We Read That

Jenny and Dani
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We are two political scientists (and friends), Jenny & Dani, who love to read books and talk about them, life, and just random thoughts. "We Read That" has two simple rules: (1) one of us picks the book each episode and can't tell the other why they picked it; and (2) the book has to be fiction. If you love books and/or need to dissociate for an hour in the car or while doing chores, we are the right podcast. Come along on the journey with us! Beware: spoilers are everywhere.

  1. fa 4 dies

    Sunyi Dean's The Girl With A Thousand Faces: Ghosts, World War 2, and Remembrance

    Welcome back! This week Dani and Jenny tackle a historical fiction/fantasy novel, "The Girl with a Thousand Faces" by Sunyi Dean (2026). Although Jenny initially thought Dani was dragging her into a fantasy pit, ultimately this novel deals with war memory, trauma, and grief in Hong Kong (Kowloon specifically) after World War 2. Dani appreciates the discussion of grief and how Dean conveys the complexities of the process of grieving and healing, and Jenny loses herself in monologues about (war) memory culture and remembrance, which are part of her field of research. Win win win win all around. Elsewhere, in yet another discussion about booktok trends, our two hosts once again concede that they do not like conformity and do not want to be told what to read in what season of the year. For fans of historical fiction, fantasy, ghost stories, but also deep family based narrative, this episode has a lot in stock for them. Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for all your support! Please follow us on our socials and like/subscribe/tell a friend: linktr.ee/wereadthat ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you'd like to read along, here are our September books: The Girl With a Thousand Faces (Sunyi Dean) Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (Joyce Carol Oates) The Unknown (Riley Sager) Still Life (Louise Penny) Disappoint Me (Nicola Dinan)

    Sunyi Dean's The Girl With A Thousand Faces: Ghosts, World War 2, and Remembrance

  2. 28 d’ag.

    Julia Langbein's Dear Monica Lewinsky: The 90s, Bill Clinton, and Writing Your Own Story

    Welcome back! This week, Dani and Jenny are diving into Julia Langbein's new novel Dear Monica Lewinsky (2026). The book tells the story of Jean, who in her 40s, (re)processes an encounter she at age 19 with her professor on a research trip in France. She realizes that her entanglement occurred at the same time as the Lewinsky/Clinton scandal become public news. Drawing parallels between the two cases, Jean conjures Saint Monica (Lewinsky) who shepherds her through this reflection process, using a wild amount of humor, "poetry", and quite a lot of art history. An amazing read that even got Dani out of her reading slump! Score! Elsewhere in the episode, Jenny essentially does her tight five minutes on relationships, Bill Belichick, and creepy chumy chumchum professors. Both an intellectual and audible delight (definitely, has to be, maybe?). In their weekly book question, Dani becomes the superior heroine while Jenny easily perishes in any - ever so slightly- uncomfortable (book trope) environment. TLDR: it's a good episode. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for all your support! We love to have you around. Keep listening. Keep telling your friends about how awesome we are. All the links: linktr.ee/wereadthat --------------------------------------------------------------

    Julia Langbein's Dear Monica Lewinsky: The 90s, Bill Clinton, and Writing Your Own Story

  3. 20 d’ag.

    Sarah Gailey's Make Me Better: Fancasting, Cults, and Cults

    Jenny and Dani are back, having read a Sarah Gailey's Make Me Better (2026). It's a cult book. The ladies encounter their first fiction about cults. And it is a doozy. They dive into all things the people of Kindred Cove accept has their reality, and how they lure in vulnerable people to perpetuate their crazy goals. If you like cults and all the creepiness that comes with, this is your episode. Dani brings movie adaptations back to the table, yes Dungeon Crawler Carl comes up, to education Jenny on fancasting and IPhone face. It is never too late to learn new things. When I look at you, I see someone expanding their horizons. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for all your support! We just hit a 100 followers on Spotify, which we think is BONKERS b/c we don't know 100 people, so it this point it is definitely new friends who are joining the party. Like and subscribe and tell a friend. Or two! All our socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

    Sarah Gailey's Make Me Better: Fancasting, Cults, and Cults

  4. 12 d’ag.

    Evelyn Clarke’s The Ending Writes Itself: (Murder) Mysteries, Indiana Jones, and Endings

    Disclaimer! Jenny had to record from the middle of nowhere and had issues with the audio. We did our best to fix it, but ... please be kind b/c the conversation is still funny, engaging, and full of the usual shenanigans. ----------------------------------------------------------------- We are back! Jenny and Dani are talking about Evelyn Clarke's The Ending Writes Itself (2026), a new murder mystery book by V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke. Dani and Jenny attempt to define what a good mystery is ... hopefully, they somehow succeed. When it comes to the book of the week, though, Dani has a lot of thoughts and feelings about happenstance, divine intervention, and whether the title actually makes sense. Spoilers abound. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for supporting us! linktr.ee/wereadthat --> Like and Subscribe! Tell a friend! Tell more than one friend!

