A Bitch's Guide to Books: Recent Episodes
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Yi and Elisabeth talk about Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and showcase their favorite vignettes from the book. We’re talking identity and sexuality and what responsibility artists have when creating something for the world.
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Yi and Elisabeth talk about Jenny Zhang’s beautiful collection of short stories showcasing the perspectives of young Chinese American immigrants living in New York City. We talk about broken english, bittersweet sibling dynamics, and the exploitation of trauma in POC literature (and college!). Talk to us!Instagram: @abgbpodcastEmail: abgbpodcast@gmail.com
Elisabeth and Yi get INTO this feel-good classic in a way no one has or has ever wanted to. We talk Carmen carrying the heavy burden of representation as “the fat girl” and the only POC character, Bridget’s relationship with casual sex, Lena’s fake deep monologues, and Tibby’s underwhelming storyline. Lights, camera, good conversation!
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This episode, we’re covering another much loved and hated classic, Jane Eyre!! Yi and Elisabeth unpack how sexy yet problematic they find the relationship between Jane and Rochestor. We also delve into real life ramifications of age gaps in relationships, Charlotte Bronte’s sneaky feminism, and how the novel Re Jane compares female genitalia to Korean dishes. Enjoy, and feel free to take a shot every time you hear the phrase “power dynamics.”
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Yi and Elisabeth ring in season two by answering the question, what do we want female-driven YA to look like? Moreover, what do we want POC centred, POC written YA to look like? Moreover even more, why doesn’t anyone talk about Chris? Do we have answers? Maybe! Find out!
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Elisabeth and Yi catch each other up on their summers and catch you up on the revamped and laser-focused mission and vision of this podcast post-guinea pig season one.
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Elisabeth and Yi talk Chris McCandless’ white male privilege, Jon Krakauer’s blindspots as a biased author, and the ethics of exploitative journalism. What is Into the Wild really trying to do here? Too much to cover in a high school english class. Take it off the summer reading list, we say!
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Yi and Elisabeth explore the creation of a new canon that’s oppositional to the white literary canon in Beloved—what is the white literary canon? How does censorship perpetuate the white canon and a white world? What does it mean for an author to shoulder the burden of political representation? How many times can we say canon before you get sick of it? Canon. Talk to us!Instagram: @abgbpodcastEmail: abgbpodcast@gmail.com
Elisabeth and Yi talk about the harmful place celebrities take up in social justice movements, colorblind casting, and get heated about the perversion of Katniss’ signature braid in the movie adaptation.
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Yi and Elisabeth fight this episode about Peeta and Gale, then recognize that they’re falling into the market’s perception of what teen girls want in an empowering YA book. We talk about the book's evasion from its disturbing premise, how tributes would defeat diarrhea, and the franchise as a staple of modern dystopian literature. But there is also a fight about Peeta and Gale. It’s ironic.
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Elisabeth and Yi ring in this next month of episodes on dystopia with some mixed media—Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Black Mirror’s episode “USS Callister.” Then we play word association games around dystopian words and make some points that almost hit the mark. Like they’re fine. Short enough that you’ll forgive it.
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Yi and Elisabeth talk obsession as romance, sex positivity on college campuses, and the place of erotic fiction in mainstream lit. Take a shot everytime one of us says “sex,” “problematic,” or “upsetting” and let us know down in the reviews if you get your stomach pumped!
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Elisabeth and Yi talk fantasy porn, female agency, graphic and biologically inaccurate sex scenes, and exclusively white representation in fanfiction! You know it’s good when we’re covering such revered works as “The Bad Boy Hit Me In The Face With A Baseball Bat.”
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Yi and Elisabeth devolve into feverish stuttering about Audrey Niffenegger’s command of the English language. They explore love as fateful and predetermined. Is it really love if you already know it’s going to happen? What would it be like to have sex for the first time with your future husband time travelling into your past? This and more in this bite-sized episode. Talk to us!Instagram: @abgbpodcastEmail: abgbpodcast@gmail.com
Elisabeth and Yi are BACK and BETTER than ever. This month, we’re talking all things love and sex. Is love stupid? Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter,” Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” and Chen Chen’s “For I Will Consider My Boyfriend Jeffrey” give us some answers.Talk to us!Instagram: @abgbpodcastEmail: abgbpodcast@gmail.com
A one hour finale WITH an unnecessary segment of us celebrating one half-season eating cake? You asked for it, and you got it! Elisabeth and Yi reflect on their college experiences with Caroline Kitchener’s memoir Post Grad and talk about some taboo topics like transferring, loneliness, and imposter syndrome. College is great!
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Content warning: sexual violence, physical/sexual abuse. You voted for a bonus section on Perks’ Aunt Helen. Yi and Elisabeth talk about how people in positions of power are often given a free pass for shitty behavior because something shitty happened to them. They recognize their own complicity in a system of oppression and invisibilization of victims. They get HEATED.
Teenagers have things to say, as this book beautifully illustrates! Elisabeth and Yi agree—they were teens not too long ago. This episode, they talk about awkwardness, self indulgence, people pleasing, and the ways in which Charlie expresses love.
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Long time no see! This episode, Elisabeth and Yi talk about having a realistic and pessimistic world-view, how nothing’s really real, and debate about the significance (if any) of Weena in H.G. Well’s Time Machine.
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Yi and Elisabeth re-explore womanhood as sin with the 2010 adaptation of the Scarlet Letter, Easy A. They talk about sex-positive environments, modern day empowerment, and how much more REAL the movie is to them eight years later.
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Elisabeth and Yi rave about Janet Fitch’s poetic diction and explore the concepts of bad womanhood and love in her debut novel. They also delve into the significance of their naked/psychic dreams.
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Yi and Elisabeth talk about redemption, the gray areas of what’s “good” and “bad” in our modern day political sphere, and how Anthony Burgess is kind of a pretentious guy.
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Elisabeth and Yi talk about performative activism, white male privilege, and how, really, everyone’s a little bit of an angsty teen. Also, we stole some bread.
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In the last episode of our launch, Yi and Elisabeth reminisce about Rainbow Magic, Judy Moody, Junie B Jones, and the lack of strong and “bad” female role models in children’s fiction. Also, we know you’re listening, Shankar Vedantam. Big fans.
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It’s Scarlet Letter: the sequel. This episode, Elisabeth and Yi have some bitchy banter and talk about how badass Pearl is. We still love Hester Prynne.
Talk to us!Instagram: @abgbpodcastEmail: abgbpodcast@gmail.com