Required Reading

It's just me this week! I am debuting a new intermittent series where I read all of RL Stine's immaculate Goosebumps series! Follow me! Support the show!

Madeline Douglass returns and this time we've got a third: former co-worker Luke Henke! We all worked in a Girl Scout Museum in college. Jealous? From Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 comes one of the first mass-produced books of all time: The Scarlet Letter. The novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man (minister Arthur Dimmesdale) to whom she is not married. As punis...

Not to be biased but this is a really good one! Author Gretchen Schreiber joins me to discuss two-books-in-one, Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith from 1997/1998/2002? The first book follows the adventures of young Countess Meliara "Mel" Astiar of Tlanth as she and her small group of forces rebel against the greed of King Galdran; along the way the mysterious Marquis of Shevraeth aids her...

Its a long one because its STEPHENIE MEYER!!!! It's what she would want. Repeat guest Jess Woodworth returns to discuss The Host! The book is about Earth, in a post-apocalyptic time, being invaded by a parasitic alien race known as "Souls", and follows one Soul's predicament when the consciousness of her human host refuses to give up her body. (Wikipedia) Follow That Bookish Witch on YouTube ! Fol...

Author Darrin Simpson ( Abby's Big Debate ) joins me to discuss Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY in our 60th episode!! Support the show ! Follow Erin !

This week it's French! Kelsey Buckley joins me to discuss Antoine de Saint Exupery's 1943 classic The Little Prince! There's a little "easter" "egg" in this episode - I hope you like it! Follow Kelsey! Follow Erin! Support the show!

This week we are all eating dirt - comedian Carter Hambley joins me to discuss Brian Jacques' sword-toting-mice-fantasy series Redwall! Watch Happy Gilmore 2! Support the podcast! Follow Erin!

Writer Lena Kouyoumdjian (Welcome to Flatch!) joins me to discuss the immaculate Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier! A young bride discovers herself haunted by the reputation of her husband's dead first wife Rebecca. Read Lena's Substack! Support the podcast! Follow Erin!

Merry Happy! Professor Carly O'Brien returns for her third episode (!) to discuss A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens from 1843. Support the podcast! Follow Carly! Follow Erin! In the new year: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier! Redwall by Brian Jacques! And then... who knows! More episodes with Carly! Dealer's Choice: Johnny Tremain Where the Redfern Grows

Trish and I have known each other since 6th grade, and this week we revisit the first book we read in 6th grade!!!!! The Giver by Lois Lowry from 1993. Trish is an incredible educator and radiant light. When Jonas turns 12 he is assigned a job: to become the next Giver, the only person in the perfect community to retain the memories of a life before things were perfect. Find Trish on LinkedIn ! Fo...

Talent manager Elle Potruch of EP Talent joins me to discuss Kate and M. Sarah Klise's 1998 epistolary novel Regarding the Fountain. And I somehow managed to bring up Monica Lewinsky. Classic. Eccentric artist Florence Waters designs a new water fountain for Dry Creek Middle School while Sam N's 5th grade class uncovers a secret lurking just beneath the school... Follow Erin! Support the podcast!

Comedian Dylan Adler joins me to discuss Jon Krakauer's 1996 book Into the Wild about the life and death of Christopher McCandless. And also Wicked. Follow Dylan ! Follow Erin ! Support the podcast! (Please...please)

Book influencer Madeline North joins me to discuss William Goldman's The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version from 1973 and, yes, of course, the movie adaptation. Follow Madeline ! Support the podcast! Follow Erin!

Actually this could be a coven meeting right now... Fellow Welcome to Flatch cast member Taylor Ortega joins me to discuss the first book of the Sweep series from 2001: Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan! Seventeen-year-old Morgan thinks witchcraft is laughable when her best friend Bree drags her to a meeting of the Cirrus Coven. But during a cermony led by new kid Cal, Morgan feels a shock. Morgan d...

This episode was recorded November 4 2024 Comedian and writer Niles Abston joins me to discuss Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, often referred to as America's first (and greatest?) novel. Young Huckleberry Finn escapes his abusive father and embarks on an adventure down the Mississippi. Beside him is the escaped enslaved person Jim. Follow Niles! Watch Niles' Huckleberry Finn joke...

Actor and writer Olive Lorraine joins me to discuss a perfect misanthropist’s heaven: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë from 1847. Summary: Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: of the inten...

This might be the most I've ever laughed in an episode? Slay. Adriene Vento joins me to discuss several entries into the Mercy Watson series written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. We cover Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride (book 2) and Mercy Watson Fights Crime (book 3), a series about a pig who loves toast and the people who love her. Check out an excerpt of the book ! To see th...

Rishi Mahesh joins me to discuss Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture from 2008. Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch delivered a "last lecture" of life lessons for his young children in the months preceding his death due to pancreatic cancer. I'm really eager to hear thoughts on this episode! Follow Rishi Follow Erin Support the podcast!

John Paul Sarni of Stampede Ventures and the Page and Screen podcast joins me to discuss Michael Crichton's 1990 staple: Jurassic Park! Listen to Page and Screen ! Support the podcast! Follow Erin!

Sometimes mosquitos get in the pancakes and you have to eat them anyway. Writer Emily Schmidt walks me through one of the most popular and traumatizing series of the late 90s/early 00s: Dear America and in particular its Oregon Trail diary Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie from 1997 by Kristiana Gregory. Summary: After the death of her 2 sisters, 13-year-old Hattie and her family make for a fre...

I wouldn't have predicted that I would ever say the phrase "acquiescence mushrooms," but here we are. Bailey Benningfield joins me to discuss Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted. And yes we discuss the movie, don't you know my passion for Anne Hathaway? Synopsis: At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift - the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order...

What's this? A bonus episode? This week Jess Woodworth returns to discuss a seasonal staple that I had never seen before: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS from 1993. The film tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of "Halloween Town", who stumbles upon "Christmas Town" and schemes to take over the holiday. It was directed by Henry Selick and written by Caroline Thompson. Support the podcast!...

It's a picture book - with lore . Delaney Circe joins me to discuss Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick from 1984. In an encounter between a children's book editor named Peter Wenders and an author and illustrator named Harris Burdick – who says he has 14 stories that he has written – Burdick brings one picture from each story with a caption. He leaves with a promise to deliver th...

Shelby Copple joins me to discuss a book about lovin books: INKHEART by Cornelia Funke. The story follows bookish twelve-year-old Meggie, who learns that her bookbinder father Mortimer or 'Mo' has a special gift: he can bring fictional characters to life. Read Shelby's newsletter! Support the podcast! Follow Erin!

Get your freak on theater kids, we're doing Shakespeare. Kylie Brakeman joins me to discuss William Shakespeare's immortal classic: Macbeth. Listen to Kylie's podcast Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists ! Support the show! Follow Erin!