Read It & Roast

Happy solstice, spidermonkeys! In this season finale Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy meets Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods to speak to our cringiest, teenage selves. Tune in to find out if these undead tales still sparkle like the skin of a killer!

This episode brings you a breath of fresh early winter air, as we roast and discuss great American author George Saunders' collection of short stories Tenth of December with our lovely guest Ingrid Z. Will Saunders' experimental short fiction survive the gauntlet of our picky hosts? Tune in to find out!

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! This episode we battle beastly horrors with Brady B., who recommends Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks. Things get hairy as we encounter the power dynamics of a small, tech-dependent settlement under siege by…whatever is out there. Will our characters thrive under adversity? Or will they give up and be jerky for their ape adversaries?

Hej! This episode we explore the labyrinths of Swedish furniture and literary translation with Alexz C., translator and cat lady extraordinaire, who recommends The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas. Join us as we discuss this portrayal of the European migrant crisis and the economy of translation. Is this novel a read or a roast? And is the IKEA POÄNG chair really worth it?

This month your favorite bookworms get down and nerdy with Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore! Tune in as we chat with guest Sarah W. about this fantastical tale in translation. Will the celebrated author dazzle us with metaphysical time beings and fish raining from the sky? Or will we find [cat] hairs to split?

Read It & Roast is back for season 2! Join us as Université de Montréal professor Amélie Lemieux takes us on a guided meditation of Rupi Kaur's home body (2020). Are you over IG poetry or are you a Rupi groupie? Listen to our newest episode to find out what we thought!

Miss us much? Your favorite roast hosts are back with a smatterings of recommended reads guaranteed to make you yearn for a juicy upcoming season TWO!

Ok so I know it got a Pulitzer, but like, I mean, like, isn't it also basically every other book I've ever read?? Listen in as we consider and roast Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and ponder history and humanity with guest Sarah B. Also, you can blame Doerr for how long this episode is…he can’t keep it brief either.

Winter Solstice Special! Tune in for a double roast of chestnuts as Icebreaker by new author Hannah Grace goes head to head with Dirty For Me by romance veteran Jackie Ashenden. This episode is dedicated to our high school freshman English teachers.

Ever just wanted to hear somebody complain? Then this is the pod for you! Join us this month as we burn through Smita G.'s rec, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Fantasy nerds unite, there be dragons!

Halloween special! Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch has us questioning our sanity as we parse fact from fiction in this spooky canine tale: Is our protagonist living out an elaborate furry paradise or has modern motherhood driven us from our own humanity? Find out in this doggedly-fun episode as we read, roast and chat with our wonderful guest Sondra L.

Today we discuss the graphic novel to end all millennials: Bubble by Jordan Morris, Sarah Morgan, Tony Cliff and Natalie Riess. Our guest Jessica E. joins us as we ask hard-hitting questions such as: Why TF is the sitcom Frasier popular in the future? Has the gig economy gone too far? Is it ever acceptable to drop your burrito? Tune in to find out if we name Bubble a read or a roast!

Welcome to the first ever episode of Read It & Roast! Today we begin with the book that started it all: Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. Set in post-Apartheid South Africa, this title begs the question: How does a nation move forward? Do be prepared, as this is no light read. We have invited the inspiration for the pod, Alexandra T., on this episode to defend her choices, listen to our qualms, and ultimately redeem the read. Tune in to find out if we name Disgrace a read or a roast! You can find Disgrace on Bookshop to support indie bookstores everywhere!