Big Little Books

In this very special edition of Big Little Books, Yuli sits down with her mother, Riki, to discuss a lifetime of reading, favorite genres and authors, and why she thinks books are important for everyone. From living in Japan, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Yellowknife, and beyond, Riki's love of reading has always been a source of comfort, joy, and education. Sit back and relax while she takes you on the story of her 70+ years, quirks and all. Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or Email us biglittlebookspod@gmail.com [biglittlebookspod@gmail.com]with any feedback, comments, or just to say hello. Happy Reading! EPISODE GUIDE COMING SOON.

Welcome back dear listeners to BLB, a monthly conversational podcast about two bibliophiles who like to have lively discussions about books. In this month’s Big Little Books Book Club episode, we are diving deep into the world of Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, initially released on September 21, 2021 by Penguin Teen. It is a sci-fi/ fantasy reimaging of China’s only female emperor, Wu Zetian, featuring giant mechas. As per usual with Book Club episodes, SPOILERS AHEAD. To start, we immediately dive into the story that blends ancient Chinese history and futuristic science fiction. Our discussion is about the story itself and the world building, but it also delves deeper into topics of gender, feminism, and the fact that this book is marketed as YA, something that is becoming more and more difficult to define. We had a lot of fun buddy reading this book via https://www.thestorygraph.com/ [https://www.thestorygraph.com/], and hope you enjoy this discussion! Want to know what BLB’s Book Club pick for February is? Tune in to the end of this episode (ideally after… you know, listening to entire episode first) to find out! If you think you might like to add some book club questions to the discussion, or join us in reading February’s pick, send us an email at biglittlebookspod@gmail.com [biglittlebookspod@gmail.com] or DM us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod. We would love to hear from you! EXTRA NOTES CW – You might want to check out the author’s content warning on their website. Even though this book is marketed as YA, it includes scenes of violence, sexual assault, torture, etc. Pronunciation – Prior to recording this episode, we practiced pronouncing the names of the characters. That said, our pronunciation is still rough at times! If you want to hear the proper pronounciation directly from Zhao, check out their YouTube video called Iron Widow – Meet the Characters. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5eW_huLBLA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5eW_huLBLA]) It is short and sweet; a great book tease!

Welcome back to Big Little Books, and cheers to the New Year! Hot of the press, it’s our last BLB episode of 2021. This past year wasn’t the greatest, looking a lot like 2020, but it was a great year for books. Published one year ago today, Firekeeper’s Daughter is a memorable YA thriller about an indigenous teen seeking to root out corruption in her community. This debut novel from author Angeline Boulley was selected for November book club, and we’ve included a few snippets from last month’s Book Bangers discussion. This is a powerful book most of us breezed through, and it gave us lots to talk about. So much so that we decided to centre an entire BLB episode around it. We hope you enjoy the occasional dog barking and crackling outdoor fire sounds throughout this episode. Evidently, there’s still plenty for us to learn about recording in the year ahead! Special thanks to Book Bangers for letting us record our book club discussion with scarce warning. BLB has an exciting lineup for 2022! With YA still on our minds, our next episode features Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, something you’ll most definitely want to tune in for. We are especially excited to share something we’ve been working on for the pod, set to be released this Friday on Instagram @biglittlebookspod! Want to know what’s coming ASAP? Somewhere around the end of this episode, we spill the beans. Happy reading! Email us: biglittlebookspod@gmail.com [biglittlebookspod@gmail.com]

Welcome back to Big little books podcast! Today’s episode is a mini crash course on Dune by Frank Herbert, perfectly timed with the release of the new Dune movie (out today! October 22). This crash course isn’t here to dismantle theories or rewrite the way of things, we are simply adding our own analysis to the world of spice. Hopefully you’ll laugh a bit! If you haven’t already read the book, we hope this encourages you to pick it up and maybe even continue with the series. We are here to have a good time talking about all things Dune. The episode starts off with how we got here, chatting about Herbert himself and the inspiration for Dune, destined to become the world’s best-selling science fiction novel. Next, we do our best to dive into the plot and chat about the characters. Effort was made to keep it friendly for first time readers, but be warned, SPOILERS AHEAD (limited to the first book). Then we jump into discussion time, followed by our thoughts on previous adaptations and the new Dune movie. Didn’t have time to read the book before going to see the movie? Tune in for this mini-Dune crash course, whereby we hope you will learn to walk without rhythm. Find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or email us at biglittlebookspod@gmail.com [biglittlebookspod@gmail.com] with any questions or stuff you think we should talk about in upcoming episodes. Thank you for tuning in! EPISODE GUIDE: 00:02:10 – How We Got Here: Herbert and how Dune came to be. 00:08:21 – 60 second recap (an attempt is made) 00:10:28 – The plot thickens 00:43:35 – Intermission 00:43:47 – Discussion Time 00:59:28 – Adaptations and Villeneuve’s Dune!

Welcome back listeners to this mini episode of BLB that will help ease us all back into some regular programming. For those keeping a sharp eye out, our last episode was released way back in March of this year, Episode 20: Fiction & Flora. There’s been a lot of change in the air, but we are excited to be back and bringing you some new bookish content! This summer we recommended library books to each other without saying too much as to what it was about. In today’s mini episode, we discuss both books (as per usual, spoilers ahead), while also demonstrating that sometimes the books you crave in the moment will just fall into your lap. First, we chat about Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman, an ongoing graphic novel series about identity, friendship, and a whole lot of love. Next, we chat about Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, which we both listened to on audiobook. Neither of us knew what to expect but are glad we gave this memoir-style book a try, as it dives deep into big friendships in a way we haven’t properly considered before. Be sure to tune in until the end of this mini episode to hear what Episode 22 will be about! Want a hint? It involves worms. Come find us on Instagram @biglittlebookspod or email us at biglittlebookspod@gmail.com [biglittlebookspod@gmail.com] with any questions or stuff you think we should talk about in our upcoming episodes. Big thank you, as always, for tuning in! EPISODE GUIDE: 00:02:45 – Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman 00:18:07 – Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman 00:36:52 – BLB Big News for Episode 22!