Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts, Ryan Consbruck and Julia Popish. On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will discuss a story that asks if it’s ever really possible to overcome our private wounds, and at what cost. in Real Life by Brandon Taylor. This one’s got science, nachos, and an unexpected romance. In this episode, we will discuss the entire book, including our ratings. Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of Margins - Chenin Blanc Skin Fermented 2019. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2X0n9aOLink to wine: https://www.kingstonwine.com/wines/Margins-Chenin-Blanc-Skin-Fermented-2019-w7217480y8Real Life by Brandon TaylorAlmost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends—some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community.  Real Life is a novel of profound and lacerating power, a story that asks if it’s ever really possible to overcome our private wounds, and at what cost.About the author:Brandon Taylor is the author of the novel Real Life, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. His work has appeared in Guernica, American Short Fiction, Gulf Coast, Buzzfeed Reader, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gay Mag, The New Yorker online, The Literary Review, and elsewhere. He is the senior editor of Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading and a staff writer at Lit Hub. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow.  About the wine:30 days of skin contact on organically farmed Chenin Blanc Clarksburg. Chenin is one of our favorite grapes, and the skin contact really makes an intense and lovely twist on the noble variety. Grapes are hand harvested, all ambient yeasts for the ferment, no filtering or fining, and all neutral oak vessels. A small sulfite dose for stability is the only thing added.

Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts, Ryan Consbruck and Julia Popish. On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing the second half of White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where we discussed the first half of the book, you’re going to want to stop, go back, and listen to that episode first.  Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of Amour Geneve blue wine. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2PhScK3Link to wine: https://www.amourbluforever.com/product-page/12x-amour-gen%C3%A8veWhite Fragility by Robin DiAngeloIn this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.About the author:“I grew up poor and white.  While my class oppression has been relatively visible to me, my race privilege has not.  In my efforts to uncover how race has shaped my life, I have gained deeper insight by placing race in the center of my analysis and asking how each of my other group locations have socialized me to collude with racism. In so doing, I have been able to address in greater depth my multiple locations and how they function together to hold racism in place. I now make the distinction that I grew up poor and white, for my experience of poverty would have been different had I not been white” (DiAngelo, 2006).About the wine:Throughout my childhood, my father had a special connection with all shades of blue: from the tint of navy blue in the lenses of his eyeglasses, to his sky-blue driving gloves. He was also an avid collector of many precious blue pieces of jewelry. They ranged from turquoise and topaz bracelets all the way down to the blue historical artifacts he would collect abroad while on military deployment. All of these items complemented his rich and colorful personality.  Upon his tragic departure, many of these precious heirlooms were lost and never found. Finding a way to express my father's unique sense and expression of blue to the world became my dream and then our mission.It's been quite an adventure. We've become very cognizant of how others have failed in many ways.  Nonetheless, we persisted in finding a way to produce a truly natural, organic, and delightful blend of nature, science, and taste.  A wine which matures throughout a natural fermentation and aging cycle, while retaining its transfixing color and also fully satisfying all the requirements of the FDA, TTB, and European Union. With these institutional approvals, patents on our process and formula, and now growing acclaim, the dream has become reality.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts. On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality in White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. This one’s got racial stereotypes, white supremacy, and a whole lot of reckoning. In this episode, we will discuss the first half of the book. Our final rating will come in the next episode to give you enough time to read along with us.  Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of Amour Geneve blue wine. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2PhScK3Link to wine: https://www.amourbluforever.com/product-page/12x-amour-gen%C3%A8veWhite Fragility by Robin DiAngeloIn this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.About the author:“I grew up poor and white.  While my class oppression has been relatively visible to me, my race privilege has not.  In my efforts to uncover how race has shaped my life, I have gained deeper insight by placing race in the center of my analysis and asking how each of my other group locations have socialized me to collude with racism. In so doing, I have been able to address in greater depth my multiple locations and how they function together to hold racism in place. I now make the distinction that I grew up poor and white, for my experience of poverty would have been different had I not been white” (DiAngelo, 2006).About the wine:Throughout my childhood, my father had a special connection with all shades of blue: from the tint of navy blue in the lenses of his eyeglasses, to his sky-blue driving gloves. He was also an avid collector of many precious blue pieces of jewelry. They ranged from turquoise and topaz bracelets all the way down to the blue historical artifacts he would collect abroad while on military deployment. All of these items complemented his rich and colorful personality.  