Literary Connections

James and Melissa discuss Emma Brodie’s Into the Blue through themes of consent, genre, and the use of allusion. Join us next month when we’ll be reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.

Melissa and James discuss The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez through themes of friendship, support, and redemption. Join us next month when we’ll be reading Into the Blue by Emma Brodie.

This month, to celebrate of our fiftieth episode, James and Melissa FINALLY discuss Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing (the first book only) through themes of power, friendship, and shadow daddies. Join us next month when we’ll be reading The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez.

This month, Melissa and James discuss Lynn Painter’s Fake Skating through themes of patriarchy, objectification, and so. many. tropes. Join us next month for our FIFTIETH episode in which we finally discuss Rebecca Yarros’ endlessly popular Fourth Wing (the first book of the series only).

This month, James and Melissa take a detour into movies discussing A Merry Little Ex-Mas through themes of gender roles, want vs need, and green worlds. Join us next month for Goodreads Choice YA Fiction Winner (and somehow our first hockey romance book), Fake Skating by Lynn Painter.

Melissa and James discuss Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan through themes of money, power, and connection. Join us next month for our first movie episode, special for the holidays: A Merry Little Ex-Mas , available on Netflix.

Melissa and James discuss R. F. Kuang’s Katabasis through themes of power, motivation, and the hell that is academia. Join us next month for Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan.

James and Melissa discuss Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere through themes of radical acceptance, community versus individuality, and love. Join us next month for Katabasis by R.F. Kuang.

Melissa and James discuss Suzanne Collins’ latest Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping , through themes of integrity, the role of government, and human nature. Join us next month for Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Melissa and James discuss Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life through themes of truth, process, and relationships. Join us next month for Sunrise on the Reaping , the new Hunger Games prequel by Suzanne Collins.

James and Melissa discuss Danzy Senna’s Colored Television through themes of categorization, integrity, and a brief detour into American Girl Doll lore. Join us next month for Great Big Beautiful Life , our annual return to Emily Henry.

Melissa and James discuss Casey McQuiston’s The Pairing through themes of self-discovery, relationships, and cross-cultural encounters. Spiciness warning for the book itself! Join us next month for Colored Television by Danzy Senna.

Melissa and James discuss Alison Espach’s The Wedding People through themes of loneliness, connection, and ritual. Trigger warning for attempted suicide. Join us next month for The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (spiciness warning).

Melissa and James discuss Timothy Janovsky’s The Merriest Misters by through themes of control, mentorship, and personal growth. Join us next month for The Wedding People by Alison Espach.

James, Melissa, and special guest Elyse Kanagaratnam discuss Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo through themes of care ethics, character doubling, and Melissa’s very strong views on birth order. Join us later this month for The Merriest Misters by Timothy Janovsky.

James and Melissa discuss Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance through themes of personal growth, escape, and returning home. Join us next month for Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.

James and Melissa discuss Alexene Farol Follmuth's Twelfth Knight through themes of performance, identity, and greatness via their respective source texts of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and the great 2006 romcom She's the Man. Join us next month for Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell.

James and Melissa discuss Natalie Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well through themes of power, personal growth, and whether or not you should be friends with your coworkers. Join us next month for Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth.

James and Melissa discuss Yulin Kuang's How to End a Love Story , touching on forgiveness, genre, and how everything is just fanfiction. Notes: trigger warning for suicide of a loved one, and spiciness alert for lots of heterosexual intercourse. Join us next month for Natalie Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well .

James and Melissa discuss Emily Henry’s Funny Story through themes of communication, community, and compromise. Join us next month for Yulin Kuang's How to End a Love Story (spiciness alert for lots of heterosexual intercourse.)

James and Melissa discuss Andrew Joseph White’s The Spirit Bares Its Teeth , talking about systems of power, resistance, and the use of violence in this book's (warning!) very graphic imagery. Join us next month when we return to lighter themes with Emily Henry's 2024 summer read, Funny Story .

Melissa and James discuss Elissa Sussman’s Once more with Feeling , touching on Broadway, Britney, Barbie, and more. Join us next month when we read The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White. Meanwhile, check out Melissa’s cameo in the SF Chronicle’s feature on SF’s best karaoke bars . Very on-brand.

Melissa and James discuss Goodreads Choice Awards Young Adult Fiction winner of 2023, Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, through themes of caretaking, identities, and genre. Join us next month when we read Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman.

James and Melissa discuss Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman in Me through themes of power, faith, and connection. Join us next month when we read the Goodreads Choice Awards Young Adult Fiction winner of 2023, Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood.