Another Book on the Shelf

It's time for a summer hangout episode! We're barely surviving the endless heatwaves and smoky skies, but at least we've got some good books to read.

Show Notes

The bookstore in Port Dover that Gen was talking about is called Beach Reads Bookshop. It's super cute and if you're ever in Port Dover, be sure to check it out!

We are going to make zines and we are putting it here in writing as well to keep ourselves accountable.

The Lillian H. Smith library branch in Toronto houses one of the world's leading research collections of speculative fiction. So cool!

Our next episode is our annual House of Anansi book. We'll be talking about The Hand of Iman by Ryad Assani-Razaki.

Books Mentioned

The Gaysians by Mike Curato

Grace: The Jeff Buckley Story by Tiffanie DeBartolo

Your Blood My Bones by Kelly Andrew

The Orphanage by the Lake by Daniel G Miller

I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong

Human Rites by Juno Dawson

Flawless by Elsie Silver

Glittering Edge by Alyssa Villaire

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Syllabus by Lynda Barry

Walking in This World by Julia Cameron

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Night Road by Kristen Hannah

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg

This SIde of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn

It by Stephen King

In Episode 177, we're (finally!) talking about Human Rites, the third book in Juno Dawson's series, Her Majesty's Royal Coven. What a ride! We absolutely adore all these characters. 

Show Notes

We've covered this whole series (more or less) on the podcast now! It's been so much fun, but we're sad to say goodbye to these characters.

Episode 142 covers the first book, Her Majesty's Royal Coven, and episode 145 is all about the second one, The Shadow Cabinet.

We didn't get around to reading the mini novella, Queen B, on the podcast, but it's book 0.5 in the series and acts a preqeul going back to Henry VIII's court and the execution of Anne Boleyn.

Nicola Coughlan narrates the audiobooks if you want to check those out!

Join us for a summer hangout in our next episode. We'll be talking about what else we've been reading and probably complaining about the heat.

Other Books and Media Mentioned

Also by Juno Dawson: This Book is Gay, Mind Your Head, Margot and Me, The Gender Games

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (Episode 69)

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong (Episode 86)

Doctor Who

In Episode 176, we talk about Jette's book club pick, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy. It follows tattooed, queer, punk nun, Sister Holiday, as she investigates a string of arson fires at St. Sebastian School where she teaches.

Show Notes

This book was published under Gillian Flynn's imprint with Zando.

The spelling of chequered temporarily broke our brains and Gen forgot how State abbreviations work. 

We had a great time reading this and can't wait to read the next books in the series. Blessed Water is out now, and Divine Ruin is slated for publication in January 2026. 

In our next episode, we're continuing on with another beloved series of the pod, Her Majesty's Royal Coven! The third instalment, Human Rites, is finally here! We've only been waiting on the edge of that cliffhanger for a year.

Our next book club pick is the graphic novel adaptation of Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, which you might know by now is one of Gen's favourite series. It's not out yet, but will be available July 29, so you still have plenty of time to read it before the episode in September!

Other Books and Media Mentioned

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Happy Pride! For this year's Pride episode we read How We End by LM Juniper, which follows a group of seven strangers as they navigate a zombie apocalypse. 

Show Notes

We fell in love with all of these characters and the little family they create for themselves!

Don't worry, the dog lives.

If you want more Frances (who wouldn't want more Frances?), you can read her short story, 'Til I Die, available on LM Juniper's website as an ebook.

There's also a novella in this world, called How We Began, that is not really a sequel, but a companion book. It's recommended to read How We End first!

As you know, we read all the queer books all year long, including the two books we'll be reading in July.

Our next episode we'll be talking about Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy.

And then the long awaited third instalment of Her Majesty's Royal Coven! We'll be talking about Human Rites by Juno Dawson mid-July.

Other Books and Media Mentioned

The Walking Dead

The Last of Us

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

In episode 174, we team up with one of our favourite local indie publishers, Coach House Books. This year we're reading the newly released novel, Born by Heather Birrell, which tells the story of a high school teacher going into labour during a lockdown, diving deep into character through multiple viewpoints.

Show Notes

The Coach House Books episode is truly one of our favourite episodes of the year. Their books are always incredible, and of course Paper Houses remains an all time fave. 

This book was so good, so you know we rambled about that a bit, but we did get aroung to highlighting some of the amazing writing.

Heather Birrell has several other books, including two short story collections also published by Coach House: Mad Hope and I know you are but what am I?

In our next episode, we're reading How We End by LM Juniper. It's our queer rep Pride pick, but it turns out we're keeping that theme going into July.

Speaking of which, don't forget to read along with our next book club pick, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy.

After that, we finally get to the next installment of Her Majesty's Royal Coven: Human Rites. It better not end with a cliffhanger this time!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Episode 173 is another spring hangout episode! Yes, somehow spring has been the longest season and yet somehow May is already over?? Anyway, come hangout with us while we chat about our fun little trips and how we're both crushing our reading goals this year.
Show Notes
Snag some cute knitting notions, like button and stitch markers, from our talented friend Riley! She's @_soft.spoken on Instagram and she's going to have a shop update very soon.
Speaking of knitting, Jette went to the Fibre Witch Festival when she was in Salem!
She also hit up the Harvard National History Museum and got to look at a lot of cool, weird rocks. Is spooky crystal/rock horror a thing? Jette is going to make it a thing.
Check out the Woo Woo Podcast for more witchy and weird content!

