Buddy Book Club

The Buddies finally crack open an airport bookstore staple with James Patterson’s 1993 debut of Alex Cross, “Along Came a Spider.” The Buddies debate whether Cross is a devoted single dad or a hypocrite who hates the media right up until he needs a favor, why the D.C. police desperately needed a PR person, and who thought hypnotizing the defendant in the middle of a trial was a good idea. Plus, th...

The Buddies are in the cutting room this week for Rough Cuts , the brand-new comedy from Glenn R. Miller, and the author himself stops by to talk shop. Set in the 1920s, the story pits a Hollywood director chasing his legacy against a young Ohio minister who’s just been handed the power to censor movies. Glenn tells the story behind the story, which starts with a box of real censorship cards found...

The Buddies head down under for Sally Hepworth's darkly compelling "Mad Mabel". The Buddies had a lot of questions after reading the newly released mystery/dark-comedy. Namely: How old does a child need to be to take accountability for their actions? What makes a good/bad neighbor, and what is the definition of ‘dark humor’. Find out the answers to all of this and more on this weeks...

The Buddies venture into the children's section for Brian Jacques' 1986 classic "Redwall," and immediately wonder how a book like this was ever considered for kids. Good for the librarians for recommending a book that has more death in it in one chapter than most ‘young adult’ books have in a whole series. On this ep, the Buddies got into discussing whether Matthias should have...

The Buddies escape into Gillian Flynn's 2012 psychological thriller "Gone Girl". The Buddies tried to lighten the mood after reading this dark twist-and-turny book. They got to debating about Amy’s parents and if they could have avoided raising a psychopath, the extremely short shelf life of eggs Benedict, and whether Desi Collings is a romantic hero or just a guy who watched The No...

The Buddies take a detour from sword and sorcery for their first nonfiction read in a while with Patrick Radden Keefe's "London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth." By the way, it’s ‘London Falling’ and not ‘London is Falling’ the Gerard Butler action movie, although the Buddies may have stated that as the title on multiple occasions....

The Buddies close the book on Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy with "The Last Argument of Kings," the grim dark finale that answers the age-old question: what if the Manhattan Project was run by a thousand-year-old wizard who doesn't care if you live or die? The Buddies debate whether Jezal is just Vichy France with better PR, how to weaponize ‘biological control theory’ aga...

The Buddies return to Joe Abercrombie's grim dark world for "Before They Are Hanged," the second book in the First Law trilogy. The Buddies debate whether getting your face smashed in with a mace is the ultimate character development, how useless corporate leadership seminars actually are beneficial, and if chivalry is indeed not dead. So, bring your north man mentality, practice yo...

The Buddies read the not-so-fiction feeling dystopian classic "1984" by George Orwell this week. The Buddies chat about the good life of being a Prole (drunk, happy, and blissfully ignorant), every day double-think, and how Gen Alpha speak and Newspeak are the same. So grab your victory gin, practice your doublethink, and join us for a pod that asks: would you rather be tortured with rat...

The Buddies blast off for an emergency pod to discuss the 2026 film adaptation of Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary," starring Ryan Gosling as the loneliest, most attractive genius in space. The Buddies had read the book way back on episode 23, so this was a trip down memory lane. Much of their discussion centered around Gosling's character wardrobe choices, his likeability, and i...

The Buddies crack open David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day," a collection of essays about his childhood, being an artist, and speaking French. Or as the Buddies characterized it, ‘Bohemian Bill Simmons without the basketball references.’ The Buddies navigate through stories about terrible dads, fancy French dinners, and the eternal struggle of learning adjectives in Paris while...

The Buddies dive into Tana French's "The Searcher”, a book that proves the worst midlife crisis decision isn't buying a Ferrari, it's moving to a shack in rural Ireland to escape your problems. This one had all the elements of a Western noir transplanted to the Irish countryside. The Buddies got into discussing a few topics around cookie-stealing neighbors , what phrases start...

The Buddies dive into James Islington's ambitious sequel "The Strength of the Few" – a book that takes "go with the flow" to a whole new level when you lose an arm AND get transported to three different worlds simultaneously. This one had all the elements of a kick-ass sequel: distinct worlds, epic fantasy elements, and tea that makes broken legs feel like a light jog. The...