Upon his tragic departure, many of these precious heirlooms were lost and never found. Finding a way to express my father's unique sense and expression of blue to the world became my dream and then our mission.It's been quite an adventure. We've become very cognizant of how others have failed in many ways.  Nonetheless, we persisted in finding a way to produce a truly natural, organic, and delightful blend of nature, science, and taste.  A wine which matures throughout a natural fermentation and aging cycle, while retaining its transfixing color and also fully satisfying all the requirements of the FDA, TTB, and European Union. With these institutional approvals, patents on our process and formula, and now growing acclaim, the dream has become reality.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts, Ryan Conbruck and Julia Popish. On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing the second half of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where we discussed the first half of the book, you’re going to want to stop, go back, and listen to that first.  Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of a 2019 rose called Queen of the Sierra by Forlorn Hope from Rorick Heritage Vineyard. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2UCizheLink to wine: https://grainvine.com/products/forlorn-hope-queen-of-the-sierra-rorick-heritage-vineyard-sierra-foothills-roseOn Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Part 2 by Ocean VuongIt’s 256 pages in length. For this episode, we read from halfway to the end.About the bookOn Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.About the author:Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist and novelist. He is a recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly/Sargent Rosenberg fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, a 2016 Whiting Award, and the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize for his poetry. His debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, was published in 2019. He received a MacArthur Grant the same year.About the wine:Each of the Forlorn Hope wines may be put through very different fermentations en route to becoming one of our Rare Creatures -- Sèmillon is destemmed and pressed, then fermented in old and neutral barrels; Gewürztraminer is destemmed and fermented on the skins; Alvarelhão is fermented whole-cluster with no destemming or initial breaking of the fruit -- but throughout it all a common vein runs through the thought process in the cellar: listen to what the fermentation is saying as it transforms from fruit into wine. What does it want to become? In what direction does its nature want to lead it? In this manner we guide our ferments along, receiving suggestions and guidance from the wine and fermentative microbes themselves.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts.On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing a novel of people caught between disparate worlds asking how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. This one’s got an immigrant story, child abuse, and young love.. In this episode, we will discuss the first half of the book. Our final rating will come in the next episode to give you enough time to read along with us.  Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of 2019 Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Rorick Heritage Vineyard Sierra Foothills Rose. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2UCizheLink to wine: https://grainvine.com/products/forlorn-hope-queen-of-the-sierra-rorick-heritage-vineyard-sierra-foothills-roseOn Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean VuongOn Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.About the author:Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist and novelist. He is a recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly/Sargent Rosenberg fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, a 2016 Whiting Award, and the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize for his poetry. His debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, was published in 2019. He received a MacArthur Grant the same year.About the wine:Each of the Forlorn Hope wines may be put through very different fermentations en route to becoming one of our Rare Creatures -- Sèmillon is destemmed and pressed, then fermented in old and neutral barrels; Gewürztraminer is destemmed and fermented on the skins; Alvarelhão is fermented whole-cluster with no destemming or initial breaking of the fruit -- but throughout it all a common vein runs through the thought process in the cellar: listen to what the fermentation is saying as it transforms from fruit into wine. What does it want to become? In what direction does its nature want to lead it? In this manner we guide our ferments along, receiving suggestions and guidance from the wine and fermentative microbes themselves.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

