Judging Book Covers

Stephanie and Meghan sit down to discuss a classic horror/gothic/sci-fi novel:  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley! We also are so excited it is fall, so there is some fall food discussion as well.  If you haven't read this amazing classic novel, treat yourself to a new annotated collection! (Or buy Meghan one, she's apparently really wanting one.) It is 200 years this year, and it definitely holds up a...

We apologize for the week delay — NYCC was a bit too much to balance! Don't worry, we will be back next week with a new episode. As for this week, we read  We Sold Our Soul by Grady Hendrix, one of the best contemporary horror authors! This book is a fun combination of metal music and Faustian horror!  Stephanie postulates that this book is maybe a Serenity fan fic, Meghan and Chris discuss if thi...

When you invite on old friends, it definitely takes a while to get to the book SORRY! So enjoy some Great British Bakeoff discussion, as well as some  Crazy Rich Asians  discussion but we do eventually settle into talking about  I Am Legend by Richard Mathison. We discuss if we would survive post-apocalypse and what some of our ideas are.    Book Drink: a good good scotch Find us on the web: Websi...

Stephanie and Meghan tear themselves away from the US Open to read  The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling! It's banned book month, so it seems a little appropriate to read a book by one of the most discussed "controversial" authors.  Especially with one of her most controversial books! This book has 34 "main" characters, and 300 pages of character development. We aren't sure if we enjoyed it, but we de...

Stephanie and Meghan are joined this week by Tim Stevens, to discuss Jensen Karp's memoir:  Kanye West Owes Me $300 and Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big ! This book was (almost surprisingly) a great read, causing us to dig in a little to our own nostalgia. We learn a little about the music production world prior to Napster, and Stephanie learns a new phrase she can nev...

Content warning for police brutality discussion.  This week Meghan and Stephanie invite Elle back to discuss one of the best books of 2017:  The Hate U Give  by Angie Thomas. The movie comes out in October, so it seemed like a good time to read the book first!  We discuss what Tumblr is, the importance of teaching this book, and how amazing Angie Thomas is at weaving the neighborhood and culture i...

  Stephanie and Meghan welcome back Liz Babish to discuss the satirical  The Portable Veblen  by Elizabeth McKenzie! We discuss how this book confirmed Meghan hates a certain kind of mom character (while still loving a book), squirrels, engagements, and how complex families can be!  Book Drink: Gin and tonic with campari floating Find us on the web: Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Gr...

This week Stephanie and Meghan are joined by James Anderson of Unabashedly Obsessed Podcast! He brought us one of the shortest yet densest book we have ever read:  A Mercy  by Toni Morrison! Meghan works in  Brooklyn 99 , we ponder if this is  Angel / Buffy fanfic, and set our English class paper topics!  If you listen to  We'll Get It Right Next Year and want to stay pure, or if you're named Ryan...

Life is stressful and busy, so Stephanie and Meghan take it slow and calm in this host-only episode! We read  Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, one of 2018's hottest YA books. We discuss all the action in the book, the way the author takes YA tropes and gives us a fresh take, and even how much we love all the characters.   CW: This book has a lot of violence, some discussion of rape, and...

 This week we are joined by A Handbook for Handbook for Mortals' newest cohost, Elle Riccardi! We discuss the now 10 years old  The Host by Stephenie Meyers. Is it a sci-fi novel? Is it a romance? Let's find out!  We discuss how weird the brother and sister dynamic is, defend Stephenie Meyers legacy a bit, and try to decide which of the boys we are rooting for.    Book Drink : Mini Coronas  Find u...

In preparation for  Solo , Stephanie and Meghan invite Olivia James of Super Serious Social Justice Podcast to come on and discuss  Bloodline by Claudia Gray! We briefly debate if we want to just talk about Donald Glover and adult juice boxes, how our old Star Wars didn't have politics why does it now?? And how awesome Senator Leia is as the main character.  Book Drink : A good ole glass of milk F...

Kanye, thank you for setting up this week's episode so well for us!! Your [nonexistent] check is in the mail.  Content Warning: Slavery, Rape, and everything that comes with both and MILD SPOILERS FOR  BLACK PANTHER. This week Stephanie and Meghan are joined by Sarah Iff Decker to discuss  Kindred by Octavia Butler! This kicks off the first of a few Sci-Fi novels we will be covering, and it adds a...

