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Description
A husband and wife talk about books
59 Episodes
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This week, on the verge of St. Paddy's Day, we're reading an Irish book--Duffy and Son follows a 69-year-old Monaghan man who decides to help his 39-year-old son find love. It's heartwarming and extremely Irish, especially the audiobook.
Spoilers from 28 mins
Our friend Alayne joins us this week to talk about Half His Age, the debut novel by Jennette McCurdy, the Nickolodeon child star and author of the popular memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died.
We all loved her memoir, so we had high hopes coming into this one. Can she deliver?
Trigger warning for mentions of sexual assault
Spoilers from 25 mins
We discuss the latest book by one of the most famous literary authors in America, George Saunders. This latest, Vigil, discusses political and philosophical issues that are extremely relevant right now.... and it comes up with some pretty disappointing conclusions.
Spoilers from 10 mins
This week, in honor of Black History Month and Valentine's Day, we're talking about cultural critic and influential academic bell hooks, and one of her more famous books, All About Love.
We discuss what we liked in these essays and what we didn't, what we knew about bell hooks going in, and what we think of her now, and much more.
No spoilers this week
This week we're talking about the last book Jane Goodall wrote before her death, The Book of Hope. We discuss her inspiring presence as a human, where this book hits and where it misses, and the nature of hope in horrible times like these in early 2026.
Here is the video about the two men who planted 10,000 trees in Yeli village
No real spoilers in this one
This week we talk about Lost Lambs, a multi-POV funny family book that's actually funny! We both loved the vibes and the characters, and we both had some quibbles with the plot and the ending.
Spoilers from 20 mins
This week we're talking about the North American continent's latest pop culture obsession, Heated Rivalry!
If you know you know, and if you don't know, then you should know that this book (and our discussion of it) has graphic mentions of sex.
Spoiler from 23 mins
We discuss The Future Saints, by thriller/romance writer Ashley Winstead, a Daisy Jones-esque novel that is primarily about grief. We talk about the parts we really liked and all the missed opportunities along the way.
Trigger warning for mention of self-harm
Spoilers from 26 mins
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.
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