The Worst Bestsellers

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Episode 152 – Mallory and the Trouble With Twins Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Say hello to your friends! As Flashback Summer continues, we revisited the small, child-friendly town of Stoneybrook. We read Mallory and the Trouble With Twins by Ann M. Martin with returning guest Liz. Join us on a walk around the mall (remember malls?), where we discuss ear piercing, afterschool snacks, and the moral fortitude it takes to identify as a Mallory.

Episode 151 – The Black Stallion Revolts Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

Flashback Summer is off to the races! Well, kind of. We eventually got to the races after a long slog through the wilderness. We read The Black Stallion Revolts by Walter Farley with returning guest Carrie. It's the classic story of a horse and a horse boy. And a crime boy. Well, we're still waiting for the fingerprint analysis to exonerate the crime boy. Listening to this episode might just cure your amnesia!

Episode 150 – Flashback Summer Super-Special Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

It's our 150th episode, and to kick off our 4th Flashback Summer, we asked to hear from you, our listeners. We loved hearing about everyone's childhood favorite books and sharing a little bit about ours.

Episode 149 – A Werewolf in Riverdale May 25, 2020

Show notes

Bad news: A Werewolf in Riverdale by Caleb Roehrig is not a tie-in to the CW show Riverdale, but rather to the town of Riverdale from the Archie comics. Well--from the Archie Horror comics. Good news: we once again teamed up with J. and Collision from I Don't Even Own a Television to tackle the big questions raised by this novel, most importantly: did you know that Jughead's little hat is called a "whoopee cap," and when Jughead transforms into a werewolf, does he still wear his whoopee cap?

Episode 148 – Planet X May 11, 2020

Show notes

We like X-Men. Our guest Anna (@lcarslibrarian) likes Star Trek. So we thought it would be fun to read the Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men crossover novel Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman. But it turns out that this exhausting crossover novel spends most of its time focused on a new character who isn't particularly connected to either franchise. Set your phasers for "none" and don't read this book!

Episode 147 – The Fast and the Furriest Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

When the going gets tough, the tough get to reading cozy cat mysteries. We read The Fast and the Furriest by Sofie Ryan, the story of a small coastal town plagued with murder and antiquers. Our opinions were split--Renata liked the cat but not the murder, Kait liked the murder but not the cat, and Duarte just hopes that feline detectives are paid a fair wage. Listen to this episode at a safe social distance from any murderers and/or antiquers!

Episode 146 – American Royals Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

Katharine McGee's novel American Royals dares to ask: what if the United States had a royal family? And what if the modern-day American royal children were a little bit horny? The Bellwether Friends, Anna and Alene, joined us to discuss this book's baffling structure, insufficient world-building, and potential Wawa sponsorship.

Episode 145 – Machines Like Me Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

We've been reading too much frivolous lady fiction around here, so we had to make time to read a Serious Book by an Important White Man. Our guest Amy used her human skills of persuasion to get us to read Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Finally, someone has dared to ask the questions: what if robots could have emotions and also working penises and also what if the UK had lost the Falklands War?

Episode 144 – Girl, Wash Your Face Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

Hey girl, guess what? Your life could be way better than it is right now if you just believed in yourself and also married a high-up Disney executive! Definitely mostly the first thing though. We were joined by Margaret H. Willison (1/2 of Two Bossy Dames, 1/3 of Appointment Television, and one of Pop Culture Happy Hour's 4th chairs) to discuss Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, a Christian self-help book that misleadingly contained no skin care advice whatsoever.

Episode 143 – Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

We invited Rebecca Mahoney, co-writer of The Bridge podcast and author of the upcoming YA novel The Valley and the Flood, to be a guest on our new podcast, My Least Favorite Murder. We read novelist Patricia Cornwell's ambitiously-titled true crime book Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed. Listen now to hear more than you ever wanted to know about a famous painter's penis!

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