Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

This episode we're discussing Business Non-Fiction ! We talk about personality quizzes, questioning capitalism, fighting against productivity/the productivity trap, the rigourousness of professional degrees, (somehow on-topic) tangents, and how books can manage to disappoint us in new and bizarre ways. It's got both silliness and existential dread in one episode! You can download the podcast direc...

It's Halloween! And in this very special episode we're playing the game Happy Birthday Dracula! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matt hew Murray | RJ Edwards Games We Played This Month Happy Birthday Dracula! We're s...

This episode we're discussing Comedic/Humorous Fiction ! We discuss what makes something funny, the different types of humour fiction,  when you can't tell if something is supposed to be funny until you know the context, and more! Plus: Comics' comic comics! (That kind of makes sense in context…) You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitche...

This episode we're giving you an update on the media we've been enjoying not for the podcast ! We talk about music, books, podcasts, comics, videos, movies, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matt hew Murray...

This episode we're discussing Visual Novels ! We talk about what visual novels are, whether they count as books, reading novels we're much too young for, being unable to suspend our disbelief, watching videos at 2x speed, monetization, watching vs playing, linear vs divergent stories, and more! Plus, this episode is like 75% tangents! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or...

This episode we talk about Pet by Akwaeke Emezi ! There are lots of spoilers, plus discussions of ambiguity, language and communication, names, family, community, trust, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Mat...

This episode we're discussing Alternative/Alternate History ! We talk about realism and magic, how long ago is history, tropes and when they're good, why this genre always seems to be about war, and more. Plus Matthew almost gets bingo! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast deliver...

This episode we're discussing Summer Reading and Challenges ! We talk about summer reading programs, struggling with reading during a pandemic, why we're bad at naming our podcast, ever expanding to-read lists, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In thi...

This episode we're discussing Entertainment Non-Fiction ! We talk about what does (and doesn't) count as entertainment, how we're bad at watching TV, whether people are now turning non-book sources for analysis of media (e.g. watching videos on YouTube), and how many bananas are in a bunch. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Go...

Battle of the Books 2020 ! It's the one time a year that we all read the same book! We each pitch a title and our listeners vote and decide on which it will be. Our possibilities include Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, Best of all Possible Worlds by Karen Lord, My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education by Jennine Capó Crucet, and An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon. You can download...

This episode we're discussing Literary Fiction ! We talk about books that win awards, writing as art, reading books because other people think they're good, whether YA literary fiction exists, literary fiction vs literary merit, real vs unreal reading, the pandemic allowing us to check out quick read books for months at a time, the BDSM awards, bookshelf bragging, and more! You can download the po...

This episode we're talking about Comfort Reads ! We discuss what makes something a comfort read, re-reading books, Animal Crossing, nostalgia, horror movies, problematic faves, listening to music on repeat, and more! Plus: Special guest stars galore! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite p...

This episode we're discussing non-fiction Library and Information Studies books! We talk about how useful we find webinars, reading things for our jobs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, comic books, digital preservation, difficulties accessing digital material through libraries, feminist pedagogy, debunking misinformation, how we track articles and things we want to read, and more! You can download the p...

We're talking about Books and Stuff ! Yes, it's time for one of our occasional "media we actually enjoyed" episodes. We talk about baking, sentient suits of armour, short stories, webcomics, podcasts, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode...

This episode we're talking about Historical Fiction ! We discuss how far in the past something has to be before it counts as historical fiction, whether reading fiction is supposed to be enjoyable, anachronisms and inaccuracies (both purposeful and accidental), and historical pandemics. Plus: Someone's power goes out half way through the recording! You can download the podcast directly , find it o...

This episode we're talking about Objectifying Books ! We discuss how books make the places we live feel like homes, how and when we give away books, paperbacks vs hardbacks, judging books by their covers, book smells, arranging bookshelves, fake books, books as design elements, what we use as bookmarks, the underpants of a book, and more.   Plus: What we do with books that misbehave! You can downl...

In this episode we're talking about Climate Change and Climate Crisis Non-Fiction ! We talk about being depressed, capitalism, actions individuals can take, and more! Plus, we ask the important question: Are scientists people? You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system....

This episode we're discussing Ratings, Reviews, and Tags ! We talk about subject headings, our most used tags, malicious metadata, h ow we use star-based rating systems, the value we see in bad reviews, art styles that are morally wrong, and more! Plus: A data-driven analysis to find the most unfinished book on Goodreads! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it throug...

This month we're reading the genre of Chick Lit Romance . Does it exist and if so, what should it be called? Plus: The poor portrayal of library jobs in fiction, not being able to connect with people in novels who are desperate to get married, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), World of Warcraft romances, post-feminist fiction, picking books based on the cover, and more! (Our apologies for use of t...

This episode we're talking about our 2020 Reading Resolutions and Intentions ! We discuss how we are bad at reading resolutions, loot boxes filled with books, giving up books two pages from the end, setting aside time to read, reading bingo, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite...

This month we're discussin g the non-fiction genre of Arts ! We discuss "capital-A" art, creating, consuming, and destroying art, library hold-list hacks, Video Game Club for Masochists, woo woo, and scraping ideas off of the sides of artist Faraday cages. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favou...

It's our Best of 2019 episode! Of course, these are not necessarily the best things published in 2019, but instead the best things we read for the podcast (including everything from Bizarro Fiction to True Crime) and the best of everything else we read. Join us! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your...

This month we're discussing Adventure Fiction ! We talk about bears (and bear fighting), spies, secret tunnels, robots, survival, thrillers, male romance, geese, pirates, stolen smartphones, shipwrecks, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episod...

In this episode we're talking about Other People's Faves (that we do not like) ! Yes, it's time for our hot takes and unpopular opinions! We discuss all the pretty spider girls, not finishing books, hate reading, and waiting to read the next book in a series. Plus: Fish venting! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play ,...

This month we're discussing Psychology! We discuss psychedelics, rodent-based experiments, citations and footnotes, and books that turn out to be not what we expected. Plus: Why some of us don't eat cephalopods!  You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through Apple Podcasts , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episod...