That Pretentious Book Club

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 8 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode not only does Ash returns in all her Wheezy glory, but the club is also joined by pod-sister-graphic-designer Maddie Hull for a truly rousing discussion of The Catcher in the Rye byJ.D. Salinger. With a polarizing protagonist and a painfully relatable (to some) portrayal of the teenage experience, this...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 7 of That Pretentious Book Club!   This very special episode is hosted by none other than Dr. Spoons Palermo and Pod Nurse Haleigh (usual host Wheezy has taken a break this episode due to-well-her wheezy-ness). In this episode Spoons and Haleigh discuss King of Scars by our queen of fantasy, Leigh Bardugo! The first book in the final duology to the Gris...

Send us Fan Mail *please note: this episode contains brief discussion of sexual assault, violence, and other sensitive topics as relevant to the book* Welcome to Season 5 Episode 6 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode the hosts discuss one of the most famous American novels of all times - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by the ever-impressive and eternally inspiring Maya Angelou. Despi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 5 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode the hosts discuss "the book Kiera wasn't writing" - AKA the long-awaited YA fantasy novel A Thousand Heartbeats by master-of-her-craft Kiera Cass. Joined again by pod-astrologist-Katherine, the club has plenty to say about this beautiful, action-packed story full of twists, turns, and unf...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 4 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this new year's episode do their best to digest and discuss one of the most swashbucklingly fantastic adventures and also one of the longest books ever - The Three Musketeers by the talented writer and haver-of-good-times Alexandre Dumas. Join the book club as the hosts discuss the three musky boys and their yo...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season #5 Episode #3 of That Pretentious Book Club! Join sister podcasts and Story Sirens Studio productions That Pretentious Book Club and The Scripturient Society in this second annual Christmas party for readers, writers, and story nerds of all varieties! From ridiculous bookish madlibs to an even more unhinged chain story game than last year (spoiler: the pyrokineti...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 2 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this special holiday episode TPBC is joined again by the holiday fox Lexi Potter for this discussion of Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie. This impenetrable whodunit still offers plenty for the hosts to plaugh about, with Aggie's ability to spin a dazzlingly complex plot into the most satisfyin...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 5 Episode 1 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode TPBC rings in the beginning of Season 5 in true pretentious book club fashion with another classic by Jane Austen, Mansfield Park. This unique Austen story offers plenty for you and the hosts to love and about - from sweet but awkward protagonists who can't help but be buzzkills to the once-again t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome club members and new listeners alike! This week That Pretentious Book Club is on hiatus to celebrate the end of Season 4! Don't miss us too much though, we'll be back next week to start off Season 4 in true TPBC tradition with another Jane Austen classic, - Mansfield Park ! Until then, check out our sister podcast for writers - The Scripturient Society - and enjo...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 22 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this last episode of TPBC's Season 4 reading list, the club covers New Moon by Stephenie Meyer! The club's Team Edward vs Team Jacob tensions come to a head in discussions about this absolutely outrageous book full of copious amounts of drama, laughter, and hot supernatural love interests. Join the book c...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 21 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this special Halloween episode, the club is joined once again by Lexi Potter (AKA the Holiday Fox)! In this episode Wheezy, Spoons, and the Fox discuss all things Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. From the book's scandalous origins to the absolutely insufferable nature of the protaganist (if he can even be called t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to a bonus interview episode with author Sara Bennett Wealer!   In this episode Ash (AKA Wheezy), chats with author Sara Bennett Wealer about her brand-new YA paranormal coming-of-age story, Grave Things Like Love. This book follows teenager Elaine as she struggles to balance obligations to her family and the funeral home they have owned since the 1800s, with the obligatio...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 20 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club discusses YA fantasy favorite Caraval by Stephanie Garber! This book is absolutely PACKED with plot and gripping twists that leave you wondering if you can tell the difference between dreams, nightmares, and reality.  Join the book club as the hosts speed through as much of this action-packed...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 19 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club discusses all-time children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by the dark and whimsical Roald Dahl. If you've seen the movies, you probably have a good idea just how zany this book this, but the hosts still find plenty to compare, contrast, and laugh hysterically about in...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 18 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club discusses YA/NA fantasy favorite and listener recommendation, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This enigmatic novel is woven together with imagery that practically breathes magic, while the plot offers plenty of material to gush and laugh over. Join the book club for this discussion of N...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 17 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club is joined by co-host from sister podcast The Scripturient Society for Writers, Karissa Harlow (AKA Katherine, AKA Lewis) to discuss Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux in honor of the official start of spooky read season! This dark, operatic novel weaves together a tale of twisted romance,...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 16 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club is joined by long-lost pod-nurse Haleigh to cover a personal recommendation, Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. This YA Fantasy offers an intoxicating combination of game of thrones intensity vibes with all the fast-paced young adult fantasy elements we love - and you've never heard it d...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to a bonus interview episode with author Nicole Lesperance!   In this episode Ash (AKA Wheezy), chats with author Nicole Lesperance about her brand-new gothic YA with strong fantasy-horror vibes, The Depths . This book takes all the elements of ghosty gothic fiction that Wheezy is obsessed with and sets it on a mysterious tropical island with imagery so vivid you can pract...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 15 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers long-awaited and much-dreaded (at least by Wheezy) classic, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. If you've visited the club a time or two, you probably know that this author has acted as the inciting (and only) real source of conflict between the hosts, with one believing this a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 14 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers middle-grade favorite Leven  Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye - a book recommendation from Dr. Spoons Palermo herself! Vacillating wildely from aggressively whimsical to alarmingly grim, this is a read that adults can enjoy just as much as their inner child. Join the hosts a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 13 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers dubious classic Treasure Island by famous author Robert Louis Stephenson. From thorough comparisons to the different media adaptations of this well-known story to critical character analyses and whole breadth of completely nonsensical opinions, the hosts find plenty to laugh about in t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 12 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers the beautiful novel well-known for its equally beautiful movie adaptation, Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. Set in the 1950s, when young Irish woman Eilis Lacey ventures to America in search of work for herself and her family, her life changes in ways she never could have expected, but leaving...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 4 Episode 11 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers beloved favorite Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. This Canadian classic has captured the hearts and minds of the cottage-core lovers long before the term came into existence. Join the hosts as they find plenty to adore and laugh about it in this soul-sweet novel. Skippers jump...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season #4 Episode #10 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers listener-recommendation Midnight for Charlie Bone, the first book in the Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo. This middle-grade urban fantasy offers strong Harry Potter vibes with a quick, snappy writing style that keeps the plot moving for a quick read you can't put...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season #4 Episode #9 of That Pretentious Book Club!   In this episode, the club covers all-time favorite and one of the most objectively hilarious plays ever written, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. This truly hysterical three-act play is rife with satire and vibrant yet nonsensical characters that make for what feels like a completely frivolous and yet...