Hello and welcome to Book Wine Club Season 2, a podcast where I, Lauren Popish, pair my latest read with a new wine, and then talk it out with my opinionated and inebriated co hosts, Ryan Conbruck and Julia Popish.On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing the second half of The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where we discussed the first half of the book, you’re going to want to stop, go back, and listen to that first.Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of 2019 white blend called Big Salt from Ovum. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2R3qaDmLink to wine: https://madwine.com/white-blends/92138-ovum-deep-water-big-salt-white-blend-2019.htmlThe Glass Hotel by Emily St. John MandelIt’s 301 pages in length. For this episode, we read to page 160.  I pulled this description from online:Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star lodging on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. On the night she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, a hooded figure scrawls a message on the lobby’s glass wall: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” High above Manhattan, a greater crime is committed: Alkaitis is running an international Ponzi scheme, moving imaginary sums of money through clients’ accounts. When the financial empire collapses, it obliterates countless fortunes and devastates lives. Vincent, who had been posing as Jonathan’s wife, walks away into the night. Years later, a victim of the fraud is hired to investigate a strange occurrence: a woman has seemingly vanished from the deck of a container ship between ports of call.About the author:St. John's my middle name. The books go under M.Emily St. John Mandel's fifth novel, The Glass Hotel, was recently published in Canada and the US, and is forthcoming in the UK in August. Her previous novels include Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honours, and has been translated into 33 languages. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.Ovum Deep Water 'BIG SALT' White Blend 2019 BIG SALT is a white wine that tries to capture a day at the beach in a bottle. Fresh, dry, breezy the bright aromas of the wine are met with a dry, almost salty textured palate that's well suited for sitting in the sun and hanging with friends. Sustainable and Organic vineyards throughout Oregon are the building blocks for Big Salt.Final Rating (0-3)Lauren Popish: 1.9Julia Popish: 2.0Ryan Consbruck: 2.2Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

On today’s episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing a novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events-a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea in The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. This one’s got acid paint, opioid addiction, and Canada. In this episode, we will discuss the first half of the book. Our final rating will come in the next episode to give you enough time to read along with us.  Today we’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of a 2019 white blend called Big Salt from Ovum. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Link to book: https://amzn.to/2R3qaDmLink to wine: https://madwine.com/white-blends/92138-ovum-deep-water-big-salt-white-blend-2019.htmlThe Glass Hotel by Emily St. John MandelIt’s 301 pages in length. For this episode, we read to page 160.  I pulled this description from online:Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star lodging on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. On the night she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, a hooded figure scrawls a message on the lobby’s glass wall: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” High above Manhattan, a greater crime is committed: Alkaitis is running an international Ponzi scheme, moving imaginary sums of money through clients’ accounts. When the financial empire collapses, it obliterates countless fortunes and devastates lives. Vincent, who had been posing as Jonathan’s wife, walks away into the night. Years later, a victim of the fraud is hired to investigate a strange occurrence: a woman has seemingly vanished from the deck of a container ship between ports of call.About the author:St. John's my middle name. The books go under M.Emily St. John Mandel's fifth novel, The Glass Hotel, was recently published in Canada and the US, and is forthcoming in the UK in August. Her previous novels include Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honours, and has been translated into 33 languages. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.Ovum Deep Water 'BIG SALT' White Blend 2019 BIG SALT is a white wine that tries to capture a day at the beach in a bottle. Fresh, dry, breezy the bright aromas of the wine are met with a dry, almost salty textured palate that's well suited for sitting in the sun and hanging with friends. Sustainable and Organic vineyards throughout Oregon are the building blocks for Big Salt.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

On this episode Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing the second half of The Overstory by Richard Powers. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where we discussed the first half of the book, you’re going to want to stop, go back, and listen to that first. We’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of 2018 Oeno (EE-NO) Pinot Noir from natural wine producer Amy Atwood. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned. Link to book: https://amzn.to/39IqpdnLink to wine: https://primalwine.com/collections/red-wine-natural-biodynamic-organic/products/oeno-pinot-noir-russian-river-valley-california-usa-red-wineThe Overstory by Richard PowersIt’s 502 pages in length. For this episode, we read to page 253.  I pulled this description from online:The stories of nine people—Nicholas Hoel, Olivia Vandergriff, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, Douglas Pavlicek, Mimi Ma, and Adam Appich—are woven together not just with each others', but with those of the trees that they come to see as crucial conduits to the longevity, health, and sustainability of the entire planet. The grave danger that the rapacious and capricious cutting down of trees presents is the main catalyst for action for most of these characters, while others engage with the natural world in more peripheral, albeit still profound, ways.About the author:Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel The Echo Maker won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction. He has also won many other awards over the course of his career, including a MacArthur Fellowship. As of 2018 Powers has published twelve novels and has taught at the University of Illinois and Stanford Universities. