Soooo....I'm not used to reviewing books I don't like, but Isabel Banta's Honey just didn't do it for me. Let me explain why!

Source:
Banta, Isabel. Honey. Celadon Books, 2024. 

Music:
Bus Stop

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Hooptie With The Windows Down

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/hooptie-with-the-windows-down/

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Social Media:
Instagram: @krissi.a.r.
TikTok: @krizzakritza

Thank you for listening!

Tell a friend to tell a friend, HA! SHE'S BACKKKKKKK!!!

Today I'm reviewing two amazing books with amazing character work...Funny Story by Emily Henry and If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio! These books have completely different moods to them, but I enjoyed both of these and I loved doing my analysis.

Sources:
Henry, Emily. Funny Story. Berkley, 2024. 

Maas, Jennifer. “‘funny Story’ Author Emily Henry Breaks down New Romance Novel, ‘Very Discreet’ Easter Eggs for Previous Books and ‘Scary’ Feelings about What She’s Writing Next.” Variety, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024, variety.com/2024/film/news/funny-story-emily-henry-daphne-miles-easter-eggs-1235980167/. 

Puckett-Pope, Lauren. “Emily Henry on ‘funny Story,’ Romance Novel Tropes, and Adapting Her Books into Movies.” Elle, Hearst Magazine Media, Inc., 24 Apr. 2024, www.elle.com/culture/books/a60569995/emily-henry-funny-story-interview/. 

RIO, M. L. If We Were Villains. FLATIRON BOOKS, 2024. 

Shakespeare, William, and Paul Menzer. Romeo and Juliet. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017. 

Shakespeare, William, Burton Raffel, et al. Julius Caesar. Yale University Press, 2006. 

Shakespeare, William, G. B. Harrison, et al. King Lear: Text, Sources, Criticism. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962. 

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Floating Press, 2008. 

Music:
Nights Like This

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/beat-mekanik/single/nights-like-this/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bus Stop

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Hooptie With The Windows Down

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/hooptie-with-the-windows-down/

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

My socials/Youtube:

Instagram: @krissi.a.r
TikTok: @krizzakritza
Youtube: Krissi Reads Pod

Well...this book was hard to review, but we gotta talk about it! This month, we read No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, and it's got a lot of heavy subject matter. Join Kristen as she discusses this novel.

Sources:

Dazai, Osamu. No Longer Human. New Directions, 2022. 

Neporent, Liz. “What’s the Deal With Comedians and Depression?” ABC News, 12 Aug. 2014, abcnews.go.com/Health/deal-comedians-depression/story?id=24945911. 

Music:

April Showers by HoliznaCC0, Free Music Archive, CC0/Public Domain
Intro Music link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/spring-at-last-lofi-tape/april-showers/

License: https://creativecommons.org/choose/zero/

(Ambient) Deep Sky by Kirk Osamayo, Free Music Archive, CC BY
Background Music link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/kirk-osamayo/season-one/ambient-deep-sky/
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

For our JUNE PICK, we read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. In this episode, we will dive into this fascinating and tumultuous Hunger Games prequel.

Collins, Suzanne. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Hunger Games. Scholastic, Inc., 2020. 

“Suzanne Collins.” Suzanne Collins - Biography, www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/bio.htm. Accessed 29 June 2023. 

Drum roll please link: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/drum-roll-please-6386/

License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/

Success fanfare link: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/success-fanfare-trumpets-6185/

License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/

Applause link: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/short-crowd-cheer-6713/

License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/

Buzzer Link: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/buzzerwav-14908/

License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/

Background Music link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/winter-lofi/2-hour-delay-1/

License: https://creativecommons.org/choose/zero/

Intro Music link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/spring-at-last-lofi-tape/april-showers/

License: https://creativecommons.org/choose/zero/

The tea is PIPING HOT this week! Kristen, with special guest Reagan Ford, go back to their days as high school seniors and take a deep dive into a novel they read for AP Literature, Wuthering Heights. The discussion includes important themes, the significance of all of the characters, and things they hadn't even thought about when they first read the novel.

References:
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004. 

“Emily Brontë.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, July 14, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB. 

Music 
Intro Music

“Bus Stop” Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

You & Me link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Borrtex/You__Me_Live/1_You_And_Me_-_Live

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode

Follow Reagan on Instagram, @___reagan.xo___

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!

STOP, DROP whatever you're doing, and ROLL your thumb to log in to your favorite platform to listen to podcasts! Tune in to the K.A.R. Recap as Kristen covers the Hulu original miniseries, Little Fires Everywhere.

References:

“Little Fires Everywhere (Miniseries).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fires_Everywhere_(miniseries). 

“Little Fires Everywhere.” Shelton, Lynn, director. Hulu, season 1. 

