Podcast appearances and mentions of Shobha Rao

This week Maggie and Harmony discuss resiliency, as they read up to page 202 of Girls, Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao. What we're reading: An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn https://bookshop.org/a/9908/9780062353658 The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart https://bookshop.org/a/9908/9780316541428 To follow our episode schedule go here https://medium.com/rebel-girls-book-club/read-along-with-the-show-bde1d80a8108 Follow our social media pages at Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rgbcpod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RebelGirlsBookClub/ Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/101801516-rebel-girls and Twitter https://twitter.com/RebelGirlsBook1 Or you can email us at RebelGirlsBookClub@gmail.com. Our theme song is by The Gays and our image is by Mari Talor Renaud-Krutulis. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rgbc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rgbc/support

In this episode, our hosts Daman Tiwana and Khyati Thakur are in conversation with the author of the book Girls Burn Brighter, Shobha Rao. Listen in to hear the author's inspiration behind the book and key insights into major events in the book. If you like this episode, please leave a 5-star review and a  comment. Follow us on Instagram @browngirlsreadpod and Twitter @browngirlsread1 for updates on  future episodes, and on our YouTube channel Brown Girls Read for more  content. Show notes: https://browngirlsread.wordpress.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/browngirlsread/message

In this   episode, our hosts Daman Tiwana and Khyati Thakur share their stories, their culture and their experiences, and their friendship, with the  book Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao. If you like this episode, please leave a 5-star review and a  comment. Follow us on Instagram @browngirlsreadpod and Twitter @browngirlsread1 for updates on  future episodes, and on our YouTube channel Brown Girls Read for more  content. Show notes: https://browngirlsread.wordpress.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/browngirlsread/message

(From March 2019) City Lights celebrates the release of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's new novel, Little Boy, published by Doubleday Books with special guests reading passages from the book including: Andrew Sean Greer, Armistead Maupin, Michael Krasny, Maxine Hong Kingston, Shobha Rao, and Julien Poirier. A pre-recorded remark by Lawrence plays at the conclusion. This event was part of our Ferlinghetti 100th birthday celebrations in Spring 2019. In this unapologetically unclassifiable work Lawrence Ferlinghetti lets loose an exhilarating rush of language to craft what might be termed a closing statement about his highly significant and productive 99 years on this planet. The "Little Boy" of the title is Ferlinghetti himself as a child, shuffled from his overburdened mother to his French aunt to foster childhood with a rich Bronxville family. Service in World War Two (including the D-Day landing), graduate work, and a scholar gypsy's vagabond life in Paris followed. These biographical reminiscences are interweaved with Allen Ginsberg-esque high energy bursts of raw emotion, rumination, reflection, reminiscence and prognostication on what we may face as a species on Planet Earth in the future. Little Boy is a magical font of literary lore with allusions galore, a final repository of hard-earned and durable wisdom, a compositional high wire act without a net (or all that much punctuation) and just a gas and an inspiration to read.

Celebrating the new issue of Freeman's: "The Best New Writing on California," published by Grove. Hosted by John Freeman with readings by Tommy Orange, Rabih Alameddine, Lauren Markham, H.R. Smith, Shobha Rao, Oscar Villalon, and Jaime Cortez. The sixth Freeman's brilliantly showcases some of the world's best writers grappling with the myths and reality of California today. John Freeman was the editor of Granta until 2013. His books include How to Read a Novelist, Tales of Two Cities, Tales of Two Americas, and Maps, his debut collection of poems. He is executive editor at the Literary Hub and teaches at the New School and New York University. His work has appeared in the New Yorker and the Paris Review and has been translated into twenty languages.

This month: A special book edition. Carol Anne Riddell visits with six authors: Sarah Pekkanen & Greer Hendricks; Therese Anne Fowler; Elinor Lipman; Shobha Rao; and Stephen McCauley.

