Tara Newman

Episode 36: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: A YA With Parents!

June 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 28 mins

benjamin alire saenz, coming of age, lgbtq, sexuality, ya

The Eclectic Readers Podcast is two years old! In celebration, we’re gearing up for our next Eclectic Readathon (starting Friday, June 23rd at 8:00pm EST) and the end of our first ER Mad Libs Reading Challenge (submissions due at the end of the Readathon.)

In this episode we talk about books that helped shape us into who we are today and discuss the Young Adult (YA) book “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” which focuses on two teenage boys discovering their personal, cultural, and sexual identities.

Episode 35: Romeo and/or Juliet: Everything Would be Better with a Buff Captain Picard

May 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 5 mins

choose your own path, retelling, romeo and juliet, romeo and or juliet, ryan north, shakespeare

In this episode, Tara, Jeannette, and Meredith discuss what makes a good “retelling” of a classic story as well as share some of their favorite and least favorite (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) retellings of all time. We’re also ramping up for the end of our ERMadlib challenge and the start of our 24 hour readathon! Now with new great prizes! Then we dive into the multiple endings and laughter of Ryan North’s “Romeo and/or Juliet.”

Episode 31: Blood at the Root: Not for the Faint of Heart

February 28th, 2017  |  1 hr 34 mins

In this episode we welcome a new guest host and book blogger: Stacie! We talk about some exciting podcast news, like our new website and upcoming author interview, and then we discuss some of our favorite POC (Person of Color) literary characters and this tough but important read: Blood at the Root.

Episode 30: Men Explain Things to Me: We’re So Witty

January 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 11 mins

Susan, Tara, and Meredith start off the new year with their read-olutions and goals for 2017. A small update on our ER MadLibs Challenge and then we dive into Men Explain Things to Me. We talk about how Rebecca Solnit addresses hard and upsetting issues that women experience through 9 essays.

Episode 29: Eclectic Readers Special: Interview with Valentine DeLandro

January 9th, 2017  |  39 mins 58 secs

In our last interview from Book Riot Live, Meredith and Tara speak with illustrator, Valentine Delandro.

Episode 28: Eclectic Readers Special: Interview with Ken Liu

January 5th, 2017  |  49 mins 27 secs

Next up in our Book Riot Live author interview, Meredith and Tara speak with author, Ken Liu. He has written The Grace of Kings and translated The Three-Body Problem.

Episode 27: Eclectic Readers Special: Interview with Charlie Jane Anders

January 3rd, 2017  |  37 mins 25 secs

Meredith and Tara were at Book Riot Live! They had a chance to interview 3 authors. This episode is with Charlie Jane Anders author of All the Birds in the Sky.

Episode 26: Zodiac: In Michelle Obama’s Arms We Trust

December 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 14 mins

Meredith, Susan, Tara, and Jeannette have some announcements - some sad, some happy - including a NEW reading challenge for the new year! We also wrap up 2016 with favorite topics, topics we missed, and which Eclectic Readers books we loved most this year. And the stars align for our last book of the year, Romina Russell's Zodiac.

Episode 25: Blankets: You're a Middle Child, so You Get a Pass

November 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 13 mins

Susan, Tara, and Meredith talk about their favorite graphic novels and discuss the graphic novel/memoir 'Blankets' while reminiscing over their own childhood memories.

Episode 24: Station Eleven: And They Go Shwarma

October 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 36 secs

We talk about our favorite Shakespeare play, moments and versions. Then we go forwards into the near future where the world is ending. Who did we relate to the most? We all want to be in the Travelling Symphony.

Episode 20: The Name of the Wind: We Tell Him What We Want, What We Really Really Want

August 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 22 mins

Susan is super excited about new kids’ books, while we prescribe reading with a singalong to help Tara resist a reading slump. We weigh binge-reading versus serialized reading, and find out that Mere might just become a serial reader. On the other hand, Jeannette just wants to binge read all the series. All of them. We then discuss at length Patrick Rothfuss’s lengthy 'The Name of the Wind,' and kindly request more answers and more 'Spice' in Kvothe’s life.

Episode 19: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: We’re Going Back to Hogwarts!

July 31st, 2016  |  1 hr 6 mins

Tara and Meredith fly across the pond to see Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre and are back to give us their reactions and all the Cursed Child information you could want. We fangirl out about all of the cool things we saw and experienced during the play, get Molly and Ginny confused (sorry Ginny), and while the first few minutes are general reactions, we do delve into the plot in the episode, so, be forewarned: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Episode 18: Annihilation: Are You Feeling a Brightening?

July 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 3 mins

Jeannette is nesting, Tara isn't sure what city she is in, and Susan is spreading her spores - Area X style! We discuss the books we felt peer pressured into reading, ask the question 'What is it?' (a lot), and try to fill in the blanks that Annihilation leaves in its wake. Join us as we chat about this sci-fi thriller mystery and try to discern the truth of Area X.

Episode 17: The Star-Touched Queen: You Know You’re in the Underworld When...

June 15th, 2016  |  59 mins 55 secs

It’s our first podcast-iversary! We talk about our upcoming read-a-thon and special ‘Cursed Child’ episode (use #EclecticPotter on Twitter to send us your ‘Cursed Child’ questions) and our favorite mythologies before we delve into ‘The Star-Touched Queen.’

Episode 16: Eclectic Readers Special: Interview with Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen

May 31st, 2016  |  47 mins 4 secs

We had a great time speaking with Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, author of the Rabbit Back Literature Society. We talk a little bit about himself from Buffy to what inspired him to write. Then we go back into Rabbit Back to get some answers. And we talk about his new book being released in English.

Episode 15: A Sense of an Ending: Meh.

May 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 8 mins

We announce a fun event! We talk about moms in the literary world, awesome and crazy. Then we discuss the book where we sensed an ending but it still left us 'meh'.