The JeffCore Books of May 2025 [Teaser]

Summary

Book Riot - The Podcast: The JeffCore Books of May 2025 [Teaser]

Release Date: May 13, 2025

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Introduction

In the latest teaser episode of "Book Riot - The Podcast," hosts Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky dive into their curated selection of anticipated book releases for May 2025. Despite its status as a teaser, the conversation offers a glimpse into the dynamic interplay between the hosts as they evaluate each book through their unique "Jeff Yes" or "Jeff No" voting system. This summary captures the essence of their discussion, highlighting key insights and notable moments.

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The Jeff Yes / Jeff No Voting System

Jeff and Rebecca utilize a playful yet insightful system to rate each book they review:

• Jeff Yes: Indicates strong approval and recommendation.
• Jeff No: Suggests reservations or reasons the book might not resonate.

This system not only adds an element of fun but also provides listeners with clear indicators of the hosts' perspectives on each title.

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Book Discussions

1. Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power by Augustine Sedgwick
   Publisher: Scribner | Release Date: May 27
   Rebecca introduces this book as a "bold and original history of fatherhood," exploring its evolution from the Bronze Age to contemporary times through portraits of emblematic fathers.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [01:35]: "Fatherhood A History of love and power by Augustine Sedgwick... exploring its invention and transformation from Bronze Age of the present through a collective portrait of emblematic fathers."
   • Jeff O’Neal [01:35]: "Yes, Jeff, yes."

2. Cast, Catch and Release: Finding Serenity and Purpose Through Fly Fishing by Marina Gibson
   Publisher: Scribner | Release Date: May 27
   This memoir blends personal narrative with the art of fly fishing, drawing comparisons to Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" and Helen McDonald's "Ages for."

   • Rebecca Schinsky [01:57]: "...Memoir about fly fishing by a lady."
   • Jeff O’Neal [01:58]: "Jeff. Yes."

3. Dirty Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family by Jill Demotech
   Publisher: Atria | Release Date: May 6
   Rebecca describes this memoir as a fusion of food writing and colonial history, where Jill Demotech navigates her heritage by cooking recipes from her native Philippines. Influences include "Crying in H Mart" and "Minor Feelings."

   • Rebecca Schinsky [02:00]: "...memorable memoir blending food, writing, colonial history."
   • Jeff O’Neal [02:23]: "Yes, Jeff, yes."

4. This is Your Mother: A Memoir by Erika J. Simpson
   Publisher: First Edition
   A deeply personal exploration of growing up with a dominant and influential mother, touching on themes of legacy and complex familial relationships.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [02:40]: "A memoir of growing with a really powerful, influential mom who you may have complicated feelings."
   • Jeff O’Neal [03:12]: "This is a Rebecca. Yes."

5. Better Angels, I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally
   Publisher: Gallery Books | Release Date: May 6
   A Broadway memoir by renowned producer Keith McNally, detailing his rise to success with musicals like "Hamilton" and "Rent," and his struggles with personal identity and background.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [03:14]: "...a Jeff No. But by virtue of being Keith McNally."
   • Jeff O’Neal [03:27]: "That's a Jeff No."

6. Broadway Memoir by Jeffrey Seller
   Publisher: Simon and Schuster
   An insightful memoir from Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, chronicling his journey from a challenging upbringing in Detroit to producing Pulitzer-winning musicals.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [03:40]: "A memoir by Jeffrey Seller... understanding his sexuality and escaping his dysfunctional household."
   • Jeff O’Neal [04:08]: "Yes."

7. Sing to Me by Jesse Browner
   Publisher: Little Brown | Genre: Historical Fiction
   Set after the fall of Troy, this debut novel follows an 11-year-old boy's quest in a war-torn landscape.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [04:23]: "Historical fiction that isn't retelling an original story."
   • Jeff O’Neal [04:49]: "Sure. It's a maybe."

8. An Oral History of Trans, Non-Binary, Gender, Queer and Two-Spirit People of Color by Carol de Roberts
   Publisher: First Edition
   A comprehensive oral history capturing the diverse experiences of marginalized gender identities within communities of color.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [05:05]: "An obvious yes."
   • Jeff O’Neal [05:12]: "Oh, yes."

9. The Battle for the Black Mind by Karita L. Brown
   Publisher: Legacy Lit | Release Date: May 13
   Dr. Kita Brown delves into the historical struggles surrounding the education of Black Americans from the nation's inception.

