Black Chick Lit

Episode 9: “Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation”

We read the recently released Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy and James Jennings. Mollie (finally!) gets the opportunity to school us all on what defines a graphic novel while Dani drinks in the background. Listen in and share your thoughts by tweeting us at @blackchicklit. 

Links:

• ‘Kindred’ Artist John Jennings Talks About Adapting Octavia Butler in Comic Form, by Noah Berlatsky
• How John Jennings and Damian Duffy Transformed Octavia Butler’s Kindred into the Most Powerful Graphic Novel of the Year, by Brigid Alverson
• The Joy (And Fear) Of Making ‘Kindred’ Into A Graphic Novel, by Tanya Ballard Brown

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Exit West, by Mohshin Hamid
• Daughters of a Nation: A Black Suffragette Historical Romance Anthology, by Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, Piper Huguley and Kianna Alexander
• The Shining, by Stephen King

BCL Chat: What Book Must Every Black Woman Read?

 

School, work, birthdays. Life hit us hard, y’all. Octavia Butler’s Kindred is next on our schedule and we’re recording this week. To make up for the loooonnnnnnng delay, we’ve got our first-ever bonus episode! Earlier this month, we asked you what books should every black woman read.

We want to hear from you! What book should every black woman read? #BCLchat

— Black Chick Lit (@blackchicklit) March 2, 2017

Join us for a messy, wine-inspired episode where we discuss the titles you said were required reading for all black women. Thanks to Twitter users @IamTammiJ, @amariescully, @LocPressedBooks, @dr_1908 and @createandwrite for contributing.

Got a topic you want us to discuss? Follow us on @blackchicklit and tweet us up!

 

Episode 8: “Binti” and “Binti: Home”

This episode is a two-for-one special. We read both Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti and Binti: Home. Listen in for a discussion about diversity in sci-fi, the power of lotion and Steven Universe. We promise it all makes sense in context.

Got a book you think we should check out? Tweet us at @blackchicklit. Also, be sure to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes.

Links:

• “On that Rabid Puppies thing and my Hugo Award-winning novella Binti,” Nnedi’s Wahala Zone Blog
• “The Pixar Theory of Labor,” theawl.com

Books mentioned in this episode:

• The Case Against Sugar, by Gary Taubes
• Forbidden, by Beverly Jenkins

Episode 7: “There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé”

Did you know only 6.7 percent of Americans have read poetry in the past 12 months? We’ve joined these exclusive few and sit down to discuss Morgan Parker’s There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé. 

It moved us, y’all. So much so, that we’ve declared that this year’s going to be “blacker than ever.”

Got a book you think we should check out? Tweet us at @blackchicklit. Also, be sure to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes.

Links:

• “Poetry is going extinct, government data show,” The Washington Post
• “The Poetry-Free Inauguration Makes a Comeback,” The Atlantic
• Carrie Mae Weems, The Kitchen Table Series

Books mentioned in this episode:

• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• Swing Time by Zadie Smith
• The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes

Episode 6: “This Could Be Us But You Playin'”

We kicked off 2017 by diving right into genre fic. Specifically, urban fiction. We read This could Be Us But You Playin‘ by Cachet. Mollie lays out the plot, Danielle remains bougie and bitter, and in the end, we take up that age-old debate of art vs. commerce. All in all, not a bad way to wrap up this book.

Have you read This Could Be Us But You Playin’ or another urban fic title? Want to contribute to the debate? Got a book you think we should check out? Tweet us at @blackchicklit.

Links:

• “Urban Fiction Authors Could Be Big Winners in New Publishing Era,” Buzzfeed
• “17 ‘Urban Lit’ Books That Are Doing the Absolute Most,” Buzzfeed

Books mentioned in this episode

• Indigo, by Beverly Jenkins
• White Teeth, by Zadie Smith