Plotline Hotline

How many funerals have you crashed? Would you ever crash one? What does it really mean to lose a dear friend? In this episode, we delve into the second half of the book, examining its most thought-provoking moments and exploring the themes of grief, mortality, friendship, and the lingering questions that persist long after the final page.

If you had to write your own obituary, what would you say? How would you sum up your life? Fueled by booze and fresh rejection, Bud finds himself facing those very questions. What begins as an impulsive exercise creates a ripple effect, forever changing how he understands life and death.

We reunited in Chicago to celebrate Casinobachi for Tiff's birthday!  If this weekend taught us anything, it’s that gambling might be more our speed than smut. While the back half of Cleat Cute  didn’t fully land for us, it did dive into deeper themes around ADHD, family dynamics, coming out, and finally letting go of the life you think you’re supposed to live. 

Well, well, well, we finally went smutty with this one. As lovers of women's sports, we felt this was the perfect way to break the ice... but is it? The underlying queer themes are strong, and the sex scene language is even stronger. Join us on this WLW book experience!

The latter half of the book extends quantum theory into everyday life, suggesting that reality is not fixed until it is observed in the present moment. Under the Copenhagen interpretation, all possibilities exist as “ghost” realities until observation collapses them into a single reality. In contrast, the many-worlds perspective proposes that every possible outcome already exists across branching...

John Gribbon introduces quantum physics, by laying the foundation with a refresher on classical and new physics. We didn’t expect so much drama in the science community, and this book definitely delivers the tea! With quantum physics, came the revolutionary discovery that all matter and energy behave with wave-like and particle-like properties. Does the following question intrigue you? Why don’t e...

The back half of this book reveals even deeper, darker secrets. Mark considers a presidential campaign run. After all, Facebook did get Trump elected. Facebook is willing to sell their souls to countries who will use their data to persecute their citizens. Anything in the name of revenue growth. After learning the dark side to Facebook, where does the author stand?! Well, listen to find out!

On the surface, Facebook seems pretty simple: A way to connect friends globally. With this global network, comes great diplomatic responsibility. Sarah Wynn-Williams was the first to recognize the revolutionary impact Facebook would forge within global diplomacy. She fought long and hard to get Facebook at the table of key diplomatic discussions, all the while instilling sustainable and ethical po...

After Aerius’ murder spree, we return to the narration of the Bunnies. While Aerius and the Bunnies are on their own timelines, they do have a common connection: Ursula. Ursula, the fiction cohort instructor. Turns out, she has some hidden skeletons in the closet, or should we say, Bunnies in her shed. We’d love to spoil the ending for you, but that’ll be in the next episode! 

Mona Awad makes her second appearance on the pod with We Love You, Bunny . This sequel takes us back to the origin story, where each Bunny gets the chance to share her darkly humorous perspective. ☺ The tone shifts when Aerius, their conjured hybrid, steps in through his journaled reflections. We learn that this murderous hybrid, who is programmed to murder Allan, can’t help but meet Allans. ☹  Is...

As we close out our 1984 episode, we finally face Winston’s fate… or do we? Maybe the real takeaway is that we’re all reading slightly different versions of the same story. Are we reading different versions literally—or is the mind so powerful that it can reshape meaning itself, allowing each of us to arrive at entirely different truths? After all, 2 + 2 is 5.

A novel about censorship getting censored? Oh, the irony. We decided to revisit this high school classic to see what all the fuss is about. Is it the sex? Is it the mass surveillance? Is it Winston's job as a history rewriter in the records department? Maybe it’s the whole “warning us about fascism” vibe. Whatever it is, the slogans of Oceania hit a bit too close to current events for comfort...

The latter half of this book digs into spirituality, the distinction between brain and mind, and negative near death experiences. While we discovered far too many ways to die in the process, the takeaway from these testimonials is surprisingly comforting: death is not to be feared. 

Ever wonder what happens when you die? Well, we did! Dr. Bruce Greyson breaks down his scientific research and findings on near-death experiences. If you love science and stepping into the unknown, this one’s for you!

This episode wraps up Bunny, covering chapters 18 through 38. The Bunnies insist that Samantha try her luck at creating a hybrid. The result is Max, a strange, beautiful boy who embodies everything Samantha has repressed. As Max seduces her best friend and even the Bunnies themselves, Samantha begins to feel every kiss and every betrayal, as if they were her own. When murder strikes, revenge is ne...

We kick off this episode with a new book and a bottle of champagne! Tiff chose Bunny by Mona Awad, a book with about 80,000 words and infinite interpretations. Main character Samantha takes us on a muddled adventure filled with weird moments, endless animal references, and cringy clique-related tropes. It's hard to know where reality ends and fiction begins. Does Samantha even know?? 

In this episode, we wrap up Codependent No More —and no, we’re still not over those lists. While we all agree this book could have been an email, we each walked away with takeaways. The TLDR? Well, you have to listen to find out...

We're back, and we brought a third! Welcome to the very first episode of Plotline Hotline, your new favorite book club.  In our first episode, we jump into the self-help classic, Codependent No More. Author Melody Beattie unpacks intense emotions, real-life examples, and lists on lists on lists. Fortunately, she doesn't leave us in the trenches. Rather, she provides us with the tool of l...