The Dust Jacket

This week we wrap up our double-length discussion of Alice Hoffman's latest book, The Witches of Cambridge. We still have a lot to talk about, including why you can't have just a lil bit of mind-reading in your book, and the all-important ending.  Next week, we'll return to our regular programming with Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle.  Since this is the second continuation of...

Alice Hoffman is one of Dacey's favorite authors, and this book, her latest, starts off with a great voice and an interesting premise. Unfortunately, alongside its good moments come a host of not-quite-good moments, and some downright bad moments. When we started talking about all the ins and outs, we just couldn't stop.  So we decided to split this episode into two parts. Here's part one, part tw...

To kick off Spooktober 2026, we're talking about My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Okay, we cheated a bit, this book is more thriller than horror; in fact, the reason we picked it is because the NYT just placed it at #6 on their list of the best thrillers of the 21st century. Listen in to see if we agree... Spoilers from 29 mins Find us on Instagram @dustjacketpod

We're kicking off Spooktober with a classic! This week we're talking about one of the most famous horror novels of all time.... or at least the novel that became one of the most famous horror movies of all time. With its iconic shower stabbing scene, and possibly the most famous twist ever.  There are spoilers from the jump, but you probably already know the twist, right?  Find us on Instagram @du...

We have fantasy fan Sam back to talk about Dungeon Crawler Carl, the breakout hit LitRPG. If you've never heard of the LitRPG genre, it's what would happen if the fantasy genre had a baby with the Dungeons & Dragons rulebook, and their kid was extremely numbers-focused but struggled with interpersonal communication.  No spoiler warning in this episode. We do talk about things that happen late...

The marketing copy alternately calls Fruit Fly a satirical thriller and a domestic thriller. Unfortunately for us, trying to do both of those things at once led to a muddled novel that can't quite get out of its own way.  Spoilers from 30 mins Find us on Instagram @dustjacketpod

Hudson, New York is "full of drunks and sluts," according to this week's book, Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin. So we went there to record this episode. Luckily, our guest, Jules, lives in Hudson and tells us all about both the sluts and the drunks.  Big Swiss is a weird, wild ride full of bees, ants, dogs, cheating, betrayal, and truly bizarre characters.  Spoilers from 45 mins Find us on Instagram @dus...

This week we're talking about "American Fantasy" a cozy book about a Gen X woman going on a cruise with a band from her youth ("Boy Talk" in the book, inspired clearly by New Kids on the Block).  This premise, the 11th novel by a popular author, should be at least a base hit, if not a home run. But it's one of the worst-rated books we've ever read for the podcast.  We dig into why people might hav...

This week, we're talking about The Guncle, by Steven Rowley, the rare "heartwarming comedic novel" that is actually heartwarming and funny! We talk about how hard it is to write a novel about grief, the Guncle sequel and why it didn't live up to the original, and much more!  Spoilers from 26 mins Find us on Instagram @dustjacketpod

This week we have another double guest episode! Regan and Martin join us to talk about Blob, a weird (but not weird enough) novel about a woman who finds a blob and shapes it into a man.  We all agreed that this book wasn't amazing, but we all rated it higher than its Goodreads rating. Find out why.... Spoilers from 19 mins

Dacey has laryngitis this week, so we cracked open our vault of previously recorded episodes. This book is about the most prolific art thief you've never heard of... but the book itself might be a crime as well.  Find us on instagram @dustjacketpod

This week, we have TWO special guests--Skye and Isaac--to help us talk about Ann Patchett's latest book, Whistler. We discuss Patchett's Luddite tendencies, the strange sexual tension in this book, and whether it's appropriate to stargaze from a moving vehicle (it's not)  Spoilers from 19 mins Find us on Instagram @dustjacketpod

This week we're talking about Obama's summer reading list pick, Kin, by Tayari Jones. It's a sprawling book about motherhood, daughterhood, and friendship. But did we like it as much as Barack?  Spoilers from 36 mins

We have a special guest this week, Alice, who helps us talk about Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark, a speculative novella about a Black woman with a magic sword killing "Ku Kluxes" in the Jim Crow south. It's a wild ride.  Spoilers from 19 mins

This week we discuss poems about dogs and Kevin Wilson's Run for the Hills. Sorry to our friends who liked this one 😬 Spoilers from 20 mins

Bailey's back to help us talk about Gone Girl. It's become one of the most influential domestic thrillers since its publication 14 years ago. But how does it hold up now? Spoilers from 9 mins

This week we discuss the 2025 epistolary novel The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans. We talk about its charm, its quiet but still propulsive plot, and why we think it's become so popular. Spoilers from 25 mins

This week we're talking about Xochitl Gonzalez's popular 2022 debut novel Olga Dies Dreaming. It has a lot of interesting ideas and some really good writing, but ultimately these little pieces didn't add up for either of us.  Spoilers from 23 mins Trigger warning: non-graphic mention of SA

This week we're talking about the latest David Sedaris collection, which has good and bad moments. We discuss how he's grown bitter and boomerish, and our favorite stories from his career.  No spoilers!

Second-time guest Sonya joins us to talk about Nothing Tastes As Good, in which an experimental weight loss drug drives a man to cannibalism. It's a wild ride, not always in a good way.  Spoilers from 36 mins

This week, we discuss the smash hit Yesteryear--what makes it so compelling to so many people but also its significant weaknesses.  Spoilers from 31 mins

This week we discuss the buzzy new mystery, The Ending Writes Itself. We talk about its strong start, weak ending, and why the story of how it was written might be more interesting than the novel itself.  Spoilers from 20 mins

First-time guest Bryn joins us to discuss O Sinners!, by Nicole Cuffy, a book about a cult that we all agreed has a bunch of interesting threads, but never quite weaves them together.  Spoilers from 45 mins

This week we discuss the latest Weird Woman novel we've read: A Good Person, by Kirsten King. If you liked Victorian Psycho, Sky Daddy, All Fours, Yellowface, etc, check this one out. For more on Nico's beef with Dwight Garner, check out our episode on Vigil, by George Saunders.  Warning, this episode does include non-specific mentions of sexual assault.  Spoilers from 26 mins

This week we're talking about Cebo Campbell's speculative dystopian/utopian novel, Sky Full of Elephants.  A mysterious event suddenly causes all of America's white people to drown themselves. Without them, Black Americans create a utopian society.  The story follows Charlie as he tracks down his half-white daughter and gets to the bottom of what caused the event in the first place.  Spoilers from...