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 Nerdette Book Club.

It's just like a regular book club, except you can read and listen whenever you want.

This month's pick is Gus Moreno's This Thing Between Us.

It is our first foray into horror.

Yes, it is gory.

Yes, it is terrifying. But it also does a lot with themes around grief and

identity and belonging. And we are going to dive into it all. First, here is your spoiler

warning. If you have not read this book and you don't want to know what happens, this is not the

episode for you. Go listen to the author interview that we have in the feed. If you haven't read

the book and you are totally cool with knowing what happens, or if you have read the book, we are very glad to have you. I'm also super excited to discuss this

book with two excellent nerds. With us this month, we have Gabino Iglesias. He's a writer,

reader, and editor of book reviews for Pank Magazine. He also reviewed this book for NPR. Gabino, welcome. How are you doing? I'm stoked to be here.

Yay, we're stoked to have you. We also have the co-owner of an indie bookstore here in Chicago called

Exile in Bookville, our buddy Javier Ramirez. Javier, hello. Thanks for having me on, Greta. This is going to be a lot of fun. Yay, thanks for coming.

Okay, so as always, we will also be hearing from some delightful listeners.

First, I want to say, I imagine most people listening have read the book already.

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