Weekend Whats: ‘We Are Not Like Them’ Authors Jo Piazza and Christine Pride

Christine and Jo

Authors Christine Pride and Jo Piazza share their picks for this weekend, including a killer Nora Ephron linguine recipe.

Christine Pride and Jo Piazza are the brilliant minds behind the new novel We Are Not Like Them, which is told from the alternating perspectives of two childhood friends— Jen, who is white, and Riley, who is black. Their lifelong friendship is tested when Jen’s husband, a white police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager. This book is a timely, heart wrenching page-turner, and the perfect pick to spark an important conversation at your next book club.

Now that We Are Not Like Them has officially hit the shelves, Piazza and Pride teamed up to share some of their favorite TV shows, books and podcasts with us. Although Christine apparently survives on takeout alone, Jo’s got a phenomenal linguine recipe that’s perfect for anyone looking for a good stick-to-your-bones October meal.  

Book cover

What to watch: 

Jo: So when I have time to watch TV, I binge Ted Lasso with my husband because it is like eating a platter of meat loaf while wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. It just makes me feel better about the insane world we live in. When I’ve been alone on our book tour, I have been watching White Lotus — it perfectly satirizes the crazy world and I need a little dose of that too!

Christine: I’m currently binging Maid on Netflix and Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which is a prequel which follows Power villain Kanan Stark on Starz. I’ll also add that The Other Two on HBO is one of the most underestimated comedies on TV today—it’s smart and hilarious. 

What to read:  

Jo and Christine: This. Is. Hard.  We want to read ALL the books, and our stacks are towering.  We love when we find we’re reading (and loving!) the same book at the same time.  Case in point: The Great Circle. Don’t be afraid of the length, you’ll be swept away and awed by the places, literally and figuratively, Maggie Shipstead takes you in these pages! We also love Kate Bowler’s No Cure For Being Human, a book that will give you all the “what is the meaning of life” feels, and Three Girls From Bronzeville by Dawn Turner. Full disclosure, Christine edited it, but Jo, and the many, many other readers who have fallen for it, can confirm this memoir about race and fate and sisterhood is objectively incredible.

What to listen to:  

Jo: I am a podcast creator and also an audio junkie. Right now I am obsessed with The Turning: Sisters Who Left. It’s a brilliant narrative short series that digs deep into the background of the followers of Mother Teresa that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about her. 

Christine: For terrific investigative reporting about a school district in Texas that will both surprise and outrage you: Southlake

What to wear:

Jo and Christine: We’ve been on our book tour for the last week, so for all the many months we’ve spent in nap dresses and sweats, it’s strange to put on “real” clothes, but also fun!  We remember you, zippers!  Christine has never met a jumpsuit she didn’t love, including this pajamas version from Athleta, which is the perfect thing to change into after a day of promotion. 

Jo is also all about nap dresses right now. Since she has two little kids, she only wears things she can both sleep in and go outside in, that have bold prints to cover up ketchup (and maybe a little bit of pee).

What to cook:

Christine: Only Jo  can answer this question, because I never have any food in my fridge and haven’t used my stove since Obama was in office.  

Jo: I recommend this as a great weekend meal: Nora Ephron’s Linguine alla Cecca recipe from Heartburn.  It’s a soupy linguine with smashed heirloom tomatoes that makes guests feel like you tried so hard to cook for them when all you really did was smash tomatoes.  I like  to both reread and rewatch Heartburn at the exact point in the summer when the heirlooms are ready for the recipe. Usually alone in my nap dress.