Pick Me a Book Podcast

It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill.Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!

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Are androids alive? Would you order the special android bugs to give to your android toad, or are just plain ol' android flies fine? Is it funny when a sheep kicks a dude in the face? We explore all these Qs (and more!) during this very special back-door book pick!

Mentioned Links

Candace loves fail videos but they make Ash cry (literally). Please peep this fail video and let us know if you're #TeamSheep or #TeamFarmer!WTF is a Blade Runner, anyway? We're not really sure, but this article kinda explains it.Just a few Blade Runner facts that are *kinda* related to this book.Wouldst thou like to live deliciously? How about learning some Nubian goat facts, is that good enough for you?

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.

"You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

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We finally delve into some true crime this week--and it brought up a lot of feels. Who knew senseless murder could make people feel anxious?! Anyway, it's a good episode and a good book, so check 'em both out PRETTY PLZ!

Mentioned Links

Michelle McNama founded the website True Crime Diary, check it out to explore more of her work.Wanna get spooked and hear the voicemail that the EARONS left a victim, which is also the voicemail Ash always seems to wake up to when she leaves her true crime podcasts on at night? Here you go!Ash mentioned that she's woken up to the dulcet tones of the Jonestown Death Tape. If you have a strong stomach and want to listen, here you go, but obviously NSFW and TRIGGER WARNING! For real! You WILL hear the ramblings of a sociopathic cult leader, you WILL hear people dying, and the video has graphic images. Not for the faint of heart!K want something light now? Let's bring it up with When Your Name is Kyle. (Sorry Kyles--but this is accurate and u know itttttt.)

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample...

Double the pleasure, double the fun--this episode is as fresh as doublemint gum! It's a sideshow, y'all, so we don't spend the whole ep talking about a book, but we *do* talk saucy opossum facts, split members, and drop the deets on our book picks for the rest of the year! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

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Mentioned Links

We talked a lot about the Opossum Society of the United States, check out their site for educational opossum-based fun!MEpearl (a.k.a. the Possum Lady) is one of Ash's fav people. Check her out if you're feeling down (like if you just watched Dave Chappelle's latest comedy special--yikes) and she'll lift you up.Possums living in a grill meet their human neighbor, how cute!We chatted about human penis splitting in this episode, wanna know more about a meatotomy? Check it all out here. (Psst there are no photos, just a diagram, but Imma say its NSFW cause...duh, its penis stuff.)

In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.

This extraordinary novel by Naomi Alderman, a Sunday TimesYoung Writer of the Year and Granta Best of British writer, is not only a gripping story of how the world would change if power was in the hands of women but also exposes, with breath-taking daring, our contemporary world.

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OOooooo babeeeey we didn't talk much plot but we talked all about them sweet, sweet themes during this episode. This episode also revealed that Ash has more vengeance in her heart than Candace, we argued about whether or not Polar Bear's Christmas counts as a book (it does), and we waxed poetic about zodiac signs. Give it a listen, or we'll give you a *ZAP*!

Mentioned Links

Are you a nerd? Wanna run some more? Then check out Zombies, Run! a fitness app co-created by Naomi Alderman.Learn more about Naomi Alderman at her website over here.70 Books to Make You Feel Hopeful!!!!What Bob's Burgers Character Are You Based on Your Zodiac????

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: The Power by Naomi Alderman and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.

image credit: © M.E. MULDER/SHUTTERSTOCK

It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth -- and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world. You will never forget her. 

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This book is is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! We can't believe that we thought this shit was real when we were kids, 'cause now that we're all grown up it is sooooo clear that it was written by an old Mormon lady. Misogyny? Check. Racism? Check. Rampant homophobia? Checkcheckcheck. Some other highlights? Two 15-year-olds start a successful boutique in downtown San Francisco and close it down two weeks later because Reasons (???), teens deal LSD to 10 year olds, who are then dealing it to 8 year olds (because what 3rd grader doesn't want to trip balls at recess?), and people eat WAY too many carbs in this book (7 yeast rolls in one meal????). Tune in for the madness and let us know what you think by hitting us up on social media or on our website, ya bunch of DOUBLE FINK MOUTHS!

Mentioned Links

Beatrice Sparks was a lying liar who lied. She wrote this book, and many others, that were written to scare teens into being "good". Read more about her life and nonsense here.We briefly mentioned Jay's Journal (also by Beatrice Sparks) and the real-life story that its details were yoinked from. Find more details about the debacle over here and here.Don't believe us when we say this book is as fake as a $3 bill? Okee dokee, here's a Snopes article about it.

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: Go Ask Alice by Anonymous and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1VT6RwQvfqDnsKuhDPd3X2?si=G3XWFBOAS_u8KEnxkCYfTA

Psst...we don't believe or condone any of the shit in the blurb from the back of the book below. This shit's cray, y'all.

Discover how to eradicate the SOURCE of stress, anxiety and depression

If you've ever felt there was something holding you back in life, you were right. It's called the subconscious, unconscious or reactive mind the hidden part of your mind that stores painful experiences, then uses them against you. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, the New York Times and International bestseller, shows you how to get rid of the reactive mind for a happier, healthier life. The revolutionary book everyone must read.

