The 5 O’Clock Book Club

Happy, happy Wednesday and welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we read SenLinYu's debut novel, Alchemised . This book has been long-awaited, it has broken records, and it is SO good. Alchemised is an adapted version of an online work by the same author called Manacled , which was originally written as a work of Harry Potter fan fiction. Don't let this...

Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! (I know it's Thursday, but we can pretend we're not a day late). This week we read what we proclaim to be a masterpiece, Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby. What isn't this book? To call it a crime novel (which it is) almost feels reductive. This book is full of nuance, passion, excitement, adventure, sorr...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week, we read the ultimate cool-girl nonfiction book, Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik (forgive our consistent mispronunciation of Anolik in this ep). Are you Team Didion or Team Babitz? It seems like there's only one side to walk away from this book on. Is this a shortcoming? Maybe. However, the vivid, vicar...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of the 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we read the new-ish bestseller Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. They're writers, she's bubbly, he's a storm cloud, they're obsessed with each other, 50s rich people flashbacks. What more could you want?? We're a little mad about the ending, but overall, we're blushing, we'...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to another episode of the 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read the highly acclaimed Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Project Hail Mary came out in 2021, but with a movie adaptation scheduled for 2026 has been as relevant as ever this year. We had to get in on the hype and we. were. not. disappointed. Project Hail Mary has entered our top ranking of books. Andy Weir ha...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another (now biweekly) episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. We are SO close to being done with this series. One more to go! Anyway, in this episode, we read books 7 and 8, both at a page count of over 1000. We are dealing with some Zodiac exhaustion but we continue to stand by our opinion that the books are getting better and better. Get ready for a main charact...

Happy Wednesday! We're baaaaaackkkk!!! Your girls simply had to take a little summer break from the pod, but we are back and better than ever. This week we read the 6th installment of the Zodiac Academy series, Fated Throne by Caroline Peckam and Suzanne Valenti. We are riveted, we are enamored, and we are also very ready for it to be over. These books keep getting better and better, but they...

Hello and happy Wednes--- Friday! (Sorry for the late upload this week!) This week we read book 5 in the Zodiac Academy series, Cursed Fates. The series is long, the books are longer, but we are plowing through them. Things are starting to get REAL in Solaria and as always, we are on the edge of our seats. Enjoy this week's discussion! Next week's book: Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy #6) by...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week, we're back with the second book in The Ravenhood series,  Exodus, by Kate Stewart. The first one tore us apart, this one continued to tear us apart until it... patched us up again? Maybe? All we know is we can't wait to read book three. If you thought Sean and Dom were all that, just wait. Enter the...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we read Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. As two former *cough* current *cough* The Hunger Games die hards, we couldn't wait to hear about Haymitch's Games. This prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy did not disappoint. Haymitch's origin story is as empowering as it is tragic and now we lo...

Hello, and happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week, we read American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. We had no idea about the controversy surrounding this book before we decided to read it. However, before our discussion, we did some research and were shocked by what we learned. We decided that highlighting the issues surrounding this book and its author...

Hello, happy Wednesday, and welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read a book originally written in French, The Anomaly, by Herve Letellier. Have you ever wondered what would happen if there were another YOU? This is the big question that Letellier asks readers in this book. The Anomaly gets into mathematics, probability, philosophy, religion, and more as it...

Hello and happy Wednesday! Get ready for a super special episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week, we have our very first podcast guest, Sarah, cohosting with us! Sarah works for Kensington Publishing Corp. and got us hooked up with some sweet books, including Flock by Kate Stewart, which we read this week! Flock is a quintessential spicy contemporary romance with a little mystery mixed i...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to a little minisode discussion from The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This book explores grief, loss, and how to carry on living afterward. Didion is an iconic American writer and this was both of our first Didion reads. Pour up a drink and get ready for some hot takes and a very honest discussion. Next week's...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week is a twofer! Get ready to discuss Zodiac Academy books 3 and 4, The Reckoning and Shadow Princess. The girls are getting more confident, the boys are basically just as mean, the relationships are getting steamier, and we are here for it! Pour up a drink and enjoy! Next week's book: The Year of Magical Thinkin...

Hello and happy Wednesday! Welcome to another episode of the 5 O'Clock Book Club. Spring has sprung and the sun is shining. This week we read Kindred by Octavia Butler. Kindred is a highly acclaimed sci-fi-meets-feminist-meets-social justice novel that has been described as Afro-futurism. Dana is a Black woman living in the 1970s who is suddenly transported back in time to the antebellum South...

Happy Wednesday! After a hiatus week, we are back and better than ever! Spring has sprung, and we are feeling great. This week we read a cornerstone of dark academia, The Secret History by Donna Tartt. This book is full of mystery, intruige, lengthy descriptions, and hedonistic hijinks. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then buckle up! Join us for a round of martinis and enjoy listening to this...

Hello, hello! Another Wednesday, another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club; and not just any episode, but our 20th! After a solid 20 minutes of fixating on sparkling beverages and yoga, we discuss the book James by Percival Everett. James was short-listed for the 2024 Booker Prize (though it did not win the award) and has received immense critical acclaim. It is easy to see why! James is a re...

Happy Wednesday, kings and queens! We are back again with another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Demon Copperhead won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction and it's easy to see why. This book offers such an authentic glimpse into the life of a boy, Damon (a.k.a. Demon), growing up...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! As you can see, we're reading a different book than the one we said we were going to this week (sorry). However, in honor of International Women's Day (earlier this week) aaaaand in honor of Demon Copperhead being a suuuper long book (original plan for this week), we decided to read I Who Have Never Known Men...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. Em is back from Costa Rica, so we're done with our pre-recorded movie minisodes and are coming at you "live"-ish. This week, we finally read and discussed Rebecca Yarros's highly anticipated Onyx Storm, the third book in the Empyrean Series. Was it a little confusing at first? Yes. Were we SAT the f...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to the 5 O'Clock Book Club! This is our final week of movie discussions (for now). SK's pick this week was Whiplash (2014). This movie is a masterful display of acting, directing, editing, sound mixing, and everything else that goes into filmmaking. We are both obsessed and neither of us can stop talking about it. If, like Em, you have been putting off watchin...

Hiiiiiii (we're running out of greetings, lol)! Welcome back to our second movie minisode. This week we'll be discussing one of Em's favorite movies, Grizzly Man (2005). This documentary by Werner Herzog combines interviews conducted by Herzog as well as footage taken by Timothy Treadwell to create a truly mesmerizing, perplexing, and unsettling piece of art. Timothy Treadwell embodied...

Happy Wednesday! The 5 O'Clock Book Club is back... but with a twist! Enjoy a three minisode run of movie discussions while Emily is in Costa Rica doing her yoga teacher training. Our first selection is one of SK's favorites (and one that Em had never seen), When Harry Met Sally (1989). Truly an iconic movie! Can men and women be friends? Sally thinks so but Harry does not. Billy Crystal a...

Hello, hello, and happy Wednesday! We are back with another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. (Forgive our unforeseen absence last week. We were dealing with a crazy emergency, but we are back and better than ever!) This week we read the second and final book in the Letters of Enchantment duology, Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross. Divine Rivals (#1) was an incredibly tough act to follow, but Ru...