About the show
Starting in 2020, we're now releasing two episodes a month! The first episode releases on the 15th and is a chat of what we're currently reading and a general bookish discussion topic. The 2nd episode releases on the 30th and is our monthly book club discussion. We announce the following month's book pick at the end of the episode so you can read along with us. (Our older episodes follow this same format, but were combined into one longer episode a month.)
We also have special author interview episodes sprinkled throughout the year, so make sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast app so you never miss out!
If you'd like join in on the bookish discussion through social media, our hashtag is #EclecticReaders and you can find us at:
Twitter: @EclecticReadPod
Litsy: @EclecticReaders
Instagram: @EclecticReaders
Goodreads: Eclectic Readers
The History of Eclectic Readers
The Eclectic Readers started in 2009 as an IRL book club. In 2015, four of us in the book club thought we'd give podcasting a try and have been going strong ever since! In each monthly book club episode, we base our book choice on that month's IRL book club pick.
Eclectic Readers on social media
Episodes
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Episode 90: The City We Became: In NK We Trust
August 30th, 2020 | 48 mins 23 secs
diverse, fantasy, new york city, nk jeminsin, poc
Tara, Meredith, and Jeannette go off to New York City to discuss The City We Became. How the book is a love letter to New York City yet a critique on society with racism. Also, the interesting process of how a city is born.
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Episode 89: Book Talk: Settings - I’m at the Purple Hair Stage of Quarantine
August 15th, 2020 | 42 mins 25 secs
book recs, book talk, settings
Meredith, Tara, and Jeannette talk about settings, and how much a setting matters in a book. What does it mean for the setting to be a character in the story? How much does the setting matter to the reader?
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Episode 88: The Forest of Enchantments: You Tried, Ram
July 30th, 2020 | 52 mins 32 secs
female perspective, indian mythology, ram, ramayana, sita
Susan, Meredith, and Jeannette discuss the Forest of Enchantments and what they thought of the Ramayana being told from Sita’s perspective. They talk about the themes of love and enduring as well as the impact Ram had made on Sita’s life.
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Episode 87: Book Talk: Road Trips/Journeys - I Reserve My Judgement
July 15th, 2020 | 38 mins 21 secs
journeys, quests, road trips
Jeannette, Meredith, and Susan discuss journeys and road trips in books. What makes them enjoyable? What books come to mind when they think journeys and road trips?
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Episode 86: Author Interview: Jasmine Guillory
July 1st, 2020 | 20 mins 19 secs
author interview, contemporary romance, jasmine guillory, romance
Jeannette has a delightful chat with Jasmine Guillory, author of the Wedding Date, The Proposal, and more. They talk about her newest book, Party of Two, what make her couples so much fun, and of course, dessert!
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Episode 85: The Gifted School: Shenanigans! I Wanted More Shenanigans
June 30th, 2020 | 49 mins 24 secs
gift school, school competition, slice of life
Susan, Meredith, and Tara talk schools; or rather a gifted school for the gifted. They talk about status, competition, and class with how parents think they are doing everything they can to help their children succeed.
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Episode 84: Book Talk: Pride Month - Let's Change the Default
June 15th, 2020 | 51 mins 5 secs
diverse voices, gay, lesbian, lgbt, queer
Happy Pride Month! Meredith, Tara, and Susan talk LGBTQIA+ in the media. How TV leans towards WLW and books lean towards MLM, but there still needs to be more representation, overall. They then talk about their LGBTQIA+ focused book stacks and recs.
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Episode 83: Black Lives Matter
June 8th, 2020 | 56 secs
black lives matter
Black Lives Matter. Black Stories Matter. Share them. Say their names. Don’t let them be silenced.
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Episode 82: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: I Would Have Talked to the President
May 30th, 2020 | 43 mins 49 secs
extraterrestrial life, hank green, sci fi
Tara, Meredith, and Susan dive into an Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. They discuss how an alien invasion could be surprisingly topical, the drawbacks of internet-fame, and if they too would be one of the Dreamers, solving puzzles with the rest of humanity.
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Episode 81: Book Talk: Book Recs for Extraterrestrial Life
May 15th, 2020 | 42 mins 4 secs
book recs
Meredith, Tara, and Susan are given a mission: curate a list of books for extraterrestrial life. Each list is surprisingly different and yet they all have something in common. Listen and let us know what novels you would share with ET!
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Episode 80: Secret Passages in a Hillside Town: We Had to Get It; We Were Told to Get It
April 30th, 2020 | 42 mins 20 secs
Jeannette and Susan try to enter the secret passages but find that it may not be as magical as they thought. From Olli as the protagonist to how Greta was handled, they try to unravel the themes and meanings.
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Episode 79: Book Talk: Lit in the Time of Corona
April 15th, 2020 | 33 mins 50 secs
book recs, book talk
Susan, Tara, and Jeannette go into how they are doing during the stay-at-home orders. Specifically, how their reading habits are beneficial, if their reading habits have changed, and recs to get through this trying time.
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Episode 78: Blood of Elves: Once You Sit Down, You're Invested
March 30th, 2020 | 44 mins 37 secs
book club, fantasy, small screen adaptation
Susan, Jeannette, and Meredith discuss Blood of Elves and how the books feel more modern yet formatting was very questionable. How very well translated is something if a word is used too much? Also, is pirouetting very important to describe fighting?
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Episode 77: Book Talk: Small Screen Adaptation - I'm Doing Jazz Hands and Nobody Can See Me
March 15th, 2020 | 38 mins 44 secs
small screen adaptations
Jeannette, Meredith, and Susan talk about adaptations and how it affects their reading habits. Will they immediately read a book that’s being adapted? They also talk of favorite adaptations and adaptations they would like to see.
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Episode 76: March: Baby, Come Back!
February 29th, 2020 | 42 mins 15 secs
civil rights movement, freedom riders, graphic novel memoir, historical graphic novel, john lewis, march graphic novels
In this month’s book club episode, Meredith, Tara, and Jeannette discuss the three book graphic novel memoir series “March” by US Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.
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Episode 75: Book Talk: Diversity in Publishing
February 15th, 2020 | 44 mins 6 secs
Jeannette, Meredith, and Tara check out some recent stats on diversity in publishing, spotlight a couple of people advocating for diversity in the publishing world, and talk about what they do to maintain diversity in their own reading lives.