Julia and Victoria parse through all the bizarre takes by professional critics and writers on Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

Julia and Victoria discuss the core points of Unmasking Autism by Devon Price: What is masking, and how can we unmask our own lives to build a better world together? Julia drops her neurodivergent-friendly skin care routine.

Julia and Victoria celebrate their 100th episode by talking about cultural definitions of magic and the complexities of power in Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun.

Julia and Victoria step into their English Teacher Mode™ to review the elements of fiction from Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s dynamic debut book, the dark-academic thriller Ace of Spades.

Julia and Victoria discuss the complexities of graphic novels and other visual media as they talk about The Banks by Roxanne Gay and Ming Doyle. Victoria narrates several comic panels, and they both try to figure out what male the love interest’s name is.

Julia and Victoria talk about reading and traveling whilst they read and travel.

Julia and Victoria bring on one of their favorite pop culture experts Victoria Edel to talk about the Pachinko series and the pros and cons of book-to-TV adaptations.

Julia and Victoria explore how and why they connected so much to Pop Song by Larissa Pham, a memoir exploration of art, adulthood, love, and theory.

Magic and Autism Theory

Julia and Victoria discuss autism theory in relation to The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin and try to figure out whose sides the characters are on.

Julia and Victoria discuss book three in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and explore the complications of living life according to your principles.

This is the last podcast episode of Season 9! We’ll be back in late May with more books and more obsessions. In the meantime, you can watch our book-to-TV reviews of Pachinko on Buy Me a Coffee.

How I Became a Tree by Sumana Roy really spoke to Julia and Victoria’s exhaustion with productivity, their love for their houseplants, and their ever-growing need to run away to the woods. Plus: a few tips and suggestions for reading books outside of your cultural context.

In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu is made up of intricate world-building, clever language development, and stories-within-stories-within-stories. There’s a lot packed into this little novella! Julia and Victoria do their best to parse through it and how it made them feel.