Bookish: A Casual Book Club

12/12/2024

The new episode just dropped! Please give us a listen as we talk about The Vegetarian by Han Kang, a Korean author who received the Nobel Prize in literature this year.

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura discuss The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith. They talk about the novel's themes and the controversy around its translation. Han Kang is a South Korean author. She is the recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in literature.

01/12/2024

Hey friends of Bookish: A Casual Book Club! Kofi, Sylvia, and I will be talking about this year's Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's The Vegetarian on our next episode. Have you read it? Share your thoughts!

20/11/2024

Hey Bookish: A Casual Book Club fans! Do you remember our episode on Charles Yu's Interior Chinatown? The TV show is finally here!

“They expect you to know kung fu, they expect you to be a good student, or the model minority tech guy,” Jimmy O. Yang said.

30/10/2024

The new episode has dropped! Give us a listen as we talk about readings that give us joy, delight, happiness, and inspiration!

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura share their thoughts on readings that inspire joy or delight. They mention The Book of Delights by Ross Gay, What Comes Next and How to Like it by Abigail Thomas, One Man’s Meat by EB White, An Alphabet for Gourmets by MFK Fisher, and “Vertigo” by Les M...

27/09/2024

Have you read James by Percival Everett? Have a listen to our conversation about this exciting book! We start with a report on our summer readings and move onto James by talking about it as a work on its own and a work that responds to Huck Finn. Spoiler alert!

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura report back on their summer reading and dive into a discussion of James by Percival Everett. Spoiler Alert: We do talk about the ending of James!

27/07/2024

What are YOU currently reading?

29/06/2024

Our annual summer reading list episode is out! Tell us what you're reading this summer!

Books we mention in this episode:
✅James by Percival Everett
✅ Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
✅ Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
✅ Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy by April Baker-Bell
✅ Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
✅ A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
✅ Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart
✅ The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
✅ These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit: Poems by Hayan Charara

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura talk about their summer reading lists. In addition to a variety of books on their individual lists, they will be reading James by Percival Everett. Be sure to read along with them. Books they mention in this episode: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stres...

18/05/2024

A new episode is out! We talk about the fantasy genre and its many subgenres!

Listen on Spotify, Podbean, or any other podcast app you use!

In this episode of Bookish, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura explore the fantasy genre and its many subgenres, such as high fantasy, magical realism, Wuxia fantasy, and sci-fi fantasy. They discuss The Wings of Fire (the graphic novel) by Tui T. Sutherland, Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi,...

30/03/2024

Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura finally recorded Bookish in studio, in person, together! Listen to our conversation about our "grocery store reads" (some might call "trashy novels" or guilty pleasures)!

Discover your next literary adventure with HCC English professors Kofi Adisa, Sylvia Lee, and Laura Yoo! Dive into thought-provoking discussions about books and get expert recommendations for your next captivating read. Fuel your imagination and expand you...

13/03/2024

Kofi getting a head start with his reading: The Single Dad Project!

12/03/2024

Tell us, what's your favorite "trashy" novel? Your guilty pleasure? The grocery store paperback?

Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura will be reading and discussing such novels at the next recording of Bookish! Share your favorite and your thoughts on this topic!

They’re derided as being frothy thrillers bursting with s*x and shopping. But for Sarah Hughes, these so-called ‘bonkbusters’ are filled with words of wisdom about friendship and feminism

30/01/2024

Next up: A discussion of Erasure by Percival Everett and the movie American Fiction

If you've read the book and/or watched the film, leave us your comments so we can include your thoughts or questions in our discussion!

30/01/2024

New episode is up! Join our conversation on a graphic history (& graphic literature in general), “Abina and the Important Men” that poses questions about whose history gets told and how historical narratives are constructed, especially when so many voices like Abina’s (whose history we read about) are silenced and overlooked.

Kofi, Sylvia and Laura discuss graphic literature. They review "Abina and the Important Men," a compelling and powerfully illustrated "graphic history" based...

28/12/2023

What was your favorite fiction in 2023?

09/12/2023

Our latest episode has arrived! Tune in as we discuss Nadia Owusu’s memoir “Aftershocks,” some techniques authors use in memoir, the role of truth-telling, and what makes the memoir genre so unique and accessible!

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura talk about memoirs, including a discussion of Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu, HCC’s Bauder Lecture book for this year. V...

15/11/2023

Today, Laura, Kofi, and Sylvia recorded the next episode on memoirs! Let us know which memoirs you love!

31/10/2023

This month's recording of Bookish will be about memoirs! Like this one by Nadia Owusu. Read this beautiful opening note!

10/10/2023

Do you love scary stories? What scares you? Have a listen to Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura talk about scary stories just in time for Halloween! Leave your scary story recommendations!

In this episode, Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura talk about scary stories! What is scary? Why do we write and read scary stories? They discuss “The October Game” by ...