    Evelyn Clarke’s The Ending Writes Itself: (Murder) Mysteries, Indiana Jones, and Endings

  5. 5 d’ag.

    Sarah Langan's Trad Wife: Trad Wives (Again), Horror, and Feminist Choice

    This week Dani allows Jenny to monologue on the fiction literature about trad wife culture. Instead of working, Jenny read not only Sarah Langan's Trad Wife (2026), but also Saratoga Schaefer's book (2026) and Elizabeth Richardson's TRAD Substack. The ladies ponder why horror seems to be the go-to genre for this kind of niche, and what sort of questions these works throw out and possibly answer. Dani wants to know whether the patriarchy allows for genuine feminist choice, or whether our choices are based on societal expectations. Come along as two people who know little about trad wives, but have read books about them, discuss the societal phenomenon in detail, including references to Ballerina Farm and Nara Smith's Interview on Call Her Daddy (our main competitor in the market). Our weekly book question deals with the "perfect bookstore" and whether bookstores are tourist attractions. ------------------------------- Thank you again for all your lovely support. We appreciate all of our listeners and enjoy your comments! Shownotes: linktr.ee/wereadthat Elizabeth Richardson's Substack: https://elizabethrichardsonbooks.substack.com/p/trad-index?r=3tkuh

    Sarah Langan's Trad Wife: Trad Wives (Again), Horror, and Feminist Choice

  6. 28 de jul.

    Zoe Dubno's Happiness & Love: Weird Girl Lit, Grief, and Paul Walker

    A day late, but not a buck short. This week Dani and Jenny tackle Jenny's pick Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno (2025). The story is about a woman's internal monologue while attending a dinner party with an artsy elite group of people in New York City. The protagonist churns through issues of nepotism, wealth, elitism, artistry and grief. Although Jenny and Dani appreciate the ideas and the conversation it evokes between them, they can't help but be annoyed in certain instances. Nonetheless, they have a solid conversation about grief and appropriate ways of grieving (spoiler alert: there are none), why Jenny needs to get a grip when it comes to Paul Walker, and what levels of nepotism and money can do to the artistic process. Jenny also becomes a motivational speaker and just advises everyone to focus on their own work. The Book Question of the Week tries to define the parameters of Weird Girl Lit. You be the judge of whether you agree with the definition or not. ---------------------------------- Thank you for your weekly support! We appreciate each and everyone one of you. Link to all our socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat HAPPY READING!

    Zoe Dubno's Happiness & Love: Weird Girl Lit, Grief, and Paul Walker

  7. 20 de jul.

    Lisa Jewell's It Could Have Been Her: Tropes, Cozy Murder Mysteries, and Show Don't Tell

    Today, Jenny and Dani are tackling Lisa Jewell's It Could Have Been Her (2026). This new book is a homecoming for the two, as they share a love for Jewell's work and actually made in their very first episode ever one of the author's work their main topic (hint hint - go check it out). Jewell's latest book prompts the question: can you have a cozy murder mystery in a house of horrors? The ladies talk all things tropes and what they like in them, agreeing that isolation is just great for all plots and characters to go off the deep end. Yay for forced proximity. Towards the end of the episode, all Swifties should feel deeply offended, for that Jenny and Dani (mostly Jenny) are deeply sorry. -------------------------- THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Like and subscribe! And! Tell a friend. All our socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

    Lisa Jewell's It Could Have Been Her: Tropes, Cozy Murder Mysteries, and Show Don't Tell

  8. 13 de jul.

    Martha Wells' The Murderbot Diaries: Bookmaxxing, Science Fiction, and Snark

    This is one is a short one. Jenny suggests the first book of The Murderbot Diaries series (2017), and the ladies just do not click with it. They click more with Alexander Skarsgard on the Murderbot show on AppleTV. What ensues is an in-depth conversation about what makes good science fiction (according to Dani and with plenty of great examples), and Jenny relates to Murderbot and his affinity for Reality TV. The ladies tackle bookmaxxing after Jenny read a blurb about it on The Guardian: Dani fights all elitism, Jenny embraces some of it. So - the usual. --------------------------- Thank you for supporting the podcast! Tell a friend about it! Like and subscribe! Exclamation mark! Find our socials and bookshop here: linktr.ee/wereadthat

    Martha Wells' The Murderbot Diaries: Bookmaxxing, Science Fiction, and Snark
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Informació

We are two political scientists (and friends), Jenny & Dani, who love to read books and talk about them, life, and just random thoughts. "We Read That" has two simple rules: (1) one of us picks the book each episode and can't tell the other why they picked it; and (2) the book has to be fiction. If you love books and/or need to dissociate for an hour in the car or while doing chores, we are the right podcast. Come along on the journey with us! Beware: spoilers are everywhere.

Fitxa tècnica

  • Creació
    Jenny and Dani
  • Anys en actiu
    2026
  • Episodis
    25
  • Qualificació
    Explícit
  • Copyright
    © Jenny and Dani
  • Lloc web del programa
    We Read That

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