Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

This episode we're discussing the romance(?) genre(s?) of Yaoi, Danmei, and BL. We talk about tropes, themes, shelving, not understanding fiction from other cultures, and more! Plus: We probably make a bunch of mistakes.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

Join our Discord Server!

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Little Mushroom, vol. 1: Judgment Day by Shisi
• Stars of Chaos, vol. 1 by Priest
• Thousand Autumns, vol. 1 by Meng Xi Shi, translated by Faelicy
• The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, vol. 1 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou
• Only the Flower Knows, vol. 1 by Rihito Takarai, translated by Kimiko Kotani
• The Cat Proposed by Dentō Hayane
• 10 Dance, vol. 1 by Satoh Inoue
• My Love Mix-Up!, vol. 1 & vol. 2 by Wataru Hinekure and Aruko, translated by Jan Cash
• Given, vol. 1 by Natsuki Kizu
• The Snake Who Loved a Sparrow by Nna Natsuo, translated by Katie Kimura
• BL Metamorphosis, vol. 1 by Kaori Tsurutani, translated by Jocelyne Allen
• No. 6, vol. 1 by Atsuko Asano and Hinoki Kino
• MabuSasa, vol. 1 by Nanase

Other Media We Mentioned

• A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
• Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, vol. 1 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, translated by Suika
• Manner of Death by Sammon, translated by Patcharida Chaowalit
• Heartstopper, vol. 1 by Alice Oseman
• Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
• Fence, vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad
• Check, Please!, vol. 1 by Ngozi Ukazu
• Gravitation by Maki Murakami (Wikipedia)
• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
• Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wikipedia)
• Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas
• Circulating Ideas episode 268: That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk – Summer Reading Spectacular

Links, Articles, and Things

• Yaoi (Wikipedia)
• Yaoi fandom (Wikipedia)
• Danmei (Wikipedia)
• Boys' Love: The History and Transformation of BL in Asia
• Intro to "BL with AKIKO" : Who is Akiko and why is scanlation bad?
• Clamp (manga artists) (Wikipedia)
• Yuu Watase (Wikipedia)
• Wuxia (Wikipedia)
• Queerbaiting (Wikipedia)
• Bara (genre) (Wikipedia)
• Sailor Moon: The Complicated Romance of Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune
• Tiny Tails, Big Adventure | Bloomburrow Official Trailer | Magic: The Gathering
• Cardcaptor Sakura (Wikipedia)
• Gravity Falls (Wikipedia)
• Alan Cumming (Wikipedia)
• Eddie Izzard (Wikipedia)
• Yuri (Wikipedia)

31 Yaoi, Danmei, and BL titles available in English

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Many thanks to our guest Kyuu for contributing most of these titles.

Chinese language origin (Danmei)

• Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, vol. 1 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, translated by Suika
• Guardian, vol. 1 by Priest
• Heaven Official's Blessing, vol. 1, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, translated by Suika
• The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, vol. 1 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou
• Little Mushroom, vol. 1: Judgment Day by Shisi
• Peerless by Meng Xi Shi
• The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong, vol. 1, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, translated by Faelicy
• Stars of Chaos, vol. 1 by Priest
• Thousand Autumns, vol. 1 by Meng Xi Shi, translated by Faelicy

Japanese language origin

• Canis, vol. 1 by ZAKK
• Classmates, vol. 1 by Asumiko Nakamura
• Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, vol. 1 by Yuu Toyota
• The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese by Setona Mizushiro
• The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice by Setona Mizushiro
• Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly by Kou Yoneda
• Hirano and Kagiura, vol. 1 by Shou Harusono, translated by Leighann Harvey
• Manner of Death, vol. 1 by Sammon and Yukari Umemoto, translated by Emma Schumacker (adapted from Thai original)
• No Touching at All by Kou Yoneda
• Old Fashioned Cupcake by Sagan Sagan
• Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide, vol. 1 by Mone Sorai, translated by Katie Kimura
• Seven Days: Monday–Sunday by Venio Tachibana and Rihito Takarai
• Sasaki and Miyano, vol. 1 by Shou Harusono
• S by Saki Aida and Chiharu Nara
• Tokyo Babylon, vol. 1 by Clamp

Korean language origin

Many Korean language novels and comics are available in English via a subscription or pay-per-chapter model and may not be available to library systems, but we did not want to exclude the breadth of Korean series when so many are legally available in English. Some of these require creating accounts to view.

