The Worst Bestsellers

Lock up your children and manuscripts: we read Verity by Colleen Hoover. We were joined by Renata’s cherished friend Jake to discuss this BookTok sensation. Listen to this episode while you sand the teeth marks out of your headboard.

Announcement: Please join us on Friday, October 9th at 6:30pm for our special 300th episode live show! We’ll be discussing Twilight with Meredith Goldstein. It will be free to attend at Porter Square Books and also livestreamed for those who can’t make it in person.

Content warning: This book and our discussion of it contains the death of children.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Episode 213 – It Ends With Us

Overdue Episode 607 – Slammed

Verity movie trailer

“Steak ‘n Shake’s new chief MAHA officer: We’re going ‘back to the glory days of fast food’” by Sophie Brams

Grammarphobia on Realtors

Coming up next: Court by Tracy Wolff.

Flashback Summer is over, but we still ended up back in 1855…or did we? By popular request, we read Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. We were joined by S. Jae-Jones, author of the Guardians of Dawn series (including the latest in the series, Suhwa.) Listen to this episode while you churn your butter. (It’s an extra long ep so you might have time to make a fresh loaf of bread, too!)

Content warning: This book and our discussion of it contains sexual assault.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Diabolical Lies podcast

“Ballerina Farm is Happy With Her Choices” by Stephanie McNeal

“Here’s what you don’t see about Ballerina Farm’s tradwife life – and it’s depressing af” by Laura Butler

“Anne Hathaway makes first comment about Yesteryear adaptation after author addresses book’s backlash” by Shelby Stivale

Fundie Fridays

Episode #214 – Corinne

Coming up next: Verity by Colleen Hoover.

The Venn diagram between Flashback Summer and Sad Girl Summer is overlapping! We read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. For our discussion we were joined by a very cool sad girl, Theresa Okokon (@Ohh.Jeezzz), the author of Who I Always Was and cohost of Stories from the Stage. By the way, if you haven’t gotten around to reading this one before–it is actually good and we are actually spoiling the heck out of it. You’ve been warned. (And if you have read it: then you know you should have a box of tissues handy for this episode.)

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia Newbery Medal Acceptance speech

“Katie Ledecky ‘breaks’ Olympic male gold medalist in practice” by Nick Zaccardi

Coming up next: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.

Can you believe that in all our years of podcasting, we’ve never done the very first Baby-Sitters Club book? Well, now we’re flashing all the way back to 1986, when Kristy Thomas first got the gang together. We were joined by Jess & Rach of Book Trivia Podcast to discuss Kristy’s Great Idea (Baby-Sitters Club #1) by Ann M. Martin. Listen to this episode on your next endless drive through Connecticut.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Book Trivia Podcast episode on Kristy’s Great Idea

Episode 53 – The Baby-sitters Club

Episode 152 – Mallory and the Trouble With Twins

Episode 174 – Baby-sitters’ Summer Vacation!

Episode 175 – Claudia and Mean Janine

Episode 176 – Karen’s Plane Trip

Episode 177 – Baby-Sitters Beware

Episode 246 – Stacey and the Bad Girls

Coming up next: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

Are you melting in the summer heat wave? Well, why don’t you join us for a Flashback Summer trip back to the winter of 1864? Bundle up in your best furs, because we read Changes for Kirsten by Janet Beeler Shaw. We were joined by Mary Mahoney (@MimiMahoney), co-author of Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can’t Quit American Girl, former co-host of the Dolls of our Lives podcast, and current host of the Landline podcast. Whatever you do, do not let a baby raccoon into your house while listening to this episode.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Episode #76 – American Girl

Childhood Nostalgia: A Collection of Pleasant Company and American Girl Catalogues

Minnesota Historical Society MNopedia

Coming up next: Kristy’s Great Idea (Baby-Sitters Club #1) by Ann M. Martin.