Try It, You'll Like it

Randy wanted non-cynical works of art about politics (I know, right?) Joseph picked David McCullough's non-fiction book 1776, about that year in the American Revolution. Amy picked the HBO film All The Way, the LBJ biopic starring Bryan Cranston.

Amy asked for body swap stories and boy did we deliver! Joseph came up with the 1936 H.P. Lovecraft novella Shadow Out Of Time while Randy had us watch the 1984 Steve Martin & Lily Tomlin comedy All Of Me.

Joe was a little sick of dystopian science fiction (and this was even before the last Divergent movie) and asked the crew for optimistic science fiction. Randy choose Star Trek: First Contact for the movie and Amy chose Spider & Jeanne Robinson's Stardance for the novel.

Randy wanted us to talk about art that involves Second Chances, where people get the chance to fix things our screw them up even more. Amy selected the novel Almost Like Being In Love while Joseph picked the movie Fetching Cody.

For the rather broad theme of "Art and/or Artists" Joe selected the 2014 documentary film FINDING VIVIAN MAIER while Randy picked Deborah Davis's 2004 non-fiction work STRAPLESS about the John Singer Sargent's "Portrait of Madame X"

You may be surprised which artists had more than ONE Top 40 hit and you may also be surprised which ones only had two. See how well Randy and Joe do on a quiz about Two Hit Wonders.

Joe asked Randy and Amy to pick from the year they each turned 16. So Randy chose THE RUSSIA HOUSE from 1989 and Amy chose DOGFIGHT from 1991.

The theme of "underappreciated" led to discussion of Louisa May Alcott's EIGHT COUSINS and Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood in THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES. Show notes: http://tryandlikeit.blogspot.com/2016/04/episode-58-louisa-uma-and-evan-rachel.html

To coincide with the release of "Batman v Superman" we discuss three filmed iterations of the alien from Krypton: "Superman II," "Man of Steel," and two episodes of the animated series "The Justice League."

On the theme of "unusual pets," we read Y: THE LAST MAN: UNMANNED by Brian K. Vaughan and watched 2014's PADDINGTON.

We love secrets. So we read a book full of them: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. And we watched a movie with ONE BIG ONE - A History of Violence.

We discuss THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins, DISPLACEMENT: A TRAVELOGUE by Lucy Knisley, and THE ROYAL WE by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan.

Randy came up with a devilish quiz for reviewing the best of 2015 for us! Wrack your brains on who won sportsball championships, how many Emmys Modern Family won and what the hell was nominated for Best Picture.

Some, we thought, underrated films from 2015: THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., and SHAUN THE SHEEP.

A movies quiz, about movies released on Christmas Day, 2000-2014.

On the theme of "snow" - Randy selected Peter Hoeg's SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW and Joe chose THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT.

Under discussion: Alex Garland's THE BEACH and the film THE WINGS OF THE DOVE starring Helena Bonham Carter.

Regular co-host Randy is back and there is much rejoicing. We discussed BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ben Fountain and HOPE FLOATS starring Sandra Bullock. We also had time to cover JESSICA JONES, MASTER OF NONE, SPY, MOM, and YOU'RE THE WORST. And right out of the gate, Randy has a correction: There was a disconnect between my brain and my mouth, which I blame on the cold medicine I was taking. I DO know the differences between "single-cam" and "multi-cam". YOU'RE THE WORST is obviously a single-cam sitcom, not a multi-cam sitcom. And when I say "I'm kind of over multi-cam sitcoms", I should have said "I'm kind of over single-cam sitcoms."

For the theme "Better Than I Thought It Would Be" Joe selected the film ZATHURA and guest host Michael Guarnieri chose Michael Crichton's EATERS OF THE DEAD.

We discuss Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners" and Elna Baker's memoir The New York Mormon Singles Halloween Dance.

Under discussion: QUEEN OF VERSAILLES and SCRUPLES. With guest host Diane Trap.

We're back! This week, with special guest Becca Gross, we talked about College. The movie was 2002's Drumline and the novel was Pamela Dean's. Also discussed: Amy's been enjoying NCIS, NCIS: LA and Person of Interest as part of her summer of procedurals. Joseph was really into the new movie Turbo Kid. Becca is into the return of Drunk History and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Also mentioned this week: Brokenwood Mysteries, Centerstage and 106 & Park. Next episode: Conspicuous Consumption. The movie is The Queen Of Versailles, streaming on Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon and the novel is Judith Krantz's Scruples. Into Music: "Buckeye Battle Cry" Outro Music: "Tam Lin" by Fairport Convention, off of the album Liege & Lief

Joe befuddles Amy and Randy with questions about fictional towns and cities in movies, books and TV.

This week's show is "courtroom" dramas so we're watching THE LINCOLN LAWYER and reading Dominick Dunne's ANOTHER CITY, NOT MY OWN.

It's stories of mothers and daughters this week as we watched "The Joy Luck Club" (1993) and read "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" (2012). Also discussed: "The Royal We," Alabama Shakes "Sound & Color," "Spring" (2014), TED Talks and "One For The Money". Opening music: Mr. T, "Treat Your Mother Right". Closing Music: Taylor Swift, "The Best Day".

If only they'd had a cell phone... From the horrors of ROOM by Emma Donoghue to the silliness of teen film "Can't Hardly Wait"

It's True Crime Week as we talk the Susan Orlean book "The Orchid Thief" and the 1988 movie "The Thin Blue Line." We also talk Mad Men, The Americans and superhero TV.

It's a grab bag of trivia relating, in one way or another, to Amy's birthday. (She made the quiz.) Sir Elton John, who shares Amy's birthday, is but one of the categories.