• Dangerous Convenience Store by 945, translated by Su-a Min
• Hard Boiled Love by Gwendolyn and Huingin
• Opposites Attract by Oryu
• Red Candy by Hanse
• Semantic Error by Angy and J. Soori
• Shutline by KYOU
• Wet Sand by DOYAK

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, August 20th it's time for our Summer Media Update! What have we been reading, playing, listening to, etc. over the summer?

Then on Tuesday, September 3rd it's time for episode 200 and we'll be talking about Library fiction!

This episode we're discussing the genre of Law & Legal Non-Fiction (for the layperson)! We talk about how so much of our lives are affected by laws, the challenges of reading (and understanding) legal non-fiction, and whether a whale is a fish.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

Vote for What Book We Should Read!

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back by Madiba Dennie
• Fan Fiction and Copyright: Outsider Works and Intellectual Property Protection by Aaron Schwabach
• Media Law Through Science Fiction: Do Androids Dream of Electric Free Speech? by Daxton Stewart
• Telling it to the Judge: Taking Native History to Court by Arthur J. Ray
• The Law Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
• Wage Slaves by Daria Bogdańska, translated by Hanna Strömberg
• Trying Leviathan: The Nineteenth-Century New York Court Case That Put the Whale on Trial and Challenged the Order of Nature by D. Graham Burnett
• Is Eating People Wrong?: Great Legal Cases and How they Shaped the World by Allan C. Hutchinson

Other Media We Mentioned

• Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story of a Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition in Japan by Yuta Yagi
• Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise
• Unauthorized Bread by Cory Doctorow
• Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli
• 5-4 Pod
• LegalEagle (YouTube)
• About Here (YouTube)

Links, Articles, and Things

• Amendments to the Constitution of Canada (Wikipedia)
  • "An Act to amend and continue the Act 32–33 Victoria chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba, 1870"
• Crown Copyright (Wikipedia)
• Jaffa Cakes: Legal Status (Wikipedia)
• Circulating Ideas: 261: The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow – Summer Reading Spectacular
• Reproducibility through Identifiers: Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) for research facilities and instruments (Matthew's gave this presentation recently)

15 Law and Legal Non-Fiction books by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine by Noura Erakat
• Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
• Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution by Elie Mystal
• Looking White People in the Eye by Sherene H. Razack
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
• Refugee Law After 9/11: Sanctuary and Security in Canada and the US by Obiora Chinedu Okafor
• Aboriginal™: the Cultural and Economic Politics of Recognition by Jennifer Adese
• Peace and Good Order: the Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada by Harold R. Johnson
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
• Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice by Paul Butler
• A Matter Of Law: A Memoir Of Struggle In The Cause Of Equal Rights by Robert L. Carter
• America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar
• Say It Loud! On Race, Law, History, and Culture by Randall Kennedy
• Crisis and Command: the History of Executive Power From George Washington to George W. Bush by John Yoo

Give us feedback!

• Tell us what your favourite library, librarian, or library worker in fiction is! (For episode 200!
• Vote for What Book We Should Read!
• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday August 6th when we'll be talking about the romance genre(s?) of yaoi and danmei!

Then on Tuesday, August 20th it's time for our Summer Media Update! What have we been reading, playing, listening to, etc. over the summer?

This episode we're giving our book pitches for our Battle of the Books 2023! Each of us has picked one title that we think we should all read and discuss and you get to vote for which one it is! Will we read Trust Kids!: Stories on Youth Autonomy and Confronting Adult Supremacy edited by carla joy bergman, The Seep by Chana Porter, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher, or Inheritance: a Pick-the-path Experience by Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn? You decide!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

What Book Should We Read?

