Cracking the Spine

Our listeners come up with the best stuff! This week we get the suggestion of remakes and retelling. While we start off on books, we quickly jump over into the world of movies (who could've guessed?!). Do we love hearing the same stories over and over again? Hate it? Feel 100% apathetic about it? Listen and we'll find out together.

Books mentioned:

Disappearance At Devil’s Rock by: Paul Tremblay

I’m Thinking Of Ending Things by: Iain Reid

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking about the Present as If It Were the Past by: Chuck Klosterman

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by: David Peterson

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by: Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by: Seth Grahame-Smith

Mr. Happy by: Roger Hargreaves

Go The Fuck To Sleep by: Adam Mansbach

Goodnight iPad: A Parody For The Next Generation by: Ann Droyd

Zane and Sean enjoy the quiet efficiency of a Josh-less show to take on another great listener suggestion. Everyone knows about the concept of a novel's voice - first person, third person omniscient, and the ever-elusive second person, but how does one choose a favorite? Tune in to find out! (And listen for Sean's improving klaxon skills.)

Books mentioned:

Clive Barker’s Books Of Blood 1-3 by: Clive Barker

Don’t You Cry by: Mary Kubica

Disappearance At Devil’s Rock by: Paul Tremblay

Bright Lights, Big City by: Jay McInerney

American Psycho by: Bret Easton Ellis

I’m Thinking Of Ending Things by: Iain Reid

The Shawshank Redemption by: Stephen King

Set This House In Order: A Romance Of Souls by: Matt Ruff

Dracula by: Bram Stoker

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky

Black Chalk by: Christopher J. Yates

This time out, Zane, Josh and Sean discuss the idea of reading and seeing plays. What is it about play scripts that make them such a different literary experience, and why do we love them so? Well, we don't all love them. Josh's relationship with plays would be better described as. . . well. . . just listen and find out. Make sure to stick around for the triumphant return of the dramatic reading!

Books Mentioned:

Clive Barker’s Books Of Blood by: Clive Barker

Inherit The Wind by: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee

Willnot by: James Sallis

Disappearance At Devil’s Rock by: Paul Tremblay

Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies (and Why We Don't Learn Them from Movies Anymore) by: Hadley Freeman

Romeo And Juliet by: William Shakespeare

Richard The Third by: William Shakespeare

We set out trying to tackle the gigantic beast that is the Amazon Kindle store, but end up getting completely hung up on one specific author. Really, there are a lot of weird, weird, WEIRD things that you can buy for your e-reader. Maybe stick to real books?

Black Chalk by: Christopher J. Yates

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by: Grady Hendrix

What If We’re Wrong? by: Chuck Klosterman

Lexicon by: Max Barry

Hedging His Bets by: Celia Kyle

Dragon Her Feet by: Celia Kyle

Gay T-Rex Law Firm: Executive Boner by: Chuck Tingle

Turned Gay By The Existential Dread That I May Actually Be A Character In A Chuck Tingle Book by: Chuck Tingle

There's nothing sacred for your intrepid show hosts, as this week they peek behind the bathroom door to find out what they're reading on the toilet. Or, you know, what they're not reading. Naturally, this leads to a discussion of how one becomes Voldemort. Listen up, and no hand washing needed!

Books mentioned:

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by: Erik Larson

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking about the Present as If It Were the Past by: Chuck Klosterman

Security by: Gina Wohlsdorf

Abomination by: Gary Whitta

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff In Simple Words by: Randall Munroe

Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader by: Bathroom Reader’s Institute

Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? and Other Imponderables: Mysteries of Everyday Life Explained by: David Feldman

Thanks once again to a listener's suggestion, Zane and Sean get deep into the literary tropes they love and hate. Which cliches never fail to lure them in, and which ones have become hackneyed. Meanwhile, Josh is nowhere to be found.

Books mentioned:

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by: Erik Larson

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by: Grady Hendrix

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking about the Present as If It Were the Past by: Chuck Klosterman

The Girl On The Train by: Paula Hawkins

Seveneves by: Neal Stephenson

Aurora by: Kim Stanley Robinson

Diamond Age by: Neal Stephenson

A Decent Ride by: Irvine Welsh

Lovecraft Country by: Matt Ruff

There are fifty two weeks in a year, and this is episode fifty and two, so we're declaring this the Official Cracking the Spine One Year Anniversary show! We couldn't have made it this long without such great support from our listeners, and we once again draw on that support for this week's topic. Our hosts discuss the books that are the most important books in each of their lives. While every book is important to someone, what is that one book (or more than one book) that Zane, Josh and Sean absolutely cannot be without.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by: Erik Larson

The Regional Office Is Under Attack by: Manuel Gonzales

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by: Grady Hendrix

Neuromancer by: William Gibson

The Hero WIth A Thousand Faces by: Joseph Campbell

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone by: J. K. Rowling

The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Come with me and we'll be in a world of pure imagination! The gang jumps all over another listener suggestion to talk about what genre they would stock their dream library with. 2/3 of your hosts know exactly where to go. One of them, let's call her "Zane", isn't so sure.

Books mentioned:

Security by: Gina Wholsdorf

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by: Erik Larson

Dark Matter by: Blake Crouch

The Regional Office Is Under Attack by: Manuel Gonzales