Our friend Alayne joins us this week to talk about Half His Age, the debut novel by Jennette McCurdy, the Nickolodeon child star and author of the popular memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. 

We all loved her memoir, so we had high hopes coming into this one. Can she deliver? 

Trigger warning for mentions of sexual assault

Spoilers from 25 mins

We discuss the latest book by one of the most famous literary authors in America, George Saunders. This latest, Vigil, discusses political and philosophical issues that are extremely relevant right now.... and it comes up with some pretty disappointing conclusions. 

Spoilers from 10 mins

This week, in honor of Black History Month and Valentine's Day, we're talking about cultural critic and influential academic bell hooks, and one of her more famous books, All About Love. 

We discuss what we liked in these essays and what we didn't, what we knew about bell hooks going in, and what we think of her now, and much more. 

No spoilers this week

This week we're talking about the last book Jane Goodall wrote before her death, The Book of Hope. We discuss her inspiring presence as a human, where this book hits and where it misses, and the nature of hope in horrible times like these in early 2026. 

Here is the video about the two men who planted 10,000 trees in Yeli village

No real spoilers in this one

This week we talk about Lost Lambs, a multi-POV funny family book that's actually funny! We both loved the vibes and the characters, and we both had some quibbles with the plot and the ending. 

Spoilers from 20 mins

This week we're talking about the North American continent's latest pop culture obsession, Heated Rivalry! 

If you know you know, and if you don't know, then you should know that this book (and our discussion of it) has graphic mentions of sex. 

Spoiler from 23 mins

We discuss The Future Saints, by thriller/romance writer Ashley Winstead, a Daisy Jones-esque novel that is primarily about grief. We talk about the parts we really liked and all the missed opportunities along the way. 

Trigger warning for mention of self-harm

Spoilers from 26 mins

This week, we discuss The Unworthy, the latest novel from the author of Tender Is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica. We talk about religion and cults, apocalypses, crazy people--you know, 2026 stuff. 

This is a short book with a weird structure, so spoilers pretty much from the jump

This week we discuss the supernatural mystery Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, by Kylie Lee Baker. We both liked a lot of this book, but not quite everything. 

Spoilers from 22 mins

Special guest Sonya joins to discuss Kim Liggett's The Grace Year, a dystopian, possibly magical realism, horror novel about the strictures of the patriarchy. We all loved the themes and message, but got a little lost with some of the logistics. 

You can find Dacey's hand-drawn map here