Book Talk

Book Talk: Episode 11 - Where the Crawdads Sing

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

Book Talk: Episode 10 - The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir

The thirty-ninth of her father’s forty-two children, Ruth Wariner grew up in polygamist family on a farm in rural Mexico. In The Sound of Gravel, she offers an unforgettable portrait of the violence that threatened her community, her family’s fierce sense of loyalty, and her own unshakeable belief in the possibility of a better life. An intimate, gripping tale of triumph and courage, The Sound of Gravel is a heart-stopping true story.

Book Talk: Episode 9 - Seven days in June

Seven days to fall in love, 15 years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again... Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer who feels pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award‑winning novelist who shows up in New York to everyone's surprise. No one knows that 15 years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising their buried traumas and the Black literati's eyebrows. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can't deny their chemistry - or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect - but Eva's wary of the man who broke her heart and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears, though, she needs a few questions answered... With its keen observations of creative life in America, today and the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy‑as‑hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.

Book Talk: Episode 8 - The Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell her glamorous and scandalous life. She chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job. Why? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jump-start her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a genuine connection to the legendary star. Still, as Evelyn’s story concludes, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Book Talk: Episode 7 - We Should All Be Feminist

Shania, Kaitlyn, and Toni get together to discuss Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” in honor of the last day of Women’s History Month. Tune in to listen to us discuss feminism, society, and the future generations to come!