Award-winning ESPN reporter Mina Kimes joins the show to share her love of reading and the one book that inspired her career. Mina reveals how she ended up in sports journalism, how she handles online harassment, and what she would change if she were suddenly appointed NFL commissioner.
The Stacks Book Club selection for February isThe Round Houseby Louise Erdrich. We will discuss the book on February 22nd with Mina Kimes.
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.
As this year has been progressing my reading has been slowing down in a major way. I only made it through seven books in July. I need to read at least eight books a month to hit my goal for 100 books in 2019, so I’ve got to pick it back up in August.
As far as what I read, I really enjoyed everything and the content was very diverse for women in business to forensic investigations. I think the two books thats really stood out were We Live for the We by Dani McClain and The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander. Both books were read for the podcast, and I’m very grateful to Dani McClain for bringing them into my life. I also loved Michelle Obama’s memoir, though that was to be expected. She is such an inspirational woman.
July by the Numbers
Total Books Read: 7 Audiobooks: 2 Five Star Reads: 0 Unread Shelf: 2 Books Acquired: 23
By Women Authors: 4 By Authors of Color: 3 By Queer Authors: 0 Nonfiction Reads: 6 Published in 2019: 1
There is no doubt Michelle Obama is a national treasure and getting to hear about her life in her own words was such a wonderful experience. This memoir spans her childhood through the end of her husband, Barack Obama’s, presidency. She shares the ways her mother helped to shape her into the woman she is now, and she shares the ways she is shaping her own daughters. I was especially taken with the parts of the book in which we got an inside look at moments we had only seen through the media (the killing of Osama Bin Laden or when she touched The Queen).
The one place I wanted more from this book was when it came to what Michelle has learned and seen with her inside access to America. She and her family experienced so much racism and hatred from large swaths of the country, what did those experiences say to her about America? What did her inside access to the rich and famous say about income inequality? What has she seen that the rest of us could never fully understand? I just wished Michelle Obama was more candid in her observations about America. This was minor compared with how much I loved the book and her story and how much I felt inspired by her as a Black woman.
Four Stars | Random House Audio | November 13, 2018 | 19 Hours 3 Minutes | Audiobook | Purchase on IndieBound
An inside look at how doctors approach their patients and their work. This book answers questions about why a doctor might miss a diagnosis, or opt out of administering a test. It also looks at how patients can guide their doctors in the right direction within their interactions, and how they can help them to think differently about their presenting symptoms.
Overall I liked this book, though at times, I drifted in and out of paying attention as git repetitive in sections. The earlier chapters were more enjoyable as a lot of the information was new. I wished Groopman had taken more time to look at the factors that play into our implicit biases like race and class. That could have made for a more full and nuanced book that could help change the way doctors and patients interact.
Three Stars | Tantor Audio | March 28, 2007 | 10 Hours 27 Minutes | Audiobook | Purchase on IndieBound
A deep dive into the forensics and death industry and the corruption that lives just below the surface. This book is a jaw dropper, it will make you think about the systems that are in place in America and how they play into a history of racism that has led to the imprisonment of a disproportionate number of Black and Brown men.
I really enjoyed learning about this small part of the criminal justice system. The book is extremely well researched and reported and the stories in it are nearly unbelievable. I wished the authors had been more clear in linking the history of death investigation to the story they tell of one coroner and one forensic “expert”. There are missing links in this book that could round out the story telling. Overall it is interesting and opens the readers eyes to so much corruption. It almost feels like a gateway book into deeper dives into how forensics play a role in wrongful convictions and more.
Three Stars | PublicAffairs: 1st edition | February 27, 2018 | 416 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound Listen to Radley Balko on The Short Stacks now, click HERE.We also discuss The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist in detail for The Stacks Book Club, click HERE to listen.
The sudden death of her husband leads Elizabeth Alexander to reflect on life and love in this gorgeous memoir. Full of the kinds of observations about what it means to truly live a full life and what it means to be a part of a community, and a family.
I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. It is just beautiful. Alexander is a skilled poet and she seamlessly transitions her writing from verse to prose in this memoir. The book has a sense of deep pain but also extreme lightness. For anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one this book speaks to the magic that is inherent in that pain.
Four Stars | Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition | September 6, 2016 | 240 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound We discuss Light of the Worldon The Stacks Book Club, you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE.