At the age of seven, Shobha Rao (https://shobharaowrites.com/about/) moved from India to the United States and found herself in a world of wonder and discovery that's never left her.In fact, as we'd discover in today's conversation, she is so committed to presence and wonder, her cellphone has no internet, nor does she ever use her camera. And, when she teaches students, she invites them to have their heart's broken by leaving their phones at the door.Obsessed with books, Rao eventually became a writer, won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction, and her story “Kavitha and Mustafa” was chosen by T.C. Boyle for inclusion in Best American Short Stories 2015. Her latest book, Girls Burn Brighter (https://amzn.to/2VFe0S1), is a heartbreaking and eye-opening exploration of friendship, sisterhood, patriarchy and the boxes society often seeks to put people in.Rao is currently the 2018 Grace Paley Teaching Fellow at The New School in New York City.Check out our offerings & partners: NetSuite: Business management software on an easy to use cloud platform. Get NetSuite’s guide “Crushing the Five Barriers to Growth” when you go to NetSuite.com/GOOD now.Grove: Makes shopping for natural products EASY. Get a free $30 Mrs. Meyer's gift set at Grove.co/GOODLIFE with your first order.Stitcher: Listen ad-free on Stitcher Premium, Visit stitcherpremium.com/wondery and use the code ‘WONDERY.’ShipStation: Try ShipStation FREE for 60 days. Visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in GOODLIFE.True Stories of Good People, a GoFundMe podcast: Listen and subscribe to True Stories of Good People on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Gayle and Nicole talk about dark book-based dramas on various TV networks, particularly Caroline Kepnes' https://amzn.to/2tOGqfD (You) (Lifetime and Netflix) and and Teddy Wayne's https://amzn.to/2Un7cau (Loner) (HBO). Then we get into our favorite vacation reading experiences – books we've read when we were away, and why they've stayed with us. Does the place we read books impact how we enjoy them? https://amzn.to/2NIFX7O (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) by Lee Israel https://amzn.to/2SKvolq (The Ones We Choose) by Julie Clark https://amzn.to/2TjGnr5 (The Wartime Sisters) by Linda Cohen Loigman https://amzn.to/2ISIUny (Tin Man) by Sarah Winman https://amzn.to/2Ul8kLO (Talent) by Juliet Lapidos https://amzn.to/2SLdorh (City of Thieves) by David Benioff https://amzn.to/2SJ64wk (Trespass) by Rose Tremain https://amzn.to/2tODOhP (The Vacationers) & https://amzn.to/2XFZnyI (Modern Lovers) by Emma Straub https://amzn.to/2EPIytN (The Lemon Grove) by Helen Walsh https://amzn.to/2C6zIpT (Labor Day) & https://amzn.to/2SKwYDS (Under The Influence) by Joyce Maynard https://amzn.to/2VFPA9R (The Breakdown), https://amzn.to/2VHlGCp (Behind Closed Doors) & https://amzn.to/2EQ675H (Bring Me Back) by B.A. Paris https://amzn.to/2EMDxkD (The Last Mrs. Parrish) by Liv Constantine https://amzn.to/2UhOPUl (The Book of Essie) by Meghan MacLean Weir https://amzn.to/2XGb8Fe (The Passenger) by Lisa Lutz https://amzn.to/2SNztWh (Girls Burn Brighter) by Shobha Rao https://amzn.to/2SHlDV7 (The Sympathizer) by Viet Thanh Nguyen https://amzn.to/2tOtN44 (Girls In White Dresses) by Jennifer Close https://amzn.to/2ERxkFj (Girl In Translation), https://amzn.to/2XO0E70 (Mambo In Chinatown) & https://amzn.to/2SHlP6N (Searching For Sylvie) https://amzn.to/2SHlP6N (Lee) by Jean Kwok https://amzn.to/2EOKqD4 (The Editor) by Stephen Rowley https://amzn.to/2tRXIs3 (People Who Knew Me) by Kim Hooper https://amzn.to/2tTOJXk (The Lost History of Dreams) by Kris Waldherr Support this podcast