• Trust Kids!: Stories on Youth Autonomy and Confronting Adult Supremacy edited by carla joy bergman
• The Seep by Chana Porter
• A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher
• Inheritance: a Pick-the-path Experience by Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn

Our Long Lists

• Jam
  • How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
  • Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
• Anna
  • Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew
  • Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price
• Meghan
  • The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
• Matthew
  • Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
  • Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

Podcast Episodes

• Episode 058 - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
• Episode 079 - Which Book Should We Read?
  • Episode 083 - The Fifth Season
• Episode 103 - Battle of the Books 2020
  • Episode 107 - Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
• Episode 130 - Battle of the Books 2021
  • Episode 134 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• Episode 154 - Book pitches
  • Episode 159 - Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart
• Episode 179 - Battle of the Books 2023
  • Episode 183 - One Book One Podcast: Upright Women Wanted

Links, Articles, and Things

• One City One Book (Wikipedia)
• Canada Reads (Wikipedia)
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
• INHERITANCE - a "pick-the-path" teaser (YouTube)
• Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience - trailer (YouTube)
• Inheritance - interview with the playwrights (YouTube)

22 Nature/Outdoor Non-Fiction by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez
• Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
• Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy
• Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney
• Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham
• The Urban Birder by David Lindo
• Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors by Rue Mapp
• Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles
• The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors by James Edward Mills
• World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, illustrated by Fumi Nakamura
• Heartbeat of the Earth: A Handbook on Connecting Children to Nature through Indigenous Teachings by Launa Purcell
• Trace: Memory, History, Race and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy
• A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars by Erin Sharkey
• A Short History of the Blockade: Giant Beavers, Diplomacy and Regeneration in Nishnaabewin by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
• Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks by Mark David Spence
• The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
• Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
• Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World by Rae Wynn-Grant
• An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
• Vote for which we should read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on July 2nd we'll be discussing the genre of Law/Legal Non-Fiction!

Then on Tuesday, August 6th we'll be talking about the romance genres of Yaoi and Danmei!

This episode we're discussing the topic of non-fiction Pop Culture books! We talk about cult classics, the Disney channel, the futch scale, and being Eldritch Millennials.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Join our Discord Server!

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Street Unicorns: Extravagant Fashion Photography from NYC Streets and Beyond by Robbie Quinn
• Poisoned Chalice: The Extremely Long and Incredibly Complex Story of Marvelman by Pádraig Ó Méalóid
  • Part 0: Introduction
• I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future by Michael Molcher
• And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race by María Elena Fernández
• The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry
  • Note: Anna didn't have the Disney Channel because she lived in the woods in Alaska. It also did not exist in Canada until 2015.
• The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel by Jenny Nicholson
• That's So '90s!: A Pop-Cultural Guide to the Raddest Decade by Jo Stewart and Lisa Gillard
• The Bizarre World of Fake Video Games by Super Eyepatch Wolf
• Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter by Katharine Coldiron

Other Media We Mentioned

• Attack of the New B Movies: Essays on SYFY Original Films edited by Justin Wigard and Mitch Ploskonka
• Introducing Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide by Chris Garratt and Richard Appignanesi
• FRUiTS by Shoichi Aoki
  • Wikipedia
• Miracleman: The Silver Age by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham
• RuPaul's Drag Race (Wikipedia)
  • The Pit Stop S16 E01
• Glee (TV series) (Wikipedia)
• Euphoria (American TV series) (Wikipedia)
• Abbott Elementary (Wikipedia)
• The Simpsons is Good Again by Super Eyepatch Wolf
• Taskmaster: Series 17, Episode 1
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (Wikipedia)
• Every Frame a Painting

Links, Articles, and Things

• Follow our Twitch channel!
  • Jam and Matthew will be streaming Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp on Saturday, June 8th at 3pm PT/6pm ET.
  • Jam made an image to promote it.
  • Jam's Top Ten Video Essays About Media They Haven't Experienced
• Mood board (Wikipedia)
• Blockbuster (Wikipedia)
• Walkman (Wikipedia)
• Milk caps/Pogs (Wikipedia)
• Tamagotchi (Wikipedia)
• Webring (Wikipedia)
• Which Pokémon are the most goth?

20 Pop Culture Non-Fiction Books by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
• Indigenous Celebrity: Entanglements with Fame edited by Jennifer Adese & Robert Alexander Innes
• The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men by Manuel Betancourt
• Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
• The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown
• She Memes Well by Quinta Brunson
• Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History by Jeff Chang & Dave Cook
• Producing Sovereignty: The Rise of Indigenous Media in Canada by Karrmen Crey
• Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris
• Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones
• K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television by Grace Jung
• Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee
• Indiginerds: Tales from Modern Indigenous Life edited by Alina Pete
• Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse by Maya Phillips
• The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit by Julian Randall
• Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury
• First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game by Nadirah Simmons
• Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
• Making a Scene by Constance Wu
• Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, & Philip Wang

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, June 18th when it's time once again for One Book One Podcast as we each pitch a book we think we should read and you (the listeners) get to vote!

