Episode 53: Podcasters
Summary: Let’s get meta, friends! Today, Holly and Devin talk through books with podcasters as the protagonists. They use this podcast medium to dig into the value of podcasting and the way that an audio medium impacts our lives, for better and for much, much worse. Due to its growing popularity in the last decade - true crime for Holly and comedy/science for Devin - podcasts are more and more featured in books and as podcasters themselves, our hosts are all for it. They’ll stop saying “podcast” so much now…
Topics Discussed:
The Dagger (3:20): Holly discussed None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, a psychological thriller that follows popular podcaster Alix Summers as she crosses paths with an unassuming woman named Josie Fair. After Josie pitches herself as the subject in one of Alix’s podcast episodes, the women become progressively more entwined and Alix is left to uncover the dark, terrible legacy of Josie after her sudden disappearance. Holly’s key takeaways were:
Jewell alternates the POV between Alix and Josie and includes excerpts from the podcast episodes they record; Holly recommends this book on audio specifically because of the mixed media elements.
From the start, Alix and Josie are foils for each other. Alix is pretty, upper middle class, successful and fulfilled in her work. Josie is frumpy, constantly described as wearing denim everything and married to a man almost 30 years her senior. Jewell weaves them together in a fascinating and terrifying way.
As the title indicates, Jewell masterfully balances perspective (via Alix, who is uncertain about who Josie is and whether to keep working with her) such that the reader even to the end cannot feel confident in who to believe and where lies the truth.
The Heart (20:22): Devin discussed Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin, a “You’ve Got Mail” retelling that follows Hana Khan as she balances her passion for podcasting with her efforts to save her mother’s halal restaurant, Three Sisters Biryani Poutine. When a competitor, Wholistic Burgers and Grill, opens on the same street, Hana is thrown into battle against the charming and gorgeous Aydin Shah. With her podcast, Ana’s Brown Girl Rambles, as a solace and the dedicated listener Stanley P as a confidant, how can Hana do it all? Devin’s key takeaways were:
Instead of email for this Rom Com re-do, Aydin and Hana come together and are kept apart by her podcast and their DMs. Her engagement with audio allows the reader to explore what having a voice means, especially with moments of anti-muslim hate crime in the story.
Yes, this is a romance but Jalaluddin focuses on Hana as a full and complete woman outside of romantic love, and explores self-love, familial love, and community love and care through the novel - with a special emphasis on the Toronto Golden Crescent neighborhood.
With concerns over the failing restaurant run by her mother for so long, Hana has to fight to keep traditions alive but also has deep passion for audio broadcasting and the modern ways people connect to each other. Both Aydin and Hana have to wrestle with those pressures and the possible gentrification of their Muslim neighborhood in Scarborough.
Hot On the Shelf (39:09):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (43:08):
Holly: A new season of reading in 2024
Devin: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.