Finish 2018 the right way: with the story of a powerful friendship and #squadgoals. In our final episode of the year, the Squad discusses "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao. We talk about the novel’s themes, including grief, light/dark, and hope, as well as Rao’s writing style. We get into what shapes and drives the two main characters, and of course, we discuss the harrowing (seriously, it’s really bad) journey the women endure as they try to find one another again. Plus, we’ve got listener feedback on "Little Fires Everywhere" and "Suspiria." Watch "My Brilliant Friend" on HBO for our next #othersode and read "The Power" by Naomi Alderman for our next #bookpisode! 2:18 – What meal/food would people be able to identify you by?9:49 – Summary and book intro12:44 – Themes and shit: Grief16:35 – What does “girls burn brighter” mean?23:20 – Sensory details and what they might mean32:33 – What happens with Poornima’s father?34:46 – Sexual violence 43:20 – Bodies as commodities and disability 46:15 – Fear50:30 – What about that ending, though? - NYT Review: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/books/review/girls-burn-brighter-shobha-rao.html1:02:29 – Ratings!1:09:07 – Listener feedback!1:30:34 – What’s on the blog? What’s up next?Next Othersode: HBO's "My Brilliant Friend," January 14th Next Bookpisode: "The Power" by Naomi Alderman, January 28th

Finish 2018 the right way: with the story of a powerful friendship and #squadgoals. In our final episode of the year, the Squad discusses "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao. We talk about the novel’s themes, including grief, light/dark, and hope, as well as Rao’s writing style. We get into what shapes and drives the two main characters, and of course, we discuss the harrowing (seriously, it’s really bad) journey the women endure as they try to find one another again. Plus, we’ve got listener feedback on "Little Fires Everywhere" and "Suspiria." Watch "My Brilliant Friend" on HBO for our next #othersode and read "The Power" by Naomi Alderman for our next #bookpisode! 2:18 – What meal/food would people be able to identify you by?9:49 – Summary and book intro12:44 – Themes and shit: Grief16:35 – What does “girls burn brighter” mean?23:20 – Sensory details and what they might mean32:33 – What happens with Poornima’s father?34:46 – Sexual violence 43:20 – Bodies as commodities and disability 46:15 – Fear50:30 – What about that ending, though? - NYT Review: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/books/review/girls-burn-brighter-shobha-rao.html1:02:29 – Ratings!1:09:07 – Listener feedback!1:30:34 – What’s on the blog? What’s up next?Next Othersode: HBO's "My Brilliant Friend," January 14th Next Bookpisode: "The Power" by Naomi Alderman, January 28th

It's time for our second annual End-of-the-Year celebration here at the Book Squad Goals clubhouse. Grab a hot cuppa tea and/or a tall glass of wine and party with us as we go through our favorite things of 2018. And then... we open presents! Sorry, we didn't get you anything. This is awkward. Please don't forget to rate, review, subscribe and come back for our final episode of the year when we'll be discussing Shobha Rao's novel "Girls Burn Brighter"!Table of Contents1:07 - Intros & New Year’s resolutions 7:40 - Our Top 3 Favorite Things of 2018 - Susan’s #3: “Nailed It!” on Netflix10:45 - Mary’s #3: cat instagrams! @chicagoblackcat, @dawnandmaymay, @iamthecatphotographer & @kittenxlady14:19 - Kelli’s #3: Man Repeller!How to Genuinely Find Your Personal Style: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/10/advice-on-finding-your-personal-style.htmlA List of Things I Consistently Regret but Continue to Do by Amelia Diamond: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/12/cat-eye-eyeliner-and-other-things-i-regret-starting.html15 Women Share Their Most Bone-Chilling Ghost(ing) Stories: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/10/15-women-share-their-best-stories-about-ghosting.html21:40 - Emily: “Mandy”25:22 - Guest pick! Janet’s 2018 fave: Audiobooks28:22 - Susan’s #2: “Trench” by 21 Pilots32:41 - Mary’s #2: “Be the Cowboy” by Mitski36:27 - Kelli’s #2: “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” on Netflix42:28 - Emily’s #2: “Atlanta” Season 247:20 - Guest pick! ASMR Todd’s favorite thing of the 2018: “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” specifically Henry Cavill punching the air. Please visit twitter.com/cavillpunching48:53 - Our 2018 honorable mentions: “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “Queer Eye,” Ariana Grande (music & gossip), CHVRCHES, Pete Holmes & “Crashing”54:55 - Guest pick! Stephanie’s 2018 fave: “Love is Dead” by CHVRCHES 57:10 - Susan’s #1: “Dr. Death”1:03:09 - Mary’s #1: Spider-Man for the PS41:08:50 - Kelli’s #1: “Dirty Computer” by Janelle Monae NPR’s Best Albums of 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/671206573/the-50-best-albums-of-2018-page-1Janelle Monae’s response to Grammy https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8489341/janelle-monae-dirty-computer-emotional-reaction-to-grammy-awards-album-of-the-year-nomination1:13:27 - Emily’s thoughts on horror and grief / Guest Pick! Ben’s 2018 fave: “Annihilation”1:16:24 - Emily’s #1: Hereditary 1:18:15 - Guest Pick! Elizabeth’s 2018 fave: Creating the headpiece for Polaris on “The Gifted” 1:22:02 - Secret Santa!!!!!1:40:35 - Final guest pick: Emily’s Dad, Charlie, AKA “the Dad to call if you’re taken prisoner by a cult”1:42:50 - What’s on the blog? What’s next on the pod?Next episode: “Girls Burn Brighter” by Shobha Rao, December 31Next othersode: “My Brilliant Friend” (miniseries), January 14, 2019Happy holidays, GOALIES!

