For our first N&G Book Club pick, I asked our readers to vote between two books: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix and The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. I thought Wingate’s book would be the pick, but more people voted for Hendrix’s book. I’m so glad they did because it was such a fun and exciting story to read during quarantine.

I had such a great time chatting with Hendrix for our Zoom conversation. I thought he was honest and funny and incredibly candid. He said the women in the book club in the novel reflected the women his mom remained friends with. I love that he was able to weave it into an incredibly fun and engaging story

I was also curious about how he would address the racial undertones and misogyny in the book, as well as the white saviors theme. I was expecting him to say, “Well, given the current climate I would change xyz,” but he didn’t—he owned the narrative. He said he wrote about what he saw, and it was important to highlight these stereotypes to learn from them 

Watch our full conversation in the video below. And then pick up a copy of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, if you haven’t read it yet.

And if you’re around today, Thursday, September 10th at 12:30pm PT / 3:30pm ET, I’ll be talking to author Leigh Stein about our 4th N&G Bookclub pick “Self Care”. To participate, go to the Now & Gen Bookclub on Goodreads and RSVP for the event!