Brews & Reviews

Jaz & Sharn spent January dabbling with The Storygraph & they discuss the triumphs and tribulations of using this exciting new platform with Kerry from @linesiunderline. Part 1 of 2. Find us: Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Kerry's: @LinesIUnderLine Mentioned: The StoryGraph Netflix show: Dark Tourist Books mentioned:   

In today’s episode, we are joined by the lovely Lois to talk about our first book club pick: The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun. This eco-thriller is translated from Korean and follows a woman who works at a company specialising in ‘disaster tourism packages’.  Content warnings for discussions of sexual assault/harrasment in reference to the book. Book club discussion starts at 23:31 Our overall thoughts and ratings Do we get frustrated with Yona’s apathetic tone? Discussion about sexual harassment working in an all-male office, and the ‘Angry Black Woman’ stereotype Do we think the tone of the book changed at all during translation? Was it weird to read about travel and tourism during Covid? What did we think of the ironic ending? Find us: Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Lois’ Insta: @LochanReads Mentioned: The Little Contemporary Corner Netflix show: Dark Tourist Books mentioned:  The Disaster Tourist - Yun Ko-Eun Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel Wilder Girls - Rory Powers The Billionaire Murders - Kevin Donovan The Shadows - Alex North Out of the Woods - Luke Turner Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde The Stonewall Reader Pie in the Sky - Remy Lai An Ordinary Wonder - Buki Papillon Dark Matter - Blake Crouch The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi The Midnight Library - Matt Haig The Girls I’ve Been - Tess Sharpe How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa Adventures of a Young Naturalist - David Attenborough The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang Happy - Fearne Cotton

In today’s episode, Jaz and Sharn are talking about all things book covers! From the popular trends they’ve noticed, to movie book covers, to sprayed edges and printed stickers on books, we *cover* it all. See what we did there?

Jaz and Sharn chat about the last minute books they want to squeeze in before winter is over, and what books they have been saving to read in Spring (regardless of the fact that Sharn hates Spring

In today’s episode, Jaz and Sharn go on a virtual bookish night out, courtesy of the Bibliophile Night Out Book Tag (Created By Beth @BooksNest). Come and join us for a fun and chill book tag, which, of course, has many bookish tangents. Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Shoutouts: Amy / @AmysBookshelf Beth / @BooksNest Books Mentioned: Vi - Kim Thúy Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas Tin Man - Sarah Winman My Friend Fear - Meera Lee Patel Clap When You land - Elizabeth Acevedo 21 Things You Might Not Know About The Indian Act - Bob Joseph Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert The Pretty One - Keah Brown Let Me Hear a Rhyme - Tiffany D. Jackson Amphibian - Christina Neurwirth The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins The Simple Wild - K.A. Tucker Love from A to Z - S.K. Ali A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara Ready Player One - Ernest Cline To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before - Jenny Han The Disaster Tourist - Yun Ko-eun Beartown - Fredrik Backman Middlemarch - George Eliot That Reminds Me - Derek Owusu Less - Andrew Sean Greer The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng Heartstopper - Alice Oseman Red, White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston I’m Afraid of Men - Vivek Shraya

In today’s episode, we catch up - as we always do -on what we’ve been reading this week! We especially dive into a conversation about the short memoir I’m afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya and the way it discusses themes around what it means to be a woman. Do we read specific genres on audiobooks? Do we set TBRs or are we mood readers? Do we forget to read eBooks because they’re not staring at us incessantly on our shelves? We cover the whole shebang in today’s episode all about reading habits! Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas   Other shoutouts: Kayla / @BooksandLala Kerry / @linesiunderline Amy / @AmysBookshelf Lois / @LochanReads Angie / @ReadWithAngie   Books mentioned: My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologies - Fredrik Backman Love in Colour - Bolu Babalola The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett Sawkill Girls - Claire LeGrand Cinderella is Dead - Kalynn Bayron I’m Afraid of Men - Vivek Shraya Clap When You Land - Elizabeth Acevedo The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka Home Body - Rupi Kaur Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh Before the Coffee gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga The Little Black Book - Otegha Uwagba 21 Things You Might Not Know About The Indian Act - Bob Joseph The Disaster Tourist - Yun Ko-eun Turtles All the Way Down - John Green This Green and Pleasant Land - Ayisha Malik Daisy Jones and the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid In a Holidaze - Christina Lauren The Simple Wild - K.A. Tucker The Body is Not an Apology - Sonya Renee Taylor

In today's episode, Jaz and Sharn announce the Brews & Reviews book club – a quarterly book club for chill 2021 reading. Head to our Instagram to vote on the first book pick.  Then, because sometimes reading is hard, we dive deep into reading slumps, how we deal (or don't) deal with them, as well as giving tips for reading when you're busy! ________________________ Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas ________________________ Books mentioned: Roller Girl - Victoria Jamieson Indians on Vacation - Thomas King One by One - Ruth Ware In a Dark Dark Wood - Ruth Ware The Death of The Death of Mrs. Westaway - Ruth Ware My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologies - Fredrik Backman Love in Colour - Bolu Babalola Taking Up Space - Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi It’s Not Like It’s a Secret - Misa Sugiura I’m Afraid of Men - Vivek Shraya The 4 Book Club options: The Disaster Tourist - Yun Ko-Eun The Secret History -  Donna Tartt The Girl with the Louding Voice - Abi Daré The Good Son - Jeong Yu-jeong

