Terrible Book Club

This week we discuss another book that Chris found out in the real world at a local book store: a self-help book that's based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

If you've got difficult problems in life and choices to make, just think - What Would Dorothy Do?

Content Warnings: Just our usual barnyard language and a brief mention of sexual assault.

Although not strictly necessary, we recommend listening to these 4 other episodes before starting this one in the following order:

• Episode 11 - Maradonia and the Seven Bridges
• Episode 62 - Maradonia and the Escape from the Underworld
• Episode 63 - Maradonia and the Gold of Ophir
• Episode 86 - The Secret of Moon Lake

This book was chosen by our patron Dari as part of her Patreon reward. If you, too, would like to force us to read a book, head over to our Patreon and select either the $5 or $10/month tier.

Our commentary on the Maradonia movie is available on our Patreon at those tiers as well if you need even more Maradonia content.

Today's book was read at the behest of our patron Ciaran. Thanks so much for supporting the show, Ciaran! Check out our Patreon here to get this and other rewards for yourself.

Sofia Nova is the new identity of Gloria Tesch. Free from her father's direct influence, she has written a new book outside of the world of Maradonia (though with some noticeable carry-over, from mermaids to boys who just love fishing to the art work). While The Secret of Moon Lake isn't something we'd recommend in its current state, this book shows significant improvement over the Maradonia saga. With some re-writes and good editing, this could sit comfortably in the Goosebumps pantheon.

Content Warning: In addition to our usual barnyard language, this episode contains a brief discussion of pedophilia as well as sirens and sounds of arrest at the very beginning.

Our patron Signe bought this book thinking it was written by an author she actually liked - Mark Edwards. Unfortunately, The Woman You Marry was written by Mark A. Edwards.

We're pretty sure that Mark A. Edwards is not a human being but rather a poorly constructed AI who was fed books by the real author Mark Edwards and programmed to write a short story.

Our Patron Signe chose this book as their once-per-year reward! Check out our Patreon here to get this and other rewards for yourself.

Chris's book scouting in the real world yielded today's book, which we didn't totally dislike! It may not be for us, but there's some good writing in here and great character portraits. That being said, it's another heavy episode today so please be prepared for the below content warnings before you embark on the journey of Episode 84.

Content warnings: Today we've got our usual barnyard language, plus: potentially derogatory terms for people with paraplegia, car accidents, sex, paralysis, pregnancy, infidelity, depression, suicide, assault, and bestiality.

Our favorite Antiques Freaks, D & Ken, are back! In ghost form!

We decide that space IS ghosts, have a ghost horse gobble-neighing contest, and try to figure out how the hell this short story from 1910 was ever considered a pre-cursor to Lovecraft.

Get your candles and bad couplets ready - we're goin' Bitchcraftin'!

You can watch a video of us recording this on Twitch until 4/25/2020: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/590324686

We recorded this episode as a live stream on Twitch, so if you want to see AND hear us, you can check it out here: https://www.twitch.tv/terriblebookclub

Our Patron Lynn chose this book as their once-per-year reward! Check out our Patreon here to get this and other rewards for yourself.

Oops! Paris meant to say "denigration" of experts, not "degeneration"

Listener Martin Ford recommended this to us and we had to read it because it seemed so absurd. How could a book like this win a literary award? A book about a librarian having sex with a bear can't possibly be good.

...but it was. This book was actually quite great, all things considered.

Thanks again to Martin for the recommendation!

Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, we're talking about bestiality, emotional trauma, eroticism, sexism, and associated topics.

This week it's 1985 and we're two children in an off-brand "Plot - It - Yourself" horror story. Chris wants to die as quickly as possible while Paris chooses life. Paris's microphone is backwards, Chris can't stop creating new lyrics for a bad 90s song, and we play another round of Power Rangers Monster or Weed Strain?

Content Warnings: Pretty sure we've just got our usual barnyard language for you this week and some mild violence.

Audio quality warning: Chris accidentally positioned Paris's mic backwards so her audio is gonna' be a bit roomier than normal. Sorry!

Many thanks to our friend Doug from the Vintage Burn Podcast for donating this book to the show.