Feminist Brain Candy

Is anyone else just generally Going Through It? Here at Feminist Book Club, we all kind of feel like life is a lot at the moment. So today we’re here with some feminist brain candy to keep you company when the going gets rough. Renee shares some books she’s read recently, then Ashley and Rah discuss the new film Challengers. 

What to Read When Everything Sucks (1:40)

When times feel especially heavy, Renee leans on genre fiction and what she calls “feel-good literary fiction.” In this segment, she shares a bunch of the lighthearted books that have been keeping her sane while the world feels like it’s on fire. 

Challengers: Tennis, Love, and Rivalry (12:18)

Join Ashley and Rah for a lively discussion about the 2024 film Challengers, a captivating drama centered around a professional tennis player’s comeback, aided by his wife, a former tennis prodigy. Ashley and Rah dive into their candid reactions and analyze the film’s breathtaking shots, the score’s role in the film, and who’s actually in love with who. If this is a move you just can’t stop thinking about like us, this episode is for you!

Books/Resources Mentioned:

Comedic Romantasy is My Self-Care by Steph on the FBC Blog

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

The Kielbasa Killer by Geri Krotow

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Glory Be by Danielle Arcenaux

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

The Society of Shame by Jane Roper

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Support this episode’s hosts and guests: 

Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph

Follow Ashley: Instagram // Twitter // Website

Follow Rah: Instagram // TikTok // The StoryGraph

Today’s episode is sponsored by The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté from Page Street YA and Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra from Doubleday. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting independent feminist media.

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This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.

Original music by @iam.onyxrose
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Renee Powers

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Renee Powers founded Feminist Book Club in 2018 to provide a space for intersectional feminists to learn, grow, and connect. When not reading or running the biz, you can find her drinking coffee and trying unsuccessfully to teach her retired racing greyhound how to fetch. Favorite genres: feminist thrillers, contemporary literary fiction, short stories, and anything that might be described as "irreverent"