But was the book better? This week's episode is all about book-to-movie adaptations. Mary talks to Tsh Oxenreider about a whole bunch of books that have been turned into movies, and they dissect what makes a good adaptation and debate whether or not you must read the book first.

And, as usual, Mary admits something not-so-shocking to faithful listeners. This time, it's about Jane Austen.

Was the book better than the movie? Listen to Mary and Tsh's opinions and then weigh in with your own!

BOOKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before
• Dumplin'
• Watership Down
• Lord of the Rings
• The Life of Pi
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• Hunger Games
• The Maze Runner
• Harry Potter
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Jane Eyre
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (not a book)
• Wonder
• Father Brown Mysteries
• Where'd You Go, Bernadette
• The Aftermath
• The Sun is Also a Star
• Everything, Everything
• Artemis Fowl
• Little Women

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Tsh at theartofsimple.net and Mary at marycarver.com.

This week my friend Amanda White and I are talking about beach reads and books to escape into. Mainly because, as she said, if you can't go on a fancy spring break trip right now, just escape into a book!

We talk about our favorite "comfort food" books, all the time travel stories we can remember, and whether or not "bibliotherapy" is a real word. (Verdict: It might not be, but it should be.) And once again, I try to rationalize romance novels and TV shows about aliens.

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• River of Time series by Lisa Tawn Bergren
• Timeline by Michael Crichton
• Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
• Everneath series by Brodi Ashton
• Timeless (NBC TV show)
• Unblemished series by Sara Ella
• Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
• Wires and Nerve, vol. 1 (Lunar Chronicles graphic novel)
• Babysitter's Club graphic novels

ALSO MENTIONED:

• Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence on Amazon Prime
• The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Amanda at ohamanda.com and Mary at marycarver.com.

Who are your favorite Hallmark actors and actresses? Last week (in episode #10), Anna Rendell and I tackled the enormously difficult task of choosing our favorite Hallmark Christmas movie, tournament bracket style. This week we're back at it, ranking our favorite actors and actresses of these cheesy-but-beloved Hallmark (and Lifetime) movies. Did we get it right? Tune in, and then let us know!

And don't forget to download your own brackets to choose YOUR favorite Hallmark actors!

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Download your own brackets to select your favorite Hallmark actors and actresses here.
• You can find our Hooked on Holiday Movies videos here.

ALSO MENTIONED:

• The Couch, S1E10: Holiday Movie March Madness
• You can check out our Hooked on Holiday Movie bundle here.
• Hallmark Channel's Merry Madness Christmas Bracket is here.

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Anna on Instagram (@annaerendell) and on her blog.

In honor of NCAA March Madness (and because they don't really do the sports), Mary and her good friend, Anna Rendell, put 64 holiday movies into a tournament bracket. Listen as they reveal their top 8 teams -- I mean, movies -- as well as their ultimate champion. Will you agree with their picks? Only one way to find out...tune in!

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Print your own (blank) 64-team bracket here.
• Then fill it out with the same movies we used! (Downloadable list here.)
• You can find our Hooked on Holiday Movies videos here.

ALSO MENTIONED:

• You can check out our Hooked on Holiday Movie bundle here.
• Hallmark Channel's Merry Madness Christmas Bracket

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Anna on Instagram (@annaerendell) and on her blog.

This week Mary is joined by Lisa-Jo Baker, and they take a vague topic like "what inspires us" and break it down. They discuss flawed heroes vs. antiheroes, as well as the universal draw of good vs. evil. And Mary vows to read a book series Lisa-Jo recommends (for the third time). Tune in to be inspired!

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Still Life by Louise Penny (the first book in the Inspector Gamache series)
• Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime
• Dick Francis books
• The Hundred-Foot Journey (on Netflix)
• Once Upon a Time (on Netflix)

ALSO MENTIONED:

• Sister Cristina's blind audition for The Voice Italy
  • This version has English subtitles so you can understand the conversation.
  • This version has good resolution so you can see how deeply moved J-Ax is. He had tears in his eyes the whole time and seemed genuinely overwhelmed.
• "The battle between good and evil is endlessly fascinating because we are participants every day." - Stephen King

DON'T FORGET!

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Lisa-Jo on Instagram (@lisajobaker) and on her blog. And listen to her lovely podcast, Out of the Ordinary.

This week Mary is joined by Grace P. Cho, and they tackle the topic of representation in pop culture. If you've ever wondered why diversity in pop culture matters or what "representation" even means, you won't want to miss this conversation.

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Kim's Convenience
• Crazy Rich Asians
• Black Panther
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before

ALSO MENTIONED:

• IF: Gathering
• Vivan Mabuni
• Eugene Cho
• Diverse young adult books - This is a list of YA books I've read or will be reading this year. If you love YA and want to read more stories about and by people of color, this is a great place to start!

DON'T FORGET!

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Grace on Instagram (@gracepcho) and on her blog.

Though we've been hanging out on the couch for several weeks now, this was one of the first episodes Mary recorded. She talks with her friend Jenny Rapson about their favorite strong female characters. And, just so you know, they do decide to just call them *badass.* So, that happens. Tune in for all that and more!

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Veronica Mars (the TV show)
• Veronica Mars (the movie)
• Veronica Mars (the novels)
• Veronica Mars, season 4, is coming to Hulu.
• So, the thing is, we really love Veronica Mars.

ALSO MENTIONED:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show, not the movie)
• Speechless (a fantastic TV show)
• Marvel's Agent Carter (such a great show, too!)

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Jenny on Instagram (@jennyitup) and on her blog, Mommin' It Up.

Though we've been hanging out on the couch for several weeks now, this was one of the first episodes Mary recorded. She talks with her friend Jenny Rapson about their favorite strong female characters. And, just so you know, they do decide to just call them *badass.* So, that happens. Tune in for all that and more!

Today Mary and her friend Kristin Taylor talk about their favorite couples found in pop culture (mainly TV). They also debate the importance of sitcoms, but that's another topic for another day. After all, despite their realization that they watch very few of the same shows, this episode ended up being all about teamwork. Tune in for the details!

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

• Madam Secretary (the TV show we both adore)
• Friday Night Lights (because Coach and Mrs. Coach, am I right?)
• Parenthood and This Is Us
• Life As We Know It (a movie that's not even about marriage)
• Manifest (another TV show we both watch and love)
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (because Tony Shalhoub is perfection)

ALSO MENTIONED:

• The Best Marriages on TV & What Makes Them Great
• Cheering for the Same {Marriage} Team
• Team Us (a book)
• Kristin introduced me to Ben Rector, which is kind of a big deal

DON'T FORGET:

• Join The Couch on Facebook!
• Find Kristin on Instagram (@kristinhtaylor) and on Facebook.

Today Mary and her friend Kristin Taylor talk about their favorite couples found in pop culture (mainly TV). They also debate the importance of sitcoms, but that's another topic for another day. After all, despite their realization that they watch very few of the same shows, this episode ended up being all about teamwork. Tune in for the details!