It's time for our second annual End-of-the-Year celebration here at the Book Squad Goals clubhouse. Grab a hot cuppa tea and/or a tall glass of wine and party with us as we go through our favorite things of 2018. And then... we open presents! Sorry, we didn't get you anything. This is awkward. Please don't forget to rate, review, subscribe and come back for our final episode of the year when we'll be discussing Shobha Rao's novel "Girls Burn Brighter"!Table of Contents1:07 - Intros & New Year’s resolutions 7:40 - Our Top 3 Favorite Things of 2018 - Susan’s #3: “Nailed It!” on Netflix10:45 - Mary’s #3: cat instagrams! @chicagoblackcat, @dawnandmaymay, @iamthecatphotographer & @kittenxlady14:19 - Kelli’s #3: Man Repeller!How to Genuinely Find Your Personal Style: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/10/advice-on-finding-your-personal-style.htmlA List of Things I Consistently Regret but Continue to Do by Amelia Diamond: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/12/cat-eye-eyeliner-and-other-things-i-regret-starting.html15 Women Share Their Most Bone-Chilling Ghost(ing) Stories: https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/10/15-women-share-their-best-stories-about-ghosting.html21:40 - Emily: “Mandy”25:22 - Guest pick! Janet’s 2018 fave: Audiobooks28:22 - Susan’s #2: “Trench” by 21 Pilots32:41 - Mary’s #2: “Be the Cowboy” by Mitski36:27 - Kelli’s #2: “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” on Netflix42:28 - Emily’s #2: “Atlanta” Season 247:20 - Guest pick! ASMR Todd’s favorite thing of the 2018: “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” specifically Henry Cavill punching the air. Please visit twitter.com/cavillpunching48:53 - Our 2018 honorable mentions: “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “Queer Eye,” Ariana Grande (music & gossip), CHVRCHES, Pete Holmes & “Crashing”54:55 - Guest pick! Stephanie’s 2018 fave: “Love is Dead” by CHVRCHES 57:10 - Susan’s #1: “Dr. Death”1:03:09 - Mary’s #1: Spider-Man for the PS41:08:50 - Kelli’s #1: “Dirty Computer” by Janelle Monae NPR’s Best Albums of 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/671206573/the-50-best-albums-of-2018-page-1Janelle Monae’s response to Grammy https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8489341/janelle-monae-dirty-computer-emotional-reaction-to-grammy-awards-album-of-the-year-nomination1:13:27 - Emily’s thoughts on horror and grief / Guest Pick! Ben’s 2018 fave: “Annihilation”1:16:24 - Emily’s #1: Hereditary 1:18:15 - Guest Pick! Elizabeth’s 2018 fave: Creating the headpiece for Polaris on “The Gifted” 1:22:02 - Secret Santa!!!!!1:40:35 - Final guest pick: Emily’s Dad, Charlie, AKA “the Dad to call if you’re taken prisoner by a cult”1:42:50 - What’s on the blog? What’s next on the pod?Next episode: “Girls Burn Brighter” by Shobha Rao, December 31Next othersode: “My Brilliant Friend” (miniseries), January 14, 2019Happy holidays, GOALIES!