Then on Tuesday, July 2nd we'll be discussing the genre of Law/Legal Non-Fiction!

This episode we're discussing the topic(?) of Indie Publishers! We talk about how to define an indie publisher, weirdo metro stories, song lyrics, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

Join our Discord Server!

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Trial of the Clone: An Interactive Adventure! by Zach Weinersmith and Chris Jones
• Any Other City by Hazel Jane Plante
• Songs of Love, Death and Pleasure by Hazel Jane Plante
  • Video of the reading that Jam bought their books at last year!
• A Short Journey by Car by Liam Durcan
• Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli
• Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power by Rebecca Solnit
• Of Thunder & Lightning by Kimberly Wang

Other Media We Mentioned

• What About Crowdfunded Comics? by Matthew Murray 🦇 and Mara L. Thacker
  • Podcast version
• How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir by Amber Dawn
• The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
• Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Zach Weinersmith
• The Platform Edge: Uncanny Tales of the Railways edited by Mike Ashley
• When I Arrived at the Castle by E. M. Carroll
• Boy Island by Leo Fox
• Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett

Links, Articles, and Things

• Image Comics (Wikipedia)
• Creative Commons
• SkyTrain (Vancouver) (Wikipedia)
• Oulipo (Wikipedia)
• Podcast episode where one host tries not to say the letter "e"
• Denver Small Press Fest
• Spaghettieis (Wikipedia)
  • "spaghetti ice cream"

45 New & Forthcoming Indie Press Books by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Fiction

• Weird Black Girls: Stories by Elwin Cotman (AK Press)
• False Idols: A Reluctant King Novel by K'Wan (Akashic Books)
• Sister Deborah by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Mark Polizzotti (Archipelago Books)
• Bad Land by Corinna Chong (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere (Catapult)
• The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (Catapult)
• Cecilia by K-Ming Chang (Coffee House Press)
• Fog & Car by Eugene Lim (Coffee House Press)
• We're Safe When We're Alone by Nghiem Tran (Coffee House Press)
• A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter (Counterpoint Press)
• Bad Seed by Gabriel Carle, translated by Heather Houde (Feminist Press)
• The Default World by Naomi Kanakia (Feminist Press)
• The Singularity by Balsam Karam, translated by Saskia Vogel (Feminist Press)
• I'll Give You a Reason by Annell López (Feminist Press)
• Tongueless by Lau Yee-Wa, translated by Jennifer Feeley (Feminist Press)
• Outcaste by Sheila James (Goose Lane Editions)
• Silken Gazelles by Jokha Alharthi, translated by Marilyn Booth (House of Anansi Press)
• Dad, I Miss You by Nadia Sammurtok, illustrated by Simji Park (Inhabit Media)
• Secrets of the Snakestone by Pia DasGupta (Nosy Crow)
• The Burrow by Melanie Cheng (Tin House)
• Masquerade by Mike Fu (Tin House)
• The World With Its Mouth Open: Stories by Zahid Rafiq (Tin House)
• I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both by Mariah Stovall (Soft Skull Press)

Non-Fiction

• RAPilates: Body and Mind Conditioning in the Digital Age by Chuck D and Kathy Lopez (Akashic Books)
• All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey by Teresa Wong (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee (Catapult)
• My Pisces Heart: A Black Immigrant's Search for Home Across Four Continents by Jennifer Neal (Catapult)
• Beyond the Mountains: An Immigrant's Inspiring Journey of Healing and Learning to Dance with the Universe by Deja Vu Prem (Catapult)
• Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance by Victoria Blanco (Coffee House Press)
• Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha LaPointe (Counterpoint Press)
• Born to Walk: My Journey of Trials and Resilience by Alpha Nkuranga (Goose Lane Editions)
• Jinny Yu (At Once/À La Fois) by Jinny Yu (Goose Lane Editions)
• Log Off: Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix by Katherine Cross (LittlePuss Press)
• Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home by Chris La Tray (Milkweed Editions)
• World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions)
• Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life by Sofia Samatar (Soft Skull Press)
• The Story Game by Shze-Hui Tjoa (Tin House)
• Black Meme: The History of the Images That Make Us by Legacy Russell (Verso Books)

