Nerdette Book Club: ‘Happiness Falls,’ discussed!
Happy To Be Here
Greta Johnsen
4.6 • 924 Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2023
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nerdette Book Club is back to dig into our September pick, Angie Kim’s novel 'Happiness Falls.' During the lockdown era of COVID, college student Mia is stuck at home with her parents and two brothers. Her father, Adam, stays at home to take care of the youngest son Eugene, who has autism and does not speak. One day, Adam and Eugene leave to go on a walk, but only Eugene comes back. The more the family looks for Adam, the more secrets they uncover. It’s a mystery that also grapples with ableism, personal fulfillment, and how much you can really know the people closest to you.
We’re joined by two of our favorite readers, Ted Talks Daily host Elise Hu and Northwestern University’s audio journalism director Arionne Nettles. If you have not read the book yet and do not want to hear spoilers, go back and listen to our conversation with Angie Kim in the feed!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Natalie Moore. I fell in love with soap operas when I was just five years old, and I still |
| 0:06.1 | watch them. Their television's longest scripted series and have zero reruns. Now let me tell you, |
| 0:12.7 | soap operas aren't just some silly art form. They are significant. In this season of making, |
| 0:18.0 | Stories Without End from WB EZ Chicago. |
| 0:25.7 | Join me as I share how the genre began, their social impact, and why these stories endure. |
| 0:28.3 | Listen, wherever you get your podcast. |
| 0:38.7 | From WBEZ Chicago, I'm Greta Johnson, and this is the Nerd Out Book Club. |
| 0:42.6 | It's just like a regular book club, except you don't have to share your snacks. |
| 0:46.7 | It is the month of September, and our selection this month is Angie Kim's novel, |
| 0:48.1 | Happiness Falls. |
| 0:54.0 | It is told from the point of view of Mia, a college student who goes home during the lockdown era of COVID. She moves back in with |
| 0:55.3 | her twin John, her working mom, Hannah, and her dad, Adam, who stays at home to take care of their |
| 1:00.5 | younger brother, Eugene, who is a teenager who's got autism and doesn't talk. One day, Adam and |
| 1:06.6 | Eugene leave to go on a walk, but only Eugene comes back. He's got blood under his fingernails and he's |
| 1:12.1 | unable to tell anyone what happened. And the more the family looks for Adam, the more secrets they |
| 1:17.5 | uncover. That is all I am going to say for now because this is your spoiler warning. If you have not read |
| 1:23.4 | the book and you don't want to know what happens, you should go listen to our spoiler-free author interview with Angie Kim, which is in the feed. If you have read the book or you are just |
| 1:32.4 | like a spoiler fiend, welcome. We are glad to have you. I am so excited to introduce you to this |
| 1:38.8 | month's guests with us. We have NPR host, Elise, Hugh, Elise. Hello. Hello. It's so great to be back. Yay. Also here is the head of the |
| 1:47.5 | audio program for Northwestern's journalism program, Ari on Nettles. Ari, hello. Hi, Greta. Okay, so I would |
| 1:56.5 | love to dive in and talk about and start with the COVID of it all because I don't know about y'all, but |
| 2:02.4 | like over the last several years, of course, I've read a variety of novels now that have had |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Greta Johnsen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Greta Johnsen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.