Come with us to the idyllic community of Shaker Heights, Ohio for our discussion of "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng. We discuss whether the novel is character- or plot-driven, which characters were most effective, why the book is set in the 1990s, and more (like which of us were bitchy teenagers). Plus, we read some listener feedback on "Goodbye, Vitamin," and Emily tells us about MyTBR, which you should definitely subscribe to. Hear about this month's featured bookstore, The Strand, and catch up on what's on the #BookSquadBlog. Read along with us for our next #bookpisode on "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao and tune in on 12/17 for our Best of 2018 #othersode!0:40 – Who would you cast in the film adaptation?7:21 – Novel synopsis and intro 9:00 – What characters did we like? Who did we hate?18:40 – Wow the time period affects the book28:33 – Kelli thinks she doesn’t love the book; are these characters stereotypes?34:10 – Artists and artistry 46:03 – Is the novel plot driven or character driven? What’s with the POV shifts?1:03:46 – “She’s never known the touch of a man”1:05:45 – What is this book about? And ratings!!1:11:35 – MyTBR!1:16:31 – Listener feedback ("Goodbye, Vitamin")1:23:02 – Featured bookstore—the Strand!1:24:00 – What’s on the blog? What’s up next?Want more Celeste Ng? Read Emily's interview with her for Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/2018/04/27/celeste-ng-interview/Next Othersode 12/17: Our 2018 Faves! Next Bookpisode 12/31: "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao

Come with us to the idyllic community of Shaker Heights, Ohio for our discussion of "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng. We discuss whether the novel is character- or plot-driven, which characters were most effective, why the book is set in the 1990s, and more (like which of us were bitchy teenagers). Plus, we read some listener feedback on "Goodbye, Vitamin," and Emily tells us about MyTBR, which you should definitely subscribe to. Hear about this month's featured bookstore, The Strand, and catch up on what's on the #BookSquadBlog. Read along with us for our next #bookpisode on "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao and tune in on 12/17 for our Best of 2018 #othersode!0:40 – Who would you cast in the film adaptation?7:21 – Novel synopsis and intro 9:00 – What characters did we like? Who did we hate?18:40 – Wow the time period affects the book28:33 – Kelli thinks she doesn’t love the book; are these characters stereotypes?34:10 – Artists and artistry 46:03 – Is the novel plot driven or character driven? What’s with the POV shifts?1:03:46 – “She’s never known the touch of a man”1:05:45 – What is this book about? And ratings!!1:11:35 – MyTBR!1:16:31 – Listener feedback ("Goodbye, Vitamin")1:23:02 – Featured bookstore—the Strand!1:24:00 – What’s on the blog? What’s up next?Want more Celeste Ng? Read Emily's interview with her for Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/2018/04/27/celeste-ng-interview/Next Othersode 12/17: Our 2018 Faves! Next Bookpisode 12/31: "Girls Burn Brighter" by Shobha Rao

Author Shobha Rao on Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie, coming to America, and the power of literature across the ages. To learn more about the books we've mentioned in this week's episode, check out The Berlin Stories and Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood, An Unrestored Woman and Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao, and The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. You can find transcripts of this episode and past ones on LitHub. This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus (thegreatcoursesplus.com/anotherstory) and Boomer1. Listen to Nutrition Diva wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

November 2018 Episode: Negin Farsad; Neil Rosen and the Talking Pictures panel; Shobha Rao; The Velvet Underground; and Miracle on 42nd Street, a doc about Manhattan Plaza.

Gayle and Nicole discuss the quality of books they've read over the year and compare notes on the books that they've most enjoyed reading. https://amzn.to/2zejEDh (Educated: A Memoir) by Tara Westover https://amzn.to/2KQUBHO (An American Marriage) by Tayari Jone https://amzn.to/2MLy4ws (The Hunger) by Alma Katsu  https://amzn.to/2MQpwEM (This Is How It Always) Is by Laurie Frankl  https://amzn.to/2MOC3Zu (Girls Burn Brighter) by Shobha Rao https://amzn.to/2NvROW2 (Born To Run) by Bruce Springsteen https://amzn.to/2MQT6Kl (Everything Here is Beautiful) by Mira T. Lee https://amzn.to/2NtpBzb (Kitchens of the Great Midwest) by J. Ryan Stradahl Runner Up https://amzn.to/2MQebEz (The Female Persuasion) by Meg Wolitzer Support this podcast

