Cracked Spines

Hey guys, we got a crazy one. Bad sex, problematic dynamics, and weird, epic love(?): that's right, we're reading The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu! Sorry for all the cross talk in this one, we're just really excited about this absolutely bonkers book. Sarah physically cannot articulate the act of reading this book. Cyrus practiced Chinese name pronunciations really hard and also somehow manages to connect this gay unhinged webnovel to Les Miserables, which is actually kind of appropriate now I've typed that out. We give the most enthusiastically guarded recommendation in our podcasts history. Don't read this but if you do read this please read this. 

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This week, Sarah and Cyrus tackle a subject that is a particular passion of one of them: the character type of Brave Little Girls. Sarah posits a working definition of what this phrase might mean, and gushes over fictions weird little girls who are asked to do too much and who rise to the occasion. Cyrus wonders if anyone had a normal childhood or what a thing might mean. We also talk about Misha Collins and some big questions about gender. (Those are two separate topics, we promise.)

Our patreon! Pretty sparse right now but we have big yet achievable dreams for it.

Media discussed
The Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett
Spirited Away (2001)
Over the Garden Wall (2014)
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Abarat by Clive Barker
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Macbeth (for some reason) by William Shakespeare
The poems of William Wordsworth, specifically "Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood"

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This week on Cracked Spines, we're talking about one of Cyrus' top books of last year, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, a story about one of our favorite things--a real weird location that does weird things to your brain. Neat! Sarah likes the book but isn't really sure it's about a haunted house. Cyrus likes the book and maintains that of course, of course it is. One of us is right. (Hi this is Sarah, commenting after editing the episode: Cyrus was right. Don't tell them I said that.) This episode was recorded and aired in a timely manner, don't worry about it. 

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Did you know that Pixar's Cars is actually an installment of the Cosmere? The pieces are all right there. This episode, your hosts talk about epic fantasy to the tune of Brandon Sanderson, from the Stormlight Archives to Mistborn (Sarah's read that, right?) Let's dig into what makes Sanderson's work so hugely popular, and why it doesn't always hit the same buttons for your humble hosts. 

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This week on Cracked Spines, it's Sarah's turn to take the wheel with an episode about the television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, which calls its seasons "books" so it counts for this podcast. Cyrus shares their teenage Zuko tribute experience. Sarah shares her adult Zuko tribute experience. We also talk about people who aren't Zuko. Discussion points include the benefits of revisiting media, the efficiency of children's tv shows, and why there should have been a fourth season. I mean book. This is a book podcast. 

Comics mentioned oh so briefly: 
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise 
Avatar: The Last Airbender--The Lost Adventures 

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This week, we're talking gender! Culture! More gender! There's a whole lotta gender in this one, lads! It's She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker Chan, much beloved by both hosts, who do their best to have an intelligent discussion about an intelligent book with varying degrees of success. 

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F. Murray Abraham? Don't mind if we do! This week, we're talking body horror, we're talking cosmic horror, and we're talking sad old men — which is to say we're discussing The Autopsy, a short story by Michael Shea and an episode of the Netflix show Cabinet of Curiosities. As with all things involving body horror, Cyrus is a depraved little pervert and Sarah rises to the challenge to match their energy. Stan Aurelius for clear skin!

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And we're back! Welcome to our big beefy kickoff for 2023. In this episode your hosts discuss their reading goals for 2022 (including far more stats than anyone could possibly want), their favorite (and least favorite) reads of the year, and a whole slew of goals for the coming solar cycle. Also including multiple bouts of blistering sincerity about our personal lives and our reflections on the year. Gross.

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This week, Sarah and Amelia are back after faking their own deaths and disappearing to the desert (didn't work), and it's a bit of a grab bag. Sarah discusses her difficulty with reading lately (yeah, another one of those episodes) and how she's powered through it by taking things from small children. Amelia engages in combat with a 56 hour audio book and reads a sentence that made her therapist wince. We also establish that Clive Barker, at time of posting, is alive. That's it's own little journey.

Media discussed:
The Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson
When You Know What I Know by Sonja K. Solter
Abarat by Clive Barker
How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times by Roy Peter Clark 

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This week, Sarah and Amelia get deep. About six feet or so. In an episode that totally isn't a disaster of conflicting tones, we discuss the book Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them) , a very good book that both of us recommend but neither of us necessarily enjoyed. Sarah shares too many work anecdotes that all involve how bad she is with corpses. Amelia revels the least surprising fact about what she wants done with her body after death. We both say a bunch of really correct facts about decomposition. Guys, you GOTTA watch out for the corpse goo.

Media discussed:
Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying, by Sallie Tisdale
...Disco Elysium but just a little bit I promise 

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