Book Gang Podcast Por Amy Allen Clark arte de portada

Book Gang

Book Gang

De: Amy Allen Clark
Escúchala gratis

Are you looking for your next book recommendation? This book podcast celebrates debuts, backlist, and under-the-radar book selections. Expand your book stack with these recommendations and look at the book industry behind the scenes with Amy Allen Clark (MomAdvice.com). She shares the microphone with her favorite writers and bookstagrammers to help you have your best reading year ever. Arte Historia y Crítica Literaria
Episodios
  • If You Loved Ferrante, Read This Next (A Splintering)

    If You Loved Ferrante, Read This Next (A Splintering)
    Apr 17 2026
    Dur e Aziz Amna joins us to discuss A Splintering, a sharp, compulsive novel about class, ambition, and the cost of becoming who you believe you’re meant to be. This week’s Book Gang conversation brings us together with award-winning author Dur e Aziz Amna to talk about A Splintering, a novel that pulls you in from its very first line and refuses to let the reader go. This novel made my Best Books of the Year list, and I'm so excited to celebrate this story today. From a childhood shaped by poverty in rural Pakistan to the calculated, high-stakes world of social mobility, Amna introduces us to Tara—a narrator who dares you to judge her even as she demands to be understood. This is a story about ambition sharpened by circumstance, about the quiet and not-so-quiet ways women navigate power, and about what it means to reshape your life when the world has already decided your place within it. In this compelling conversation, we discuss: 📚 The making of a sharper, more unflinching novel: Dur e Aziz Amna reflects on the journey from American Fever to A Splintering, exploring how success reshapes creative pressure—and how this novel emerged as something darker, more daring, and more structurally ambitious in both voice and scope. 📚 A narrator who challenges the reader’s loyalty: We dive into Tara’s arresting opening and what it means to build a story around a protagonist who is not asking to be liked, but understood. Through voice, structure, and intimate address, Amna redefines the relationship between reader and character, asking us to sit with discomfort rather than resolve it. 📚 Class, ambition, and the cost of reinvention: From sibling dynamics shaped by patriarchy to marriage as a strategic turning point, this conversation unpacks the systems that shape Tara’s choices—and the psychological and moral fractures that come with upward mobility in a world where nothing is freely given. 📚 📚 BONUS WEEKLY BOOK LIST: Don’t miss this week’s companion list featuring 29 South Asian Books—a mix of brand new novels and essential backlist books that pair beautifully with A Splintering. Patrons will receive a printable checklist to take along on their next library visit! Meet Dur e Aziz Amna Dur e Aziz Amna is the author of A Splintering, winner of the Stanfords Prize for Fiction and a BBC Book Club pick. Her debut novel, American Fever, received the South Asian Book Award and the APALA Award for Literature. Her writing has appeared in major publications, including the New York Times, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, and she was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022. Born and raised in Pakistan, she is a graduate of Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, and currently lives in the United States. A Splintering is available on bookstore shelves now in the U.S. and the U.K. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! My Best Books of 2025 NEW BOOK LIST: 29 South Asian Books to Fall In Love With Sam Wachman Interview (The Sunflower Boys) Join the April Book Club 4/30 at 8 PM ET (The Sunflower Boys) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein Interviews with History and Conversations with Power by Oriana Fallaci Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Dur e Aziz Amna on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
    Más Menos
    56 m
  • The Scandalous Women Who Started It All

