The Dust Jacket

This week, we discuss The Unworthy, the latest novel from the author of Tender Is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica. We talk about religion and cults, apocalypses, crazy people--you know, 2026 stuff.  This is a short book with a weird structure, so spoilers pretty much from the jump

This week we discuss the supernatural mystery Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, by Kylie Lee Baker. We both liked a lot of this book, but not quite everything.  Spoilers from 22 mins

Special guest Sonya joins to discuss Kim Liggett's The Grace Year, a dystopian, possibly magical realism, horror novel about the strictures of the patriarchy. We all loved the themes and message, but got a little lost with some of the logistics.  You can find Dacey's hand-drawn map here

In our final episode of Grinch Month, special guest Alayne joins us to talk shit about A Ferry Merry Christmas, by Debbie Macomber, who writes 5 books per year including a Christmas book every single year. We discuss the basic physics of ferries, the uncanny valley, and much more.  Spoilers throughout this ep Special thanks to Karin and Dave for research help

Join us as we grinch all over the worst book we read this year, Beautiful Ugly. This is a domestic thriller so bad it feels like a parody of Gone Girl.  Spoilers from 17 mins

This was a tough one--early reviews of this book are glowing, but neither of us liked it. Find out which parts gave us the ick, why we think this book is autobiographical and why that's weird... and also why we thought the twist ending fell so flat.  Spoilers from 42 mins

This week we talk about what makes a man a curmudgeon, the differences between quirky books and silly books, and when a wedding isn't a wedding.  Spoilers from 27 mins, and they are significant spoilers, so be prepared to pause if you want to read this book unspoiled. 

We discuss Deadly Animals, by Marie Tierney, in which a young precocious girl helps solve the mystery of who's killing all her classmates. We both loved some parts of this book and were irritated by others.  Trigger warning for mentions of violence and sexual assault against children. Spoilers from 24 mins in

Special guest Jules returns to talk about Sky Daddy with us. This is a truly weird novel about a woman with a sexual fixation on planes, who wants to "marry" one by dying in a plane crash.  Warning: This episode has a LOT of talk about sex. If you're around children or just don't want to hear about sex, skip this one.  Spoilers not until 41 mins

Happy Halloween! For the end of Spooktober, we're talking about the cult hit Slewfoot, by Brom. We discuss why Puritans make great horror villains, why this book is actually two books, and the power and pitfalls of witch hunts in fiction. Spoilers from 15 minutes.

We talk about a haunted house book that just got published, Play Nice, by Rachel Harrison. It features an interesting premise, but we didn't care much for the execution...  Spoilers from 17 minutes in

We discuss the very popular horror novel The Last House on Needless Street, by Catriona Ward. Controversially, we didn't like it much... Spoilers from 15 minutes in, and these are very real, will-spoil-the-book-for-you type spoilers. 

This week we're talking about The Frequency of Living Things, and for the first time ever, we have the author on to discuss his book with us! Nick Fuller Googins shares stories about the ins and outs of publishing, the real-life activist inmate who inspired one of the characters in this book, and how his writing process takes him on unexpected journeys. This episode is spoiler-free

To kick off Halloween month, we're reading the disgusting horror novel Tender Is the Flesh, by Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica.  Warning: this book is about cannibalism, and our discussion of it mentions a lot of stomach-turning violence, including to pregnant women and animals. Skip this one if you have any reservations about that subject matter.  Spoilers from 19 mins

We discuss the Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, which depicts Haymitch's Hunger Games. How does it hold up next to other Hunger Games books and next to other dystopian YA books?  Spoilers from 14 minutes in, but honestly, if you read the Hunger Games, you already know them

We bring in our Irish friends, Róisín and Claire, to help us discuss Aisling Rawle's The Compound. Billed as "Love Island meets Lord of the Flies," The Compound deals with a vacuous main character on a vapid TV show... but can it meet its goal to rise above vacuousness and vapidity?  Spoilers from 30 mins in

We discuss the first in a series of historical mysteries set in 1920s India. Somehow no spoilers? 

Our friend Caleb joins us to talk about the fantasy/mystery crossover, The Tainted Cup, which is basically Sherlock Holmes with kaiju.  We talk about what kaiju are, why more fantasies (and mysteries) should be funnier, and how the second book in this series let us down.  Spoilers, including for the sequel, starting from 29 minutes

This week we're arguing about Lady Tan's Circle of Women, by Lisa See. We disagree about everything from the controversies surrounding the author to the objective of historical fiction. And especially whether Lady Tan herself is a good character or not.

This week we have a special guest, Bailey, on the show to talk about one of her favorite books, The Death of Vivek Oji.  We talk about the incestuous sex scenes, the divisive ending, and a whole lot more.  Spoilers from 20 mins

We discuss the 2025 runaway hit, Broken Country, by Clare Leslie Hall. It features both cheating and a wedding, so we have plenty to discuss.  Light spoilers at 8 minutes, full spoilers at 24 minutes

This week we discuss the seminal sci-fi novel-in-stories The Martian Chronicles, with special guest Sam, who brought his father's original edition to the discussion.  No spoilers since this book doesn't really have a plot, but we do spoil individual stories. 

We discuss Thao Thai's Banyan Moon and other multi-generational sagas    Spoilers from 11 minutes in

We discuss whether this 2012 still holds up or if the controversies are too much for it. We also talk about the wide range of philosophical questions it asks.  TW: assisted suicide Spoilers at 5 minutes in

We discuss the Fourth Wing-esque, possibly AI-written, new romantasy Silver Elite, with a special guest from our book group, Kate the librarian!  We get into some of the rumors swirling around this book, why it was only disappointingly bad, not amusingly bad, and more.  Spoilers start at 27 minutes