Overdue

Overdue

Adam Ross’ Mr. Peanut is a novel about marriage and murder with a warped sense of time and reality, but it’s also a book where the whole is a bit less than the sum of its parts. Individual threads have interesting things to say about marriage and interpersonal relationships, but these threads don’t quite form into a cohesive whole. We also chat a bit about our own marriages (including Craig’s, which is hot-off-the-presses), Timbits, and how we feel when authors tell readers how clever their work is instead of just showing us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

For March's bonus show, friend of the show Eric Van Tassell swings by to chat about Chuck Wendig's novel Star Wars: Aftermath. Eric's staggering knowledge of all things Star Wars helps us talk about the colossal job handed to Wendig - namely, to write a compelling novel designed to generate excitement about all things Star Wars while also ignoring thirty years of "Expanded Universe" fiction. Naturally, the episode veers in and out of a discussion about the challenges inherent to writing companion fiction, such as balancing the expectations of a rabid fanbase. Also, Andrew attempts to sum up 7 Star Wars movies in just over 90 seconds. Buckle up!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

This week's episode is something a little different: Andrew and Craig were off writing the Two Bossy Dames newsletter last week, so Margaret H. Willison and Sophie Brookover are taking over the show this week!The Dames read V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic, which is apparently MUCH more about incest than the books we normally read! But they handle it ably, answering questions like: is this supposed to be titillating? IS it titillating? Why is our culture so bad at exposing young women and girls to sex in a healthy, non-creepy way? And more!You can subscribe to Two Bossy Dames and view an archive of past letters (including the one we did!) at twobossydames.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Aphra Behn's The Rover debuted in 1677 to great acclaim. King Charles II loved it, and audience demand led to Behn writing the sequel: The Rover II. This week, we talk about why a play about the sexual adventures of British exiles in Naples might have done so well at the 17th-century box office. We then talk about what might make it a little problematic for a modern audience. This week's episode is brought to you in part by Squarespace. Build it, bazinga!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

It's time to choose our adventure and celebrate the arrival of Spring with a trip to the Big Apple in Ellen Kushner's Statue of Liberty Adventure. This week's choices include quantum pants, Coffee Boy, and Dick Van Dyke's Worst Charlie Bit My Finger Impression (TM). The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are uniformly terrible. Any identification with actual persons, places, buildings, and products is purposeful because otherwise we wouldn't know what voices to use.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Terry Tempest Williams' When Women Were Birds is about the power of words, the power of nature, the power of women, and the power of silence. It's not always fun to read, but it's always got something to say. That's not always the case for Andrew and Craig at parties, though. This week's episode is sponsored by SquareSpace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

You've seen the movie(s). You've seen the play/musical. But have you read the novel of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan? It's chockablock with mommy wives, nanny dogs, and more adventures than you can shake a pretend stick at. Join us as we poke fun at and point out problematic elements of a classic children's story, revel in the power of the imagination, and catalog the myriad inspirations for Peter Pan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

For February's bonus show, friend of the show and co-Two Bossy Dame Sophie Brookover (@sophiebiblio) joins us to talk about Speedboat, Renata Adler's first novel. This is one of those episodes where the author threatens to overshadow the book itself - Adler is an outsize figure with a long career, and she's never been shy about telling people exactly what she thinks. And that's true even though her prose is EXTREMELY on point.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Disgruntled, Asali Solomon’s debut novel, is simultaneously ambitious and accessible. It’s a coming-of-age novel that grapples with questions of race, identity, and family, all heavy topics. But it’s always clear and direct and it’s often funny, and Solomon has a gift for making complicated feelings easy to understand.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

We are doomed to remember a podcast about a book about a boy with a wrecked voice. John Irving's seminal bildungsroman A Prayer for Owen Meany weaves together themes of American disillusionment and religious destiny into a fable about little Owen, who changed the world of everyone that knew him. Join us as we find excuses to talk about Seinfeld, prayers for war robots, and strange dads. This week's episode is brought to you in part by Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Stephen King's It deserves most of the praise it gets - it's an incredibly long, incredibly detailed book that tells two long intertwined stories and a bunch of short ones besides, and in one section it made Andrew physically uncomfortable. Mission accomplished, Stephen! But it's not all good; the book is longer than it probably needs to be and it lingers on certain aspects of pre-teen sexuality just a BIT more than seems advisable. Anyway, come on down and enjoy this week's episode! We all float down here. And you'll float, too.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Special guest Jake Hurwitz (of Jake and Amir, If I Were You, and Headgum fame) joins us this week to talk about Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, one of the very earliest examples of the modern novel. Along the way, we discuss the ins and outs of being stuck on a desert island, the many ways in which this years-old story is pretty racist, and just how long the REAL title of the book is. This week's show is sponsored by Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

For January's bonus episode, we put together a sci-fi double feature: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin and The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp. Both are short stories of speculative fiction, and both are incredibly clever bummers. When not despairing at the states of humanity and journalism, we lighten the mood with some horrifying mouth noises, David Brooks articles, and Andrew's campaign for Sexiest Man Alive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

Widely regarded as one of the best, and most important books, of the last half-century, Toni Morrison's Beloved is an unflinching examination of how the past can enslave just as painfully as a yoke or a whip can - and how our inability to wrestle with the past begets wrongdoing for generations to come. Listen in as we discuss full-contact sports, the myth of the well-meaning slave-owner, hauntings, and Craig's quest to find #achairformyandrew.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Overdue

This week's book manages to combine eerily accurate biology with a Margaret Atwood-esque dystopia, a potent mixture that you need to read to believe. We also dive deep into our mailbag, discuss the recent blizzard, and put some basketball jokes in the place you would LEAST expect. This week's episode is brought to you in part by Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.