The Book Jar Podcast

**Spoiler Warnings for Harry Potter, Twilight, Sailor Moon, A Series of Unfortunate Events, A Court of Thorns & Roses & Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde** Fan theories make reading communities better! So, in this episode, we're diving into our personal faves. From Draco Malfoy being a werewolf to Reneesme being a villain, we're breaking down some theories you may or may not have heard of.  Make s...

**Content Warning: Mentions of death, dying, and sex.** We are talking about books that have great hooks. From renowned classics to our fave modern books (and audiobooks), some books get you right from the start. Marissa and Megan read a few of their faves. Expect us to discuss: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket Emma by Jane Austen Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë T...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for October and a recap of September 2022. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leaving us a review so more people can find us! 

**Spoilers for The Walking Dead.** **Content Warning: We do talk about sex and mention some violent content from The Walking Dead graphic novels.** What do Bryan Lee O'Malley, Rachel Smythe, Shaun Tan, and Lights have in common? They're all comics whose graphic novels we loved reading. In this episode, we're talking about graphic novels, comics, and manga. And we're starting with Archie.  We also...

We're getting emotional this week. Join us on a deep dive into the books that made us feel the most: anger, sadness, hope, and disgust. We also discuss our most recent reads and draw our topic for next week.  From there, we discuss our upcoming reads and announce our next podcast topic. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like...

Some characters you dream of meeting. Others, you would run from. In this episode, we discuss our personal favourite characters who we'd rather not meet in real life – for a variety of reasons. From there, we discuss our upcoming reads and announce our next podcast topic. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? L...

Content Warning: We discuss a book that contains mentions of sexual assault, harassment, and rape. If this content is not for you, please stop listening when we talk about our upcoming reads at the end of the podcast.  We're here to have a little bit of fun this week! Courtesy of one of our listeners, Alix, we're describing great books (both to us personally and to the global audience) in a single...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for August 2022. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leaving us a review so more people can find us! 

What do John Green, Jane Austen, and a few others have in common? Well, when we picked up their books, we weren't always in love. As usual, Megan and Marissa start off by discussing their most recent reads: Megan discusses a finished book of hers, Yume by Sifton Tracey Anipare, and Marissa (for the first time ever since starting this podcast) has no new books to report.  From there, we dive into t...

Let's get to our deep dive book recommendations! Megan and Marissa start off by discussing their most recent reads: Marissa lists her four reads and Megan talks about the book she's currently working on finishing.  From there, we dive into topic of the week: What book do you love that isn't mainstream, but you wish it was? Marissa starts off by discussing We All Love the Beautiful Girls by Joanne...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for July 2022. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leaving us a review so more people can find us! 

It's our mid-year check-in! Marissa and Megan embark on a review of the highs and lows of 2022 so far! We start by discussing our reading goals for the year and whether or not we're ahead or behind schedule. We also talk about the main themes, genres, book pacing, and pages that we've read this year, using the data from our Storygraph accounts. (If you're looking to see our Storygraph accounts, yo...

All that's evil is not created equal. Marissa and Megan start off this podcast by discussing our most recent reads before we dive into an in-depth discussion of several great antagonists and what makes them so great at being bad.  We start with a discussion of the eight main categories of villains: The Anti-Villain, The Beast, The Bully, The Machine, The Mastermind, Evil Incarnate, The Henchman, a...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for June 2022. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leaving us a review so more people can find us! 

Places of magic, wonder, and realism: we're talking about worldbuilding! Marissa and not-Megan are back in this episode with the best worldbuilding in novels. Alix Calfa fills in for Megan this week and together Marissa and Alix discuss a number of books, including novels by Brandon Sanderson, J.R.R. Tolkein, Dan Brown, and so many more. They also discuss books they have recently finished and fini...

Happily ever after – and sometimes not. We're breaking down what makes an ending in a novel good, and which endings are our faves. But first, we start by discussing our most recent reads.  From there, we dive into the topic, first discussing six main types of novel endings (Resolved, Unresolved, Ambiguous, Expanded, Unexpected, and Tied). Megan and Marissa briefly describe each and then dive into...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for May 2022. Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leaving us a review so more people can find us! 

We start off this week, as always, by talking about our most recent reads. Marissa discusses Grand Union: Stories by Zadie Smith and Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Megan takes her turn to discuss The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante. From there, the readers dive into this week's topic: Who are your favourite, go-to authors? These are the authors who you always buy no matter what.  Marissa...

We open, as always, with a dive into our most recent reads. Megan discusses Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz. Marissa discusses two very recent reads: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy and Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu with illustrations by Sana Takeda. After that, they dive into this podcast's topic: What books did you hate at first but you're glad...

Extra, extra, we've got book news! From new releases to new announcements, Megan and Marissa bring you some of the top headlines for April 2022. Oh. And, also Marissa mentions a BookTokker in the podcast, who you should definitely check out >> @limmadi8 Want your question featured on our podcast? DM us your question on Insta and we'll add it to the book jar.  Like our podcast? Consider leavi...

Content Warning: In this episode, we talk about personal stories related to loss and death. This topic is contained to the end of the podcast; however, if this could be potentially distressing or upsetting for you to listen to, please stop listening at 00:57:30 and skip to 01:03:34. Thank you. Marissa opens the podcast and, for once, Megan has more books read over the past two weeks. She discusses...

Once Marissa figures out how to open a podcast, the two readers dive into discussing their most recent reads. Over the past two weeks, both readers have a shorter list than normal, but we're chit-chatting about Emma by Jane Austen, Villette by Charlotte Bronte, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green, and Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham.  From there, they dive into the bold, the beau...

We're back with another episode of The Book Jar Podcast and we're discussing our most spectacular DNFs. We start this week's podcast with a review of our most recent reads: Marissa's got a long list and Megan has a modest one.  From there, we dive into DNF lists. Marissa takes a brief moment to discuss why she is a "carry-on" type reader with books she doesn't love and Megan defends the lost art o...

**Content Warning** In this episode, we discuss novels with a variety of themes, including domestic abuse, incest, rape, sexual assault/harassment, and toxic relationships. Please be advised if these topics may be triggering to you.  The bookworms are back, and this time they are discussing romances that make or break books. First, though, Marissa and Megan review the books they've read in the pas...

The podcast opens with our usual discussion about our most recent reads. Marissa discusses several novels, including her first Colleen Hoover read, and Megan dives into her newfound love for Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe. Other recent reads include The Weight of Sand by Edith Blais, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, and Persuasion by Jane Austen. From ther...