Black Chick Lit

Episode 5: Bye, 2016

 

No specific book this month. To celebrate the new year, we look back on some of the titles that helped us survive the dumpster fire that is 2016. Mentioned titles include The Turner House by Angela Flournoy, An Extraordinary Union by Aylssa Cole and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

We hope you have an awesome and safe New Year’s Eve, and especially hope you’ll join us for another year of books in 2017. We’re kicking off January by reading an urban lit title, This Could Be Us But You Playin’ by Cachet.

Thanks for all your support and we’ll see you next year!

(Correction: At 15:03 Danielle says Harlan Ellison when she means Ralph Ellison. She’s aware of this and hopes you don’t judge her knowledge of literature based on this slip. Please feel free to judge her public speaking skills, though. They a mess.)

Episode 4: “Swing Time”

Heads up: The word “bougie” comes up a lot in this episode. This month, we discuss British author Zadie Smith’s fifth release — Swing Time — complain about Audible and somehow finish up with an analysis of black female storylines in Disney movies.

Have you read Swing Time? Got a book you think we should check out? Tweet us at @blackchicklit.

Links:

• “Know Thyself? ‘Swing Time’ Says It’s Complicated,” NPR
• “Zadie Smith’s ‘Swing Time’ Explores Friends’ Diverging Paths,” The New York Times
• “Zadie Smith has another hit with ‘Swing Time’,” USA Today

Books mentioned in this episode:

• The Sellout, by Paul Beatty
• Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• It: A Novel, by Stephen King

Episode 3: “We Love You, Charlie Freeman”

We are oh-for-two on knowing what it is we’re actually reading. This episode, we talk Kaitlyn Greenridge’s We Love You, Charlie Freeman, an eerie and uncomfortable examination of race, communication and family. Tune in for anxiety attacks, asshole chimpanzees and, as always, us mispronouncing the names of all your favs.

Have you read We Love You, Charlie Freeman? Got a book you think we should check out? Tweet us at @blackchicklit.

Links:

• Review: “We Love You, Charlie Freeman,” Kaitlyn Greenridge’s Debut Novel

Books mentioned in this episode:

• The Sellout, by Paul Beatty
• Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
• The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, Ken Liu
• Swing Time, by Zadie Smith

Episode 2: “Another Brooklyn”

We came back! This month, we read Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn and loved it. The book has been long-listed for a National Book Award in fiction and it’s well deserved. Join us for a conversation about the book’s beautiful descriptions of black girlhood and the joys of “sneaky writing.”

Have you read Another Brooklyn? Tweet us what you thought of the book at @blackchicklit.

Links:

• National Book Award Winners in Fiction
• Jacqueline Woodson’s ‘Another Brooklyn’ is a gauzy, lyrical fever dream of a book (best headline ever.)

Books mentioned in this episode:

• We the Animals, by Justin Torres
• Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
• Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Game Between Love and Death, by Martha Brockenbrough
• Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
• An Untamed State, by Roxane Gay
• Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay

Episode 1: “Queen Sugar”

It’s our first ever podcast! Join us every month as we read and discuss a new book featuring black women writers and characters. This month’s selection is Natalie Baszile’s Queen Sugar.

The novel is the inspiration for an upcoming series on OWN and we totally get why. There’s plenty of material for a multi-season show and WAY more than what’s needed for a 300-page novel.

Listen, enjoy and tweet us your opinion about the book at @blackchicklit.

Links:

• OWN “Queen Sugar” TV series trailer
• Ava DuVernay & Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Queen Sugar’ Gets Fall Premiere Date On OWN
• Ava DuVernay’s ‘Queen Sugar’ Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere