Literal Neighbors

Episode 113: Pachinko

This week, we read Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, a multigenerational story that (episode spoiler ahead!) one reviewer thinks we get way too intimate with. We ruminate over the mafia, discuss caring for permanently injured family members, plan for our summer break, and we even eventually remember the format of our own show!

Episode 112: The Women of Wild Hill

This week, we read Kirsten Miller's The Women of Wild Hill, and this is a rare occasion where both the one- and five-star reviews make the book sound equally appealing. We're also discussing the housekeeping tactics of ghosts and wondering if they have a skincare routine, or a "GRWM while I inspire generations to take down the patriarchy and billionaire class" that we can check out.

Episode 111: The Dinner

This week, we're digesting Herman Koch's The Dinner, and we're just wondering exactly how long a Dutch dinner is. Long enough for some field trips, flashbacks, and lots of pinky-pointing, and after all that, we aren't entirely sure what we ate.

Episode 110: Washington Black

This week, we read Esi Edugyan's Washington Black, and if you've ever thought that stories about enslaved boys in the 1800s really needed some more scenes of the Arctic circle, we have great news for you. We're diving (see what we did there?) into some of the emotions and growth our main character experiences, debating some choices some characters make, and wondering what can be in store for this guy since we leave him at the ripe old age of (checks notes)...18.

Episode 109: Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil

Listen, some people can get a burger when they were expecting pizza and still really, really enjoy the burger. Some people will have pizza or nothing. So if you pick up this 'lesbian vampire drama' and expect to have something extra spicy delivered, but instead you end up with a juicy, pg-13 burger -- you should give it a shot. And by burger, we mean this week's read, V.E. Schwab's Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil. And by PG-13, we mean 'scenes that you'll be terribly embarrassed by if your kids accidentally hear'.