Table of (Mal)Contents

We're two days past Halloween, which means two things: higher blood sugar for all, and stores have become winter wonderlands overnight. But we don't want to be grumpy about it—instead, we're reclaiming the season, standing in the gap as it were, and choosing to be thankful. About what? Well, a few things as you'll hear in this episode. Listen in as we discuss:

• Who we're thankful for that helped us to develop a love of reading
• Aerosmith and the possibility of an asteroid hitting Earth on Wednesday
• Some friends who are going to be joining us on the show in the next few weeks
• Scarlet caring for a doglet

All that and a few other teases in a whopping 28 minute show!

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It's almost Halloween, and we're talking… well, we're talking Christmas, apparently. But not intentionally. Dave wanted to talk about Halloween and spooky books, but we don't really read those all that often. We don't even watch those movies. So, instead we have some fun talking through some listener questions! Listen in as we discuss:

• What happened when Mormons came to the door while we were recording
• If Scarlet and her girls have read Bunnicula

All this and a whole bunch of apologies from… well, you'll see.

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There are two topics you traditionally don't bring up at family dinners over the holidays: religion and politics. (Scarlet, meanwhile, is glad she missed out on this one.)

• The spectrum of types of political books and the weirdness of that part of the publishing industry
• John Quincy Adams being a terrible president and a great congressman
• What conservatism means
• Why the Great American Reads booklist is problematic
• If changing your Good Reads Reading Challenge is cheating (it's not and Dave is wrong)
• A Lonesome Dove update

All this and a whole bunch of apologies from… well, you'll see.

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We typically don't talk a ton about Bible reading on the podcast. Not because we don't care about it (because obviously we do), but because we typically assume that our Christian listeners are actively doing so. However, that's not always a safe assumption to make, especially when we see how rampant biblical illiteracy has become. So this week, we are joined by Tara-Leigh Cobble, host of The Bible Recap podcast and author of the forthcoming book of the same name. Listen in as we discuss:

• How adding verse numbers ruined Bible reading
• Who wrote Hebrews
• Why Tara-Leigh doesn't like Ezekiel (and who would win in a fight between him and Luke)
• Why Apollos is cool
• Why I (Aaron) read so dang much
• The unexpected surprise of an incredibly successful podcast
• Audiobook playback speeds
• Ways we cheated in school

All this and a whole bunch of apologies from… well, you'll see.

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It's been a week. Read into that whatever you wish, and you're probably going to be correct. We could all use a little bit of happiness (I know I could), so this week, Scarlet, Dave, and I are joined once again by our good friend Barnabas Piper, to celebrate the official release of his brand-new book, Hoping for Happiness, available now wherever books are sold. Listen in as we discuss:

• Barnabas' release day announcement
• Where my copy of Barnabas' book is (and why they all got sent to Scarlet)
• Canned interview questions
• Dave repeatedly violating the Nashville Rule*
• Why we feel bad about being happy and enjoying things
• Books that make us happy
• Why I can't keep it together long enough to complete a sentence
• Why this episode probably should have been called, "Sorry vegans, this one's not for you."

And for those who missed it, here's the way Barnabas announced the book's release:

Hoping for Happiness by Barnabas Piper is available now, so go get a copy!

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Fall—or rather, Autumn—is finally here! With it comes cardigans, superfluous scarves, and pumpkin spice, as well as thinking about what to read in this new season. Listen in to discuss:

• What makes a book an "Autumn book"
• Scarlet and Dave test my knowledge of Canadian geography
• Where the idea from this episode came from
• Pronouncing "Autumn" fancy
• The role of nostalgia in seasonal reading
• Rereads and one-time only books
• Our shared excitement over a new Fredrik Backman book
• How to convince Scarlet's husband to join us on the show to talk dragons
• What happened to 90 minute movies?

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So, the trailer for the Dune movie was released last week, and the folks who made it clearly did a great job. In honor of this, we're getting extra nerdy as we talk Dune, sci-fi, and Dave having meetings to run to. Listen in to hear:

• The difference between hard and soft sci-fi
• If Dune is a good option for jumping into the genre
• How ET ruined sci-fi for Scarlet
• If speculative fiction counts as sci-fi
• Another Lonesome Dove progress report

Be sure to check out the NYPL article mentioned in the show on the differences between hard and soft science fiction as well.

This week, we're forgoing our traditional "what we're reading" list in favor of a few recommendations of generally accessible science fiction reads:

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We're back with a new episode, recorded on a life-changing date for most of the modern world. But that doesn't stop us from getting downright silly at times as we talk about books, history, and pet clothing. Listen in to hear:

• Where we were on 9/11
• Whether or not we have (or should) read books about the event
• Why it's probably not a good idea to be writing books about our current circumstances just yet
• How we choose what we re-read (if at all)
• Dave & Scarlet on dressing pets
• Recommendations for read-aloud books

All this and a progress report on Lonesome Dove!

And, of course, Scarlet's bunny leash. :)

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We don't always have friends of the podcast on the show, but when we do, it's Matt Redmond! Matt is a Christian counselor, teacher, author, and longtime listener of the podcast. We have wanted to chat with Matt for a while because of our shared love of books, C.S. Lewis, music, and more. Listen in as we discuss:

• What's so great about Jane Austen
• Why Matt isn't a fan of the enneagram
• Books you should read about Bach
• If Bono should write a book, and his appreciation for Eugene Peterson
• Favorite C.S. Lewis books and fake Lewis quotes

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One of the things we love best about this show is our audience. Seriously, we have some really fun and fantastic people who listen to this show and put up with our silliness week in and week out. So, this week, Dave and I (Scarlet couldn't join us this week due to scheduling issues) thought it would be fun to answer some of your questions! Listen in as we discuss:

• Our preferences in coffee and/or tea
• One of the worst trends in evangelicalism which some folks may or may not have tried to talk about on a previous episode of the show
• If Abigail (my daughter) will do another episode with us in the future
• Why a family might have kept a last name that has been marred all kinds of awfulness
• My favorite graphic novels to recommend

And of course, we also talk about several books along the way.

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