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The Terrible Reading Club

The Terrible Reading Club is a podcast about great books for truly terrible times. Host Nora McInerny knows a thing or two about this kind of literature, because she’s written several books herself about tough subjects like grief and loss and mental health (and moving forward in the face of it all).
Each episode centers a book that deals with Hard Stuff and features an interview with the author about their work. And the best part about this reading club? You don’t need to read the book ahead of time!
For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It’s free! https://terriblereadingclub.substack.com/
Got a book you want to recommend? Reach out to us at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.
The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.
Our upcoming reading list can be found on our Substack: https://terriblereadingclub.substack.com/p/our-upcoming-book-selections.

Latest Episodes:

13. “All The Gold Stars” With Rainesford Stauffer Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

Journalist and writer Rainesford Stauffer has a complicated relationship with ambition, and it started when she was just a kid. She published a book, wrote for top publications and never stopped reaching for the next golden ring — until she was forced to.

Stauffer spent months interviewing teachers, parents, psychologists and organizers about how they define and practice ambition, all while trying to reconcile its impact on her own life. Her new book, All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and All the Ways We Strive, is about the societal expectations that keep us striving for more and the tenuous balance between achieving your goals and burning out entirely.

If you were crushed by a B+ on your report card, spent hours practicing a hobby or sport you weren’t particularly passionate about because that’s what you were “supposed” to do or stubbornly climbed the corporate ladder only to find yourself thinking “What now?” at the top, this episode is for you.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book recommendation? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here or at the episode website link.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12. New Episodes Beginning July 13th! Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

The Terrible Reading Club is a podcast about great books for truly terrible times. Host Nora McInerny knows a thing or two about this kind of literature, because's she's written several books herself about tough subjects like grief and loss and mental health (and moving forward in the face of it all).

Episodes either center a book that deals with Hard Stuff and feature an interview with the author about their work, or feature Nora discussing the many books on her recently read and TBR list.

The best part about this reading club? You don't need to read the book ahead of time! But if you want to, our upcoming reading list can be found here.

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan. Find all of our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

Got a book you want to recommend? Reach out to us at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11. ."Griefstrike!" With Jason Roeder Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Grieving is a lonely experience. Many of us who have been through it wish there was a handbook to lead us through the experience. When comedy writer Jason Roeder lost his mom, he decided to write the guidebook that he wanted to read. This episode of Terrible Reading Club is a chat with Jason about his book Griefstrike!, a humorous guide to grief.

Jason Roeder is comedy writer, and he’s a former senior writer and editor of The Onion.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

"The Terrible Reading Club" team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on April 25th, 2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10. "How To Keep House While Drowning" With KC Davis Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Self-help books sell mostly because they are selling you a way to solve a problem, and the problem is you. It’s never something that’s out of your control, or bigger than you, it’s just… you. But today’s book, even if it’s shelved in the self-help section, is different.

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis is the most compassionate, most practical, most understanding book about how to do the kind of tasks that can confound and, like it says, drown you. In this episode, Nora talks with KC about the problems that arise when having a clean home becomes a moral issue.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here or at the episode website link.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on February 21st, 2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9. "The Night The Lights Went Out" With Drew Magary Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Our brains and our minds are fragile, and they’re housed in our fragile little human bodies that just break unexpectedly. That’s where Drew Magary found himself: the owner of a broken skull and a badly damaged brain. But you’d really never know it — because on the outside, he looked mostly fine!

In this episode, Nora talks with Drew about his memoir, The Night The Lights Went Out, and the insidiousness that is recovering from a traumatic brain injury.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on June 16th, 2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8. "You'd Be Home Now" With Kathleen Glasgow Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Adolescence is generally a pretty terrible part of a person’s life. Being a teenager is hard! It (often) sucks! But reading about teenagers doesn’t suck, and one of Nora’s favorite YA authors is Kathleen Glasgow. In this episode, Nora talks with Kathleen about her book You’d Be Home Now, which tackles addiction and mental health and a lot of other tough subjects that impact young people. They also talk about being Twihards, because obviously.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here or at the episode website link.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on May 19th, 2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7. "We Are Not Like Them" With Christine Pride Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

For the past few years, the U.S. has been in the midst of a racial reckoning, and though today’s book is a piece of fiction it is, like all fiction, a reflection of the real world that we live in. In We Are Not Like Them, a white woman (Jen) and a Black woman (Riley) are lifelong friends, nearly as close as sisters … until Jen’s policeman husband is involved in the shooting of a Black man, and journalist Riley begins covering the story.

In this episode, Nora talks with one of the book’s authors, Christine Pride, about writing a book about interracial friendship.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here or at the episode website link.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on April 21st, 2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6. "Conversations With People Who Hate Me" With Dylan Marron Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Part of what’s terrible sometimes is how easy it is for people to hate each other. And how hard it is for people to TALK to each other in meaningful ways when we disagree. And while it’s certainly not a phenomenon that’s brand NEW, the Internet has certainly made it easier for us to voice our dislike for people in ways that are… not always helpful or productive?

Dylan Marron is the author of the book Conversations With People Who Hate Me, and in today’s episode, Nora talks with him about why we are how we are, and how we could change.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on March 24th, 2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5. "Saving Us" With Katharine Hayhoe Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

If you’re sent into an anxiety spiral every time you hear the words “climate change,” you’re not alone. Everything we read these days tells us that the clock is ticking down, and there is nothing we as individuals can do about it. But Nora talked to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe recently about her book Saving Us, and she told us that yeah, things are bad … but it’s not hopeless!

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on February 21st, 2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4. "The Ugly Cry" With Danielle Henderson Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

There are people in the world who were once kids who grew up without the kind of parents you see on ‘90s sitcoms, kids whose parents abdicated all responsibility, who walked off the job, who just didn’t do the one thing they were supposed to have done.

Danielle Henderson was one of those kids. She’s a grown-up now, and author of The Ugly Cry, a book that traces Danielle’s childhood as a Black girl in a very white town in upstate New York with a mother who was struggling with her own life’s disappointments. She and Nora talk about using humor to address trauma and the importance of foundational relationships.

Wanna read the book? When you purchase from Apple Books or Bookshop.org, you help support our show!

For book discussion guides and a community of Terrible bookworms just like you, join The Terrible Reading Club on Substack! It's free!

Got a book you want to recommend? Send us a note at terriblereadingclub@feelingsand.co.

The Terrible Reading Club team is Nora McInerny, Claire McInerny, Megan Palmer, Marcel Malekebu, Kara Nesvig, Jordan Turgeon, and Michelle Plantan.

Our upcoming reading list can be found here.

Find all our shows and our store at feelingsand.co.

The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Originally published on “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” on November 18th, 2021

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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