Poetry

• i heard a crow before i was born by Jules Delorme (Goose Lane Editions)
• We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performance, and Spoken Word edited by Franny Choi, Bao Phi, Noʻu Revilla, and Terisa Siagatonu (Haymarket Books)
• A Map of My Want by Faylita Hicks (Haymarket Books)
• [...] by Fady Joudah (Milkweed Editions)

Comics

• A Witch's Guide to Burning by Aminder Dhaliwal (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Oba Electroplating Factory by Yoshiharu Tsuge (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Lost at Windy River by Jillian Dolan, Trina Rathgeber and Alina Pete (Orca Books)

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, June 4th we'll be discussing non-fiction Pop Culture!

Then on Tuesday, June 18th it's time once again for One Book One Podcast as we each pitch a book we think we should read and you (the listeners) get to vote!

It's time for our Spring Media Update episode! We talk about art installations, manga, board games, comics, and birds. So many birds.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Join our Discord Server!

Media We've Been Consuming

• Jam
  • Quality Assurance in Another World by Masamichi Satō
  • Wingspan (board game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave)
  • Redactle
    • New York Times responds to Only Connect resemblance
• Anna
  • Meow Wolf
    • Convergence Station
  • Terraria
    • Terraria Ep1 || Mine O'Clock
  • Amanda the Jedi
    • Explaining the Chaotic Disaster of Madame Web
• Meghan
  • Lisa LeBlanc
  • Long books :
    • The Abominable by Dan Simmons (663 pages)
    • Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher (513 pages)
    • The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes (760 pages)
  • Bungalow Details Interior by Jane Powell
• Matthew
  • Spy x Family, vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo
  • Giant Days Library Edition, vol. 1 by by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Max Sarin

Birds We Mentioned

• Chickadee
• Emu
• Cassowary
• Kākāpō
• Shoebill
• Tawny Frogmouth
• Pesquet's parrot (Dracula Parrot)
• Kiwi
• Hawk
• Pigeon
• Crow
• Chicken

Links, Articles, and Things

• OLA RA in a Day
• Yotsuba&!, vol. 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma
• Chiac
• Acadia
• Birds Aren't Real
• Only Connect
• Bungalow

12 Political Thrillers by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams
• The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad
• The Opium Prince by Jasmine Aimaq
• Exceptional Circumstances by James Bartleman
• The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
• The Sniper by Chang Kuo-Li, translated by Roddy Flag
• The Executioner's Game by Gary Hardwick
• What You Leave Behind by Wanda M. Morris
• One in the Chamber by Robin Peguero
• Grant Park by Leonard Pitts Jr.
• Paper Gods by Goldie Taylor
• American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

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Join us again on Tuesday, May 7th we'll be discussing books from Indie Publishers!

Then on Tuesday, June 4th we'll be discussing non-fiction Pop Culture!

This episode we're discussing the format of Non-Fiction Graphic Novels & Comics! We talk about what we even mean when we say "non-fiction," comics vs. graphic novels, art vs. writing, memoirs vs. other stuff, and more. Plus: It's been over 365 days since our last gorilla attack!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Join our Discord Server!

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Moi aussi je voulais l'emporter by Julie Delporte
  • This Woman's Work by Julie Delporte, translated by Helge Dascher and Aleshia Jensen
• Sông by Hài-Anh and Pauline Guitton
• Kimiko Does Cancer by Kimiko Tobimatsu and Keet Geniza
• Why I Adopted by Husband by Yuta Yagi
• The Art and Life of Hilma af Klint by Ylva Hillström, translated by Karin Eklund
• Go to Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood by Lucy Knisley
• Nuking Alaska: Notes of an Atomic Fugitive by Peter Dunlap-Shohl
• My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders by Monzusu, translated by Ben Trethewey
• The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food: Step-by-Step Vegetable Gardening for Everyone by Joseph Tychonievich and Liz Kozik

