our next soon-to-be-adapted title this season is the chain by adrian mckinty, soon to be a damon lindelof show starring jodie comer. it’s a palate cleanser book that is all plot, but did we have a split decision on its successes? (sort of.) we talk about the very specific time (with regards to technology) that this book exists in, which features: a blogspot blog! tor browser! bitcoin! glaring tech plot holes! we talk about how megan boyle would be in deep trouble if the chain were real, how funny it is that ginger uses the chain for booty calls, and how damon lindelof could level this story up (and where it could go if you were to expand its world or continue its story). is “bang a uey” really that hard to parse? joey heaps praise in the “joke watch” segment. the egg checks in.

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

our second “unadaptable” novel this module is antkind by charlie kaufman, which is in (somewhat) rarified air: we’d both already read it. after talking about whether this book is designed to disappoint you, to not satisfy the reader in any way, we talk about how kaufman said he wrote this to be unadaptable. did he succeed? joey reads some of the wikipedia plot summary to demonstrate the novel’s surreal world before we explore the complexities of b. rosenberger rosenberg and praise kaufman for the most successful installment of “joke watch” we’ve had to date.

we discuss brainio, unseen puppets (and the many, many other ideas kaufman puts into the text), and the novel’s profound sadness. we do our best to not routinely compare this book to charlie kaufman’s films, but we also use the comparison to discuss his aesthetic, as well as what we’d want out of future novels.

there’s one footnote in the book, so we have to talk about that. joey briefly discusses this piece about amy wallace. is kaufman one of “our guys”? what do we think about the title?

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

our next “soon to be adapted” novel this module is detransition, baby by torrey peters, which marks a first for the podcast: it’s already been discussed! (sort of.) after shreds explains why he wants more of an ending (and why this doesn’t fly in the face of his past stance on endings), we talk about the novel’s two protagonists and how neither is the likely gateway character for most readers. we discuss the baggage and layers and emotional complexity found in all areas of the text and how much there is to learn from the story.

joey brings back his joke watch segment and then accidentally conflates this novel with euphoria. we think about how this will be adapted – and whether it’s possible to do without exposition dumps – and how we hope werner herzog shows up in the film. shreds talks about katrina’s intermittent and surprising levels of understanding and empathy. we attempt to solver a listener’s mystery about a previous episode. also, a note: there are cat issues throughout this episode.

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

our first “unadaptable” novel this module is the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner. should this have been in the new jersey module? we discuss. also, we talk about its ties to the odyssey, mark leyner’s surprising age, and how he approaches writing about “the gods” differently than neil gaiman.

in talking about why it’s unadaptable, we discuss the punishingly repetitious nature of the novel, the difficulties of writing a recursive text like this, and the little amount of action that actually takes place. we also discuss the specificity of the celebrities referenced, the literary device/role that xoxo plays, and how the sugar frosted nutsack ties into other book we’ve read (as well as one we have coming up later this module).

joey talks about the new thing he’ll be tracking in our books. shreds discusses the free association that leyner has on display, and meg writes in about what the audiobook helped with/hurt.

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

our second adaptable/unadaptable module kicks off with a movie in theaters this weekend: the odyssey by homer, as translated by emily wilson. after suffering a disjointed start (in more ways than one!), we spend a while discussing emily wilson’s new translation — and the text’s first 90 pages, covering both her intro and her translator’s note — before talking about why the always-angry internet seems to dislike this version, as well as why this translation is no less authentic than others. we explore emily wilson’s take on repetition and the oral tradition and her personal connections to the text.

then, we pivot to the text itself to ask: does every hero’s journey owe itself to this story? shreds talks about odysseus as “the king of lies” when really he just makes up a bunch of convoluted stories. joey asks: are we supposed to like odysseus? we talk about the lack of disbelief about people simply becoming owls, as well as the ways in which the book is (and isn’t) horny.

how will this be adapted? the structure is weird, and characters are often in disguises. will this translation be reflected at all? we review the casting and offer up other options of our dream directors of the text. the egg sends in two emails.

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition, baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

it’s time for another “full” season of lottery pod, and we’re returning to a familiar well: un/adaptable books. we discuss the timeliness of this module (hello, christopher nolan’s “the odyssey”!) and what happened to the adaptations we covered the last time we did this type of module. (it was a mixed bag.) shreds offers some new comic book recommendations, and we wonder: will the salinger archives ever open up?

reading list for season twenty-one

the odyssey by homer, translated by emily wilson
the sugar frosted nutsack by mark leyner
detransition baby by torrey peters
antkind by charlie kaufman
the chain by adrian mckinty
your name here by helen dewitt and ilya gridneff
the memory police by yoko ogawa, translated by stephen snyder
the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

we’re talking about american psycho by bret easton ellis. given that it’s almost the 4th of july, we’re also talking about american opulence, the connective tissue between this and the great gatsby, and the paradox of american exceptionalism. we discuss what happens when patrick bateman interacts with people outside his circle, the purposeful lack of a memorable ending, and the timothy price “fakeout.” shreds talks about what ellis’s writing means to him (and its inclusion in the pre-podcast module) and reads the novel’s manifesto (if such a thing exists).

we praise the successful film adaptation (and note where it falls short), talk about how bateman’s nihilism ultimately wins out, and discuss the possibility of whether patrick bateman is gay. we also talk about sean bateman, alison poole, and the intertextuality on display in american psycho. how much of this book actually happened? what’s up with the patty winters show? do people consider this a great american novel?

our third great american novel module kicks off with the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald, and we’re joined by an old friend (albeit one who makes a very brief appearance before immediately leaving). after discussing, briefly, two film adaptations (and the flaws in baz luhrmann’s version), joey asks: is this wasted on high schoolers? we talk about gatsby’s ties to other classic literature, the wealth discrepancy on display in the novel, and whether kids prefer “new money” today.

we discuss the profound sadness of gatsby reconnecting with daisy and the inability to recapture the past, and heap praise on daisy, who is the novel’s best character. shreds explains a homoerotic reading of the text and talks about why the best scene in the novel works as well as it does. we cast the best adaptation of gatsby anyone has ever dreamt up, and we look ahead to american psycho (and the themes to look out for).

reading list for season twenty

the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald
american psycho by bret easton ellis

yes, we’re still the world’s most patriotic podcast. now, it’s time to announce our third “great american novel” pairing. after we refresh the rules, we roll the die to discover which books we’re reading. joey details what he remembers about each. we talk about the film adaptations of each novel. shreds gives some stone-cold 2026 fantasy baseball locks.

reading list for season twenty

the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald
american psycho by bret easton ellis

our minnesota module comes to a close with american boy by larry watson. we have minnesota facts… but do we have more klobuchar facts? we play “say a nice thing about this novel” (and struggle, though point out it is a textbook example of what not to do in writing). we talk about the negative portrayals of literally every woman in the text, the lack of depth and the overabundance of explanation, a desire for horny writing (but failing in that regard), and needlessly over-explaining background info. we also have questions. would this novel be better if matthew was younger? what is the message? is there a message? why do we know nothing about johnny? joey tries to remember either a riddle or a joke (or… something). shreds reads the end aloud, which was buried behind a “thank you” page, and he also pitches an alternate ending. we close with a new game that doesn’t quite work, so feel free to skip to the end.

reading list for season nineteen

ruby and roland by faith sullivan
vestments by john reimringer
american boy by larry watson