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory.2018 Oeno Pinot Noir from Amy AtwoodThe wine is aged in neutral oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered following a non-interventionist approach. Oeno Pinot Noir is a medium-bodied red wine bursting with cherry and cranberry flavors, with some earthy forest floor elements for balance.About Amy Atwood:I started Amy Atwood Selections (Cleanskins Wine LLC) in 2009 because I wanted to work with wines I love and winemakers I respect. After 15 years of working for other wine wholesalers and importers, my focus had shifted towards smaller production wineries, making wines more naturally. This means organic or sustainable farming, and little to zero intervention in the winery. And most importantly, the wines have to bring joy and be delicious to drink. Wine. Naturally. We are based in California.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

On this episode Ryan, Julia, and Lauren will be discussing a novel about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests in The Overstory by Richard Powers. This one’s got interwoven character story lines, organic chemistry, and more deaths than the Final Destinations series. In this episode, we will discuss the first half of the book. Our final rating will come in the next episode to give you enough time to read along with us.  We’ll be pairing our read with a glass or three of 2018 Oeno (EE-NO) Pinot Noir from natural wine producer Amy Atwood. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned. Link to book: https://amzn.to/39IqpdnLink to wine: https://primalwine.com/collections/red-wine-natural-biodynamic-organic/products/oeno-pinot-noir-russian-river-valley-california-usa-red-wineThe Overstory by Richard PowersIt’s 502 pages in length. For this episode, we read to page 253.  I pulled this description from online:The stories of nine people—Nicholas Hoel, Olivia Vandergriff, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, Douglas Pavlicek, Mimi Ma, and Adam Appich—are woven together not just with each others', but with those of the trees that they come to see as crucial conduits to the longevity, health, and sustainability of the entire planet. The grave danger that the rapacious and capricious cutting down of trees presents is the main catalyst for action for most of these characters, while others engage with the natural world in more peripheral, albeit still profound, ways.About the author:Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel The Echo Maker won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction. He has also won many other awards over the course of his career, including a MacArthur Fellowship. As of 2018 Powers has published twelve novels and has taught at the University of Illinois and Stanford Universities. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory.2018 Oeno Pinot Noir from Amy AtwoodThe wine is aged in neutral oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered following a non-interventionist approach. Oeno Pinot Noir is a medium-bodied red wine bursting with cherry and cranberry flavors, with some earthy forest floor elements for balance.About Amy Atwood:I started Amy Atwood Selections (Cleanskins Wine LLC) in 2009 because I wanted to work with wines I love and winemakers I respect. After 15 years of working for other wine wholesalers and importers, my focus had shifted towards smaller production wineries, making wines more naturally. This means organic or sustainable farming, and little to zero intervention in the winery. And most importantly, the wines have to bring joy and be delicious to drink. Wine. Naturally. We are based in California.Get in touchOur sommelier, Emily Rutan: @emilythesommLauren Popish: @laurenpopishJulia Popish: @juliapopishRyan Consbruck @specialrobotdog

I know you haven’t heard from Book Wine Club in awhile, but guess what, we’re back. That’s right, Season 2 of Book Wine Club will start this May, but we’re switching things up this time around. Instead of different guests each week, I will be joined with two permanent co hosts: Ryan Consbruck and my sister Julia Popish. You may remember this trio from our episode of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh last year. Don’t worry, we are still going to read and review awesome books like The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, and The Most Fun we Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. But instead of doing a different book every episode, we are going to read one book a month so you can follow along. We will record our reaction halfway through and at the end of the book so we don’t miss any details along the way. To answer the question you’re all wondering, yes, there will still be wine. Our friend and sommelier, Emily Rutan, will be selecting the wines that will accompany all our books this season. The best part? We’ll be releasing the wine list ahead of time so you can purchase and sip along with us. Lastly, this year I launched a company called the Wave - it helps women tell their stories through podcasting. Book Wine Club will now be a part of The Wave, along with other podcasts and resources for female podcasters. Okay that was a lot. Basically, all you need to know is Book Wine Club is back this May. Follow @thewavepodcasting on instagram to see this year’s book list and find out when the first episode of Season 2 drops. Join me, again, as we read between the wines on Book Wine Club, Season 2!