Our next episode is our annual Coach House Books episode! We'll be reading on of their upcoming novels, Born by Heather Birrell.
We're all set for Pride month with How We End by LM Juniper. Think zombie apocalypse with a cool trans main character!
And don't forget to read along with our current book pick, Scorched Grace by Margaret Douaihy.
Other Books and Media Mentioned
After We Were Stolen by Brooke Beyfuss
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Horse by Gerladine Brooks
The Honeys by Ryan LaSala
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Universality by Natasha Brown
The Strawberry Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
Bad Dolls by Rachel Harrison
Alone in Space by Tillie Walden
Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
Freaks, Gleeks and Dawson's Creek by Thea Glassman
Paranoid Gardens by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Walking in the World by Julia Cameron
Syllabus by Lynda Barry
Making Comics by Lynda Barry
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lydia Cohen Loigman
Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

Episode 172 is a book club book! This month we're talking about Gen's pick, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. The novel follows Lauren through her journal entries as she is forced from her home and navigates a hostile world ravaged by climate change and social inequality.
Show Notes
Gen has been putting off this book for a long time because it takes place largely in the mid-late 2020s and that felt a little too close to home.
Parable of the Sower is the first book in a planned series that Octavia Butler unfortunately didn't have the chance to finish, as she died of a stroke in 2006. The second book is Parable of the Talents, which was published in 1998. The planned third book was to be called Parable of the Trickster.
As you can probably guess, a lot of what happens in this book was distressingly familiar.
Did Suzanne Collins read Parable of the Sower? Inquiring minds would like to know. There are definitely some common themes with The Hunger Games series.
Our next book club selection is Jette's pick, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy. It's about a tattooed, queer nun who solves mysteries! What more could you ask for? This is the first book of the Sister Holiday mysteries and we'll be talking about it in July.
Next episode is a(nother) spring hangout episode. We'll be talking about everything else we've been reading, which is always a fun time.
Keep an eye out for our annual Coach House episode. We'll be reading their forthcoming publication, Born by Heather Birrell.
Other Books Mentioned
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Episode 171 is another instalment of our series #BookstagramMadeMeDoIt and this time we're reading Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews. This one has all the things we love: dark academia vibes, queer representation, and creepy forests that start growing inside your body (literally!)
Show Notes
You might know C.G. Drews on Instagram as @paperfury! They always have funny writing memes and gorgeous bookish flat lays.
You've also probably seen Don't Let the Forest In because it's been all over Bookstagram and BookTok. It fit so perfectly with our current creepy nature horror vibes that it was a natural pick for this episode.
Somehow Jette and Gen both ended up listening to The Honeys by Ryan La Sala at almost the same time without even knowing it. That one also features twins and nature being weird and creepy. (And if you listen to the audio, you'll hear some extra buzzy sound effects, too!)
On May 1, C.G. Drews is releasing a prequel short story to Don't Let the Forest In about Thomas! It will be available on their Instagram as a carousel or downloadable on their Patreon.
In our next episode, we'll be talking about Gen's book club pick, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Buckle up for a dystopian world that's set in our current time! Is this what it was like to read 1984 in 1984?
Jette is keeping our next book club pick a secret until we record the next episode, so stay tuned to find out what it will be!
Other Books and Media Mentioned
The Sixth Sense
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
The Afterdark by E. Latimer
PET by Akwaeke Emezi
Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews (Coming October 2025)
You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews (Coming 2026)

In Episode 170, Gen and Jette chat about Tillie Walden's graphic novel collection, Alone in Space. This collection includes Walden's first three books, as well as earlier comics from her younger years.

Show Notes

We love books like this that inspire us to make little stories in unexpected forms. Should we be keeping a journal with sketches?

Lynda Berry has daily journal-style drawing exercises in her book Syllabus.

Shout out to Little Ghosts Books in Toronto. We love them so much! Buy some of their books or their cool merch and know you're supporting an amazing queer owned indie bookshop.

In our next episode we'll be reading Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews. If you've been on Bookstagram for a while you might know them as @paperfury

After that, it's time for our book club episode! We'll be talking about Gen's pick, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.

Other Books & Media Mentioned

By Tillie Waldon: On A Sunbeam, Clementine, Spinning

David Sedaris Diaries

All + Flesh by Brandi Bird

Because the Sun by Sarah Burgoyne

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Episode 169 is another instalment of Page to Screen, where we read a book, watch the screen adaptation, and talk about both. This time we're discussing Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer and the 2018 film adaptation of the same name, directed by Alex Garland.
Show Notes
The book and the movie are so different, but they're both so good in their own ways!
We can't wait to read the rest of the books in the Southern Reach series: Authority, Acceptance, and Absolution.
Neither of us had ever heard of the New Weird literary genre, which Vandermeer is considered a part of, but we are here for it.
We continue to take a firm stance against deckled edges on books.
Our next episode we'll be talking about the graphic novel Alone in Space by Tillie Walden, a collection of Walden's early short comics,
Read our latest blog post, March 2025 Book Releases for Comfort Reading, where Gen rounds up anticipated March releases. (Which are now all out for you to read! Comfort not guaranteed.)
Other Books and Media Mentioned
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer
The Martian by Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Giden the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
Pan's Labyrinth
Mulholland Drive
Other Page to Screen Episodes
151: Under the Bridge
130: Silence of the Lambs
119: Fight Club
102: Little Women
91: The Martian
80: Jurassic Park
61: If Beale Street Could Talk
48: Mystic River
27: The Virgin Suicides
18: Sharp Objects
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and check out our website!