Weird Girl Book Club

The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor

To become a prophet, you have to burn your bush 🙏😔🔥🌳 In this month’s episode we discuss Flannery O’Connors southern gothic classic, ‘The Violent Bear It Away’! Young Francis Tarwater was kidnapped and raised by his fanatical great uncle in rural isolation with the sole aim of becoming a prophet of the lord. After the death of his great uncle, will young tarwater keep his promise and baptise his cousin or will he listen to that charismatic, persuasive voice in his head that tells him to question everything? True to the genre, this book feels uncomfortable, tense, oppressive and laden with symbolism. The literary equivalent of a lightning storm on a hot and humid summer night. In true southern gothic fashion we recorded this episode mid heatwave, so if we sound a little delirious, blame our slow cooked brains. 🫠 Are you also having a Summerween right now? Let us know @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG! xx

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

🌿🏝️🌞Only farmers and summer guests walk on the moss🌞🏝️🌿 Channeling the recent heatwave, this month the girlies are exploring Tove Jansson’s 1972 novel ‘The Summer Book’. 6 year old Sofia spends her summer on a small Finnish island with her dad and her grandma, and the summer is endless. Through little slice of life vignettes, the book details island life and the relationship between Sofia and her grandma. Both sharing the same warmth, curiosity, and stubbornness, the two are very similar. Jansson presents us with life lessons, lamentations on death, silly arguments, and the beauty of nature. Join us to discuss the agency of older women, nature writing, the joy in ageing, and our perfect summers. This week we are joined by Mia, cohost of the seedling podcast! 🌱 Follow us on instagram at weirdgirlbookclub_pod for book recs and to stay up to date with episodes! Xx And check out the Seedling podcast!

Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur

Planting yourself in the ground as a tree is not actually a normal thing that you can do. 🌳🌿 This month, in light of the US and Israel's war of aggression in Iran, the girlies are diving into Iranian literature, with International Booker Prize Longlisted Women Without Men, Shahrnush Parsipur's 1989 novel.  This book weaves a surreal and confronting tapestry of the lives of five different women in Tehran. Parsipur explores the constraints of sexuality, gender, bodies, and class through engaging with Islamic mystic tradition and challenging contemporary social values.  Join us to discuss the magical realism genre, Western imperialism, and the feminine urge to turn into a tree. 🌱 Follow us on Instagram at weirdgirlbookclub_pod to stay up to date with episodes! xx

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

These boys are so hard with each other! In this month's episode, we cover 'Heated Rivalry' (2019) by Rachel Reid. Would you believe it, this is our first step into the world of gay sports romance! Part 2 in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry follows the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, 2 ice hockey legends who play for opposing teams. Despite their supposed public rivalry, the two cant resist each other and enter into a clandestine sexual relationship that spans over 7 years. But is this purely sexual or is loooooove the name of the game? ;) Don't worry, we obviously cover the groundbreaking, dare we say, life changing TV show. We love these hockey boys and we think you will too! Have you read the book series or watched the show? Let us know at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. xx

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

First name Heath, last name Cliff. In this month’s episode we (sort of) discuss Emily Brontë’s Gothic masterpiece, ‘Wuthering Heights’ (1847)… but mostly we end up talking about the 2026 movie adaptation. Lockwood, the new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, travels to Wuthering Heights to meet his hostile landlord Heathcliff; shaken by his encounter with the ghost of a girl named Catherine, Lockwood asks his housekeeper Nelly to tell him the story of the Heights’s curious inhabitants. What follows is a tale of revenge, violence and obsession that reverberates through two generations, intertwining the fates of its families. Have you read the novel or seen the new film? Let us know at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. xx