The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeare’s more famous plays and is best known for being the play about “the Jew” but little more is said about this extremely complex and nuanced play. I was so glad to actually get a chance to reread it and attempt to examine the layers in this story.
In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, the Jew, lends out money and it isn’t repaid per the terms of the loan, and Shylock is ready to collect on the debt he is owed (pound of flesh anyone?). However once it turns out that he plans to fully collect everyone becomes incredulous and begs him to show a little mercy and compassion. This is an extremely common narrative in today’s society. After the murder of nine Black people at a church in Charleston, SC there was an immediate cry for the Black community to forgive the White Supremacist who murder these innocent people. We even saw the Black President of The United States, Barack Obama, sing “Amazing Grace” in his eulogy. This cry for mercy and forgiveness is often asked of “the other”.
There is a lot more that could be said about The Merchant of Venice, so far in my journey through Shakespeare’s cannon (#ShakeTheStacks Challenge) it feels like the most layered play. It feels urgent and painful and unfortunately more timely than I would like.
Four Stars | Penguin Classics | August 1, 2008 | 103 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
A book that looks at the many elements of mothering for Black women. The book moves between McClain’s personal doubts and questions and her reporting on how other mothers are doing the work to raise their children in progressive and engaged ways.
I didn’t think I would connect with this book as someone who isn’t a mother, and yet, I was moved deeply by it. We Live for the We is a great reminder that the work of parenting and mothering is not only for those who have birthed or adopted children, but also to the friends and relatives who help shape those young lives. The book takes on a variety of topics that intersect and build off one another, things like pregnancy, children’s bodies, education, and activism. There is a lot in this book that is important for those who parent of all races, but especially for Black mothers.
Four Stars | Bold Type Books | April 2, 2019 | 272 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound Hear our conversation with Dani McClain on The Stacks HERE
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
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), and wonder if it will age well over time, but I appreciated much of what she had to say. She has great advice, like be a pleasure to work with, we are our reputations, and much more. She’s not rewriting the business world, but she is making it more approachable and accessible for young female entrepreneurs.
One place Johnson could have elevated WorkParty was by choosing to be more intersectional in her approach. 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.
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.
Three Stars | Gallery Books: Reprint Edition | March 5, 2019 | 256 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound We discuss WorkPartyon The Stacks Book Club, you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE.
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 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?
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.
Today on The Stacks Book Club we’re discussing Work Party: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson. We’ve brought back founder of Something Social, Calli Cholodenko, to help discuss being a female entrepreneur, finding the balance between being creative and running a business, and other challenges, big and small, women face in the work place. There is so much to discuss this week, and its all spoiler free.
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 received WorkParty from the publisher. For more information click here.
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.
If you’re on social media (duh, of course you are) you’re going want to listen to today’s episode to hear tips and tricks from someone who knows. Calli Cholodenko, founder and creative director of Something Social a social media and marketing company, is our guest and she is here to share insights into Instagram’s algorithms, brand management , and of course books.
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 time has come to announce our July books for The Stacks Book Club. This month there are three books, lucky you, and they are all very different from one another.
First up, on July 3rd, we’re reading a backlist short story collection called Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson. The stories in this book, which came out in 1992, follow addicts, hustlers, and lost souls as they navigate life and death, rock bottom and redemption.
Then on July 17th, as voted by our Stacks Pack, we’ll be reading Miracle Creekby Angie Kim. This novel is a contemporary version of the tried and true courtroom drama. It has added elements of the obligations of parenthood and the stigma of being an outsider. It is both a page turner and an in depth look at humanity.
Lastly, on July 31st we’re talking about turning dreams into careers with WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson. In this book, Johnson, the founder of Create and Cultivate, offers a rallying cry for a new generation of women who are looking to redefine working on their own terms.
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 to us through our Instagram @thestackspod.
WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson (Amazon | 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.
I’ve been lying to the world. I’ve been proudly boasting that I love Malcolm Gladwell and that I’ve read all his books, and that he’s just the best. Turns out, thats a lie. I thought I had read all his books, but I had never actually read his first book, The Tipping Point. It has been a point of shame for me, I felt a little depressed that I wasn’t as much of a super fan of his work as I thought. But now, I can go back to my unabashed bragging about my love for Mr. Gladwell, because I have finally read The Tipping Point.
