book club pick will be for June 2023.

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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 Nicole: 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. 121 Reading with Mr. & Mrs. Stacks

Our guest today is Traci Thomas. Thats right, Traci, the host of The Stacks, is finally spilling her answers to all The Stacks questions. She is talking about what she’s reading, what books make her angry, and pretty much all things books. The best part is, her guest host is none other than her husband, Mr. Stacks. It’s an episode unlike any other, but still has all the book recommendations you could possibly need.

The Stacks Book Club selection for July is Breathe by Imani Perry, we will discuss the book with Kiese Laymon on July 29th.

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

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

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

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 — July 2020

In July The Stacks Book Club will be reading Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry. This short and impactful book implores the reader to see the beauty and struggle of life for America’s young Black men. The book is personal and powerful, and moves between the intimate and the historic with ease. Perry confronts the terror of being a mother to Black sons in a society that was founded in racism and is loyal to that framework to this day. Observations, mistakes, fears, doubts, memories, and lessons are all filtered through Perry’s boundless love for her sons. The past and present come together as one to make a work of nonfiction that is complicated, poetic, and deeply profound.

We will be discussing this episode on the podcast on Wednesday, July 29th, with author Kiese Laymon. If you’d like even more discussion around this book consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

As always, we want to hear from you, so please reach out with your thoughts, questions, and things you want to hear discussed on the podcast. You can email us at thestackswithtraci@gmail.com, comment on this post, or reach out through Instagram @thestackspod.

Order your copy of our July 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 here. For more information click here.

Ep. 86 Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat — The Stacks Book Club (Hugh Garvey)

We’re taking on our first ever cookbook as part of The Stacks Book Club with the help of food writer and executive editor at Sunset Magazine, Hugh Garvey. As we gear up for the holiday season we are diving into Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, and breaking down the key elements of cooking. We talk about freeing ourselves from recipes, cooking anxiety, and the communal act of sharing a meal. Hugh then challenges Traci to use what she’s learned to build a salad. Its a delicious episode!
There are no spoilers in this episode.

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

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

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

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.

Ep. 82 Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen — The Stacks Book Club (Jac Vanek)

Chase Darkness with Me is Billy Jensen’s true crime book about his journey into solving murder cases. We get to talk about this book, and all the complicated issues it brings up with Jac Vanek (LadyGang, The First Degree). We look at the merits of crowd sourced crime investigation, how we treat victims who aren’t pretty white women, and how the current obsession with true crime is a little problematic.
There are minor spoilers on this episode.

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

Connect with Jac: Instagram | LadyGang | The First Degree | Jac Vanek
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

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

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.

Ep. 78 Educated by Tara Westover — The Stacks Book Club (Sarah Enni)

We are talking about Educated by Tara Westover on The Stacks Book Club today. Author and podcast host Sarah Enni helps us break down why this story became a mega-bestseller and why its the book that everyone is still talking about. We also debate the role of fact versus memory in memoir, and what this book means in the current political climate.
There are spoilers on this episode.

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

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Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram | Twitter | First Draft Website | First Draft Instagram | First Draft Twitter
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

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

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.

Ep. 76 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro — The Stacks Book Club (Clark Moore)

Actor Clark Moore is back for The Stacks Book Club as we discuss Never Let Me Go by Nobel Laureate, Kazuo Ishiguro. Our conversation focuses on answering a central question in the novel: Who gets to be human? We also discuss the genre of science fiction and the evolution of social movements.
There are spoilers on this episode.

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

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

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

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.

WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson

The Stacks received WorkParty from the publisher. For more information click here

WorkParty is not the kind of book I would normally pick up. Mostly because I am judgmental and had decided I do not like books aimed at women kicking butt in the workplace. We all have the kind of books we assume just aren’t for us, and this self-help meets professional advice genre just didn’t feel like me. I am so grateful to The Stacks podcast, because I get exposed to books I would never normally pick up if it weren’t for my amazing guests! Which is how WorkParty found its way into my life, and I’m so glad it did.

Jaclyn Johnson (of Create & Cultivate fame) knows her stuff. She is a smart woman with a lot of insight and a very clear voice and point of view. I didn’t always like her writing style (a little too casual and filled with hashtags and pop culture references), but I appreciated much of what she had to say. She has great advice, like reminding people to be a pleasure to work with, that we are our reputations, and that we need to lift up other women if we want to see more women in c-suites. She’s not rewriting the business world, but she is making it more approachable and accessible for young female entrepreneurs.

Johnson is smart enough to know that she doesn’t have all the answers, she enlists the help of several other women entrepreneurs who are successful and visionary to share their two cents. The women she speaks with are the founders of mega-successful companies like Ban.do, Away, Drybar, Blavity, and more. These women all get a chance to share some insights at the end of the book. This section might have been more effected sprinkled throughout the book, but nevertheless, it is a nice way to hear some of the same things from different voices.

One place Johnson could have elevated WorkParty was by choosing to be more intersectional in her approach. She doesn’t address the added pressures or stress that women who are “other” might experience. She has centered her own story so much she doesn’t leave room to discuss Black and Brown women, people who are gender non-conforming, women who have disabilities, women who come from lower socio-economic groups and all the hurdles that these communities have to overcome just to get a seat at the table. Sure this book is for all women, but until we recognize our differing challenges and struggles we can not be truly inclusive and supportive of one another.

Overall I was surprised in the best ways by this book. There is certainly advice I will take with me as I grow as a business woman running The Stacks. I wonder if this book will age well, or it is a good thing I read it so close to its release in 2018. Will we look to WorkParty as an important text for women in the workplace in 2028, or will the tone and hashtags and flip approach feel dated to the late 2010’s?

If you’re looking for more on WorkParty you can hear our conversation with Calli Cholodenko (Something Social) on The Stacks Book Club from July 31st.

Ep.70 WorkParty by Jaclyn Johnson — The Stacks Book Club (Calli Cholodenko)

If you’ve read this book I’d love to hear your thoughts, share them in the comments below.

  • Hardcover: 256
  • PublisherGallery Books; Reprint edition (March 5, 2019)
  • 3/5 stars
  • Buy WorkParty Amazon or IndieBound

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 here. For more information click here.

Ep. 68 Miracle Creek by Angie Kim — The Stacks Book Club (Rachel Overvoll)

Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama meets literary fiction book by Angie Kim, it is also today’s selection for The Stacks Book Club. To help us break down this story of parental anxiety, belonging, and the right to life, we have author and activist Rachel Overvoll (Finding Feminism). Today we discuss intention vs. impact, the language we use around ability levels, and how we respond to characters who do bad things.
There are spoilers on this week’s episode. For a spoiler free look at this book check out The Short Stacks with Angie Kim.

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

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

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

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.