Favorite Books of 2025 So Far (Mariquita and Kenesma's version)
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
Mariquita and Kenesma dive into their top 5 favorite books of 2025 (so far—with six months of reading still ahead!). In this spoiler-free conversation, they highlight memorable quotes, unpack recurring themes, and explore what makes each of these reads so unforgettable. From powerful storytelling to characters that linger long after the last page, this chat is a celebration of books that moved, challenged, and inspired them. Whether you're looking for your next great read or just love hearing people geek out about books, this episode is for you. Books/Resources Mentioned: ...
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The Best and the Best of the Best
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
We’re continuing our series of our team’s top five books of the year… and we won’t judge one of our contributors for misreading the prompt and sharing her top five books of all time. In fact, it made for an even richer conversation! Join FBC contributors Jordy and Casey as they share their all-time favorite reads and standout books of the year. From thrillers to non-fiction, it's a fun, heartfelt chat for anyone who loves great books, meaningful conversations, and a detour into the Hunger Games universe. Books/Resources Mentioned: ...
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Righteous Vengeance, Haunting Yet Hopeful
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
It’s no surprise that the FBC Team is incredibly well-read across multiple genres, but this episode especially feels like a testament to that! Join Mariquita and Jordy as they discuss righteous vengeance in two young adult novels. Then stick around for Shoshana and Nox’s top five books of 2025 so far to get a taste of haunting yet hopeful books for your TBR. Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (0:22) Mariquita and Jordy are diving into revenge narratives featuring the justifiable rage of teenage girls as they discuss Kill Creatures by Rory Power and Kill the Lax Bro by Charlotte...
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Pride Picks and Ambitious Women
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
We have a double header for you today! First, you’ll hear some of our team’s favorite LGBTQIA+ books from the last few years with diverse recommendations from all different genres. Then, get inspired through an interview with Amber Oliver, author of When the Music Hits, as she shares personal insights on ambition and how she wrote ambition into her novel. Queerly Beloved (0:22) Join FBC contributors Jordy, Shoshana, and Nox as they celebrate Pride Month with a lively conversation about their favorite queer books. From joyful romances to powerful memoirs and boundary-pushing...
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Favorite Books of 2025 So Far (Ashley and Mhairie’s version)
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
Our contributors have paired up to tell one another about their favorite books of the year so far. You’ll hear these segments over the next few weeks! Today, Ashley and Mhairie share their top five of 2025. If you’re a fan of memoirs or horror, this episode is for you. Books/Resources Mentioned: Support and follow our hosts! Follow Mhairie: // Follow Ashley: This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people. Original music by Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our , ,...
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Favorite Books + Met Gala Looks
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
Our contributors have paired up to tell one another about their favorite books of the year so far. You’ll hear these segments over the next few weeks! Today, Renee and Yasi share their top five of 2025. Then Ashley reflects on this year’s Met Gala, the inspiration behind it, and why it matters. Renee and Yasi’s Favorite Books of the Year (so far) (0:21) Renee and Yasi share their favorite books they’ve read so far this year, from off-beat contemporary fiction to memoirs of women in tech. You’ll want to get your TBRs ready for this segment! A Bookmark in Fashion:...
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International Booker Prize Shortlist 2025
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
The International Booker Prize celebrates translated literature from across the world that have been published in the UK or Ireland in the last year. In this episode, Mhairie and Nox split the six shortlisted titles, read them, and share their thoughts with one another. If reading more translated lit is on your bookish bucket list, get your TBRs ready! Books/Resources Mentioned: Also translated by Sophie Hughes: Support and follow our hosts! Follow Mhairie: // Follow Nox: // // This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers...
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Back on Our Reality TV Soapbox
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
The Amazing Race. Cooking competitions. Bachelor Nation. We touch on a little bit of everything in this episode! Nox, Rah, and Shoshana discuss reality TV’s impact on society, considering questions such as what draws viewers to reality TV? What are the ramifications (positive and negative) to the dominance of reality TV? What is the relationship between viewing reality TV and empathy? Join us on a deep dive into the world of unscripted television. Books/Resources Mentioned: - Podcast - Time...
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Happily Ever After for All
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
We’re chatting about Black wealth, Black joy, and happy Black endings in today’s episode. Tune in to hear Ashley discuss why she loves the soap opera Beyond the Gates, then stick around for Jordy and Mhairie’s discussion of Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron, a Black, queer retelling of Cinderella. Beyond the Gates: Wealth and Escapism (0:22) Ashley talks about “Beyond the Gates”, a soap opera about a wealthy Black family in Maryland. She talks about how escapism has a bigger purpose. She also talks about wealth onscreen despite the mostly disdain for it in real life. ....
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Hardboiled Lesbian Fiction + Lady Gaga’s Mayhem
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast
Sometimes we just wanna gush about the things we love. For Renee and Margot, it’s hardboiled fiction. For Ashley and Nox, it’s Lady Gaga’s new album. Tune in for two conversations around why we love the things we love. What Is Hardboiled Fiction? with Margot Douihy (0:23) Renee has been reading a lot of books described as “hardboiled” but what does that actually mean? Thank goodness author Margo Douihy is a friend of FBC, because she’s a literal expert on this topic. Margot shares some of the hallmarks of hardboiled fiction, some suggestions for authors queering the genre,...
info_outlineBooks matter, even the weird ones. This episode kicks off with some of Sally’s favorite “WTF” books so get your TBRs ready. Then Ashley and Jordy share their thoughts on the genre-bending novel Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris. Finally, Nox discusses the importance of books and why book bans are terrible for everyone and stick around for some excellent diverse children’s book recommendations!
WTF Did I Just Read?! (0:22)
Sally loves weird little books that make her think, “wtf did I just read?” Maybe they make us question reality, maybe it’s a train wreck you can’t look away from, maybe it’s so unsettling that it takes days or even weeks to recover. If you’re into that sort of thing, or just want to learn about some 2024 releases with stellar writing and unhinged women, this segment’s for you.
A Discussion of Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris (6:58)
If you love mystery, romance, and/or fantasy, listen up! This book has all of those things and more. Ashley and Jordy discuss Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris, the allusions to other classic monster stories, the 20th century French setting, the slowburn sapphic love story, and lots more.
Book Bans Don’t Protect Anyone (20:51)
Nox talks about how she feels when she sees books being banned, both as an educator and as someone who didn’t have access to books that represented her until she was an adult. She talks about the importance of books and how they can help you see yourself in many ways, plus some of her favorite diverse books in her classroom.
Mentioned in this episode:
Our segment on gross books
An Excellent Host by Chelsea G. Summers (an Independent Bookstore Day exclusive, so it may be tricky to find, but lots of indie bookstores still have copies!
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul
Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
Full Full Full of Love by Trish Cooke
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love, edited by Elsie Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond
The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil
The Great Banned Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil
The Pronoun Book by Cassandra Jules Corrigan
How to Fight Book Bans and Challenges (from BookRiot)
NCAC Book Censorship Action Kit
Support this episode’s hosts:
Follow Sally: Instagram // The StoryGraph
Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website
Follow Jordy: Instagram // TikTok
Follow Nox: Instagram // Twitter // TikTok
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This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
Original music by @iam.onyxrose
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.