Shobha Rao’s 2018 novel, Girls Burn Brighter is the story of two very poor Indian girls who become fast friends, and once they are separated, they spend much of the rest of their lives looking for one another. The two girls Poornima and Savitha, just a year or two apart in age. At fifteen Poornima came of marriageable age, and she stopped going to convent school. She began to sit at the spinning wheel, the charkha, in her free time to help the household…that she, a girl, could earn anything at all, lent her such a deep and abiding feeling of importance, --of worth—that she sat at the charkha every chance she got….Their hut had no electricity, so her spinning was a race against the sun.At sixteen, Poornima’s mother dies, and she is promised in marriage to a farmer from another village. After a family death, it was inauspicious to have a celebration of any sort, let alone a wedding, for a full year. It had been two months since her mother’s death. In another ten—her father was saying—she would be married.Savitha comes into Poonima’s life because her father takes her on as a helper now that there is one charkha in the house free for use. Savitha was quiet around Poornima at first. She was a year or two older, Poornima guessed, though neither knew their exact ages. Only the birthdates of the boys were recorded in the village. Poornima’s father tells a story about how, when she was a baby, she had wandered into the river, "within seconds she was up to her neck". Her mother panicked, and her father chased after her. When I got near the waterline though, he said, I stopped. I know I should’ve plucked her up and given her a slap, but I couldn’t. You see, he said, she looked like she was nothing. Just a piece of debris.  In that mist, in that gray, in that vast, slippery rush of water, she looked like nothing. Maybe the head of a fish tossed back in the water...I looked at her, he said, I looked and I looked, and I could hear her mother shouting, running toward me, but I couldn’t move. I was standing there, and I was thinking. I was thinking: She’s just a girl. Let her go. By then, her mother had come up from behind me, and she’d snatched her out. Poornima was crying, he said, her mother was crying, too. Maybe they both knew what I thought. Maybe it was written on my face…An  then her father had let out a little laugh.’ That’s the thing with girls isn’t it?’  he’s said. ‘Whenever they stand on the edge of something, you can’t help it, you can’t. You think, Push. That’s all it would take. Just one push.’Before Poornima is shipped off to her new family, Savitha is raped by Poornima’s father, and since that means she is ruined in the village, there appears to be no future for her. The village men decide that justice requires Poornima’s father to marry Savitha. Before that marriage can take place, Savitha disappears from the village, and little attempt is made to find her. Poornima’s new husband disgusts her, and his family sees her as unworthy, eventually shipping her back to her village. Of course, the only thing Savitha has that she can sell to survive is her body, and she is soon in the hands of a brothel keeper named Guru. Turns out she has a skill for math, and eventually keeps the books for Guru. All of the rest of this beautifully written but heartbreaking novel is taken up with Poornima’s search for Savitha—a search that takes her to many places and eventually to Seattle. Both girls end up in brothels, getting by only through the use of their bodies. While Savitha’s skill with numbers increases her status with the brothel keeper, there is no way to freedom.Savitha was seated in front of his desk, but she still slumped. She was tired, She was tired  of deals. Every moment in a woman’s life was a deal, a deal for her body: first for its blooming and then for its wilting; first for her bleeding and then for virginity and then for her bearing  (counting only the sons) and then for her widowing.It is hard not to focus on the horrible details of these girls servitude, but there are also wonderful passages about the love between the two, and the hope that somehow, some way they can be reunited and free. Poornima is badly burned at one point, and her scars are yet another reason for people to shun her. As she discovers that a girl she is trying to help is afraid of the help because of Poormina’s scars:She felt something rise inside her, something bitter, something angry, and she spit out, ‘You fool.’ She heard the girl back away from the door. ‘you fool,’’ she cried again, and heard the girl whimper. What a fool you are, she thought, fuming. What fools we all are. We girls. Afraid of the wrong things, at the wrong times. Afraid of a burned face, when outside, outside waiting for you are fires you cannot imagine. Men, holding matches up to your gasoline eyes. Flames, flames all around you, licking at your just-born breasts, your just-bled body. And infernos. Infernos as wide as the world. Waiting to impoverish you, make you ash, and even the wind,. Even the wind, my dear, she thought, watching you burn, willing it, passing over you, and through you. Scattering you, because you are a girl, and because you are ash.Finally, hot on Savitha’ trail in Seattle, they  are so close to finding each other again, but will they? You will have to find out for yourselves by reading this wonderful debut novel.