Keywords: books, blog, review, analysis, if you leave me, crystal hana kim, novel

Music

Intro Music

“Bus Stop” Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Background Music for Background and Plot

“Grace” Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jennifer_Check_soprano_Laura_Ward_piano/Jennifer_Check__Laura_Ward_Music_from_the_Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum_Boston/Michael_Tilson_Thomas_Grace/

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/

Watch Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu!

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!

I can't say this enough...this movie isn't for the faint of heart. Join me as I discuss Unhinged, talk about road rage, and compare psychopathic and sociopathic behavior!

References

Becourtney, Dr. Lyle. “What Is Road Rage?” Anger Management Groups. AngerManagementGroups.com. Accessed June 25, 2022. https://www.angermanagementgroups.com/what-is-road-rage. 

Purse, Marcia. “How Sociopaths Are Different from Psychopaths.” Verywell Mind. Verywell Mind, June 15, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-sociopath-380184. 

Stanek, Becca. “Sociopath vs. Psychopath: What's the Difference?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 27, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/sociopath-vs-psychopath/. 

“Unhinged (2020 Film).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, May 28, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unhinged_(2020_film). 

Unhinged. Amazon Prime Video. Germany: Solstice Studios , 2020. https://www.amazon.com/Unhinged-Russell-Crowe/dp/B08LBNYTHY.

Keywords: books, blog, review, analysis, the great gatsby, f scott fitzgerald, novel, film

Intro and Closing Music Link (Bus Stop)
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

Bus Stop License
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Mozart Background Music Link
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Paavali_Jumppanen_piano_1554/Selections_Summer_2012_1811/mozart_k332_jumppanen/

Mozart License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/legalcode

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!

In this episode, Kristen is covering…more secrets? More lies? Prepare to be chilled. Listen as Kristen breaks down and reviews The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys.
 
 

References:

“About.” Ruta Sepetys. Accessed June 17, 2022. https://rutasepetys.com/about/. 

“Donquijote.” Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) - History of Spain - don Quijote. Accessed June 17, 2022. https://www.donquijote.org/spanish-culture/history/spanish-civil-war/. 

Sepetys, Ruta. The Fountains of Silence. New York, New York: Penguin, 2020. 

 Keywords: books, blog, review, analysis, fountains of silence, ruta sepetys, novel, film
 
 Intro and Closing Music Link (Bus Stop)
 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

 Bus Stop License
 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Mozart Link:

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Paavali_Jumppanen_piano_1554/

Mozart License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/legalcode

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!

Secrets, murders, and lies, oh my! What's so wrong with one little switch? Let's find out...In this episode, we tackle an underrated classic, Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson.

References:

Fishkin, Shelley Fisher. “Mark Twain's Inconvenient Truths.” STANFORD Magazine, Stanford University, 2007, https://stanfordmag.org/contents/mark-twain-s-inconvenient-truths#:~:text=In%20his%20%E2%80%9Cschoolboy%20days%2C%E2%80%9D,which%20he%20had%20grown%20up. 

“The Mississippi River.” Mark Twain at Large: The Mississippi River, https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/MTP/mississippi.html#:~:text=Clemens%20first%20signed%20his%20writing,safe%20depth%20for%20the%20steamboat. 

Quirk, Thomas V. “Literary Maturity of Mark Twain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Twain/Literary-maturity. 

Twain, Mark, and Darryl Pinckney. Pudd'nhead Wilson and "Those Extraordinary Twins". Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005. 

Keywords: books, blog, review, analysis, puddnhead wilson, mark twain, novel, film

Intro and Closing Music Link (Bus Stop)
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

Bus Stop License
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Classical Background Music Link
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Orion_String_Quartet/

Classical Music License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/legalcode

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!

Is life really a party? Let's find out! In this episode, Kristen discusses one of the most popular classic novels of all time, The Great Gatsby. Themes of wealth, the dark side of the American dream, desire for the past, and others will be explored. Movie adaptations will also be reviewed.

References:

“F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, July 9, 2020. https://www.biography.com/writer/f-scott-fitzgerald. 

Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Adam Simpson. The Great Gatsby: A Novel. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2021. 

The Great Gatsby, n.d. 

The Great Gatsby. YouTube, n.d. 

History.com Editors. “The Roaring Twenties.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, April 14, 2010. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history.

Keywords: books, blog, review, analysis, the great gatsby, f scott fitzgerald, novel, film

Intro and Closing Music Link (Bus Stop)
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/bus-stop/

Bus Stop License
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Mozart Background Music Link
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Paavali_Jumppanen_piano_1554/Selections_Summer_2012_1811/mozart_k332_jumppanen/

Mozart License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/legalcode

For more content and the next novel, visit @k.a.r.blog on Instagram! Also, feel free to follow my personal Instagram, @kristen.a.rhoda!