The Buddies tackle James Islington's "The Will of the Many," a fantasy novel that's been described as "Red Rising meets Magic School" but turned out to be more like "Tenant in a pyramid scheme." The Buddies dove into a world where people literally give up their will to power society, while the rich kids attend prestigious schools and play extreme capture-the...

The Buddies were lucky enough to have author TJ Derry on the pod to talk about his debut thriller, Carried Away. A book that starts as a dreamy Indonesian surf vacation and ends with them questioning every outdoor activity they've ever considered. The Buddies dove into the book and many other topics with TJ and finished things off with their patented podcast categories.  So pack your trusty f...

Warning: if you liked this book, you’re probably not going to like this episode. The Buddies spent 45 minutes trashing Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben's new book collaboration "Gone Before Goodbye". A book so spectacularly bad that the Buddies are considering picketing Barnes & Noble. This literary dumpster fire had all the hallmarks of a ChatGPT fever dream: nonsensical plot...

The Buddies are once again revisiting their old pal Vince Flynn, in his 2003 thriller "Executive Power". This one had all the elements of a classic Mitch Rapp novel: fast paced, action packed, and a shockingly detailed description of Rapp's "tan scar-dappled muscly torso" that definitely moved something (in George Costanza's words). The Buddies got to chatting about w...

On this episode, the Buddies return to their YA roots with Marie Lu's 2011 dystopian novel "Legend". This one had all the elements of a classic YA novel, enemies to lovers, some love triangles, and of course a story that focuses on 15-year-olds that are the smartest people alive, Olympic-level athletes, AND models. The Buddies got to chatting about the difference between sociopath/p...

The Buddies return with Fredrik Backman's 2025 novel "My Friends," their second dive into Backman's work after "Anxious People." They get to chatting about art snobs, nicknames, train conductor, and how this books first draft was originally was way more depressing. The Buddies try to bring some levity to this one (and some much-needed revenge on specific parents). Lik...

The Buddies are back for their sixth rodeo with Pierce Brown's "Light Bringer," the final book in the second Red Rising trilogy (before the 7th book). The Buddies needed some cliff notes to remember what happened in this one (it was a lot). The gang discusses Mission Impossible/Scooby-Doo mask reveals, and how Atlas has been playing 4D chess while everyone else was playing checkers....

The Buddies are back to continue their "summer saga series" (say that 10 times fast) with Pierce Brown's "Dark Age," the fifth book in the Red Rising universe and second in the Iron Gold trilogy. This new trilogy is basically Game of Thrones in space, but with more creative ways to die. The Buddies got to discussing summer camps, habituation, the Black Knight from Mondy Py...

The Buddies are back from their extended hiatus (sorry vacations, bats, and constipation got in the way) to tackle Pierce Brown's "Iron Gold," the fourth book in his Red Rising series. The first trilogy currently sits #1 in both Keith and Dman’s rankings, so big expectations for this one. The Buddies got to revisit their old friends Darrow, Severo, Mustang, and many more along with...

The Buddies tackled Bill Belichick's "The Art of Winning" with the religious devotion only Patriots fans can muster. The Buddies got to chatting about why selfish players are actually fine, the tragic lack of insider Patriots secrets, and whether comparing NFL salary caps to office vlookups should be a crime. They also debated who should play Belichick in a biopic (Dennis Quaid vs....

 The Buddies hit the waves with Taylor Jenkins Reid's "Malibu Rising". If you enjoy family drama with deadbeat dads, cocaine platters, and specialty seafood sandwiches that sound absolutely disgusting, this book is for you! The Buddies got to chatting about sympathizing with terrible fathers (because of diet failures), the economics of therapy vs. longboards, salmon polo shirts, and...

The Buddies made their way to Brooklyn for Freda McFadden's thriller, "The Housemaid”. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with questionable characters, glaring red flags, and DIY dental work, this book is for you! The Buddies got to chatting about driving a great car (namely a 2011 Nissan Sentra), torture, Family Feud, gaslighting, and much more. So join us as we chat about The Housema...