The Bookstore
It's like a book club, but we actually read the book. Join hosts Becca and Corinne as they recreate their days working and hanging out at their local independent book store.
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182 - The Morning Show Murders
09/11/2024
182 - The Morning Show Murders
For September's prompt to read a book by a celebrity, Corinne has chosen The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker and Dick Lochte. Al Roker is a tv personality and the resident weatherman of NBC's Today show. Content warnings: swearing, discussion of different types of murder, offensive accents (in the book, we do not quote the book), sexism Our next book discussion will be Swan by Naomi Campbell. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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181 - Every Fire You Tend
09/01/2024
181 - Every Fire You Tend
Our last book for August's prompt to read a book that won a translation award is Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz. Very poetic and beautifully written, it might have been too spiritual for us to fully engage with. Content warning: mentions of ethnic cleansing and genocide, rape, sexual assault Our next book discussion will be The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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180 - Shubeik Lubeik
08/14/2024
180 - Shubeik Lubeik
Our first book for August's prompt to read a book that won a translation prize is Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. Corinne picked this one, and we both loved it. It's a beautifully illustrated graphic novel split into 3 stories, all revolving around 3 First Class Wishes. What are first class wishes? Listen and learn about the incredibly imaginative world Mohamed created! Our next book discussion will be Every Fire You Tend, by Sema Kaygusuz. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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179 - The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe
08/02/2024
179 - The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe
Coming in late with our discussion of Nobel Laureat Kenzaburō Ōe's . This book is difficult in basically every way a book can be, so be warned. Content warnings: suicide, sexual assault, violence. August's Challenge prompt is to read a book that won an award for translation. Our first read will be the graphic novel by Deena Mohamed (also published as Your Wish is My Command in other English speaking countries). Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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Becca Is Never Going to Read 'It Ends With Us' Part 2
07/24/2024
Becca Is Never Going to Read 'It Ends With Us' Part 2
Look! You just got another free Patreon Episode of Corinne spoiling the ever living life out of It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Next week we will have our discussion of . Then August's prompt is to read a book that won a translation award and our first selection for that will be (otherwise known as Your Wish is My Command in other English editions). Content warnings: domestic violence, sex, we spoil the entire book and make fun of Colleen Hoover's writing If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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178 - The Stud
07/09/2024
178 - The Stud
Corinne's pick for July's prompt to read a book published 20 years before you were born is The Stud by Jackie Collins. It's a wild ride with lots of rich and rich-adjacent people exhibiting poor impulse control! Contains: sex, swearing, discussion of homophobia and transphobia, other offensive behaviors, attempted rape Our next book discussion will be The Silent Cry by Kenzaburo Oe. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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177 - Despair
06/26/2024
177 - Despair
Let this be a sign that if the only Nabokov book you've read is Lolita, you should remedy that. Despair is Corinne's pick for June's prompt to read a book about twins or doppelgangers. Content warning: mention of suicide, murder, Dostoevsky Our next book discussion will be The Stud by Jackie Collins. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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176 - Wise Children
06/11/2024
176 - Wise Children
Today we discuss Wise Children by Angela Carter, a book about twins, fulfilling June's prompt to read a book with twins or doppelgangers. It's Angela Carter, so everything is in excess, not just one set of twins, but multiple, plus all the twins share the same birthday. There's a confusing family tree, there's a housefire, there's an attempted Hollywood career, and there's bizarre behavior from the characters right down to the last page. Content Warning: incest, death, grooming If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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175 - The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
06/04/2024
175 - The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
You ready for a messy book? This week we read The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin. Next time we will be reading Wise Children by Angela Carter. Content warnings: sexual assault, domestic violence, fertility issues. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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174 - The Quick and the Dead
05/21/2024
174 - The Quick and the Dead
We're back! Becca's still suffering from a sinus infection, but we're pressing on anyway. The Quick and the Dead by Joy Williams is Corinne's pick for May's prompt to read a book recommended by your favorite author. Joy Williams (in general) is recommended by many authors, among them Catherine Lacey and Sigrid Nunez. Content warning: suicidal ideations, mention of genitalia, violent death, animal death Our next book discussion will be The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us! If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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Becca is Never Going to Read 'It Ends With Us' Part I
05/15/2024
Becca is Never Going to Read 'It Ends With Us' Part I
Due to some unforseen circumstances this week we are bringing you an episode from our Patreon about Colleen Hoover's massively popular novel It Ends With Us in leiu of our regularly scheduled book discussion. We will hopefully be back with that next week. Our next book discussions will be The Quick and the Dead by Joy Williams and The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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173 - The Employees
