The Great Obsession

In today's music and pop culture kiki: recession pop is back, Justin Bieber is threatening new music, Call Her Daddy is going downhill, and Sam and RiLee have two different takes on something for once. We also share our spring release radar. No spoilers this week, but here are your timestamps: (08:30) Tate McRae - So Close to What (11:33) Lady Gaga - Mayhem (22:20) Selena Gomez - I Said I Love...

The vibes in March were POPPING. We had plenty to discuss this month and if you're wondering what movies or tv are worth catching up on, we've got everything you need to know here. In this episode recap of all the books, movies, and TV we consumed in March. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for our recap episode of all the music, podcasts, and pop culture we consumed. 10:00 Book Review Butcher a...

Is capitalism the great antagonist of society?? Maybe. In this episode we review Liz Moore's God of the Woods. Marketed as a thriller this book is definitely more of a social commentary than suspenseful read, nonetheless we DEVOURED this book and could've discussed it for hours. Spoiler free review: 4:5 Full Review: 23:36 Rating: 7.5/10 Find us at: Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod Goodread...

Are you emerging from your winter bed rot, wondering if your brain is still capable of doing more than just doom scrolling? Are you worried you've lost the love of reading forever? Well in this episode we give spoiler free recs for the books that pulled us out of our worst reading slumps and reignited our confidence in reading. These may not be the best books you've ever read (in fact we c...

Adrienne Young has done it again with her immersive and atmospheric stories, this time in the oppressive summer heat of 1950s North Carolina. There's a lot going on in this story... magical realism, madness, romance, and even a murder mystery! We're reviewing it all today, so come for the thoughtful discussion and stay for Sam's Eamon fancast. Spoiler discussion starts at (13:01). FIND US AT: Inst...

February was a short month but somehow contained multitudes. RiLee is blindly watching Love is Blind and also blindly reading books she should have vetted beforehand. Sam is getting into My Hero Academia, but realizes it's unfinished and has to cope with more trashy dating shows. We're very ready for winter to be SO OVER. SPOILER WARNINGS: Temptation Island US Season 5, Love Is Blind US Se...

Dont mind us and our ugly crying, we are just discussing Tracy Deonn's Legendborn. This book is one of the best we've discussed on the pod and will be a contender for the best book of 2025. In this episode we take our time to dive into how original the magic system is and how brilliantly Tracy Deonn weaves in the book's theme. Rating: 9/10 FIND US AT: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegreatobses...

Today's wild card episode is about how Heather Gay's Bad Mormon exists in a context, and it's a context we know A LOT about. Our thoughts on this book lead us into conversation about Mormonism in media, particularly shows like RHOSLC and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and how these play into the public's fascination with this particular religion. This episode contains light spoilers...

At the root of today's discussion is this question: Is there a superior adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? We're focusing our conversation on the 2005 adaptation and what makes it such a perfect film, despite being technically less faithful to the book. After all, the hand flex and the boiled potatoes were not in the book... but where would we be today without them? SPOILER WARNINGS: Pride...

We survived January! The month that never seemed to end!! There's a lot of variety in what we consumed in January. From Real Housewives to movies middle school boys love, we've got something for everyone. (05:01) Reading Report The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna Bad Mormon by Heather Gay Mockingjay by Susanne Collins I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy...

Welcome back to the Empyrean! Every single character in this ENTIRE world is going to be mentioned in the first 20 pages. Hope you figure it out! By the way, we made up a new villain out of nowhere and we're going to the Poptropica islands. Thankfully we have Ridoc and Garrick to carry us the entire way. This episode contains spoilers for the entirety of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, along wit...

Suzanne Collins! Stranger Things! Unicorns! Here's everything that's on our radar for 2025. We've got a lot of new books we are looking forward to and some questionable live action movies we are not. FIND US AT: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegreatobsessionpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: thegreatobsessionpod@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RiLee's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sam's Goodreads

Its our first vibe check of 2025 and we were READING. This a spoiler free review of everything we consumed in December and what we are looking forward to in the month ahead. 8:09 - Books Chronicles of Narnia (Lion, the witch and the wardrobe through Dawn Treader, Spectacular by Stephanie Garber, Puck and Prejudice by Lila Riley, The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan, Pride and Prejudice by Jane A...

