Table of (Mal)Contents

A couple weeks' back, we travelled to exotic downtown Indianapolis for TGC19. With so many book loving people in one place at the same time, we took the show on the road to chat with a few friends. On this episode, we're joined by Karen Swallow Prior to talk books and British literature, theology, pets, and few other things too. Listen in as we discuss: Will Dave's cats join him in the new creatio...

The Internet taught us something new: We're missing out on some huge opportunities with online book clubs, courses, and whatnot. So we're getting our thinking caps on as we workshop some ideas for the whatnot, and bring Dave's daughter along for the ride. Listen in as we discuss: How does someone become an expert in anything? What online course should we each create? What books will you pay to be...

We all love biographies and memoirs. Well, Dave and I (Aaron) do a lot more than Barnabas. But we all do love to talk about biographies and memoirs! And this week we're joined by Dave's daughter, Madelyn, who helps keep us on track as we discuss what makes a good biography and why we love them; the greatness of the word "bloviating;" what makes a good memoir vs a bad one; and why Christian biograp...

Just like everyone else, we’re still talking about the Enneagram. We had a lot of fun talking with Jenaye in our first episode that we needed to make it a two-parter! Listen in as we discuss: * The right way to pronounce Ayn Rand’s first name* Which book characters fit with which enneagram type (and shred a list from the Internet)* Book options for every enneagram type

There are a lot of different personality profiles out there. Some folks swear by Myers-Briggs (e.g. INTJ), while others the DiSC profile, StrengthsFinders, or one of the 78,000 other options out there to label ourselves. So on today’s episode, we invited our friend and colleague, Jenaye White to join us on the show to discuss the Enneagram. (Do we need a trigger warning?) Listen in to the first of...

Harry S. Truman famously said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” (I mean, unless he didn’t, of course. It’s hard to find anything confirming it for certain.) But what if they’re not? On this episode, we’re joined by our friend, co-worker and fellow Canadian Daniel Im to dig into the truth behind this leadership cliché and try to help leaders become better readers. Listen...

It’s a tight, on-point conversation today on the podcast as we let the fine folks at Goodreads guide us once again. Listen in as we talk through the following big questions: * Describe a book you’re reading in three words* Which author would you choose to play your favorite sport with?* If you could give a book a different title, what would it be?* What do you tell your child or friend when they w...

A couple of days before we recorded this episode, a fond memory popped up in my (Aaron’s) Facebook feed about starting the early work on what would become my first book, Awaiting A Savior . In honor of that memory, and because

We’re dealing with some hard truths on this episode of the podcast as we address some bad habits this week. Listen in as we discuss: * Some important (sub-tweeted) listener feedback and Dave’s sinus issues* Why Barnabas hate cats* Why dogs love Aaron* Why there’s no such thing as a hero cat genre* How in the world we find time to read as much as we do while having families and jobs Plus, Dave gets...

Dave’s daughter was recently traumatized when she read Where the Red Fern Grows, and we got to thinking: why the heck to teachers keep asking kids to read this book? Listen in as we discuss: * Why Dave’s still not sleeping and the Legend of Winston* What we think about this seemingly psychotic habit of authors writing books where the dog always dies* Why there’s no “the cat dies” genre and if ther...

Apparently we need podcasting therapy, as our relationship issues come to the surface. Things got weird in the studio as we recorded a special sort-of-Valentines-Day-y episode of Table of (mal)Contents. Listen in as we discuss: Why Barnabas and Aaron dislike  Love and Respect  (while not throwing shade at Gary Chapman) Which is a worse term: book baby or fur baby? Why are there so many marriage bo...

Imagine being out for dinner with three authors—any three. Who would they be, and what would you ask them? We’re asking ourselves some very random questions today as we present a new edition of Barnabas, Aaron and Dave Answer Goodreads Questions. Listen as we answer: If you could have dinner with any three authors, living or dead, who would they be? If you could only ask one question to one of you...

We are living on the edge on this episode recorded in balmy downtown Minneapolis during the Bethlehem Pastor's Conference. Why? Because we're talking to Jeff Medders ( @mrmedders ) about his new book, which features a word I (Aaron) avoid using. Listen in as we discuss: What -1,000,000º F feels like What life is like in Cage-Stage County Whether or not the title of Jeff's book is an oxymoron Jeff...