In this episode, host Rebecca Thandi Norman and comedian & writer Tocarra Elise dive into the 1991 Faith Ringgold classic Tar Beach. Told from the point of view of eight year old Cassie Louise Lightfoot, the book is based on the story quilt by the same artist. Tocarra shares where she was when she first read this book - her local library - what it felt like, and how it continues to impact her today. Tocarra hosts a delightful recap of children's literature via her TikTok and Instagram.

Read Tar Beach

Listen to Faith Ringold read Tar Beach

Watch the Reading Rainbow episode featuring Tar Beach

Interested in learning more about the story quilt that inspired the book? Listen to this episode of Why'd They Put That in a Museum?

Follow Tocarra Elise on TikTok

Follow Tocarra Elise on Instagram

Listen to The List, Tocarra's comedy podcast

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC. We'd love to hear from you! If you have questions or comments, reach out at bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com, or follow us at @bookimprintpodcast on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content warning: this episode contains references to sexual assault, child abuse, and suicide.

Nashville-based songwriter Bonnie J. Baker comes from an ultra-convservative Christian background and knew she had to leave; Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale gave her the push she needed, reflecting back to her the oppressive system she lived in, allowing her to identity it and understand that she wasn't alone.

In this episode, Bonnie and host Rebecca Thandi Norman discuss how reading this book in college was a seminal moment in Bonnie's life, the history it reflects, and the future it foreshadows for us in the US right now. They touch on the patheticness of power, Atwood's cut-glass writing style, and the differences between reading this book as a young person and later in life.

Read The Handmaid's Tale.

Find out more about Bker Music and sign up for Bonnie's newsletter.

Follow Bonnie on Instagram.

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC. We'd love to hear from you! If you have questions or comments, reach out at bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com, or follow us at @bookimprintpodcast on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musician, writer, and record producer Adam Schatz drops in to talk about From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a 1968 middle grade book by E.L. Konigsburg about two siblings who run away from their suburban Connecticut home to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Are the kids kind of annoying? Yes. Do they talk about money a lot? Also yes. But there's something so charming and grounded about this book that has allowed it to endure as a classic since its release. Adam discusses why this is a real New York City book, how often he goes to the Met (almost never!), and what he forgot about this book before re-reading it for the podcast.

Buy From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Listen to Adam's music (as Landlady).

Follow Adam on Instagram.

Read Adam's advice.

Sign up for Adam's Patreon.

See The Geometry of Circles.

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC. We'd love to hear from you! If you have questions or comments, reach out at bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com, or follow us at @bookimprintpodcast on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senior Staff Writer at "The Ringer" Michael V. Pina share the book that showed him what he could do one day, if he worked hard - write about basketball. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam is the seminal 1999 sports biography that's not exactly a biography - it's about basketball, it's about the NBA, and it's about how sports brings people together. Michael talks through what he loves about the game, if he really thinks Michael Jordan is the GOAT, and the exact moment this book changed his life (it was on an airplane!).

And what is a book about Michael Jordan, if we never hear the voice of Michael Jordan? His absence is a question mark that lingers throughout the book....

Read Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam

Read Michael's work at The Ringer

Follow Michael on Instagram

Michael's GQ article on "The Last Dance" and Bill Russell

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC. We'd love to hear from you! If you have questions or comments, reach out at bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com, or follow us at @bookimprintpodcast on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beauty editor and creative director Anne-Marie Guarnieri shares the book that made her want to move to New York City as a teenager - The Andy Warhol Diaries. She and host Rebecca Thandi Norman dive into the format of the diary (it's written by someone else), the tone of the entries, and how reading the diary can change one's perspective on Andy Warhol as both an artist and a human being. It's a nearly-thousand page tome that's just weird and propulsive enough to make you want to read the whole thing!

Read The Andy Warhol Diaries, edited by Pat Hackett

Subscribe to Starving for Beauty

Follow Anne-Marie on Instagram and see her portfolio

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of season 1, host Rebecca Thandi Norman welcomes comedian and writer Josh Gondelman to discuss the classic kids' comedy book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. They dive into how to structure jokes for kids that still resonate with adults and to how this book is reflected in Josh's own work. How does a comedian build his comedic sensibility? Books are a pretty good start!

Read Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Subscribe to Josh's newsletter, That's Marvelous!

Read Josh's book, Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results

Resources we discussed off-mic:

Labour Notes

How Things Work by Hamilton Nolan

Salvo by Kim Kelly

Jacobin articles by Alex N. Press

Have questions or comments? Get in touch: bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com. Follow along on Instagram at @bookimprintpodcast.

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Book Imprint is a podcast about the books that change our lives before the age of 25; the books that imprint on us.

Host Rebecca Thandi Norman, previously host of Tea & Murder: An Agatha Christie Podcast, interviews each guest about the book that they feel changed their life. From writers to comedians to musicians and anyone else you can imagine, Rebecca takes the perspective that "everyone is interesting," and books affect all of us in deep and specific ways.

Join us for season 1! Have questions or comments? Write to us at bookimprintpodcast@gmail.com and follow along at @bookimprintpodcast.

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Thandi Norman, produced by Kate Krosschell, and sound engineered by Winther Robinson. Title music is by DJARTMUSIC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.