TBR Lowdown

Latest Episodes:

A conversation with literary translator Tina Kover May 15, 2023

Show notes

We enjoy reading translated books. It’s a big part of our reading lives. We’ve had a strong desire to be in conversation with literary translators on the podcast, and we finally got the chance to do so.

Highlights:

🎙 From wanting to join the foreign service to becoming a literary translator.

🎙 The way translations are pitched and commissioned is quite different than how a conventional author would pitch their work.

🎙 Translators are writers. It’s more than a process.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

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Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram, TikTok, and Lemon8 (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram, Lemon8, and Twitter (bookladyreads )

REBROADCAST: Interview w/ Hugh Ryan, the author of The Women's House of Detention May 08, 2023

Show notes

In 2022, we had the pleasure of interviewing Hugh Ryan, the author of our June 2022 book club pick, The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison. This is such an important book— should be required reading for high school and college. We learned so much and had quite the experience reading about all of the women who have gone through the Women’s House of Detention.

We thought this would be a great time to rebroadcast that episode since the paperback is coming out tomorrow. We highly recommend you grab yourself a copy if you haven’t read this book. This book will open your eyes and illuminate your mind.

Highlights:

🎙 The issue of wearing pants continues to confound us.
🎙 Fingerprinting made things worse for women in particular.
🎙 Bail was an issue then and is still an issue today.

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SUMMER READ: Our Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. JOIN OUR DISCORD to read with us and participate in the discussion!

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Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram, TikTok, and Lemon8 (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram, Lemon8, and Twitter (bookladyreads )

6 nonfiction books we want to read before this year ends Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

We’ve been in possession of a few nonfiction books we have been meaning to read since 2022. We share the nonfiction books we are determined to read before this year ends.

Highlights:

🎙 We have big plans for this one particular book.
🎙 Big corporate baddies…and not the good kind.
🎙 There are a couple of nonfiction yearlong reading challenges happening on bookstagram.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram, TikTok, and Lemon8 (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram, Lemon8, and Twitter (bookladyreads )

Should we be concerned about AI-narrated audiobooks in the bookish world? Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

There’s no doubt AI is the hot buzz around town. Every week there’s a new AI service that allows you to do more using less of your time. Recently, AI has even entered the world of audiobooks. We discuss this and its potential ramifications in this week’s episode.

Highlights:

🎙 Will other audiobook services follow Apple’s move and create their own AI narrator program?
🎙 We seem to forget “Audiobooks are, and will always be, first and foremost an accessibility tool.”
🎙 It may be cost-effective for companies, but does that make it the right thing to do?

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram, TikTok, and Lemon8 (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram, Lemon8, and Twitter (bookladyreads )

Burn, Rewrite, Reread - The Podcast Edition (Round 2) Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

We’re back for another round of Burn, Rewrite, Reread! We’d love to know what books you would’ve chosen.

Highlights:

🎙 This game always seems easy until you actually play it!
🎙 The Silent Patient is significant for both of us for two different reasons.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram, TikTok, and Lemon8 (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram, Lemon8, and Twitter (bookladyreads )

We interview Emily Brandt, self-published author of Love Letters from Hades Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

We’ve been wanting to speak with a self-publishing author to get insight into the process for quite some time. We had a wonderful conversation with Emily Brandt, the self-published author of Love Letters from Hades.

Highlights:

🎙 We rarely see Hades written in this light.

🎙 Self-publishing in Belgium is quite different than in the U.S.

🎙 Emily decided to not be Amazon exclusive.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram (bookladyreads )

Has the mystery around the true identity of Elena Ferrante finally been solved? Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

It’s no secret the identity of Elena Ferrante is a mystery. The author has never introduced themselves to the world, so there has been a lot of speculation over the years. We watch a video by Ann Novella, who provides some pretty solid proof of Ferrante’s identity, and discuss it in this week’s episode. We also discussed the identity of Elena Ferrante back in episode 6 of season 1. Check it out at https://www.tbrlowdown.com/show-notes/s1e6.

Highlights:

🎙 Do we even want to know who Elena Ferrante really is?

🎙 We wonder if we’d feel differently about her books if her identity were made public.

🎙 The software used to expose Ferrante is kind of brilliant!

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule⁠

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge ⁠https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries⁠

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server ⁠https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719⁠

⭐️ Join our Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown⁠

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram (bookladyreads )

[LIVE REBROADCAST] We discuss the longlists for The Women’s Prize, Carol Shields Prize, and International Booker Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

It’s prize season and we couldn’t be more excited. In this live episode, we discuss the longlists for The Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, and The International Booker Prize.

Highlights:

🎙 Sometimes reading a non-fiction book on a particular topic helps to enhance reading a fictional book on the same topic.
🎙 The International Booker is still our favorite prize, but this new Carol Shields prize is pretty interesting.
🎙 We decided to read the entire International Booker longlist with our Discord members.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

------

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule
https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge
https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server
https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719

⭐️ Join our Patreon
[https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram (bookladyreads )

Reading From Our Shelves: Fantasy/Sci-fi Books We Want to Finish Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

It’s time to get through the fantasy/sci-fi books on our shelves and see what we need to finish. Listen to find out the books we shared.

Highlights:

🎙 Malazan will definitely be our next big fantasy series read.

🎙 Alyssa tells Naomi to stop sucking her into reading literary fiction. (we’ll see how that turns out)

🎙 Naomi is having a ball reading War and Peace.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule

https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge

https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server

https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram (bookladyreads )

We Discuss Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated from the Catalan by Julia Sanches Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Hi Friends. Time for a new episode of TBR Lowdown:

We Discuss Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated from the Catalan by Julia Sanches

Highlights:

🎙 What does an obsessive relationship look like?

🎙 Sometimes you want the role of an aunt, not a mother.

🎙 We debate whether or not Boulder is punk literature.

REMINDER: Our 2023 Summer Read is Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Out from Pantheon on May 2. PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

-----

Join our community! Read and chat with us.

⭐️ Readalong with us for our 2023 Reading Schedule

https://www.tbrlowdown.com/2023readingschedule

⭐️ Participate in our 2nd annual #12Women12Countries reading challenge

https://www.tbrlowdown.com/12women12countries

⭐️ Join our book club Discord server

https://disboard.org/server/823917426387058719

⭐️ Join our Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/TBRLowdown

⭐️ Follow TBR Lowdown on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube

⭐️ Follow Alyssa on Instagram (nerdynursereads )

⭐️ Follow Naomi on Instagram (bookladyreads )

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