04/30/2024
173 - The Employees
Perhaps our most referential episode, ever. The book: The art it was created to accompany: Books (many are also Movies/TV shows) Mentioned: by Phillip K. Dick (movie is titled Bladerunner) by William Gibson by James S.A. Corey by Arthur C. Clarke by Frank Herbert by Jeff VanderMeer by Chi Ta-Wei by Samuel R. Delany by Jacqueline Harpman Other Art Mentioned: by Mike Simi Severance (Apple TV) Arrival (movie) Our next read is by Joy Williams. Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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172 - Latitudes of Longing
04/16/2024
172 - Latitudes of Longing
April's prompt is to read a book of ecofiction, and Becca's pick is Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup. Content warning: miscarriage, death in childbirth, sexual topics Our next book will be The Employees by Olga Ravn, as chosen by our Patreon Patrons. Find it at your local library or bookstore and read along with us! If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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171 - The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
04/05/2024
171 - The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
It's a book by a translator that's a book by a translator that's translated by a translator about translators translating a book and we loved it. There are also some major time spoilers, but we give good warnings this time. Next time we are reading . Find it at your local bookstore or library and read it along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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170 - I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
03/19/2024
170 - I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
Correction: in the epsiode we say that the book was published in Barbados, but Condé is actually from the island of Guadeloupe - a French department in the Carribbean. Now THIS is the type of historical fiction that we love. Corinne's pick for March's prompt to read a book with a name in the title is . This novel is a fictionalized account of Tituba, an enslaved woman from Barbados who became the first person accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. Content warning: sexual assault, suicide, violence Our next book discussion will be . You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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169 - Bless Me, Ultima
03/05/2024
169 - Bless Me, Ultima
Today we discuss . This is one of the first books of Chicano/a Literature, with Rudolfo Anaya considered one of the founders of the literary movement. It's a coming-of-age story that weaves Catholicism with traditional and indigenous beliefs, and the duality of identity that Antonio, the main character, experiences. Content warning: violence, bodily fluids Sources: , Next time we'll be reading Corinne's choice: . Find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us! We have also chosen our books for April's prompt (Environmental Fiction) and . ______ If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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168 - My Garden (Book): by Jamaica Kincaid
02/21/2024
168 - My Garden (Book): by Jamaica Kincaid
This week we read and discussed It's memoir, it's essays, it's history, it's botany, it's maybe not what you'd normally choose to read if you're a fan of our typical fare, but it has a lot of great ideas to think and talk about. You should still read Jamaica Kincaid even if this one isn't for you. Becca recommends the novel or another work of nonfiction about her home, Antigua, called . March's prompt for the Bookstore Challenge 2024 is to read a book with a name in the title. Becca's pick, , will be first. Followed by Corinne's choice: . And then Becca is way ahead of us and has already chosen her read for April's prompt (Envirionmental Fiction) . ______ If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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167 - Priestdaddy
02/08/2024
167 - Priestdaddy
For our first read of the February Bookstore Challenge Prompt (read a memoir written by a writer) Corinne chose by Patricia Lockwood. It's a memoir about being a poet and having your dad literally be a Catholic priest. And we're of divided opinions for once. Next time we will read : by Jamaica Kincaid. This is out of print, but can be found at the library or used. Or if you're patient, a new edition will be available from Picador in July 2024. In March we will be reading by Maryse Conde and by Rudolfo Anaya. Content Warnings: Sexual assault, religious trauma, infertility. Books mentioned: by Patricia Lockwood by Safiya Sinclair _________ If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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166 - True North
01/23/2024
166 - True North
Our second book for January's prompt to read a book set in a place where you're from is Jim Harrison's True North. True North is set mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and follows David Burkett, descendant of lumber barons as he struggles with his family's tarnished legacy.... hahaha jk it's really just a guy talking about his dick constantly. We do not recommend. Content warning: rape, sexual assault, violence, violence against women, violence against children, adult topics, sex, body anatomy, swearing Our next book discussion will be , and following that will be . You can find them at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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165 - Daughters of Eve
01/10/2024
165 - Daughters of Eve
Our first book of the year! is set in the fictional town of Modesta, Michigan, thus fulfilling January's prompt to read a book set in the place where you're from (we're both from Michigan). A new teacher has come to town and she begins to help a group of teenage girls stand up for themselves against sexism... but will they take it too far? Content warning: domestic violence, sexual assault, pregnancy, fatphobia, offensive language Our next book discussion will be . You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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164 - Our 2023 Review and the 2024 Bookstore Challenge
01/01/2024
164 - Our 2023 Review and the 2024 Bookstore Challenge
