Bookish University

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).

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).

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).

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.

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).

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.

Dr. Amanda discusses the academy broadly, then talks about several academia-based books including The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister, Cut to the Feeling by M. A. Wardell and A. J. Truman, Vladamir by Julia May Jonas, Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon, and Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work by bell hooks.

Dr. Amanda hosts guest Dr. Natalia, an expert in Eastern European political and crisis communication and native of the region, to discuss books and histories coming out of the Soviet Union - with a bonus review of Ilya's Russian monologue in Heated Rivalry! Primary discussion features Pioneer Summer by Kateryna Sylvanova and Elena Malisova, translated to English by Anne O. Fisher, and Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.