Other Media We Mentioned

• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
  • Fun Home (musical) (Wikipedia)
• Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Mattias Ripa
• Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
• The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
• Displacement by Lucy Knisley
• Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned and Judd Winick
• Melody: Story of a Nude Dancer by Sylvie Rancourt, translated by Helge Dascher
• Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley
• The Mental Load by Emma
• The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
• What Is Obscenity?: The Story of a Good for Nothing Artist and Her Pussy by Rokudenashiko
• Homestar Runner
• Button Pusher by Tyler Page
• Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler
• Clan Apis by Jay Hosler
• Ping-pong by Zviane
• Dumb: Living Without a Voice by Georgia Webber
• When David Lost His Voice by Judith Vanistendael
• Blankets by Craig Thompson
• Smile by Raina Telegmeier
• Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
• Sensible Footwear: A Girl's Guide by Kate Charlesworth

Links, Articles, and Things

• Harvey Pekar (Wikipedia)
• Joe Sacco (Wikipedia)
• Japanese adult adoption (Wikipedia)
• In the name of the queer: Sailor Moon's LGBTQ legacy
• The Spectre of Orientalism in Craig Thompson's Habibi
• Cultural Appropriation in Craig Thompson's Graphic Novel Habibi

35 Non-fiction Graphic Novels by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• This Place: 150 Years Retold
• Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir by Ai Weiwei with Elettra Stamboulis & Gianluca Costantini
• Nat Turner by Kyle Baker
• The Talk by Darrin Bell
• The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
• I'm a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee De la Cruz
• Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
• Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America by Joel Christian Gill and Ibram X. Kendi
• Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez
• The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book by Gord Hill
• Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
• The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Man, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito: a Graphic Memoir by Shing Yin Khor
• Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, and Ko Hyung-Ju
• In Limbo by Deb J.J. Lee
• This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America by Navied Mahdavian
• Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín
• Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer
• Steady Rollin': Preacher Kid, Black Punk and Pedaling Papa by Fred Noland
• Citizen 13660 by Mine Okubo
• Your Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben Passmore
• Kwändǖr by Cole Pauls
• Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey by Edel Rodriguez
• Power Born of Dreams: My Story is Palestine by Mohammad Sabaaneh
• A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
• Grandmothers, Our Grandmothers: Remembering the "Comfort Women" of World War II by Han Seong-Won
• Death Threat by Vivek Shraya and Ness Lee
• Palimpsest: Documents From A Korean Adoption by Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom
• Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank "Big Black" Smith, Jared Reinmuth, and Améziane
• Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Dawud Anyabwile, and Derrick Barnes
• The High Desert by James Spooner
• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker
• Feelings by Manjit Thapp
• The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson
• Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly and Braham Revel

Bonus list: 21 Non-Fiction Manga

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
• Join our Discord Server!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Dark Fantasy! We talk about horror, grimdark, violence, amoral protagonists, epic fantasy vs small scale fantasy, the importance of tone, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Wikipedia)
• The Citadel of Fear by Francis Stevens (Gertrude Barrows Bennett)
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
• Shadowland by Peter Straub
• Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
• Twice Cursed edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

Other Media We Mentioned

• Dark Souls (Wikipedia)
• Elden Ring (WIkipedia)
• Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP
• Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino
• The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (Episode 147 - Contemporary Fantasy)
• Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Wikipedia)
• Ravenloft (Wikipedia)
• Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
• Leech by Hiron Ennes (Episode 184 - Horror)
• The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw (Episode 176 - Fantasy)
• Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher and Clayton W. Snyder
• Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (Wikipedia)
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and various artists (Wikipedia)
• Children of Men (Wikipedia)
• The Children of Men by P.D. James
• Fables by Bill Willingham and various artists (Wikipedia)
• Deerskin by Robin McKinley

Links, Articles, and Things

• Dark fantasy (Wikipedia)
  • Category:Dark fantasy anime and manga
  • Category:Dark fantasy video games
• Grimdark Magazine

20 Dark Fantasy by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan
• To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
• The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
• Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
• The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
• The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
• The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
• Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang
• The Changeling by Victor LaValle
• Jade City by Fonda Lee
• She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
• Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury
• Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
• Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
• The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
• The First Binding by R.R. Virdi

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, April 2nd we'll be talking about the format of Non fiction Graphic Novels and Comics!

Then on Tuesday, April 16th we'll be giving an update on Media we've recently enjoyed!

