I'm Natalie Moore. I fell in love with soap operas when I was just five years old, and I still

watch them. Their television's longest scripted series and have zero reruns. Now let me tell you,

soap operas aren't just some silly art form. They are significant. In this season of making,

Stories Without End from WB EZ Chicago.

Join me as I share how the genre began, their social impact, and why these stories endure.

Listen wherever you get your podcast.

From WBEZ Chicago, I'm Greta Johnson, and this is the Nerdat Book Club. It's just like a regular book club, except you don't have to share your snacks. It is the month of May, and our book this month is Idra Novi's novel, Take What You Need. It alternates points of view between Gene, a woman who welds giant sculptures in her rural Pennsylvania living room, and Leah, Jean's estranged former stepdaughter.

When the story opens, we know Jean has died, and Leah is back in her hometown to see Jean's art.

As the book goes on, we learn Gene and Leah had a pretty serious falling out a couple years before the story starts, partly because of Elliott, who is Jean's disenfranchised neighbor. That's all I'm

going to say for now because this is going to be a spoilery conversation. So here is your

spoiler warning. If you haven't read the book and you don't want to know what happens, go listen

to my interview with the author in the feed. If you have read

the book or you are game for spoilers anyway, welcome. I am so excited to introduce you to this

month's panelist. With us this month, we have the author of Fellowship Point, Alice Elliott

Dark. Alice, hello. Hi there. How are you? Awesome. We also have Clavis Nateta. She is the author of Neruda on the park. Clavis, hello. Hi. I'm so happy to be here. I love this book. Yay. Okay. So, yeah, what stood out to you about it? Well, I mean, I really just love the dynamic between these two women. I think Gene is a character for the ages.

Yes.

She is so complicated.

She is so funny.

I felt that, you know, her imagination

and the way that she interacted with these other artists

from the past through books was really inspiring.

And the mangoments. I i kept imagining these sculptures in my mind and just thinking how bold it is to witness this woman that's creating

...