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OKAAAAAY so the blurb from the back of the book sucks, right? Well if you thought the blurb was bad, just wait til you hear the gals read direct quotes from the book! We've got sexually aggressive dental assistants causing engrams in patients, sentient fetuses getting sad from being gently squished while their mom is having sex, and a passage about how pig grunts/thorughly bruised baby's spines/a prayer to god are equal to the "reactive mind" and cause arthritis. Well now that's a FINE case of arthritis you've got there!Welcome to the shit show!

Mentioned Links

If you want a deep dive into L. Ron Hubbard's life, maybe check out the series done by Last Podcast on the Left? They can tell you everything you never wanted to know about the founder of Scientology.L. Ron Hubbard seemed to think that machines are perfect. OH, REALLY? Well here's a brand new, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed robot killing itself in a mall fountain. If this was a suicide machine, it would have truly been perfect, but it wasn't. It was just a simple Paul Blart Mall Bot who checked out of this mortal coil mere minutes after seeing it. Perfection!No matter what L. Ron Hubbard barfed out in this book, please know that mental illness is real and nothing to be ashamed of. If you need help, please seek it. Here's an article on how to find a therapist, if an IRL therapist is too daunting here's an article on therapy apps.

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book, Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard, over there, and of course, join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.

It's a SIDESHOW ladies and germs, so there's no book but lots of bullshittery a'happenin. To start, we have a lot of opinions about CGI creatures in this episode. Between the trailers for Cats and Sonic the Hedgehog, we've barely survived 2019. We also lament about how hard it is to date, and we need all the help we can get. Have a tip? Send it our way. Please. Really.

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Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. No book this week, but you can join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - she's a little behind but hey, life happens. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them she's made so far (if you're so inclined).

The Book of Night Women is a sweeping, startling novel, a true tour de force of both voice and storytelling. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they and she will come to both revere and fear. 

The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age and reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings and desires and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman in Jamaica, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link. 

Lilith's story overflows with high drama and heartbreak, and life on the plantation is rife with dangerous secrets, unspoken jealousies, inhuman violence, and very human emotion between slave and master, between slave and overseer, and among the slaves themselves. Lilith finds herself at the heart of it all. And all of it told in one of the boldest literary voices to grace the page recently--and the secret of that voice is one of the book's most intriguing mysteries. 

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SPOILER ALERT: we loved this book! We think you probably will too, so check it out from your local library, or, hell, just go buy it from your local bookseller or Marlon James' website (link below). Just FYI: we do talk about some actual spoilers in this book, but we warn you before it happens so LISTEN UP!

Mentioned Links

Learn more about the author, Marlon James, at his official website.Want to try some of the only chocolate made WITHOUT slave labor? Check out Tony's ChocoLonely and learn about how the chocolate industry still uses and abuses slave labor, how you can help, and order some ethically sourced chocolate all at once.

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book over there: The Book of Night Women by Marlon James , and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - you can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you're interested.

Jeeze oh man, what could it be?! Here's a hint: it's a sequel to a book we've discussed (and loved) before. Still lost? Here's another hint: vanilla ice cream.

Damn are you STILL lost? K here's the last hint: it's Hope Rides Again by friend-of-the-show, Andrew Shaffer! And (SPOILER ALERT) we loved this book as much as its predecessor. *Juggalo woop WOOP*

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Bong rips. Chardonnay. Half asleep silliness. This ep is off the chain, but we had a lot of fun and it's worth the listen if we do say so ourselves. Plus the book was awesome, so what's not to love? Also, please report back to us on whether you're a pie person or a cake person, inquiring minds need to know.P.S. FUCK THE ELF ON THE SHELF!!!**not literally

Mentioned Links

Wanna check out Andrew Shaffer's books? Check them out over at www.quirkbooks.com , where you can also find books by one of our other fav authors, Grady Hendrix! Wowee, a twofer!For info about Andrew Shaffer's current book tour, books, and merch, head on over to www.andrewshaffer.comAsh likes romance books, horny-time books, and other such delights. Do YOU like romance books or horny-time books too? Great! Head on over to author Tiffany Reisz's website where you can find all kinds of good shit.

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: Hope Rides Again by Andrew Shaffer over there, and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.

From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America

In this brilliant,heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind.

The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, “Love don’t pay the bills.” She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas.

Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America’s vast inequality—and to people’s determination and intelligence in the face of hardship.

Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.

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It's a real Freaky Friday on the show today: Candace's audio was good and Ash's sucked balls. It kinda sounds like Ash is conversing with Candace through an old radio via a signal ̷̖̼̗̍ͅf̴̜̝̗̯̉r̷͚̝̻̲̰̐̏ŏ̴̡͇͆͒̕͝m̸̢͓̜̞̥̈̎̿̈́͐ ̶͉̘̭̳̐͐̏̄b̸̲̩̤̖̠͊e̷̛̹̐̋̚y̴̦̥͑͊̉͑ò̵̠̗̞̥̭n̷̢͉̞̩̄͂̃d̸̢͚̉͊͋̅ͅ ̸̭͌͐̌̋͠ṯ̵̮̰͓̩̊̆̃͠h̴̩̬̳͍̔̍e̴͇͎̎̒ ̵̘̫̳̺̈́͛̍̋̚͜v̶͚͈̦̄o̴̢̘̪̬̽̊̇í̶̮͑̓̅͠d̶͖̯̻͉̀̔̅́͠. Enjoy, ya dingdongs.

Goodreads

We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book via the link here: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond and of course join our discussion group here.

Spotify Playlist

Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more.