   • Rebecca Schinsky [05:13]: "Explores the struggle to define and control the education of Black Americans."
   • Jeff O’Neal [05:33]: "Yeah, yes."

10. The Last Great Dream: How Bohemians Became Hippies and Created the Sixties by Dennis McNally
    Publisher: DiCapo Press | Release Date: May 13
    An exploration of the cultural transformation from Bohemian lifestyles to the Hippie movement, shaping the 1960s.

    • Rebecca Schinsky [05:34]: "Hippies and Bohemians doesn't really..."
    • Jeff O’Neal [05:58]: "No, no, that's not really your zone."

11. Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty by Adam Kucharski
    Publisher: Basic Books | Release Date: May 6
    A deep dive into the human quest for certainty in an uncertain world, blending art and science perspectives.

    • Rebecca Schinsky [06:05]: "Just putting a yes in."
    • Jeff O’Neal [06:13]: "Yeah, that sounds like a yes."

12. Carpet Diem from the World of Oriental
    Publisher: Harper | Release Date: May 27
    A whimsical exploration of oriental carpets, blending cultural insights with artistic appreciation.

    • Rebecca Schinsky [06:22]: "Is that a yes or no, though?"
    • Jeff O’Neal [06:34]: "You sent it to me. You're enabling it."

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Conclusion

While this teaser episode primarily showcases the hosts' preliminary discussions and book selections, it effectively sets the stage for the full premium content available to Patreon subscribers. Jeff and Rebecca's chemistry and candid evaluations offer listeners a transparent and entertaining glimpse into the vast world of upcoming literary works.

For those eager to delve deeper into their discussions and access the complete "JeffCore Books of May 2025" episode, joining their Patreon community is encouraged. Subscribers not only gain access to premium content but also enjoy early and ad-free episodes, enriching their Book Riot experience.

Notable Quotes:

• Rebecca Schinsky [01:35]: "Fatherhood A History of love and power by Augustine Sedgwick... exploring its invention and transformation from Bronze Age of the present through a collective portrait of emblematic fathers."
• Jeff O’Neal [03:27]: "That's a Jeff No."
• Rebecca Schinsky [05:13]: "Explores the struggle to define and control the education of Black Americans."
• Jeff O’Neal [06:13]: "Yeah, that sounds like a yes."

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Join the Conversation

To access the full episode and a treasure trove of Book Riot's premium content, visit patreon.com/bookriotpodcast and become a supporter for just $10 a month. Dive into comprehensive book discussions, exclusive interviews, and much more curated specifically for diverse readers across all genres.

Transcript

[Jeff O'Neal]

Foreign. You're listening to a teaser for Book Riot podcast premium content. If you want to hear the rest, join [e-mail] bookriotpodcast for just $10 a month, get access to our full library of premium content. In addition to receiving early ad free access to the regular episodes you hear in the show. Here we go. It's a bonus. Bonus, Jeff.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's. It's really bonus. And I don't know if we're gonna make it through all of these and some might be repeats for what I do for first edition, but you're behind the paywall here, so you get the real thing. I'm going to go quick. Really quick. This is going to have to be fast because there's a lot of them. I'm going to give the quick pitch to Rebecca, and this is not for Rebecca or anyone else, but this is, hey, Jeff, be yourself, Go with God, get into this one. Or Jeff, come back to us. You're spiraling out. You really need to find some other hobbies and interests.

[Jeff O'Neal]

And I will indicate that by saying jeff yes or Jeff no, which are also emoji responses that we have in our company. Slack for when usually it's when Jeff drops a pun and is it a good Jeff, yes, we're all proud of you. Or is it a like, oh, Jeff, you should have crowd tested that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, the weird one is I kind of am solving for Jeff nose there. That's more entertaining as dad's everywhere. No, but anyway, here we go. First up, Scribner, May 27th. It's called fatherhood A History of love and power by Augustine Sedgwick and bold and original history of fatherhood exploring its invention and transformation from Bronze Age of the present through a collective portrait of emblematic fathers. Jeff, yes.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yes, Jeff, yes.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay, Edelweiss is going to be the slow dog here. Cast, catch and release. Finding serenity and purpose through fly fishing by Marina Gibson From Scribner, out May 27. For fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Helen McDonald's Ages for Hell yeah. Memoir about fly fishing by a lady.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Jeff. Yes.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Everyone. Yes.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay, what do we have next here? Strong start from Atria. Slash one Signal. May six. So next week, dirty Kitchen, a memoir of food and family by Jill demotech. In the style of Crying in H Mart and Minor Feelings, filmmaker Jill Jemotic blends memoir, food, writing, colonial history. She cooks her way through recipes from her native born Philippines.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yes, Jeff, yes. I was waiting for the hook. There needs to be something, you know.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

More he got me. He got me. Right. I was there at the end. Scribner as well, I guess. I did this by publisher. So sns here for the beginning.

