The Stacks

Renée Hicks, founder of Book Girl Magic, joins the podcast to discuss Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye. They delve into themes of race, beauty, love, and abuse, exploring the impact of the white gaze on black people and the burden of black women's strength and voicelessness. They also examine the hypocrisy of white feminism and discuss Kanye West's fashion choices. The ending of the book and its interpretation are also explored, highlighting the complexity and hidden messages within the story.

This week on the podcast, our guest is Renée Hicks, founder of Book Girl Magic, an online book club that centers books by and about Black women. Renée shares with us her journey into reading, how her reading has inspired the reading life of her children, and her love of romance novels, one in particular.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/11/14/ep-33-book-girl-magic-with-renee-hicksConnect with Renee and Book Girl Magic: Book Girl Magic Website | Book Girl Magic Instagram | Book Girl Magic Facebook | Book Girl Magic TwitterConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When a mother, Amanda Stott-Smith, throws her two young children off of a bridge, one journalist tries to understand why. That is the premise of Nancy Rommelmann's true crime book, To The Bridge. This week, for The Stacks Book Club, we discuss this haunting book with journalist Heather John Fogarty. While the story of Stott-Smith and her children is true, if you're not familiar with the events there will be some spoilers on this week's episode.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/11/07/ep-32-the-stacks-book-club-to-the-bridge-by-nancy-rommelmannConnect with Heather: Website | InstagramConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest this week is journalist Heather John Fogarty, whose work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Marie Claire Magazine, Playboy, and more. Heather previously worked as the wine and spirits editor at Bon Appétit. In today's conversation we talk about Heather's James Beard vote, how finding a editor for a novel is like dating, and a book that made both of us very angry. Get ready, Heather is a prolific reader, your TBR will never be the same.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/10/31/ep-31-all-the-book-recommendations-with-heather-john-fogartyConnect with Heather: Website | InstagramConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Stacks Book Club, activist and organizer Harris Cohn is back to chat about  How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. This book was recently featured by Barack Obama on his Facebook page, as a book that speaks to the current moment in the United States. President Obama says it "is a useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy - and how quickly those things can erode when we’re not paying attention. There are no spoilers this week, instead you get a civics lesson with lots to discuss.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/10/24/ep-30-the-stacks-book-club-how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblattConnect with Harris: Twitter | InstagramConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we are joined by Harris Cohn. Harris' day job is in renewable energy, but his real super power is that he is an activist and organizer in his spare time. We talk this week about how Harris got interested in politics, how you can get involved in your local elections, and what SNL cast member Harris wants to write this life story.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/10/17/ep-29-politics-midterms-and-voting-oh-my-with-harris-cohnConnect with Harris: Twitter | InstagramConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Stacks Book Club, journalist and author Nancy Rommelmann is back to discuss Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. We talk about the mind blowing story of biotech startup Theranos, and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. We talk about psychopaths, whistle blowers, and of course, this unbelievable story of abuse and fraud.There are spoilers this week, however the book is based on current events and we do not discuss anything that isn't out in the news.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/10/10/ep-28-the-stacks-book-club-bad-blood-by-john-carreyrouConnect with Nancy: Instagram | Twitter| WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we are joined by author and journalist, Nancy Rommelmann. Nancy talks to us about her newest book To The Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder, her process as an investigative journalist, and about the time she traveled to see John Wayne Gacy on death row.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/10/03/ep-27-nancy-rommelmannConnect with Nancy: Instagram | Twitter| WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are thrilled to discuss this year's Pulitzer Price winner for fiction, Less by Andrew Sean Greer, for The Stacks Book Club this week. We are joined by guest, Zeke Smith. Zeke is known for his time as a contestant on Survivor (Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, Survivor: Game Changers, CBS), and for his work as a writer and trans activist. Less tells the story of Arthur Less, a struggling novelist who decides to travel the world instead of subjecting himself to being a guest at his ex lover's wedding.There are spoilers this week on the show. Listen at your own risk.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/09/26/ep-26-the-stacks-book-club-less-by-andrew-sean-greerConnect with Zeke: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks we are joined by Zeke Smith. Zeke is a writer and trans activist who you may know best from his seasons on Survivor (Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, Survivor: Game Changers). This week we talk reality TV fame, self-identification, and Zeke's favorite genre of books (hint: its not wha you think).You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2018/09/19/ep-25-talking-fame-and-identity-with-zeke-smithConnect with Zeke: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.