Terrible Book Club

We read Hidden Sins this week because we figured that there's gotta' be a catch to Stacey Abrams. She can't be perfect, right? Her political career is intense and noteworthy, but surely her romance novels are terrible! If you aren't familiar with Ms. Abrams, she is a former Georgia state house rep and current voting rights activist largely credited with registering black voters in Georgia to swing that state in the 2020 presidential election. Plus, we've read a lot of books by right-wing conservatives and were curious about authors on the other side of the political spectrum.

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode includes discussion of: general action-movie levels of violence, child abuse, infidelity, religious cults, and brief sexuality.

Callirhoe is considered to be the earliest surviving written romance in Western history and it is said to have popularized a lot of the common tropes of the genre that now haunt us mercilessly.

However, since neither of us know much about ancient Greek fiction, Dr. Jeremy Swist is here today as our Charon to guide us down this Stygian river of ancient romance!

Dr. Swist is also known as the Metal Classicist. He studies classical reception in heavy metal music and teaches Latin and Greek along with Roman and Greek myths and history. He has taught most recently at Xavier University and the University of Texas at San Antonio and is soon to start a new position at Brandeis University in MA. If you're interested in knowing more about Jeremy's research and interviews, you can find him on Twitter as @MetalClassicist or over at his Heavy Metal Classicist Blog

It's 2017. Mother's Day is coming up. You need to sell more fried chicken than ever before.

You are graced with sudden divine inspiration: "What if...what if I hire a ghost writer to create a novella where Colonel Sanders is the sexy love interest and sell it with the buckets of chicken!?"

Unbelievably, this is indeed the world we live in - Yum! Brands really did this for KFC in 2017. Even more unfathomably, this ghost written corporate marketing scheme of a book was just about as satisfying as KFC's primary output.

Author Alex Donahue asked us to read his children's book about two young boys living on Prince Edward Island during the tail end of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. Alex hoped we'd be surprised by his book and, well, we certainly were in some ways.

Leon & Chris has a lovely cover and a solid core story that handles serious topics with a genuinely sweet, childlike tone. However, its potential is diminished by some tedious sections and mechanical writing errors. This could be a great book for young readers once it's refreshed with a serious edit.

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode includes discussion of: bullying, the Great Depression, orphans, starvation, and war.

The inevitable has happened: we heeded the cries of friends and listeners and read a book from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

Special thanks to Twitter user @laughterbynight for hooking us up with a copy!

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode contains discussion of blood, injury, death, stalking/abusive relationships, and vampires.

Our Patron Lucek requested that we read You're Going to Mars! for an extra special birthday edition of a patron's choice episode. Happy birthday, Lucek! As for the book, well - it's a McDonald's chicken sandwich.

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode discusses death, slavery, space, and stabbing.

If you, too, would like to force us to read a book (or other written ephemera), head over to our Patreon and select the $10/month tier to fast-track your book of choice to an upcoming episode!

Our Patron Miri requested that we read the legendary German post-modernist play, Die Hamletmachine and also watch a film adaptation of it. You can watch us react in real-time to the film version on our Patreon.

Due to the depths of madness that this piece took us to and the fact that neither of us are thespians, we invited local Boston theater director, actor, and all-around hilarious and glorious human Mary Parker on the show today to guide us through Hamletmachine!

You can hear day-time Mary on Eureka's Sounds of Science, the podcast she makes for her actual job. Conversely, you can opt to hear after-hours Mary on the Book #51: Against the Odds episode of Sweet Valley Diaries.

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today's episode makes mention of cancer, incest, misogyny, murder, sexual assault, and socialist Germany.

If you, too, would like to force us to read a book (or other written ephemera), head over to our Patreon and select the $10/month tier to fast-track your book of choice to an upcoming episode!

We read The 1776 Report - you know, that weird American history summary that the Trump Administration released on MLK Jr. Day.

What could possibly go wrong when 24 people have two months to cram hundreds of years of American history into 20 pages?

Content Warnings: Our usual barnyard language, plus: political discussion & racism. It is impossible to discuss this report without also discussing politics and racism, so if you do not want to engage with these topics at the moment, please listen to this episode another time or never!

You are about to enter the Courtroom of Judge Meatball Sub and Judge Veggie Delight with Egg. The authors are real. The stories are not. The rulings are not exactly final. This is TBC Porn Court.

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today we're reviewing erotica and that will include discussions of centaur-and-human sex and small penis humiliation.

Our patron Dari requested that we read this. If you, too, would like to force us to read a book, head over to our Patreon and select the $10/month tier to fast-track your book of choice to an upcoming episode!

We have finally heeded the call of numerous listeners and read one of Onision's books. This week, we discuss his third book from 2018, Reaper's Creek.

Topline takeaways: (1) this work needs extensive plot re-development and technical editing not just from the author himself, but from hired professionals and (2) the author needs to deal more maturely with nuanced, serious topics like child abuse, murder, and sexual assault.

Content Warnings: Alien abduction, child abuse, gore, negative depictions of neurodivergent folks, stabbing, and paedophilia