Synopsis: Author Shobha Rao discusses her debut novel, GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER, as well as the plight of human trafficking in India, how fiction has changed in a post-9/11 world, the perseverance of the human spirit, whether fiction writers have an obligation to expose the dark truths about humanity, and how she wrote the book in two months while living in complete isolation. Also, apologies for the abrupt ending – we had a lengthy conversation about my own writing I didn’t think anyone wanted to sit through and by the end of it, I completely forgot to thank Shobha and ask her the usual “where can people find you?” Time flies when you’re talking shop. This episode of COVERED is sponsored by: Nacht Sound Engineering: Streamline the process of delivering high-quality shows to your audience and focus on what you love. Feedpress: Blog and podcast analytics starting at $4 a month, podcast hosting starting at just $8 a month. Use promo code COVERED to get 10% off your first year. Duration: 47:08 Present: Harry C. Marks, Shobha Rao The Guest Girls Burn Brighter – City Lights Bookstore An Unrestored Woman – City Lights Bookstore Twitter Follow your host and the show on Twitter @HCMarks @COVERED_fm @HologramRadio for more podcasts to listen to! Subscribe to Covered! Get Covered on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or via RSS. Check out our new show, LEARN ME SOMETHING! A new podcast from Aaron Stewart and Rich Plumb that celebrates our ignorance as the beginning of the search for Truth. SUBSCRIBE! Please take a moment to rate our show in iTunes or Apple Podcasts, even if it’s just a one star rating. It really does make a difference in helping us reach a wider audience. Download: Episode S4E9: Shobha Rao, GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER

Amanda and Jenn discuss Korean fiction, Central American authors, fluffy audiobooks, and more in this week's episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.   Questions   1. Hello Get Booked friends! I would love some book recommendations for books written by Korean authors or about Korea. I recently read The Vegetarian by Han Kang and The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson and realized that I do not know very much about Korean culture and history. I loved the cultural side notes that were included about Japan in Ozeki's Tale for the Time Being and would enjoy something like that, but about Korea. I am open to fiction or non-fiction and historical or contemporary works. --Sally   2. First, I just wanted to give Amanda a huge thank you for recommending Captive Prince! I’ve heard you recommend it a few times before, but I just never got around to reading it. After hearing you recommend it a few weeks ago I finally decided to pick it up from the library. Suffice it to say, I think this is the book I’ve been looking for all my life and I finished the series in three days. I’d love to know if there are any read-alikes out there? The Captive Prince series checked almost all of my boxes. M/M relationships are strongly preferred and no need to worry about trigger warnings for me. I’ve already read and loved Amberlough. I’ve also read The Magpie Lord, but only thought it was ok. Thanks again for the Captive Prince recommend! --Kevin   3. Coming off Black History Month I need help. I listened to The Bone Tree, read Brown Girl Dreaming, and read Invisible Man. Also read Banthology. These were all great esp, Brown Girl Dreaming. My request....I have noticed as with Homegoing, several of the books by people of color are very mentally heavy when reading one after the other. Justifiably so. I am looking for a female voice, mid 20-40's, lyrical, fun, a bit biting, with her girls with a story to tell. Something almost musical. I don't want YA. Something where the setting even plays a part. Got anything? --Michele   4. I know this is really last minute and I have no idea if you'll be able to help me, but I am really stuck. I am supposed to be getting a book for someone who I don't know based on their "reading" profile. They said they like autobiographies, especially ones related to travel and sports and that they are looking to get into self help books. They also mentioned that their favorite books are The Last Lecture, Mud Sweat and Tears and 1000 Days of Spring. They have a completely different reading taste to mine, so I am really out of my depth and hoping you could help. Thanks in advance and I LOVE the show! --Marija   5. Greetings! My husband and I are going on the trip of a lifetime during the month of April. We will be traveling through the Panama Canal and stopping at all the Central American countries except El Salvador. We will also be making 3 stops in Mexico and Cartegena, Colombia. I'm looking for literary fiction novels that take place in Central America (rather than Mexico or South America.) No short stories, please! Here are some books that I've read or are familiar with. (None of them take place in Central America, but you get the idea!): The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez Like Water for Chocolate How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Thanks! --April   6. For about a year now I've been listening to podcasts (mostly Book Riot ones) at work. I haven't quite found enough to fill all my hours, but I find I prefer listening to talking over music. To fill the gaps, I tried turning to audiobooks. (Libby is the best.) My typical fare is heavily Sci Fi and Fantasy, but I was finding them a little too complicated to follow while working - so I tried YA (another love of mine) and it was still too important that I caught every detail. After that I tried nonfiction, but kept finding things that were either too dry on audio so it became basically white noise, or super depressing. TL:DR can you help me find books that are A) on audio, B) light in subject matter (as a grad student in my "free time" I spend a lot of time stressed out and would like my audiobooks to be a break from that), and C) simple enough that I can still follow even if I get a little distracted by a more-complicated-than-usual problem at work? Something like a cozy mystery or a fluffy romance (like Austenland?) might be good, but I don't know where to start. Bonus points for SF/F flavors, but they're not necessary, and extra bonus points for diversity of any kind, which I feel like I don't get enough of. Already read: Sarah Maclean, and Tessa Dare. Also, I used to love Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who series, but have not kept up with the latest in cozy mystery good stuff. Thanks in advance! I love the show - a part of me wishes I could just fill all of my weekly hours with listening to Get Booked, but I imagine that would be very tiring for you. --Anne   7. Hi Amanda and Jenn, I'm in dire need of help! ! I'm going through a major life transition and I've found that the books that I would normally turn to don't seem to work anymore. I would like some recommendations of memoirs, nonfiction, or fiction that feature strong women who have made radical changes to their lives. Thank you! --Daniela   Books Discussed Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan by Ruby Lal (July 2018) Salt Houses by Hala Alyan The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich While the City Slept by Eli Sanders Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo I’ll Be Right There by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Sora Kim-Russell The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson Valdemar: Last Herald Mage series (Magic’s Pawn #1) trigger warnings for rape, child abuse, suicide The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner by Andrea Smith The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson A Guidebook to Relative Strangers by Camille T Dungy The Dream of My Return by Horacio Castellanos Moya, translated by Katherine Silver Central American author recommendations post The World In Half by Christina Henriquez Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James Hammer Head by Nina MacLaughlin Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed Braving The Wilderness by Brene Brown

