50/50 Books

On a midwinter’s night a young child is found, seemingly dead, but hours later, she returns to life. The mystery of her rebirth as well as her identity persists, but some conflicting answers present themselves as three families try to claim her. However, with each of these families having their own reasons to claim the girl, they also have mysteries of their own. This episode we’re reading Once Up...

With the death of his grandfather, Jay and his family travel south to the property he left them, a farm fallen into ruin. Still, Jay’s father sends Jay out to work the land that’s left, and over these days, Jay ends up meeting Chuan, the son of the farm’s manager. As the boys grow closer, the family members deal with their own regrets and begin to drift apart. This episode we’re finishing The Sout...

With the death of his grandfather, Jay and his family travel south to the property he left them, a farm fallen into ruin. Still, Jay’s father sends Jay out to work the land that’s left, and over these days, Jay ends up meeting Chuan, the son of the farm’s manager. As the boys grow closer, the family members deal with their own regrets and begin to drift apart. This episode we’re reading The South...

Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit, where women over the age of fifty and men over sixty that are single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries are kept for their final years. The conditions sound ruthless, as they are expected to contribute towards drug and psychological testing and donate their organs, a bit at a time, until their final donation, but Dorrit...

Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit, where women over the age of fifty and men over sixty that are single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries are kept for their final years. The conditions sound ruthless, as they are expected to contribute towards drug and psychological testing and donate their organs, a bit at a time, until their final donation, but Dorrit...

Mostly unnoticed lies three figures at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the world’s most famous paintings. But Louisa has noticed, and she’s determined to figure out the story of these figures, especially as the painting ends up in her care. Because this painting was born from a summer 25 years ago in which a group of teens found refuge and purpose in each other. This episode we’re f...

Mostly unnoticed lie three figures at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the world’s most famous paintings. But Louisa has noticed, and she’s determined to figure out the story of these figures, especially as the painting ends up in her care. Because this painting was born from a summer 25 years ago, in which a group of teens found refuge and purpose in each other. This episode we’re r...

Kris Kelvin is sent to the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, but his research is not so simple as he and the other crew are plagued with their own painful memories. Could it be the ocean creating these memories, and for what reason? Solaris raises the pivotal question: “Can we truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?” This episo...

Kris Kelvin is sent to the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, but his research is not so simple as he and the other crew are plagued with their own painful memories. Could it be the ocean creating these memories, and for what reason? Solaris raises the pivotal question: “Can we truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?” This episo...

Tom Hazard, recently returned to London, has settled to become a high school history teacher, even meeting the captivating French teacher who seems just as captivated by him. However, Tom, though in want of an ordinary life, has a rare condition that has let him live for centuries, and the Albatross Society, a group that has protected people like Tom, has always had one rule: Never fall in love. N...

Tom Hazard, recently returned to London, has settled to become a high school history teacher, even meeting the captivating French teacher who seems just as captivated by him. However, Tom, though in want of an ordinary life, has a rare condition that has let him live for centuries, and the Albatross Society, a group that has protected people like Tom, has always had one rule: Never fall in love. N...

Alice Law has only ever cared about being the brightest and the best in the field of Magick, which, of course, means working with Cambridge professor Jacob Grimes, the greatest magician there is. However, things take a dive when Grimes dies in a magical accident, and it’s an accident that could be Alice’s fault. Now, with Grimes in hell, Alice is descending after him, knowing his recommendation me...

Alice Law has only ever cared about being the brightest and the best in the field of Magick, which, of course, means working with Cambridge professor Jacob Grimes, the greatest magician there is. However, things take a dive when Grimes dies in a magical accident, and it’s an accident that could be Alice’s fault. Now, with Grimes in hell, Alice is descending after him, knowing his recommendation me...

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are writers and rivals. However, when they’re both invited to a mysterious Christmas party that turns more mysterious when the host, fellow author Eleanor Ashley, disappears, their only hope of figuring out the truth and finding Eleanor might just be each other. Assuming these rivals could ever become allies.  This episode we’re finishing The Most Wonderful Crime of th...

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are writers and rivals. However, when they’re both invited to a mysterious Christmas party that turns more mysterious when the host, fellow author Eleanor Ashley, disappears, their only hope of figuring out the truth and finding Eleanor might just be each other. Assuming these rivals could ever become allies.  This episode we’re reading The Most Wonderful Crime of the...

Holden Caulfield, recently expelled from yet another school, finds himself adrift in New York City, seeking companionship but only feeling out of place and misunderstood.  This episode we’re finishing up The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger! TWs/CWs for this book seem to be:  Ableism, assault, blood, cancer (mentioned), child death (mentioned), depression, emesis, homophobia, institutionalizati...

Holden Caulfield, recently expelled from yet another school, finds himself adrift in New York City, seeking companionship but only feeling out of place and misunderstood.  This episode we’re reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, up to (but not including) Chapter 15. TWs/CWs for this book seem to be:  Ableism, assault, blood, cancer (mentioned), child death (mentioned), depression, emesi...

While on a camping trip, five high-schoolers discover a mysterious staircase to nowhere in the middle of the woods. One of them climbs up only to never come down, and then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later it appears again, and the friends return to find the lost boy and figure out just where the staircase leads. This episode we’re finishing The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig! A...

While on a camping trip, five high-schoolers discover a mysterious staircase to nowhere in the middle of the woods. One of them climbs up only to never come down, and then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later it appears again, and the friends return to find the lost boy and figure out just where the staircase leads. This episode we’re reading The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig, up...

Widow Mimi gets invited to a charity auction held by socialite Jane Ireland, and while normally Mimi would have no interest in attending, this invite comes with blackmail. Rather than go alone, Mimi brings her granddaughter, Addie, along, but the party goes from bad to worse when Jane’s body is found. Trapped inside due to a storm, Addie and Mimi must rely on their skills (crosswords and video gam...

Widow Mimi gets invited to a charity auction held by socialite Jane Ireland, and while normally Mimi would have no interest in attending, this invite comes with blackmail. Rather than go alone, Mimi brings her granddaughter, Addie, along, but the party goes from bad to worse when Jane’s body is found. Trapped inside due to a storm, Addie and Mimi must rely on their skills (crosswords and video gam...

Maya Hoshimoto, once the best art thief in the galaxy, was forced into hiding by a disastrous job. She's moved on to a more quiet life, but visions of the future haunt her still. Then an old friend comes with a job she can't refuse, but they aren't the only ones racing through the universe to find it, as it's an object with the power to save an alien species from extinction. This e...

Maya Hoshimoto, once the best art thief in the galaxy, was forced into hiding by a disastrous job. She's moved on to a more quiet life, but visions of the future haunt her still. Then an old friend comes with a job she can't refuse, but they aren't the only ones racing through the universe to find it, as it's an object with the power to save an alien species from extinction. This e...

There's something strange going on at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Each morning, things are shattered and destroyed, but it's a mystery as to what might be happening in the night. To work it out, three employees volunteer to work the night shift, but in their investigation they encounter unexpected horrors. This episode we’re finishing up Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix! T...

There's something strange going on at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Each morning, things are shattered and destroyed, but it's a mystery as to what might be happening in the night. To work it out, three employees volunteer to work the night shift, but in their investigation they encounter unexpected horrors. This episode we’re reading Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix, up to...