Lit Lit

Andy and Dani give their top 3 books of the year. Did Dani accidentally try lobster for the first time? Yep. Was 2024 stacked with some of the best books of Lit Lit? Absolutely. Did Andy and Dani pick the same books… again? Maybe.

Andy and Dani go to Nigeria. Happy almost new year! What better way to end the year with potentially the most emotional and gut wrenching book of all time? Do you get to listen to Andy and Dani cry on an episode again? Maybe. How much do you like your cousins? Not as much as this book illustrates. Does Dani go hardcore English major-y? Obviously. The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Andy and Dani discuss all their favorite NON-book things from 2024. Do you call your pets your kids? Andy's favorite thing this year was in fact music... big shock. Dani had a very music light year but went to a lot of concerts. Congrats Jon! Kendrick vs. Drake and Andy vs. Andy.

Andy and Dani read the best book this year? Well, we don't want to give too much away, but if you haven't read Demon Copperhead yet... what are you even doing with your life? Listen... Andy cried like actually cried this episode... Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Andy and Dani talk about revisiting authors. When is it ok to take an ex… uhhh I mean author back into your life? Is it better to read low stakes books by the same author? Do prequels count if they don’t have the same characters? What if an author lets you down… what if we do…

Andy and Dani take a long walk with a cat. Did we like this book? Meh... well actually wait yes we did... well actually maybe... no, yes we definitely did... we think. Join in on a thieving rumpus with a lot of world building and most importantly a cat. The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Andy and Dani play We’re Not Really Strangers… and then Dani adds trivia questions about herself. Is Andy actually a true friend? How often do friend groups change? How smart do we think Andy is? What is Andy’s favorite thing about Dani? And finally, what was the last thing we lied to our Moms about?

Andy and Dani let the bodies hit the floor. Romantasy once again brings Dani to her knees, but does Andy like this book too? Is 6’9 too tall? How much spice do you need in a book before it becomes smut? Did we finally find out what the appendix is used for?  The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Andy and Dani have a legit fight. Welcome to the biggest fight of the weekend. Nothing else has happened that would eclipse this fight... Listening to an audio book vs reading a book. Does it count as reading? Do you get the same feelings from an audio book? Blood is spilled and friendships are ended...

Andy and Dani go to metaphorical Chinatown? We’re back and depressed as ever… but here we are. Dani ended up listening to the audiobook while Andy read like a regular person (lame). Did we get different things out of the story because of it? I don’t know… well actually I do know but you don’t so just listen to the episode dammit!  Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu P.S. Sorry for the delayed upload...

Andy and Dani get haunted? If you had to haunt someone, something, or someplace how would you do it, and at what bar? Because the right answer is a bar. Don’t listen to Andy he has no idea what he’s talking about… ever.

Andy and Dani go fishing. Nothing says Halloween like heading down to a new fishing spot and being plunged into a ritualistic horror nightmare where you end up going all the way with a fish-person who is pretending to be your dead wife and then you have to kill your friend… Happy Halloween?  The Fisherman by John Langan RIP Ka Check out all of his amazing work https://open.spotify.com/artist/0cmqA...

Andy and Dani discuss their good friend King Arthur. Dani immediately attacks Andy’s sense of humor, finally, we talk about the best movie to ever exist: Dragonheart, New York football players as knights of the roundtable, tasty morsels of history, and Dani is changing everything about this podcast.

Andy and Dani went to The Round Table. Have you ever wanted to hang out in ancient Britain (maybe ancient? IDK Dani is writing this) and find some fun guys to go on some quests with that are pretty funny and actually kinda emotionally intelligent and like to drink wine around a campfire? Cool us too.  The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

Dani left Andy behind and went to Bali. A 19 hour direct flight is the perfect time for a LOTR movie marathon. Bali is such an amazing, beautiful island! NEVER get buried in sand… even if they say it's relaxing. Sean is NOT a fan of geckos. And did the cats miss Dani? Maybe…

Dani and Andy get yolked out. Andy is actually Poopman. Dani’s only-child life REALLy shines here. This book might curse more than us… Do subtle throughlines with a big impact work? And does Andy actually hate his sister…  Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

Andy and Dani fall in love in a small town… unbelievable. What’s even more unbelievable is that Andy LIKED THIS BOOK. This is a huge win for Dani and she will remember this forever. Anway, we’re back and maybe Dani can convince Andy to only read romcoms forever? Funny Story by Emily Henry

Andy and Dani go to the beach. Dani derails this episode VERY quickly. What element would make the best bed? What makes a beach read a beach read? And then we obviously descend into the unfair standards of sex in male-gaze books vs female-gaze books.

Andy and Dani go to Spain. Dani learns what goes into a cannon besides a cannonball. Andy once again knows WAY more about history. Jurassic Park and National Treasure are actually very similar, and Dani figures out what her superhero origin story is.  Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

Andy and Dani take home the gold. The Olympics might be over but we still have some words to say about it… well, mostly just soccer but whatever. The goalkeepers should have their own gold medals. Gymnastics is always insane. Ummmm and the basketball games… wild.

Andy and Dani talk about whales and absolutely NOTHING else. What drink would Whale Fall be? Fetishizing rural living. Men still suck. Bitch, my hands smell like fish. And as always please don’t marry your cousin.  Whale Fall: A Novel by Elizabeth O’Connor

Andy and Dani plan their perfect meal. If, for some reason, we descend into an apocalyptic world where food is scarce and we are living totally differently, what meal would you miss the most?

Andy and Dani finish another series. Again… why is she getting captured ALL THE TIME? We got basically every prediction wrong… and we rewrote the whole plot to get through this final book. The Dragon and Jin-Sayeng

Andy and Dani talk about balls… soccer balls. Get your mind out of the gutter but get ready to put it back in there. Which teams were we most excited to watch during Copa and Euro tournaments? Which players do we like the most? 

Andy and Dani continue with their bitch queen. So…, it turns out we are not liking this book. WHY IS SHE ALWAYS GETTING CAPTURED?! WHY IS SHE A QUEEN?! HOW COULD THIS BOOK END OK? We answer all of these questions very thoughtfully and not spitefully.  The Ikessar Falcon by V.S. Villoso