It's our monthly book round up episode! Adam and Jill discuss the March books they can't wait to read and also offer some recommendations based on the books they are both currently reading. Books Mentioned In This Episode Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd Webber Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg Tangerine by Christine Mangan Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney Fresh Water by Awkaeke Emezi Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala Everything Is Horrible and Wonderful by Stephanie Wittels Wachs The Hunger by Alma Katsu Dreadful Young Ladies and other stories by Kelly Barnhill The Manson Women and Me by Nikki Meredith  The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen Census by Jesse Ball The Feed by Nick Clark Windo Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao   Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforLibraries and Twitter at @ProBookNerds. Email us directly at professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com Music "Buddy" provided royalty free from www.bensound.com Podcast Overview We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks available through public libraries and schools. Hear about the best books we've read, get personalized recommendations, and learn about the hottest books coming out that we can't wait to dive into. For more great reads, find OverDrive on Facebook and Twitter.

Shobha Rao, an immigrant from India, recalls two interactions with her peers that reminded her of when she helped her parents say “yes” to remaining in America. Shobha Rao is the author of the collection of short stories, “An Unrestored Woman“. Kirkus Reviews called An Unrestored Woman “stunning and relentless.” Booklist said of the collection, “Rao’s raw and breathtaking short story collection is set against [an] epic canvas, yet her character studies are intimate.” She is the winner of the 2014 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction, awarded by Nimrod International Journal. She has been a resident at Hedgebrook and is the recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation fellowship. Her story “Kavitha and Mustafa” was chosen by T.C. Boyle for inclusion in the Best American Short Stories 2015. To learn more about Shobha and her work, visit shobharaowrites.com This episode of Tell Us Something was recorded in front of a live audience on September 20, 2016, at The Wilma in Missoula, MT. 11 storytellers shared their story. The theme was Fork in the Road”. Today’s podcast comes to us from Shobha Rao and is titled “Ask Me Again”. Thank you for listening.