On today’s episode Vala, Ashley, and I will be discussing what life looks like for a first lady before and during her time in the white house in Becoming by Michelle Obama. This one’s got heart, parenting tips, and a president who knows what the fuck he’s doing. The first half will be a general book review, but the second half we’ll get into the dramatic moments of the book, so if you haven’t read and don’t want spoilers, listen to the first half only. Don’t worry, we’ll warn you when we get there. Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of a 2015 Teroldego Rotaliano, Foradori. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned. An autobiographical book by one of the most influential women in America deserves to be paired with a bottle of wine made by one of the most influential female winemakers of all time. Her name is Elisabetta Foradori, and I want to be her when I grow up. Women like her and Michelle Obama are an inspiration to us all Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614257514We rated the book as follows:Vala - 2.8 (out of 3)Ashley - 2 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.43 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Vala - @vbehbahaniAshley - @amistelsonLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode Ryan, Faye, and I will be discussing how long one woman lasts in New York City after Shen Fever wipes out the majority of the world’s population in Severance by Ling Ma. This one’s got post apocalyptic zombies, shark fin soup, and the most loyal employee on earth. Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of 2015 Rouge Les Enfants Sauvages Cotes Catalanes. This wine was selected because the name of the wine in French is Wild Childs, which accurately describes our main character. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.You can read my extended review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614258584We rated the book as follows:Ryan - 2.1 (out of 3)Faye - 2 (out of 3)Lauren - 1.87 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Ryan - @specialrobotdog , http://www.ryanconsbruck.com/ Faye - @jigglypuff4uLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode Ashley, Alex, and I will be discussing one unforgettable summer a lonely woman spends with a curious couple she meets at a dilapidated english manor in Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller. This one’s got cows, creepy sounds, and more sexual tension than catholic boys school.Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of 2015 Perusini Cabernet Franc from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. It selected by our friends at Parlour Wine in Greenpoint because of the presence of Italy in the book and the traditional and old-world flavors. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614258788We rated the book as follows:Alex - 1.78 (out of 3)Ashley - 2.3 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.78 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Alex - @alexandrakn1Ashley - @ash_sheaLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode Thomas, Isabelle, and I will be discussing how a Count copes with being put on house arrest in one of Moscow’s most luxurious hotels in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Toles. This one’s got charming descriptions, hidden rooms, and more Russian literature than Robert Muller’s future memoir.Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of a 2017 Côtes du Rhône, Dom. des Bacchantes.This was selected by my friend Emily, she is a sommelier in LA - here is her selection story:"The book references Chateauneuf – du - Pape (pronounced phonetically like sha-tuh-nuf-du-pop) so I thought we’d run with it. “CDP” as I’ll call it from here on outliterally translates to "the Pope's new castle". In the 14th century the Pope's residences were moved to Avignon in the Southern Rhône valley, and they tried to advance the viticulture of the surrounding area. Extremely long story short, the wine from that area began to be known as the "wine from the pope's new castle", and has been dominating ever since. That said, it's also hella expensive. CDP runs at ~$40 on the cheapest end.SO as a compromise, I recommend this wine – which is just under $15! It’s from the area known as the Côtes du Rhône – which you’ve probably heard of – and it’s right across the river from CDP. This wine’s base is mostly Syrah, which makes it a little more robust and closer to the style of CDP than some other wines from the Southern Rhône Valley. There is also some Grenache and Mourvèrde in there, helping to keep it juicy and smooth."Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614258048 We rated the book as follows:Thomas - 2.5 (out of 3)Isabelle - 2.8 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.78 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Thomas - @poketom317Isabelle - @isabellefisher821Lauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode Lillian, Jake, Emily, and I will be discussing how the individual stories of urban Indians living in Oakland collide at a community pow wow in There There by Tommy Orange. This one’s got traditional dancing, family loyalty, and a very dramatic ending.Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of a 2018 Pet-Nat Viognier from Purity Wines. It was selected because it was created in Oakland, and as a sparking wine, it represents the many moments of coming together in the book. This wine was selected by Emily Rutan. