Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

This episode we talk video games ! We discuss taxonomies of birds, when is a game not a game, defining soup and sandwich, and the gamification of everything. Plus: We really indicate our ages by mentioning our first exposure to video games. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery sy...

Our "genre" this month was Cheap eBooks ! We talk about satire, mysteries, the appeal of short fiction, and queer Christmas romances! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards Books We Read This Month Casper Gets His Wis...

It's one of our irregular "other media" episodes! This time we talk about French language books, dinosaurs, beetles, breakfast cereal, children's books, and more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards...

This month we read Romance Fiction ! We talk about "interpersonal attraction", fake fan fiction, imagining the leads of romance novels look like David Bowie, spice-o-meters, the prime minister of the werewolves, and romance novels about low income housing. Plus: In the Arms of the Spider Hunk! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google...

This episode we're talking about Travel Reading ! What do we read when we travel? How do we pick which books to bring? Which fictional places would we like to travel to? And more! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Mur...

This episode we're discussing Non-Fiction Food and Cooking books! We talk about the mystery of electric kettles, bodybuilding expertise, and fear of trying to make recipes that look like the pictures. Plus: Songs about bananas! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this...

This month we all read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente as though we were a real book club! We talk about fairy tales, libraries, and book clubs that have met since the beginning of time. Plus: Spoilers, spoilers, everywhere! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spo...

This month our genre is Nordic/Scandinavian Noir ! There's coldness and darkness in fiction, blood on snow, screaming children, and we ask (and answer) whether Iceland has pizza. Plus: Brendan Fraser in Caveman, P.I.! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode A...

This episode we discuss the American Library Association Annual Conference and the many galleys we got there ! We talk about wrestling, ballet, leeches, cancer, demons, opium, boobs (twice!), Soviet magic, and much more. Plus: A super secret podcast guest! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite pod...

This month our genre is Military Non-Fiction ! We talk about defining war, sword fighting, genocide, and conscription. Plus: Trebuchets! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards News RJ's Bio (and everyon...

This episode we're talking about how we ended up working in libraries , literary inspirations for our careers, and what you should think about before you decide you want a to work in a library. Plus: The Library Fairy! Excel exams! Catalogue cards! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast del...

Our genre this episode is Comedic Science Fiction & Fantasy . We talk about anachronisms, comedy in sci fi/fantasy and sci fi/fantasy in comedy, "laugh out loud" funny vs. "clever" funny, and more!  You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan...

A potentially controversial episode as we discuss Separating the Art from the Artist . We bring up #MeToo, library neutrality, problematic faves, and firing people out of cannons. What are your thoughts? Can you separate the art from the artist? You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delive...

In this 80 minute episode we talk about Essay Collections ! We get into some deep topics this time, talking about precarity, race relations, and cultural differences between Canada and the USA. We also wonder if it's possible to find books about feminism that blow your mind when you're already familiar with the idea. Plus! The three kinds of CanLit and knowing what a zine isn't. You can download t...

Our Fiftieth Episode Extravaganza is our longest episode ever! We answer your questions! We answer our questions! We talk about library fines, reading parties, stats, and much more. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify , or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew M...

This episode we discuss the genre of Southern Gothic ! We talk about the "key elements" of Southern Gothic fiction (plantations, swamps, secrets, and racism), gothic vs goth fiction, vampires, rural fiction, pessimism, the fantastic, and space crystal meth. Plus: One of us is utterly baffled by the popularity of this genre and we debate the differences between swamps and marshes. You can download...

This episode we catch you up on what books and comics we've been reading and shows we've been watching . We discuss guitar-playing ghost talkers, being haunted by a goldfish, and Anna learns why she should never tell Matthew to "go for it" when he threatens to include old theme songs in the podcast. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , G...

In last week's episode ( Episode 047 - Creative Writing/Books About Writing ) Matthew threatened to read some of the fiction he'd written for exercises from Ursula K. LeGuin's  Steering the Craft: A Twentieth-first Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story . For better for worse he's recorded some, so here you go. (He didn't even do some of them properly!) If for some reason you want more of Matth...

This month our genre is Creative Writing/Books About Writing ! With real, live, award-winning authors! (Well, one anyway.) We discuss our own experiences with these sort of books, why people might read them, and whether hairstyles might affect someone's ability to stop time. Plus: Meghan reveals her knowledge about accordions! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it t...

This episode we look back on our Reading Resolutions from last year and discuss our plans for reading in 2018! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify (new!), or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Links, Articles, and Things Two-Fisted Library Stories Book...

This episode we're reading  Family Sagas ! Do they have to be incredibly long? Do they have to be boring? Plus: We talk about diversity, reading books from earlier time periods, and we say farewell (for now) to a host. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play , Spotify (new!)  or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this ep...

It's time for our Best of 2017 episode! We'll talk about our favourite things we read for the podcast, our favourite things we read that weren't for the podcast, and lots more! Please note, while many of the titles we recommend were published in 2017, this is our list of best of that we read in 2017, so there is some older material on the list as well. You can download the podcast directly , find...

In this episode we chat about what happens when books go from page to screen in Adaptations ! In the process we argue about lots of stuff (as usual) and you learn more than you ever wanted to know about manga sound effects! Plus: psychic sidekicks, librarian in-jokes, our faith in Ellen DeGeneres, and what we want to see adapted for the screen. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Li...

We're going back in time this episode as we talk about our Childhood Favourites ! (Or childhood favorites for the Americans.) We talk about problematic faves, Matthew drones on about X-Men comics, and we can't figure out a book we've all read and enjoyed. Plus: Mysterious clunking noises and sloppy editing! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stit...

This episode, Dystopian Fiction ! And some of us are considerably more excited about it than others. We talk about the difference between oppressive and consumerist dystopias, how things that were shocking or innovative in fiction in the past may no longer be seen as such, and whether we live in a dystopia. Plus! Special guest senior foreign correspondent, Amanda, reporting in after being undercov...