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Parenting Takes
51:11|Dr. Amanda discusses a variety of books that speak to or around the role of parenthood in today's society. Books discussed include the Danish Secret to Happy Kids (Helen Russell), The Amazing Generation (Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price), Sincerely your Autistic Child (Emily Paige et al., and Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network), Keepers of the Lost Cities series (Shannon Messenger), The Kodiaks Home Ice Advantage (David Robertson), and And Then She Fell (Alicia Elliott).
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Why Women Read Horror
53:59|Dr. Amanda hosts media scholar, Dr. Lydia, to discuss why women watch (and read) horror. They discuss discuss genre nuance and the gendered nature of horror consumption. Books discussed include Slewfoot (Bram), The Vegetarian (Han Kang), and Bunny (Mona Awad).The Haunted House
43:37|Dr. Amanda discusses the value of the haunted house, or maybe just selfishly discusses her favorite haunted house books. Discussion includes Manor of Dreams (Christina Li), Harvest House (Cynthia Leitich Smith), The Reformatory (Tananarive Due), The Sentence (Louise Erdrich), and Hazelthorn (CG Drews).Those 70s Vibes
49:28|Dr. Amanda talks with Dr. Adam of the Sister Wives Professor about 1970s nostalgia, 1970s rock memoirs and aesthetics. Books discussed include Paul Stanley of Kiss's memoir (Face the Music: A Life Exposed), Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough's memoir of Lisa Marie's life (From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir), Daisy Jones and the Six (Taylor Jenkins Reid), and Mary Jane (Jessica Anya Blau).On Conflict and the Third-Act Breakup
42:40|Dr. Amanda discusses conflict communication as exemplified through the third-act, highlighting examples from books with conflict resolution including a third-act breakup as well as a couple who post third-act conflict differently.Books discussed are: Boyfriend Material (Alexis Hall), How to End a Love Story (Yulin Kuang), Stars in Your Eyes (Kacen Callender), You and Me (Tal Bauer), and Vampires of El Norte (Isabel Cañas).Also, Vampires of El Norte takes place in the 1840s. I think I accidentally said 1940s.The Wonderful World of Satire
37:22|Dr. Amanda discusses how satire opens up a space to critique social norms without some of the depressing tendencies that accompany emotional or rational appeals. She uses these books to discuss the misrepresentation of influencer realities, the evolution of branding and how it manifests in content creation, and cults as high control organizations. Books featured are Rouge (Mona Awad), Julie Chan is Dead (Liann Zhang), and Girl Dinner (Olivie Blake).Food and Books
48:02|Dr. Amanda spends this episode talking about her two primary hobbies - food and books. Beginning with the role of food in culture and identity, Dr. Amanda moves into a discussion of food systems, covering nonfiction and fiction offerings on the subject. Books appearing in this episode include The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern (Lynda Cohen Loigman), The Guncle 2 (Steven Rowley), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver), In Defense of Food (Michae Pollan), The Mighty Red (Louise Erdrich), and The Seed Keeper (Diane Wilson). And, of course, a few other books - and cookbooks - scattered throughout.