    The Scandalous Women Who Started It All
    Apr 10 2026
    Gill Paul discusses Scandalous Women, the 1960s publishing world, and the iconic female authors who redefined storytelling in this backlist feature. Let's get some literary hinges to our reading lives in this backlist feature. This week's Book Gang conversation brings us together with international bestselling author Gill Paul to talk about Scandalous Women. Paul transports readers into the electric, high-stakes world of 1960s publishing, where two women didn’t just write bestselling books—they changed what women were allowed to write about at all. If you’ve ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes of the books we love (the deals, the risks, the moments that quietly reshape an entire industry), this conversation is such a treat with a true insider. In this fascinating conversation, we discuss: 📚 From editor to international bestselling author: Gill reflects on her journey from working inside publishing to becoming a globally recognized novelist, sharing what she understands now about the industry that many writers and readers often misunderstand. 📚 The “two Jackies” who changed publishing forever: We dive into the lives of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins—their controversial novels, massive commercial success, and the backlash they faced for writing openly about female ambition and desire. 📚 Recreating the 1960s publishing world from the inside out: Through research and the lens of a fictional editorial assistant, Gill brings to life the high-stakes, male-dominated publishing landscape where readers get an inside look at how the publishing industry worked in the 1960s. 📚 📚 BONUS WEEKLY BOOK LIST: Don’t miss this week’s companion list featuring 43 Fascinating Books About Authors and Publishing to celebrate Scandalous Women. I am including my all-time favorites and a few new releases I can't wait to read. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Gill Paul Gill Paul is the author of thirteen historical novels, which have sold over a million copies, hit the top five in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Toronto Globe & Mail bestseller lists, and have been translated into twenty-four languages. Her novel SCANDALOUS WOMEN is about Jackie Collins, Jacqueline Susann, and the misogyny of the 1960s publishing industry. Gill lives in London where she swims year-round in a wild pond, and speaks at libraries and festivals on topics ranging from Tutankhamun to the Romanovs. Mentioned in this episode: Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 43 Fascinating Books About Authors and Publishing Join the April Book Club 4/30 at 8 PM ET (The Sunflower Boys) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) Scandalous Women by Gill Paul Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins Lucky by Jackie Collins Love Stories series The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul Lovely Me by Barbara Seaman The World is Full of Married Men by Jackie Collins Lady Boss How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Kanner’s Syndrome Life with Jackie by Irving Mansfield Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown Peyton Place by Grace Metalious Jackie Collins on Loose Women Barbara Cartland and Jackie Collins Confrontation Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Gill Paul on Instagram or Her Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
    Más Menos
    51 m
  • April Book Club: The Sunflower Boys

    April Book Club: The Sunflower Boys
    Apr 3 2026
    Author Sam Wachman joins us as our April MomAdvice Book Club pick to discuss The Sunflower Boys, a powerful coming-of-age story set during the war in Ukraine. This week, Sam Wachman joins Book Gang to discuss The Sunflower Boys, our April MomAdvice Book Club pick. This story offers a remarkable blend of the tenderness of boyhood and the brutality of war, set against the backdrop of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, bringing to life its heartbreaking history. As the brothers in this story undertake a harrowing journey across a war-torn landscape, a love of art becomes both guide and witness, leading these two boys toward hope and a desperate reunion with their father. Wachman offers a war chronicle and an intimate, profoundly human portrayal of the enduring spirit of family, deeply humanizing the Ukrainian struggle. In this remarkable conversation, we discuss: 📚 From the classroom to the page: Before writing The Sunflower Boys, Sam Wachman taught English to primary school students in Ukraine—an experience that deeply shaped the emotional core of this novel. We discuss how those relationships with Ukrainian youth helped him build Artem’s voice with such tenderness, specificity, and care. 📚 Art as structure, memory, and survival: One of the most striking elements of this novel is its structure—100 chapters shaped by Artem’s sketches. Sam shares how this artistic framework guided not just the pacing of the story but also its emotional rhythm. 📚 Writing war through a child’s lens: Drawing from his time working with Ukrainian families and refugees, Sam approached this story with a deep sense of responsibility. We talk about how he balanced honesty with restraint while writing from a 12-year-old’s perspective—capturing fear, confusion, and resilience without overwhelming the reader—and why that lens might be the most powerful way to understand the human cost of war. 📚 📚 BONUS WEEKLY BOOK LIST: Don’t miss this week’s companion list featuring 24 books about siblings, inspired by this week's story of brothers. I am including my all-time favorites and a few new releases I can't wait to read. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit! Meet Sam Wachman Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts with Ukrainian roots. His work has appeared in Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, and River Styx. Before writing The Sunflower Boys, he taught English to primary schoolers in central Ukraine and worked with refugee families across Europe and the United States. This deeply affecting novel is his debut. Mentioned in this episode: Gratitude to Our Show Patrons: This week's episode is open to all listeners thanks to generous donations made through Buy Me a Coffee and your community memberships. If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you're invited to join our Patreon Book Club chat on April 30th at 8 PM ET, where we'll dive deeper into spoilers, themes, and reader reactions. Membership is $5 a month, or you can prepay for the year and save 10%. Download Today's Show Transcript Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year! NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Books About Siblings Join the April Book Club 4/30 at 8 PM ET (The Sunflower Boys) 2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections) The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman Gays Reading Podcast Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores. Connect With Us: Join the Book Gang Patreon Connect With Sam Wachman on Instagram or His Website Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice Get My Happy List Newsletter Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter
    Más Menos
    1 h
Todavía no hay opiniones