The Dust Jacket

We discuss the popular 2025 cozy romance, First Time Caller, by BK Borison, including the pitfalls of formulaic books.  Spoilers from 34 mins

This week, we've got special guest Kate back to help us talk about the 2025 Booker Prize winner, Flesh. We'll talk about unemotional male main characters, the Booker Prize and its questionable history, and a sordid scandal about the novel itself.  Spoilers from 24 mins

We're returning to another favorite read on the occasion of its screen adaptation. This time the hilarious and very charming Margo's Got Money Troubles, by Rufi Thorpe.  This was one of Nico's top reads of 2024. Dacey is less enthusiastic but comes around after listening to the audiobook.  Spoilers from 20 mins in

Caleb joins Nico to talk about The Strength of the Few, the second book in James Islington's Hierarchy series. Some serious nerd shit.  No Dacey this week :( Spoilers from 14 mins

This week we discuss The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt, a 2011 darkly comic western, and one of the first book we read together when it first came out. It's also one of Nico's favorite books...  Spoilers from 12 mins

Bailey joins us to discuss My Husband, by Maud Ventura, including why she hated it while she was reading it, but loved it afterwards. This book was the most popular novel in France when it was published in 2021, and has since become a global sensation.  Spoilers from 32 mins

We revisit this modern classic on the day that the movie version comes out.  Spoilers for the book pretty much from the jump--if you haven't read this, go read it! (Preferably the audio version.) We both loved it.  After spoilers, we talk about what this book does well, what the author does poorly, and we theorize a bit about how they're going to adapt this into a movie. 

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. 

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

We discuss The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. For some of us, it was an iconic formative book. For others, a dumb thing boys liked.  Spoilers start at 19 mins

We have a special guest star--our niece and TJR superfan Kayla--on the pod to talk about TJR's previous book, Carrie Soto Is Back, and also Taylor Jenkins Reid in general.  Spoilers start at 27 mins 

We discuss the high-profile 2023 vampire novel The God of Endings, by Jacqueline Holland. Should you read other vampire novels before you write your own? Would you like to be immortal or nah? Did this even need to be a vampire book? All that and more... Spoilers start around 20 minutes in

Special guest Lauren helps us discuss the future cult classic, Victorian Psycho, by Virginia Feito. A bizarre, grotesque, and hilarious novel.  No plot spoilers, but fair warning: we do talk about a lot of the surprising and outlandish moments in this book. If you want to go in completely fresh, read it first

We discuss The Book Censor's Library, by Bothayna Al-Essa, which was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for work in translation.  Spoilers start at 14 minutes in

We discuss the standout 2024 lit-fic novel, Blue Sisters, by Coco Mellors

We discuss the 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist The Unicorn Woman, by Gayl Jones. This book is notable for its obscurity and also its low review scores. Later, Dacey digs into the Pulitzer Prize process and we float some totally unfounded theories about what goes on in those jury meetings.

We discuss the shocking memoir of One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz, who was in a cult for over a decade.  We also have a special guest, the person who recommended this book, Alayne!

We talk about the new novel by the acclaimed author of Black Cake. The love streak is over: neither of us liked this one. It's probably our fault.  Spoilers from 7 minutes in

We discuss The Alternatives by the Irish author Caoilinn Hughes. We talk why it got such low ratings on Goodreads, why we disagree with those ratings, and why Irish books are great. Also, no spoilers!