This episode we're discussing our 2024 Reading Resolutions (and Rants)! We talk about how we've already failed our 2024 reading resolutions, audio books, short stories, reading long things, not being able to read long things, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Media We Mentioned

• Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser
• Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey by Mark Dery
• War and Peace by Lev Tolstoy (Wikipedia)
• Anna Karenina by Lev Tolstoy (Wikipedia)
• Animal Farm by George Orwell (Wikipedia)
• Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, translated by Robert Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler
• The Platform Edge: Uncanny Tales of the Railways edited by Mike Ashley
• Baldur's Gate 3 (Wikipedia)
• Yakuza (franchise) (Wikipedia)
• Feed by M.T. Anderson
• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao
• Minecraft (Wikipedia)
• Two Point Hospital (Wikipedia)

Links, Articles, and Things

• Episode 167 (version 2) - 2023 Reading Goals & 2022 Reading Report
• Which Pokémon are the most goth? 🦇 - Friday Night Spooktacular
• 2024 Great Graphic Novels for Teens
  • Manga, Manhwa, and Webtoon titles on YALSA's 2024 Great Graphic Novels for Teens List
• Manga for Teen Librarians (page 26) by Matthew Murray & Jean Broughton
• Episode 187 - Favourite Reads of 2023
• Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong (Podcast)
• Teacher training programs don't always use research-backed reading methods
• Literacy crisis in college students: Essay from a professor on students who don't read
• Hark Episode 354: A Special Kind of Horny
• Topping & Company Booksellers
  • The ladder Matthew mentioned

Our Reading Resolutions

• Anna
  • Read (and finish) a book
  • Listen to audiobook fiction
• Jam
  • Reading (physical books) on public transit
• Matthew
  • Read the books in his office
  • Read (all) the graphic novels on library ebook platform wish lists
  • Read short story collections
• Meghan
  • Read more (very) long books

30 Romance Books by BIPOC Authors (including 11 new releases from 2024)

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe
• When I Think of You by Myah Ariel (2024)
• Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan (2024)
• The Art of Scandal by Regina Black
• A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
• Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa
• The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton (2024)
• You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
• The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
• Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa (2024)
• Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory
• Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde (2024)
• An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera
• D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
• Let Me Love You by Alexandria House
• The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (2024)
• Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo
• To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins
• How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang (2024)
• That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
• Aphrodite and the Duke by J.J. McAvoy
• The Marquis Who Mustn't by Courtney Milan
• The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava (2024)
• The Lover, the Lake by Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, translated by Susan Ouriou
• Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai
• Never Cross a Highlander by Lisa Rayne
• This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan (2024)
• The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi (2024)
• A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (2024)
• Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, March 5th we'll be talking about the genre of Dark Fantasy!

Then on Tuesday, April 2nd we'll be discussing Non fiction Graphic Novels and Comics!

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Romantic Comedies! We talk about the difference between "fun" and "funny," crossover romance genres, cataloguing romance fiction, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• The House Witch by Delemhach
• A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
• Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
• Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
• Take Me Home by Lorelie Brown
• I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander
• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Other Media We Mentioned

• When Harry Met Sally… (Wikipedia)
• The Bear (Wikipedia)
  • Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
• The Martian (Wikipedia)
  • Golden Globes change comedy rules after controversial win for The Martian
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Beetlejuice (Wikipedia)
• The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
• A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
• You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Judgment (video game)
• Bridgertons Series by Julia Quinn
• Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
• A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan
• Cats (2019 film) (Wikipedia)

Links, Articles, and Things

• Episode 119: Regency Romance
• What does a happily ever after look like? (romance novel covers)
• Sensible Chuckle (Know Your Meme)
• There Is Only One Bed (TV Tropes)
• Pop Culture Happy Hour
• Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
• Does the Dog Die?

20 Humorous Romance by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

• Courting Samira by Amal Awad
• The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell
• A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña
• Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
• Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
• How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
• You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
• Game On by Seressia Glass
• Manhattan Dreaming by Anita Heiss
• Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
• A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson
• Much Ado about Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
• Serena Singh Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli
• The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau
• Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
• The Secret to a Southern Wedding by Synithia Williams
• Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
• Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma
• The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
• The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu

Give us feedback!

• Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, February 20th we'll be talking about our reading resolutions for 2024!

Then on Tuesday, March 5th we'll be discussing the genre of Dark Fantasy!