For our December Book Club we read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, which turned out not to be an encyclopaedia at all! (We were confused at first.) This whimsical tale was a very unique read for us and we're OBSESSED with Wendell Bambleby. Tune in for our thoughts on the journal entry writing style, Emily's unreliable narration, Wendell's weird cleanliness quirk, and mor...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....2024 is wrapping up so here is our annual Best Of spoiler free episode. From books to pop culture we share our top picks and our biggest flops. Titles discussed: Albums: Don't Forget Me by Maggie Rogers, Short and Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter, MEGAN by Megan the Stallion, Vertigo by GRIFF, TTPD by Taylor Swift, BRAT by Charli XCX, Sugar Water b...

This could also be called our 2024 Year In Review: Book Edition. We're tier ranking all 20 books we read for the podcast this year and reflecting on which ones impacted us most. This episode is spoiler free, but we still opine AT LENGTH about some of these books so buckle in! Tiers explained starting at (07:17) and actual ranking starts at (08:33). FIND US AT: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegreatobsessionpo...

Growing up is realizing you are actually an Edmund, not a Lucy. In this episode we discuss the movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis iconic The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We discuss the way our perception of the story and characters has changed, the movie 's stunning visuals, and quality casting. Also, Will Poulter's glow up. Contains spoilers for the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. Rating: 7...

Our November reading & watch report is in there somewhere... along the way we get into some C.S. Lewis vs. J.R.R. Tolkien discourse we have no business having, plus some impassioned hateration about live action remakes and lots of confusion about The Inheritance Games series. Oh, and we loved Wicked! (06:38) Reading Report Never Whistle at Night by Shane Hawk (08:06) Looking for Smoke by K.A....

For our 100TH EPISODE (!!!) we discuss Rebecca Ross' A River Enchanted and once again we are blown away by the nuance and depth Rebecca Ross weaves into her writing. This time we are swept away to the Scottish isles full of wind spirits and music, with enough relatable challenges to go around. Our Rating: 8.25 This episode contains references to Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, but no spoilers. FIND...

On this episode we bring you another Smash or Pass, only this time we are joined by special guest Abby Tree and our options get progressively more unhinged. We encourage listeners to play along with us and ultimately ask themselves who is hotter...Lightening McQueen or a fish? There are no major spoilers except for things you should have already seen such as Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, the...

Cinematic. Campy. Absurd. Ahead of its time. We're revisiting a CLASSIC for this month's adaptation review, and if you're having deja vu, it's because Twilight is also the subject of our first ever episode! While we previously discussed the franchise as a whole, our focus in today's episode is the first Twilight movie and how it compares to the book. Our first Twilight episode is here: The Franchi...

We recorded this pre election, so enjoy an escape into the blissful past... (02:50) October overview - a busy month! (07:55) Reading Report Cackle by Rachel Harrison A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (20:00) Watch Report - Movies The Haunted Mansion The Corpse Bride Saturday Night Megalopolis The Wild Robot We Live in Time My Father's Will (again... b/c RiLee watched it LOL) (42:10) Watch Rep...

Welcome to our October book club (SHHH we know it's November rn)! Leigh Bardugo's first venture into adult fantasy is quite jarring with its dark setting, unsettling rituals and bleak outlook on life... and we loved it. Mostly. CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, rape & sexual assault, murder, gore, drug addiction, death and suicide. SPOILER WARNINGS: Spoiler discussion for Ninth House begins at (13:0...

Our resident Heartstopper stan Abby Tree is back to talk with us about the newest season! We love that this show leans into the awkwardness of teenage experiences, and we wonder... do British teens really do party that much? Content Warnings: We discuss the heavier themes depicted in this season, specifically the topics of disordered eating and depression. Spoiler Warnings: This episode contains s...

BBC's adaptation of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has given us more to talk about than expected! The calamity parties are actually entire raves, Max Hastings is wayyy too present, and there's a subplot about Pip's dad for some reason? We're breaking down it all down in today's review. This episode contains spoilers for the TV adaptation of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, as well as Holly Jackson's...