Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

In this weirdly chill episode, we talk about memoirs and track cycling and magical fantasy and female relationships and six-legged octopuses. Plus: The mystique of a book club in which you might actually read a book you enjoy. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna...

Pack your bags, because it's time for our episode about non-fiction Travel books! We talk about haunted libraries, North Korea, Komodo dragons, and lightning farms. Plus: Technical difficulties! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew...

It's October which means it's time for our Halloween episode! We talk about our favourite spooooooky movies, books, comics, video games, and more! Plus: Early Canadian history! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Boo...

This episode we talk about Experimental Fiction and stumble all over our words and can't pronounce anything right. We explore experimental comics, wonder at what point experimental fiction stops being experimental, and are amazed at how a book with no plot at all can break through a reading slump. You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Goo...

This episode we talk about our favourite podcasts ! Weightlifting, comics, poetry, wrestling, books, and more! Plus: Tales of living in the woods in Alaska, radio dramas, cosplay, and Belgian hip hop! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Ma...

Gardens! Plants! Growing things! Can we do it? Probably not! But we read books about it anyway. We talk about houseplants we've killed, the appeal of beautiful pictures of plants, and failing to grow things. Plus: Another chance to enter our contest! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery syst...

We give an update on how our reading resolutions for the year are going, talk about recent reads (and watches) we've enjoyed, and briefly discuss San Diego Comic-Con. Plus: Enter our contest to win fabulous prizes! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meg...

This episode we talk about Legal Thrillers ! We discuss how much time lawyers should spend in the courtroom, if we'd prefer to read about a lawyer or a barista investigating a murder, and tariff laws and sci-fi/fantasy cultures. Plus: Tabula rasas and table lamps! You can download the podcast directly , find it on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast...

Time for a special bonus episode (which apparently happen every sixteen episodes?) where we talk all about what we did at BookExpo America and the American Library Association Annual Conference . Plus: Reviews and previews of upcoming books we're excited about. (If you just want to hear about upcoming books skip to 21:54.) You can download the podcast directly , find it  on Libsyn , or get it thro...

In this 40 minute (short!) episode we try to define reading slumps and reading fatigue, talk about reading as a job, extol the wonders and magic of giving up on books, and discuss choosing what to read next. Plus: Matthew finds a way to complain about the comic book publishing industry (because of course he does). You can download the podcast directly , find it   on Libsyn , or get it through iTun...

Just in time for LGBT Pride Month, this episode has us discussing LGBTQ+/QUILTBAG Non-Fiction books! We talk about queer Canadians, own voices, the importance of cultural context, and how this is our newest episode ever (in terms of publication dates for books). Plus: Anna and Matthew will be at the American Library Association conference in Chicago this weekend. Tweet at us if you'll be there and...

We talk about when, why, (whether), and what we Reread , and what does it all mean? Plus: format shifting for rereads, plays vs. scripts, cover versions of fiction, and the suck fairy. You can download the podcast directly , find it  on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system.   In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray...

Yee-haw! Episode 29 has us reading Westerns ! We discuss whether Westerns need cowboys, if stories featuring Mounties count as Westerns (maybe?), the idea of black hats and white hats, and Mr. Coffee Nerves! Plus: Matthew shows his ignorance of US history and everything rural. You can download the podcast directly , find it  on Libsyn , or get it through iTunes , Stitcher , Google Play or your fav...

While we planned on talking about all the non-bookclub stuff we read, this turned out to be an Accidental Romance episode! We talk about romances in video games, romance novels (both bad and good), romance manga, and movies we watch with our partners. Plus: Meaghan really loves bicycles. (That counts as a romance, right?) In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray |  Jessi Things m...

In this episode, Non-Fiction Audiobooks ! Join us as we discuss the power of narrators, the problems of technology, and what to do while you're listening to an audiobook. Also: We actually enjoy things! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray |  Jessi Recommended Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule , narrated by Michele Pawk (6 hr edition, which Jessi listened to) or narrated b...

Our attempt to be super efficient in deciding the winner of Print vs. Digital and Library vs. Owning fails. We read off a bunch of Chuck Tingle ebook titles, so if our listeners might have small children in earshot...just maybe consider not. Seriously. UBC archives a pizza box (see link in the notes). Libraries have so many great things, you all! Finally, we end by discussing eating vs. consuming...

In this (long) episode, Detective Fiction ! Join us as we discuss our (least) favorite detectives, inspectors, and PIs in fiction. Also: the problem of pronouncing author names without ever having heard them out loud before, to read in series order or not, all the formats and mediums we can "read" in (Yay!), detective TV versus detective novels, and how much like a P.I are you? In this episode Ann...

This episode we tackle the genre of...wait? What do you mean there's no genre? We have to read things that aren't for the book club?! I guess somehow we have time to consume other media outside of our book club picks! If you're curious about what we read/listen/watch/play when we're not way outside of our comfort zone, then listen along for a run down of what we've been into since the beginning of...

This episode we tackle (and get distracted repeatedly from) the genre of Non-Fiction Romance, Relationships, and Dating books. We discuss what's it like reading a book about dating when you're in a committed relationship, the difficulties of finding books about alternative relationships, and whether or not we'd date people who hate reading. Plus! A rant about the lack of diversity in the publishin...

In our first non-genre episode for 2017 we take on Planning and Tracking Your Reading ! We discuss if (and how) we track our reading, how we plan what to read in the future, and reading challenges. Plus: A kitty! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray |  Jessi Notes 'n' Things The reading spreadsheet Anna tried to use in 2016 - pretty much identical to what Brenna Clarke shared...

In our first genre for 2017 we take on Coming-of-Age books! We discuss whether coming-of-age needs to be about teenagers, whether it needs to be fiction, and what happens if characters never age. Plus: Alliterative authors, our inability to pronounce the word bildungsroman (among other words…), and a brand new type of audio problem. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jess...

In our one hour and 22 minute long Best of 2016 episode we talk about our favourite reads from the past year, what it even means for a book to be "best", how we are not very good at tracking our reading, and what to read when you're on painkillers. [Our apologies for the sound quality (as usual), someday we'll get everything to work perfectly.]  [Also, we're now on Stitcher  and Google Play !] In...

In this 1 hour and 25 minute episode of our podcast/never-ending quest to become better library staff we talk about Weird and New Weird Fiction ! We have a few audio problems this time out (blame Matthew), but we don't let that stop us discussing the difference between Weird and New Weird, how to make everything about ghost stories, whether you need elements of the fantastic to be considered "Weir...

In the newest episode of our podcast/never-ending quest to become better library staff we talk about Philosophy books! Who are we? Why are we here? Why do we podcast? Plus: Dead white men we find boring, Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers, and books we didn't finish reading (as usual). In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Recommended The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by M...

In this very "insider-baseball" episode we discuss Metafiction ! What is it? Who is it for? Why should you read it? Plus: Children's books that help kids figure out what's real and what isn't, comic books with a lot of bondage, and marginalia written by library patrons. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended No Bears by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rud...