[Jeff O'Neal]

And no, we will not be dropping a list for two books.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This is your mother, A memoir by Erika J. Simpson for readers of Somebody's daughter. Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson. Let's see. Erica. Since growing up, her mother loomed large, almost biblical. The daughter of sharecroppers. And then her mom preached this sort of power of a testimony. Biblical stuff. Maybe Jehovah's Witness. Not really sure. But it's a memoir of growing with a really powerful, influential mom who you may have complicated feelings.

[Jeff O'Neal]

This is a Rebecca. Yes. You picked this one for me. That's just.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That's for you. I didn't even know. Like there's a better angels. I regret almost everything From Gallery Books, May 6 by Keith.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Keith McNally. That's a Jeff no. But by virtue of being Keith McNally.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah. Because he's behind Baltasaur and Pastis and kind of a jerk. But I'm also kind of interested. So that's a Jeff No. Okay. All right. That's fine. They can all be yeses. Well, they can, but they, they will be.

[Jeff O'Neal]

I'm not gonna let that happen.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

For your A Broadway memoir by Jeffrey Seller, Simon and Schuster. So he's a Broadway producer who became a very, very successful. Or he's a Broadway producer. But his. His memoir of growing up putting on two Pulitzer winning musicals. One called Hamilton, the other one called Rent.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I think this is understanding his sexual fan sexuality and escaping his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood of Detroit.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yes.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

A memoir by an interesting job is like a yes. A thousand percent of the time that gets.

[Jeff O'Neal]

I'm wanting there to be more no's than there are so far.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't know. We'll see.

[Jeff O'Neal]

I'm afraid that you know yourself.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Do I? And that's. And that is a self worth knowing.

[Jeff O'Neal]

And that I have a lot of affection.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah. Novel. Little Brown Sing to me by Jesse Browner. After the fall of Troy, an 11 year old boy sets off for the raised city when his father and sister vanish into the war zone. You can hear from my voice, I'm like, I haven't heard Troy. Historical fiction that isn't retelling an original story. I don't know, I mean that could be a question mark. Could be a third choice here.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Sure. It's a maybe. It's a maybe.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I mean a debut novel. If someone you haven't heard about. That's just rolling the dice. That's all that is. Up next. Oh, this isn't. This is a yes. This is just. This is not. This is so many stars.

[Jeff O'Neal]

No question.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

An Oral History of Trans, Non, Binary, Gender, Queer and Two Spirit People of Color by Carol de Roberts. I think this was. I want to see if they can come on first edition.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Oh, yes. Yeah, that's an obvious.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Some of these are a little more. I don't know, makes more sense. The Battle for the Black Bind by Karita L. Brown From Legacy Lit, May 13 it's non fiction. Dr. Kita Brown explores the struggle to divine and control the education of black Americans from the dawn of the United States.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah, yes.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Sounds cool, right? See, I don't even. I can't even stock for entertainment here because these are just edelweiss links that I'm blindly clicking on. So I don't even know what the the Stranger Ones are. Okay. From dicapo Press the Last Great Dream How Bohemians Became Hippies and Created the Sisties by Dennis McNally, May 13 I.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Think that's a. Jeff. No, no, that's not really your zone.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, not really. Hippies and Bohemians doesn't really.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Basic Books Proof the Art and Science of Certainty By Adam Kucharski, May 6 this is a. I'm just putting a yes in.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah, that sounds like a yes. The I'm only I have one eyebrow cocked for certainty.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neal]

A concept word. Both.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Here we go. Harper May 27 Carpet Diem nails from the World of Oriental.

[Jeff O'Neal]

I think I sent you this link on Slack and you were like, dude, I already know about this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I already know about this one. Is that a yes or no, though? You sent it to me. You're enabling.

[Jeff O'Neal]

This is Jeff Kaur. I am enabling it. And I need more examples because I'm tired of making fun of you for reading a book about pencils. Thanks so much for listening. Join [e-mail] bookriotpodcast to hear the rest of this episode and get access to our full back catalog of premium content. That's patreon.com bookriotpodcast.