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614257867We rated the book as follows:Jake - 2.8 (out of 3)Lillian - 3 (out of 3)Emily - 2.9 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.86 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Jake - @hova414Lillian - @fossilsflowersEmily - @emilyrutan, http://www.emilyrutan.com/Lauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode, Sasza from BBXX and I will be discussing how vulnerability makes us strong by letting experience all of the good and bad emotions of life in multiple books by Brene Brown. This one’s discusses shame, comparison, and basically every other bad emotional habit you know you have. Since Brene’s concepts can be seen in her Ted talk and all kinds of articles, there isn’t much for us to spoil, so today we are just going to have an open discussion about the book. Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of a 2014 Domaine des Huards Cour-Cheverny Romo from Loire, France. This wine was selected because the King uprooted this grape from Bordeaux and planted it in the city where his mother was from. This is an example of keeping something good close to the vest, which is the way many of us protect others from our emotions, Brene points out. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned.This episode is a collaboration with Let's Get Intimate, the podcast from BBXX. BBXX is a sex and intimacy company. It started with sex, but only as a tool to help us learn about even more meaningful parts of our relationships- connection, vulnerability, intimacy- which also coincidentally make for the best sex ;) The exploration and understanding of our sexuality + healthy, open communication = the deepest intimacy. Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614059629 We rated the book as follows:Sasza - 1.79 (out of 3)Lauren - 1.6 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:BBXX - @bbxx.world, bbxx.worldLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode, Robbie, Joe, and I will be discussing the story of a woman raised in a survivalist Mormon family in Idaho and her journey to school herself through high school and all the way to earning her PhD from Cambridge in Educated by Tara Westover. This one’s got family drama, tinctures, and more car accidents than all the fast and furious movies combined. Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of 2016 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir. Pour yourself a glass and stay tuned. It was selected because the grapes were grown in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, very near Idaho where this book takes place. This wine was selected by Robert at Dandelion Wine in Greenpoint Brooklyn.Read my extended review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614138142 We rated the book as follows:Robbie - 3 (out of 3)Joe - 2.75 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.73 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Joe - @jforzano, @laguardian_angelsLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode, Sarah, Lauren, and I will be discussing one woman woman’s fight to let go of old hurts and insecurities and make room for self-acceptance and friends in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. This one’s got some english humor, some light stalking, and a Brazilian wax gone wrong. Today we’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of a 2017 Roberto Henriquez Rivera del Notro Blanco. It was selected for the special smoky flavors of the wine which relate to a major plot point in the book. We learned about some of the unique characteristics of this wine from our friend Emily Rutan, a sommelier in LA. Contact her for any of your wine questions. You can read my extended review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614138845We rated the book as follows:Sarah - 2.45 (out of 3)Lauren S. - 2.89 (out of 3)Lauren P - 2.78 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Sarah - @sarahndipities2Lauren S. - @schmidttykittyLauren P - @laurenpopishEmily - @emilyrutan

On today’s episode, Ashley, Sam, and I will be discussing what happens when a Vietnam war vet moves his family to rural Alaska in The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. It has young love, violence, and enough snow to make winter in New York sound balmy.We’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of 2015 Alain Brumont Tannat - Merlot from Cotes de Gascogne, France. It was selected because this wine is very warming and perfect for when it is cold like most of the time in Alaska. It is a dark deep red and grips the glass just like the constant dark of Alaska and gripping nature of the book.You can read my extended review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614137797We rated the book as follows:Ashley - 2.6 (out of 3)Sam - 2.3 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.82 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Ashley - @eaa9741Sam - sampepperphoto.com, @sampepperphotoLauren - @laurenpopish

On today’s episode, Ryan, Julia, and I will be discussing what happens during the early 2000's when one 25 year old woman living on the Upper East Side decides to sleep a year away with the help of pharmaceuticals in My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. It has pills, 90’s film trivia, and more blackouts than me at ASU. We’ll be paring our read with a glass or three of Arvay Tokaji Harslevelu 2015 from Tokaj, Hungary. It was selected because wine is the drink of the common person in Hungary, which is what our main character was trying to achieve by cutting off the world for a year.You can read my extended review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2614256794We rated the book as follows:Ryan - 3 (out of 3)Julia - 1.11 (out of 3)Lauren - 2.1 (out of 3)Our guests can reached here:Ryan - @specialrobotdog , http://www.ryanconsbruck.com/ Julia - @juliapopishLauren - @laurenpopish