(That's not a typo. The plastic thing my grandmother always put on top of our cakes had lost both its "y"s, so that's how we say it in my family -- Amy) We're talking The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri and teen movie classic "Sixteen Candles.

It's Joe's turn to do the quiz this time, so in honor of St. Patrick's Day he came up with a quiz on all things green in books, movies and TV.

Joe asked for works of urban Ireland in honor of St. Patrick's Day! Amy chose Colin Bateman's Belfast thriller, Divorcing Jack. Randy selected the 1935 John Ford classic that won a Best Actor Oscar for Victor McLaglen and John Ford's first Best Director, The Informer. Show notes: Intro Music: "Tell Me Ma" by Gaelic Storm Outro Music: "James Connolly" by Black 47 Randy talks about The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the new Madonna album, Rebel Heart. Joe's been watching The Last Five Years and is still working his way through Parks & Recreation. As for Irish politics, there was no Prime Minister of Ireland in 1995 so...hell, we have no idea. They haven't had one since 1972 when the Parliament was suspended (but they have a First Minister since 1998). The Nobel Prize Stearkey refers to in the novel would have been the one that Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan were awarded in 1976 for their work for a peaceful resolution to the violence in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday accords come three years later in 1998. Atoní Dvorák was indeed Czech and Béla Bartók was Hungarian. An example of the Spider-Verse newspaper strip can be found here. Linda Holmes form Pop Culture Happy Hour wrote the Bachelor Pad recap of lore, including the phrase "The Courtyard Of Abandoned Dignity." The Florida novels Joe was trying to remember were the Travis McGee books by John D. MacDonald. There was indeed a much better Quiet Man Blu-ray that came out for the 60th anniversary in 2013. On the next episode: Amy's birthday is coming up! So, birthday stories. Randy chose John Hughe's 1984 movie, Sixteen Candles. Joe choose the Jhumpa Lahiri novel The Namesake (and for the record, it was her story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, that was awarded the Pulitzer).

Smutty aristocracy! Cops gone wild! It's Lady Chatterley's Lover and Dirty Harry this week. Show notes, as usual, at our blog: http://tryandlikeit.blogspot.com/2015/03/episode-38-controversy.html

It's all cats, all the time this week as we talk the Timothy FIndley novel "Not Wanted On The Voyage and the 1979 classic "Alien." Also discussed: Jupiter Ascending, The Last Five Years and Paddington. Opening music: "Wildcat" by Ratatat Closing Music: "The Cat Came Back" by The Countdown Kids

In which Amy quizzes Joe and Randy about the names behind the initials of some famous people. As always, show notes can be found on our blog: http://tryandlikeit.blogspot.com/2015/02/quiz-time-first-initials.html

Under discussion - Gillian Flynn's debut novel "Sharp Objects" and Nicole Holofcener's first directorial effort "Walking and Talking." Also discussed: "The Boy Next Door," "Galavant," and "Predestination."

Randy wanted a book and a movie that have been under discussion as being in the mix for best of 2014. We gave him "Boyhood" and The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. Also under discussion: an AV Club article about Prestige vs Mid-Reputable television. AND, we each give you something from 2014 we loved and something from 2015 we're looking forward to. Is that enough content for you?

Amy wanted second place winners, so Joe picked MOCKINGBIRD by Walter Tevis and Randy chose "Fish Tank." Amy also rants a bit about TNT's "The Librarians." Because she can.

Can Randy and Joe guess the Christmas song based on lyrics from the THIRD verse?

Joe asked for some chicks who are dicks and we gave him Veronica Mars (from her eponymous movie) and Isabel Spellman (from The Spellman Files)

Joseph delivers a devilish quiz where he gives Randy and Amy the names of two characters and asks them to guess the actor who played both. It's completely unfair!

Episode 31 and we have a guest host! Amy's off galivanting in Europe so we brought in previous guest host Becca Gross. She chose the theme of Hollywood Scandals, giving us a chance to revel in the dirt of Hollywood past. Joe's chosen "The Cat's Meow" as the movie, which is a "semi-true story" about a murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924. Randy's picked Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars by Scotty Bowers with Lionel Friedman. It's a dishy account of one man's sexual adventures, and the others he helped arrange, in the Hollywood of the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

We're discussing the movie "The Blue Gardenia" and the book, "Later, at the Bar"

It's a wordy challenge this time, with movie titles all mixed up. (And with some new movie plots that Hollywood should seriously consider.)

Randy challenged Joe and Amy to find works with nonlinear narratives (think Pulp Fiction, Memento, etc.) Joe subjected us to JCVD and we didn't come close to hating it! Amy had us reading Michael Cunningham's The Hours and we didn't hate it either! Banner week at TIYLI HQ.

Finally, a new episode! Randy's on vacation, so we have the most excellent guest host in this week to chat with us about Shirley's Jackson's "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" and the 1995 movie of Persuasion.

This week we look at alternate histories; Amy chose The Arcanum for the novel and Randy chose Inglorious Basterds for the movie. Also discussed: 6 Feet Under, Bomb Girls, Manhattan, Mad Men, Gods of Gotham and Arthur & George.

It's Randy's turn to bedevil us as he breaks our brains with a quiz involving chapter titles.

It's Mystery Week! We plumb into the shadowy figures and devilish plots behind the 1998 movie Zero Effect and the 1997 novel Garnethill. We also discuss what we've been enjoying and look forward to next time when we'll be talking Alternate History.

For Amy's chosen theme of "The Summer that Everything Changed," Randy and Joe went dude-centric with their choices, entirely by accident. Randy chose Stephen King's novella "The Body," the basis of the movie "Stand by Me." Joe chose David Gordon Green's 2013 film "Prince Avalanche." Intro music by The Motels Exit music by Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo. Explosions in the Sky not only scored the movie, they were the ones who suggested the film to Gordon Green in the first place.