Literary Connections

James and Melissa read Sayantani DasGupta's Debating Darcy (and also Fire Island from Hulu), discussing narrative ownership, why regency media is so popular, and Melissa's high school forensics experience.

Join us next month for She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick.

James and Melissa discuss Freya Marske's A Marvellous Light, through themes of family, belonging, and chance. Content warning for our younger viewers; some NC-17 chapters in here again.

Join us next month for Debating Darcy by Sayantani DasGupta (with a dash of Hulu's Fire Island for good measure).

Melissa and James discuss Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis, touching on power dynamics, the role of sex scenes (content warning for our younger listeners!), and certainty vs doubt.

Join us next month for A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. Content warning again for a couple of very sexy chapters that might not be appropriate for all readers.

James and Melissa discuss Tess Sharpe's The Girls I've Been through themes of found family, trauma and empathy, and some accidental spoilers for Marvel: Agents of Shield.

Join us next month for The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. Content warning for a couple of very sexy chapters that might not be appropriate for all listeners.

James and Melissa discuss Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club through conversations about cultural identity, gender presentation and performance, and narrative voice.

Join us next month for The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe.

James and Melissa discuss 2021 Goodreads Choice YA Fiction winner Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley through themes of identity, community responsibility, and physical and mental boundaries. Toward the end of the episode, they experiment with a new segment, responding to an IB Literature exam prompt.

Join us next month for Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, the 2021 YA National Book Award winner.

Melissa and James discuss the detective fiction genre, anxiety as a superpower, and responsibilities to traumatized communities through Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series: all four books that are out as of February 2022.

Join us next month for Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Goodreads Choice #1 YA in 2021, and the most-mentioned book across all Best YA of 2021 lists our producer could find on the internet.

Melissa and James discuss surveillance culture, community, and making meaning through TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea. Spoilers, as always.

Join us next month for Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series -- yes, all 4 books that are out.

James and Melissa discuss love at first sight, generational disconnects, and pancakes through Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop.

Join us next month for The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.

Melissa and James discuss loyalty, character arcs, and May-December romances through Elizabeth Lim's Spin the Dawn.

Next up, we'll be reading One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.

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