This week Stephanie and Meghan are joined by Amy Pascale of Ladies Love Paul Rudd to discuss one of America's favorite co-stars: Judy Greer! We read her 2014 memoir  I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star.  We discussed the book in physical and audio form, judgemental animals, terrible jobs, and many other advice tidbits we got from her memoirs!  Book Drink: Snapple Spiked Te...

Judging Book Covers Podcast has hit one year! To celebrate, we brought back Tim Lowe from the first two episodes to discuss another Scott Sigler book:  Earthcore ! While this book is originally from 2005, we are discussing the re-written version which came out in ebook/audiobook in 2017 but was just released in paperback.  Spoilers are abundant this episode  (like in most!)  Stephanie compares cha...

It isn't an April Fool's trick: there are two Judging Book Cover's episodes this week! Really, we are just celebrating for weeks that it's the podcast's year anniversary.  While reading  Pet Sematary,  Stephanie and Chris happened to luck out and find a showing of the movie on the screen near them! They discuss their early memories of the movie, how it felt to see the movie in theatres, and some d...

Welcome to Part II of our  Pet Sematary  discussion! We talk about the second half of Stephen King's book, focusing on when Louis and Rachel lose their youngest child through the end of the book. We also discuss in depth what led up to King publishing this book and the isues with his publisher. And like, honestly, don't bring people back from the dead guys. Even if they've only been dead for minut...

Second part of "Horror Book March!" Is that a thing? It is now! Stephanie and Meghan are joined by a special fun host, Chris Hayes! We had fun talking Stephen King — both books and movies we've seen — and a few other horror movies and shows! Due to how long our discussion is for this large book, and that Stephanie and Chris were going to see  Pet Sematary after recording, we decided to split up th...

Stephanie and Meghan are joined by Phil Gonzales of Deep in Bear County, It's Del Toro Time, and Klickitcast to discuss  Universal Harvester  by John Darnielle!  We have a hard time categorizing this book, as it appears on the surface to be a horror book, yet diving into it ..... we still can't quite figure out how to classify it. And yet, none of us could put the book down!  We discuss small town...

As probably every book podcast is doing, we read  A Wrinkle in Time  before the movie comes out! This is a book Meghan read as a kid, but Stephanie and our guest had not read before. We discuss how it feels to read a kids/middle school grade book as an adult, some of our other childhood favorite books (Stephanie and Meghan read a lot of YA horror books?)  Ileana discusses if this book is the basis...

Season 2 of Judging Book Covers kicks off with a host only episode! We read a book that takes on the question: "If Women ruled the world, would it be better?"  The Power  by Naomi Alderman takes this question and laughs in its face. We discuss the four storylines of the book, the subtle shifts of power from men to women, and the relationship with the religious and political world.  As with most bo...

Ryan and Tracy join Meghan again to discuss the podcast's first graphic novel —  Local , written by Brian Wood, illustrated by Ryan Kelly! This is a bit of a long episode as the series consists of twelve issues, and we had to discuss how important each issue is in turn. This is a good slice of life comic, especially for someone who maybe isn't as into superhero comics (like me!)  We discuss how ma...

It's a new year, and it's time for a new round of guests! This week I am joined by Tracy Tanoff and Ryan Lynch of Divisive Issues, Oops I talked Politics, and We'll Get it Right Next Year! Tracy had us read  Restless by William Boyd, a World War II spy novel!  We discuss media manipulation (aka fake news) in World War II, if men can really write from a true woman's perspective, how you should neve...

Happy Holidays! For a holiday special, I brought back two of my favorite guests to talk about one of my favorite books! Emily Bennett and Ollie Brady of Best Acquaintances Podcast join me to discuss  Vicious  by V. E. Schwab! Jason Statham, Ollie's amazing friend and frequent guest star of BA also makes a guest appearance as well!  Meghan offends Ollie with her feelings on Battlestar Galactica, an...

Meghan is joined again by Vicki Crosson and Ryan Alexander to discuss  Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange, a  Pride and Prejudice retelling from the main love interest's point of view.  We learn that books are hard as they are filled with words, discuss our own journalling/diarying habits, and start comparing Darcy and Grey. We also consider writing our own crossover fiction — Georgina and Mia any...

This week I am joined by Ryan Alexander and Vicki Crosson to discuss book 4 of the 50 Shades of Grey series:  Grey by E.L. James. Spoiler: None of us have read the original three books or had seen the movies prior to reading this book — most of our knowledge came from reviews and podcast discussions of the book series. And I'm sorry to anyone who has come in contact with me the past week as I read...