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
Malcolm Gladwell is a thinker. Sure we all think, but we’re not all professional thinkers. His brand is his thought process; critical, obscure, individual. He has become known for taking an idea we think we understand, and flipping it on it’s head. Showing us the complexities of life, and often time the simplicity of it as well. The Tipping Point is his first book, and is perfectly in line with Gladwell’s brand and subsequent books, and podcast, Revisionist History.
I really enjoyed this book. Gladwell takes his time explaining his points, without laboring any one idea to death. The book is the right length, long enough to make sure you understand what a tipping point is, and how it works, but not so long that you’re skipping ahead because you’ve got it already. This is hard to do. Many books make a point early on, and work through it so many times it becomes redundant and stale. Gladwell uses a variety of examples, from crime in NYC to Hushpuppy shoes, to Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood, to illustrate his points, and this variety keeps the reader interested and engaged.
The later edition of The Tipping Pointhas an afterword that shows how ahead of conventional thinking Gladwell is. In the afterward written in 2002, a few years after the original book (2000) Gladwell makes a few predictions about the future as he sees it. One thing he discusses is school shootings as an emerging epidemic afflicting American teens, all before many of the most notorious school shootings of the last 20 years. He also forecasts a growing apathy toward email, and how we will become immune to the power of email, which of course in 2018 is expressly clear. Gladwell’s thinking is ahead of his time.
There were moments where Gladwell lost me in his train of thought. I wasn’t sure what point he was making, or the difference between certain categorizations he had laid out (i.e. maven vs sales person), or the connection between two seemingly unrelated topics. This happened a few times throughout the book and I had to go back and draw the connections in a second (or sometimes third) pass.
I listened to the audiobook of The Tipping Point with Gladwell narrating, which is well done. While he isn’t as animated as as he is on his podcast, you can hear his passion for the work he has done. He is convincing and clear. I also happen to enjoy the smooth sound of his voice. But again, I am huge Gladwell fangirl.
I recommend this book. I recommend just about everything Malcolm Gladwell does. Have I mentioned how much I love and admire his work? I don’t always agree with him, but I appreciate his thinking and his ability to shift the way I think and perceive the world around me. He is a provocateur in the best way.
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. Shopping through these links helps support the show, but does not effect my opinions on books and products. For more information click here.
The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, was first brought to my attention when the Bad Bloodreview was released for the New York Times. I didn’t read the full review, I don’t like to read reviews before I read the book, but the first few lines caught my attention that I immediately added the book to my TBR (to be read) list and couldn’t stop thinking about it. The story sounded so interesting and totally in my wheel-house, a start-up fraud of epic proportions.
If you’ve not heard of Theranos or Bad Blood here is a little background for you.
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.
A riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.
I really loved this book. It is a wild story whose veracity baffled me. If it was a movie, it would be written off as too unbelievable, but the fact that it is true makes it utterly consumable. The writing is quick, deliberate, and to the point. John Carreyrou, the author and the journalist who brought the Theranos fraud to light for The Wall Street Journal, does a phenomenal job of presenting the characters without interpretation. He allows Elizabeth Holmes’ behavior to speak for itself. I appreciate Carreyrou trusting that his reader is smart enough to draw their own conclusions.
The thing about this book is that it should be boring. Its a book about medical equipment and lab testing procedures that never worked. Its about science and business and startups, and normally that kind of stuff would bore me, except that the scam was so big and those involved so powerful, the story is fascinating. It is written like a true crime book with riveting characters, threats, intimidation, billionaires, blackmail, and more. You’re immersed in the story of Theranos and I couldn’t put the book down, I needed to know how this all could happen and then how it all fell apart.
There is one strange moment in the book, when the story goes from a third person recounting of the rise of Theranos (the first 2/3 of the book), to introducing Carreyrou himself as a player in the story of Theranos. Its a total revelation and it feels very staged. I don’t know if I have a solution for how Carreyrou could announce himself as a player in the fall of Theranos, but how its pulled off feels a little melodramatic.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoy non-fiction. This is top of its class non-fiction. This is an insane story broken down and detailed. There is a commitment to truth telling and it explaining what happened and what went wrong. You leave this book feeling like you understand Theranos so much better, but then again, I have a ton more questions. I plan to follow this story as it continues to develop in the news.
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 in which we receive a small commission when products are purchased through some links on this website. This does not effect my opinions on books and products. For more information click here.
I’ve been lying to the world. I’ve been proudly boasting that I love 
The story of Elizabeth Holmes and