This week, Sam has returned to the VERY POPULAR Dungeon Crawler Carl series — does he regret that decision? Not exactly. But not to worry: Hannah read a Booker longlister that asks some really interesting questions to balance things out. Then, we've got a couple of creepy numbers, from an anonymous Japanese YouTuber and a YA author making her "adult" debut, which might be more appropriate for Halloween season. How were they received in the hot light of July? They're not exactly beach reads, but that's not their fault. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Carl's Doomsday Scenario," by Matt Dinniman
2. "Transcription," by Ben Lerner
3. "Strange Pictures," by Uketsu
4. "The Children," by Melissa Albert

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, our sensational title is triggered by our first read, which definitely asks that question and, luckily for men, seems to come to the conclusion that we do, in fact, need men. Your results may vary. Maybe you need men like Raphael Bob-Waksberg, whose short story collection is a hilarious work that often probes the absurdity of relationships. Maybe you need men like Richard Russo, who's gone out of his comfort zone to explore what happens when big-time musicians return to their small-time hometowns. Or maybe you just want a tremendous beach read like what Jenny Jackson's put together, to forget about men altogether. This fortnight, we read:

1. "I Who Have Never Known Men," by Jacqueline Harpman
2. "Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory," by Raphael Bob-Waksberg
3. "The Shampoo Effect," by Jenny Jackson
4. "Under the Falls," by Richard Russo

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, we travel far and wide, from the unpopulated reaches of Siberia to the very deepest parts of the galaxy, and then return to our North Shore roots. Yes, there's another WW2 story in the offing, but, yet again, you haven't read one just like this. And, sure, we're doing the Russian thing again, but there aren't any gentlemen involved this week, we promise. The big question, of course, is: How did Elizabeth Strout do with her depiction of our home turf? This fortnight, we read:

1. "The Sleeping Land," by Ella Alexander
2. "The Things We Never Say," by Elizabeth Strout
3. "Massif," by Garth Nix
4. "Rooms for Vanishing," by Stuart Nadler

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Sam is back from Minneapolis, which just so happens to be the home turf for our first author (they didn't meet up, sadly), who never gave up on his dreams and made a hell of a book happen — is he the Ted Lasso of sportswriters?!? Hannah thinks so. Meanwhile, Sam cranked through a couple backlist titles, trying to get further into the Peter Heller and Amor Towles oeuvres and knock off some of the TBR pile. These dudes can write! Finally, "Dolly All the Time" is not about Dolly Parton, but Hannah thinks you should give it a chance regardless, especially if you're a middle-aged woman. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Relegated," by Todd Smith
2. "Celine," by Peter Heller
3. "Dolly All the Time," by Annabel Monaghan
4. "A Gentleman in Moscow," by Amor Towles

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Sam is well-rested and well-read, having just returned from all sorts of nature-loving and unplugging from the rest of the world. Which left him ready to really love "Station Eleven," which checks all the boxes — and eager for Emily St. John Mandel's upcoming novel this fall. Similarly, Hannah was enamored by Milo Todd's debut, a WW2 novel that is not your average WW2 novel. "Voidverse"? It's a weird one. "These Heathens"? Way less weird. You're really going to have to listen for the sound effects to interpret how they really hit. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Station Eleven," by Emily St. John Mandel
2. "The Lilac People," by Milo Todd
3. "Voidverse," by Damien Ober
4. "These Heathens," by Mia McKenzie

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This episode we've got a lot of things on our minds! We open with a preamble that involves a little navel-gazing, which we hope you'll indulge. We know we are not always 100% on point, but that's sort of the point! Trust us that it's germane to the books we've read these past two weeks, including the absolute truth manifesto that Mac Barnett has released (see if you can figure out the sound effect Hannah chose here on first listen). Plus, we've got a few writers who absolutely CRANK, to different effects, including Dave Eggers, who delivers in a huge, huge way with his newest. We love him and this is maybe his best (or just one Sam likes the most? Does "best" ever mean anything different than that?). This fortnight, we read:

1. "Make Believe," by Mac Barnett
2. "Operation Bounce House," by Matt Dinniman
3. "Seek the Traitor's Son," by Veronica Roth
4. "Contrapposto," by Dave Eggers

This episode we come to you live from the Newburyport Literary Festival, which is a truly kick-ass event. But, don't worry: It's still just us talking about four books! They just happen to come from authors speaking at the Fest — including two poets! Hey, it only took us 14 episodes to get a couple books of poetry on this thing. But we've got a couple of great novels, too — People are dying in John Irving ways! And winning awards in John Irving ways! — so we're not too far outside our norms. And you may notice that we're slightly more prepared than normal. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Good Monster," by Diannelly Antigua
2. "The Road to Tender Hearts," by Annie Hartnett
3. "The Diaspora Sonnets," by Oliver de la Paz
4. "The Award," by Matthew Pearl

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

Folks, it's just all bangers this week, with four books we really enjoyed, all brand-new and ready to be given to your mom. We've got a love letter to Earth, a love letter to bad guys, a love letter to Brooklyn, and a love letter to Monica Lewinsky. And we loved the books. That doesn't happen all that often. The big revelation is that Hannah hasn't read Emily St. John Mandel; and, yes, we know that "Cloud Cuckoo Land" was not written by David Mitchell. We just went with it and assumed you understood that we were jumping right to "Cloud Atlas." This fortnight, we read:

1. "Homebound," by Portia Elan
2. "Villain," by Natalie Zina Walschots
3. "Last Night in Brooklyn," by Xochitl Gonzales
4. "Dear Monica Lewinsky," by Julia Langbein

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

We open this week with a book that might not be for Sam, who is not a middle-aged woman, it turns out. Hannah is, but didn't really like it either. However, Hannah did love the trad-wife tale that is "Yesteryear," where 1855 isn't all it's cracked up to be. And Sam liked the new TC Boyle just as much — is there a better writer of people who make bad decisions. But then things finish up with a belly-flop. Oh well. Maybe Hannah should have read "Butter," instead. Also, there is a Sarah J. Maas discussion in this episode for no good reason. This fortnight, we read:

1. "American Fantasy," by Emma Straub
2. "Yesteryear," by Caro Claire Burke
3. "No Way Home," by TC Boyle
4. "Hooked," by Asako Yuzuki

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

If you're going to do a retelling of Cinderella, you gotta include some slippers, right? Apparently not! Liberties have been taken. And that's just the start of an episode that takes you from Shakespeare's England to the International Space Station — with a quick stop at Joan Didion's NYC apartment for a smoke. Man, can she write. We have some thoughts on what makes her so good and why some of that energy is missing nowadays. Somehow, it hangs together better than you might think. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Lady Tremaine," by Rachel Hochhauser
2. "Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell
3. "Blue Nights," by Joan Didion
4. "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out! Also, don't miss our treatise on not leaving reviews and make sure you follow the instructions.