Novel Pairings Novel Pairings

Chelsey and Sara discuss Langston Hughes’s 1930 novel: Not Without Laughter,  the story of a young boy coming of age in small-town Kansas with his matriarchal family. His mother Annjee works as a maid and cook for a wealthy white family, his grandmother Hager takes in laundry work, and his Aunt Harriet has big dreams of performing. His wandering father, Jimboy makes appearances as does his upper class Aunt Tempy. As a collective, these characters reveal varied philosophies and histories of the Black diasporic experience. 
We expected to enjoy Hughes’ use of language and imagery, but we did not anticipate the rich tapestry of history and themes explored in this  short classic. We hope you take something away from this spoiler-free episode before, during, or after listening, whether you choose to pick up the book or one of our contemporary pairings. These pairings include complex families in fiction, sweeping historical accounts, and blues-y musings on the power of music. 
Are you ready for deeper reading in 2023? This spring we’re exploring the world of Classic Children’s Literature in your podcast feed and with our Patreon community. Together, we’re learning to be better, more critical and thorough readers of classic and contemporary literature. We love discussing books and reading with all of you and hope you’ll join our group of nerdy readers at patreon.com/novelpairings. Annual subscriptions are now available at a discounted price. 
Pairings Timestamp: 29:50
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Books Mentioned:
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
Perish by Latoya Watkins
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
 
Links & Things Mentioned:
"Done Made Us Leave Our Home": Langston Hughes's Not without Laughter--Unifying Image and Three Dimensions - R. Baxter Miller (JSTOR)

This spring semester, we are trying something a little different. We hope you all are up for venturing into uncharted territory together as we spend a few months reading Classic Children's Literature! From fantasy to historical fiction to adventure, we will explore the influences of children's stories on contemporary literature. Using our signature literary lens, we intend to reflect on some of our favorite books as young readers while scrutinizing how well they hold up to the modern kid lit canon. 
We will discuss each of these selections on the main feed, but if you'd like to dive deeper into the themes, history, and connections between these texts, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/novelpairings. 
A quick note: we don't share which books are our book club selections for each month, because we haven't chosen them yet! We'll put out a poll on Patreon.
Novel Pairings Spring 2023: Classic Children's Literature 
February: Fantasy 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman Patreon Lecture: Reading Children's Classics with a Literary Lens March: Historical Fiction
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman Patreon Seminar: Should Grown-Ups Read Twilight?: The role of children's literature in the adult reader's life April: Orphans and Scamps
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Patreon Lecture: From Alice to Amari: The Hero's Journey in Children's Fiction May: Books in Translation
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke The Wild Book by Juan Villaro Patreon Office Hours

Today we enter the towering stack of “Best Book” lists, but we like to think our annual episode stands out from the crowd. Instead of narrowing down a list of favorites every year, we share superlatives to include a wider variety of genres, themes, and reading experiences in our year end wrap up episode. Check our stories at @novelpairingspod on Instagram for templates to share your 2022 superlatives, and please do not forget to tag us! We would love to see which books you select in each category.
For more superlatives, go to patreon.com/novelpairings. We will share a bonus episode on Friday FULL of more titles we loved this year. 
 
Podcast episodes mentioned:
Maryanne Wolf and Ezra Klein discuss “deep reading”
All about hyped books
Buzzy summer 2022 books we both read
 
Books mentioned:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott 
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
Search by Michelle Hunevan
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Invisible Storm by Jason Kander
A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa 
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King
The Long Answer by Anna Hogeland
The Trees by Percival Everett
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Recitatif by Toni Morrison
Have I Told You This Already? By Lauren Graham
Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
These Precious Days by Ann Pachett
Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles
 
Share your own superlatives! Here’s the list:
Lived up to “the hype” Didn’t live up to “the hype” Most likely to become a modern classic Best surprise Biggest disappointment  Most comforting/helped through a hard time Best characters  Best UNlikeable characters Kept you thinking the long after reading Most discussable Best under the radar Best audiobook experience Book you would recommend to a friend  

Join us as we discuss the sumptuous, sexy, and speculative adaptation of The Great Gatsby: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. We adored Vo’s language, voice, and inventive storytelling and will give you a heads up for brief spoilers [20:35-25:00]. In addition to classic themes with a contemporary twist, we also discuss what we’ve learned over the course of this adaptation-themed semester in Novel Pairings University. 
We are not offering pairings for this episode, but we highly recommend checking out our popular bonus episodes on classic literature from the 1920s Part One and Part Two.  
If you’ve enjoyed our eclectic and educational content this season, we would love for you to join us for our exciting December and January events in our Patreon community. You can find calendars and details in our newsletter or on our Patreon page. 
To support Novel Pairings:
Write a review in Apple Podcasts.  Subscribe to our newsletter at novelpairings.substack.com Join our Patreon community at patreon.com/novelpairings. Follow Novel Pairings on Instagram or Twitter.  Send this episode to a bookish friend! Books & Links mentioned:
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor Nghi Vo on the Poured Over podcast Was Gatsby Black? Deconstructing the American Dream: Identity and Illusions in Nghi Vo’s The Chosen and the Beautiful

Readers, today we are taking it way back to September 2020 (a lifetime ago!) when we discussed The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This month’s book club is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (a Gatsby retelling) so we’re taking this opportunity to refresh our memories about the plot, characters, and themes of Fitzgerald’s iconic work. We hope you enjoy this blast from the past, and we’re so excited to discuss Vo’s novel with you next week!
 
 
Books mentioned:
Chelsey’s Pairings:
Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavincencio
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Sara’s Pairings:

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
The Affairs of the Falcons by Melissa Rivero
Severance by Ling Ma

Coming Up
Next Week: The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo

To support Novel Pairings:
Write a review in Apple Podcasts.  Subscribe to our newsletter at novelpairings.substack.com Join our Patreon community at patreon.com/novelpairings. Follow Novel Pairings on Instagram or Twitter.  Send this episode to a bookish friend!

In anticipation of this month's book club read, we're sharing a whole stack of novels set in the 1920s. We are giving you a little bit of everything in this list: historical fiction, romance, mystery, backlist books, and new releases to help you step back in time and witness the opulence and turbulence of the Roaring 20s. We hope you find the perfect glittering, scandalous, or suspenseful novel to escape into. 
Pairings
Chelsey:
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo  Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich Sara:
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh Jazz by Toni Morrison The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters  
Coming Up
November: The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo
 
To support Novel Pairings:
Write a review in Apple Podcasts.  Subscribe to our newsletter at novelpairings.substack.com Join our Patreon community at patreon.com/novelpairings. Follow Novel Pairings on Instagram or Twitter.  Send this episode to a bookish friend!