Happy New Year! Out with the old (reviewing last years reading) and in with the new (walking through the 2024 Bookstore Challenge prompts). Books we will be reading in January: by Lois Duncan (look for one published before the 2010s to avoid any contemporizing editions). by Jim Harrison You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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163 - Y/N
12/27/2023
163 - Y/N
Last book of the year! It's Becca's pick for December's prompt to read a book by an author who shares the first initial of your surname is by Esther Yi. We follow a young woman as she descends further into an obsession with a member of a boy band, leading her to even move to another country in order to find him. Content warning: sex, body parts, death Technical note: Corinne was traveling for the holidays when we recorded this, so her audio has some background noise, apologies for that! If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . The Bookstore Challenge 2024 will be out soon! Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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162 - Ice
12/13/2023
162 - Ice
First book for December's prompt to read a book by an author who shares your surname or first initial of your surname is . This is a sci-fi or slipstream novel about a man searching for a girl in a world that is slowly being consumed by ice. Content warning: sexual assault, violence Books mentioned: Wide Sargasso Sea-Jean Rhys, A Song of Ice and Fire-George RR Martin, Fight Club-Chuck Palahniuk, Deep Water-Patricia Highsmith, In a Lonely Place-Dorothy B. Hughes, Empire of the Senseless-Kathy Acker Our next reads are for December, and for January. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . The Bookstore Challenge 2024 will be out soon! Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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161 - The Yield
12/04/2023
161 - The Yield
November's prompt is to read a book about death and Becca’s pick is . The novel has three different narratives, one being about August, an Aboriginal Australian woman returning to her hometown after her grandfather, Poppy, dies. The second narrative is Poppy writing a dictionary of his Aboriginal language’s words, combined with brief stories from his life. And the final narrator is Reverend Greenleaf, a white minister who runs a mission for Aboriginal people in the distant past. Content warning: violence, racism, sexual assault, colonization, destruction of culture Our next book discussions will be and . You can find them at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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160 - Death With Interruptions
11/15/2023
160 - Death With Interruptions
November's prompt is to read a book about death and Corinne's pick is . This book is about an unnamed country where suddenly one New Year's, death stops happening. It reads like a textbook at times, going over logistical issues and government responses, with a sprinkling of regular people's reactions to no one dying. And then, in the third act, death enters the picture. Content warning: death Our next book discussion will be . You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. And to finish off the year, in December we'll be reading and . If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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159 - The Dispossessed
11/01/2023
159 - The Dispossessed
This week was an extra week for October (yes, technically it's November, apologies, I've had some personal stuff going on), so we had our Patreon Patrons pick the book and they chose . The novel is one of the six major novels of The Hainish Cycle. Though The Dispossessed is the sixth published book in the cycle, chronologically, the story takes place before the other novels. Our main character, Shevek, is an Odonian physicist working on a theory - both mathematical and philosophical. When the government of A-Io offers Shevek an award and he is being prevented from publishing his work by a jealous superior on Anarres, he agrees to travel to Urras and continue working on his theory. Content warning: Adult language for body parts, sex Our next book discussion will be . You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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158 - Babel-17
10/24/2023
158 - Babel-17
Recommended titles: and * *These are NOT affiliate links, The Bookstore will NOT receive commission from Bookshop from any purchases made while visiting these links. This is simply the most convenient non-Amazon related listing to link to. Please also use your local library for resources. This week we read , a sci-fi about a polyglot poet and a rag-tag crew of star-shipmen who are tasked with translating an unknown language to fight an unknown enemy known as Invaders. Content Warnings: brief discussion of how the book handles suicide. Spoiler Warning: We do spoil the ending, but there is warning in the episode. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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157 - Present Tense Machine
10/10/2023
157 - Present Tense Machine
Our first book for October's prompt to read a book set in an alternate dimension or different planet is . This is a dreamlike, speculative novel about a woman who is pulled into an alternate universe. Content warnings: None that we can think of. Our next reads will be by Samuel R. Delaney. You can find them at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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Detroit Festival of Books 2023
09/26/2023
Detroit Festival of Books 2023
Just a teeny tiny mini episode about Becca's experience at the Detroit Bookfest this past summer. Our next reads will be by Gunnhild Øyehaug and by Samuel R. Delaney. You can find them at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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156 - Gorilla, My Love
09/19/2023
156 - Gorilla, My Love
We read by Toni Cade Bambara. This short story collection was first published in 1972 and features 15 stories, and the incredible voices of folks in New York City and sometimes in the rural south. Content Warnings (for the book, less so for the episode): sexual assault, child abuse, murder Our next reads will be by Gunnhild Øyehaug and buy Samuel R. Delaney. You can find them at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2023, you can find . You can also join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: . Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. |
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