Reclaiming the Book Club: Forget The Wine

Madeline and Laura discuss Kiley Reid's debut novel, Such a Fun Age, how much they connected with the effortless dialouge, how it made them consider their own privilige, and characters they wish were more consistently written. 

Laura and Madeline debate Rachel DeLoache Williams' true-crime memoir about Anna Delvy the #FakeHeiress. Does DeLoache Williams spend too much time trying to paint herself as the perfect victim or does the story offer some real insight about a painful betrayal and a broken friendship?

Laura and Madeline discuss feminism, characterization, and the unique oral-history narrative format of one of the hottest books of 2019. They'll also question the reliability of Reese's Book Club, and whether the coming Amazon series will live up to the audiobook performances.

Madeline and Laura discuss the worldview projected in My Year of Rest and Relaxation and why Ottessa Moshfegh is the Kayne West of female writers.

Madeline and Laura dig into their issues with Sally Rooney's sophomore novel Normal People and analyze why it didn't live up to her first work, Conversations With Friends.

Madeline and Laura discuss Ling Ma's lyrical apocalypse novel, Severance. We talk about the how the millenial lens affects the tropes of a zombie story, and provide recommendations for similar works.

Laura and Madeline count down our favorite books of 2018, releases we're anticipating for 2019 and review the year's literary trends. 

Laura and Madeline discuss Caroline Kepnes' creepy stalker novel 'You' and compare it to the smash hit Netflix show of the same name.

Laura and Madeline discuss whether Catherine Lacey tackled too much in her novel The Answers. Do her characters find "answers" to questions regarding love, relationships, chronic pain, and enlightenment?

Laura and Madeline discuss their love/hate relationships with the main characters of the novel Conversations With Friends. What does Irish author Sally Rooney have to say about love, relationships, and professional success as seen through the millennial lens?

Laura and Madeline discuss open relationships and gender dynamics in Sarah Dunn's novel The Arrangement.

Laura and Madeline discuss Marlena, the coming of age novel with a dark twist by Julie Buntin.

Madeline and Laura discuss Celeste Ng's bestseller Little Fires Everywhere. We dive into the suburban 90s, are we delighted by these vingettes, or did we feel scolded by the after-school-special tone. 

Laura and Madeline discuss Shelia Heti's work of auto-fiction, Motherhood. Is it too navel-gazey? Is it a novel-as-therapy? Or did we love the introspective, ponderous book. Listen to find out.

Laura and Madeline discuss Lionel Shriver's disturbing novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. Did the story put us off of parenthood forever, or did we find Shriver's worldview pathologically pesimisstic. 

Laura, Madeline and special guest Marty discuss Andrew Sean Grier's Pulitzer Prize winning comedic novel Less. We talk about what worked for us, what didn't and why we thought it won the Pulitzer.

Madeline and Laura discuss Tayari Jones' 'An American Marriage'. Does the emotional Oprah's Book Club pick live up to the hype? Listen as we discuss the novel which addresses an individuals encounter with the criminal justice system and the ripples that touch that person's community.

If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present? Laura and Madeline discuss fate, freewill, life and death while analyzing Chloe Benjamin's 2018 novel The Immortalists.

Join Madeline and Laura as they discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit From The Goon Squad. M & L discuss Egan's unique narrative structure and its intriguing effect on the novel's themes of intersecting lives and the passage of time. Did Egan successfully achieve her goal of writing a contemporary version of Proust's seven-volume masterpiece? What chapters stirred us and what chapters missed the mark?

Madeline and Laura discuss the bestselling YA novel by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give.

Madeline and Laura discuss Emily Fridlund's debut novel set in rural Minnesota, History of Wolves.

Maddy and Laura discuss Karin Slaughter's best-selling novel, Pretty Girls.