The Dust Jacket

This week we discuss the buzzy new mystery, The Ending Writes Itself. We talk about its strong start, weak ending, and why the story of how it was written might be more interesting than the novel itself. 

Spoilers from 20 mins

First-time guest Bryn joins us to discuss O Sinners!, by Nicole Cuffy, a book about a cult that we all agreed has a bunch of interesting threads, but never quite weaves them together. 

Spoilers from 45 mins

This week we discuss the latest Weird Woman novel we've read: A Good Person, by Kirsten King. If you liked Victorian Psycho, Sky Daddy, All Fours, Yellowface, etc, check this one out.

For more on Nico's beef with Dwight Garner, check out our episode on Vigil, by George Saunders. 

Warning, this episode does include non-specific mentions of sexual assault. 

Spoilers from 26 mins

This week we're talking about Cebo Campbell's speculative dystopian/utopian novel, Sky Full of Elephants. 

A mysterious event suddenly causes all of America's white people to drown themselves. Without them, Black Americans create a utopian society. 

The story follows Charlie as he tracks down his half-white daughter and gets to the bottom of what caused the event in the first place. 

Spoilers from 23 mins

This is a truly weird and disgusting book. Don't listen to this ep with kids or if you are sensitive to graphic descriptions of sex and violence. 

No spoiler tag this ep--there's not too much to spoil. 

It's also a zoom ep, so excuse the sound in places. 

We discuss the popular 2025 cozy romance, First Time Caller, by BK Borison, including the pitfalls of formulaic books. 

Spoilers from 34 mins

This week, we've got special guest Kate back to help us talk about the 2025 Booker Prize winner, Flesh. We'll talk about unemotional male main characters, the Booker Prize and its questionable history, and a sordid scandal about the novel itself. 

Spoilers from 24 mins

We're returning to another favorite read on the occasion of its screen adaptation. This time the hilarious and very charming Margo's Got Money Troubles, by Rufi Thorpe. 

This was one of Nico's top reads of 2024. Dacey is less enthusiastic but comes around after listening to the audiobook. 

Spoilers from 20 mins in

Caleb joins Nico to talk about The Strength of the Few, the second book in James Islington's Hierarchy series. Some serious nerd shit. 

No Dacey this week :(

Spoilers from 14 mins

This week we discuss The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt, a 2011 darkly comic western, and one of the first book we read together when it first came out. It's also one of Nico's favorite books... 

Spoilers from 12 mins