Deep Thoughts about The Monster at the End of This Book

Send us a message! Include how to reach you if you want a response. Hello, everybodeee! There’s no monster at the end of this bonus episode–just a lot of overthinking about a beloved children’s book.Listen as Emily and Tracie take a deep dive into the charming and oddly subversive 1973 classic The Monster at the End of this Book, starring lovable, furry old Grover. Emily explains how Grover taught her that every reader is an active participant in the story, and why this leads her to abandon books that are too cruel to their characters. Tracie shares how she learned to love dramatic irony and fourth wall breaking while listening to their Dad use a spot-on Grover voice. Both sisters bring up a LOT of other stories, movies, television, and books that relate back to this early favorite.Join us as we think through the ethical implications of being a consumer of fiction, how reading is powerful rather than passive, and why the phrase “Do you know that you are very strong?” will always delight both Guy girls.The first 15 minutes of this episode is available wherever you get your pods, but the full bonus episode is only available to patrons. Become a patron for as little as $2 a month.Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Mentioned in this episode:How a Book About Grover Revealed to Me the Wide World of LiteratureIncarnations of Burned Children by David Foster WallaceStranger than FictionNora RobertsThe Library of the Unwritten by A.J. HackwithFleabagCarrie by Stephen KingJessica JonesBreaking BadRoger Ebert on Nicholas Sparks: “To be sure, I resent the sacrilege Nicholas Sparks commits by mentioning himself in the same sentence as Cormac McCarthy. I would not even allow him to say "Hello, bookstore? This is Nicholas Sparks. Could you send over the new Cormac McCarthy novel?" He should show respect by ordering anonymously.”The Hunger GamesNeil Gaiman and Good OmensPirates of the CaribbeanPress Here and Mix it Up by Hervé TulletThe Neverending StoryWe are the sister podcasters Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love 80s and 90s movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, analyzing film tropes with a side of feminism, and examining the pop culture of our Gen X childhood for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, religious allegory, and whatever else we find. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com We are on socials! Find us on Facebook at fb.com/dtasspodcast and on Insta at instagram.com/guygirlsmedia. You can also email us at guygirlsmedia at gmail dot com. We would love to hear from you!