On today's episode, Jaz & Sharn give book recommendations based on their Instagram "Ask Box" Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Books Mentioned: The Other People by C.J. Tudor Sapiens: A Graphic Novel by Yuval Noah Harari One by One by Ruth Ware Indians on Vacation by Thomas King The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Library Book by Susan Orlean My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya Bad Blood by John Carryrou This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologies by Fredrik Backman Gods and Conquerors by Aaron Kane Heinemann All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman Under Solomon Skies by Berni Sorga-Millwood When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole Sitting Pretty by Rebekkah Taussig Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix  The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman   Links:   Jacaranda books: https://www.jacarandabooksartmusic.co.uk/collections/twentyin2020  Casey + Bri: Books before Death BookTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWB5nvnEhvgdIIHsXFYojmw  Shazia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khan.library/  

- What books did we read in school? - How are literary exams different in Canada and the UK?- Why do schools make you read classics? - Do we think schools should teach more contemporary novels? - What even makes ”a classic” a classic? Come and take a trip down memory lane with us as we discuss what books we read in school in the UK and in Canada. Before that, however, apparently we’re not reallllllly a book podcast because we spent the first half of this episode essentially talking about school uniforms, exams and everything school related! We hope you find it as interesting as we found it. ________________________ Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas ________________________ People mentioned: Seji @TheArtisanGeek Charlotte @WonderfullyBookish Books and Bones Podcast @booksandbonespodcast Books Unbound podcast @books_unbound ________________________ Books mentioned:  The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga The Other People by CJ Tudor One by One by Ruth Ware Sapiens Graphic Novel by Yuval Noah Harari Kensuke’s Kingdom and Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo The Giver by Lois Lowry Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Holes by Louis Sachar Lord of the Flies by William Golding A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 1984 and Animal Farm by George Owell To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Dracula by Bram Stoker Many plays by Shakespeare (lol) A Streetcar Named Desire The Great Gatbsy by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge The Colour Purple by Alice Walker The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood And many more but this list was getting long! We hope you enjoyed this episode!

On this week's episode, Jaz and Sharn go through their unreasonably large to be read shelves and pick out books to unhaul, but wait! there’s a catch - the books will Shelf Destruct!  The hosts are allowed to keep the books of the next six months and if they still go unread then the books will be officially unhauled. Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas ________________________ Books mentioned:  The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff Life of Pi by Yann Martel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham The Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan Boyle Sapiens A Graphic Novel by Yuval Noah Harari One by One by Ruth Ware Indians on Vacation by Thomas King The Escape by C.L. Taylor The Fear by C.L. Taylor All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier  

Join us as we catch up with our latest reads before talking about all things reading goals! How did we do in 2020? Did we complete our reading challenge? Are we going to set a number of books to read for 2021? What other goals do we want to achieve with our reading? So many questions, so many *not* simple answers! Grab a brew and set some reading goals with us.  As a bonus - we also chat about The StoryGraph and the fact we’ll be testing it out for the month of January! Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Books mentioned:  The Night Before Christmas This is Not The Jess Show by Anna Carey In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole The Other People by C.J. Tudor Sapiens Graphic Novel by Yuval Noah Harari

In today’s episode, we have gathered all of our reading data for 2020 (so far) and explore the various trends in our reading. Do you love numbers and statistics? Are you just nosey and need to know other people's reading lives? Well, this is the episode for you! Come and deep dive with us into the world of bookish stats!

In today’s episode, we are joined by our very first guest … Amy from @AmysBookshelf! We dive into all our complex thoughts about bookstagram. Have you ever looked at beautiful curated photos on bookstagram and wondered why your reading life doesn’t look like that? Well … we’re here to discuss why NOBODY’S reading life looks like that. Grab a cuppa and join us for a discussion about bookstagram aesthetics, honesty, posting whilst in reading slumps – among many other things!   Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas Books mentioned throughout the episode (in the order they’re mentioned): Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo Booked For Christmas by Lily Menon When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandya Menon Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory White Rage by Carol Anderson Sitting Pretty by Rebekah Taussig A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan A Promised Land by Barack Obama Beach Read by Emily Henry Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In today’s episode, we have put together the ultimate book giving guide for the hard people to buy for in your life. Got someone who doesn’t read a lot? We have you sorted. Or someone who seems to have read everything? We’ve got you sorted, too. What about your nan who only seems like John Grisham books? Yep, we’ve got a recommendation for you too. Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas

In this episode, we do (a slightly adapted version of) The End of the Year Book Tag! How many books have we got left to finish before 2020 is over? (Too many!) Do we think there’s a book that could surprise us and become our favourite of the year? Have we started making reading plans for 2021? Come and listen as we reflect on just how many books we have left on our TBR! Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas

In our very first episode, we (Sharn and Jaz) introduce why we started Brews and Reviews: a new bookish podcast. We chat about our reading journey, and what sort of things we get up to on the internet, as well as what we’ve been reading lately!    Our main chat today revolves around the question: Is reading a political act? We discuss this, as well as whether people should use their platforms, such as bookstagram, to speak up about politics. Our Instagram: @brewsandreviewspodcast Jaz: @travelsinfiction Sharn: @caffeineandcommas