The Satire Fire

Impressive, very nice. But let's hear Paul Allen's podcast intro. We are back with another interlude, this time discussing the American Psycho movie adaptation from 2000! We break down the plot, compare it to the plot of the book, and then spend some time analyzing the themes and discussing the ways it is perhaps better or worse than the book. If you want to hear about the book in more detail, good news! The three part series we just finished was all about it and you can go back and check it out before listening to this episode. Then be sure to come back next week to catch the start of out new series on Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen!

Other stuff discussed this episode:

Normal People by Sally Rooney

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

It's time to finally lay this queen to rest and move on from the fashion diva Pat Bateman! This is our third and final episode on the book American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis and we are using it to discuss the themes of the book, see how they hold up in a modern context, and finally give our personal reviews! Is it too much? Is it a misunderstood masterpiece? Did Sydney hate every second of reading it? Tune in to find out, then come back next week to hear us talk about the 2000 movie adaptation of the book!

Other stuff discussed this episode:

Listening to playlists to fall asleep

Rose City Comic Con

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Get out of my neighborhood ya damn yuppies! It's our second episode of our series on American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and it is time for some context! In this episode we will be talking about the history of the author, the controversy that surrounded this book's release, and what was going on at the time that made this book relevant! We will also be discussing some of the modern context of this book, talking about how critical opinions have shifted and public reception has changed. Then next week we will be analyzing and ranking the book on our list of every satirical book ever written, so tune in again next Sunday!

Other works discussed this episode:

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

The Wishbone Pajama Show tour by Conan Gray

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Have you put on your sunscreen yet today? How about your retinol cream? Your anti-aging anti-wrinkle serum? You should really get on that, god forbid you look your age. This week we are starting our series on American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, a notorious and perhaps even infamous satire of society! For Part 1 we will be talking about the plot of the book, getting you caught up if you haven't read it or if it has been a while since you did. Then next week we will be looking at the context within which this book was written before finally analyzing and reviewing it in Part 3! Until then, be sure to get your money up.

Other works discussed this episode:

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

The Korean corn-dogs in Boston (not a book or anything, we are just fans)

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Personally, we think Al and Schmidt should've kissed. In this interlude week of The Satire Fire we will be discussing Emerald Fennell's debut 2020 film Promising Young Woman! This is a satirical film looking at the harm that women face in their every day lives and the ways the system fails them after they have been harmed. It ties in nicely with the three part series we just finished on Her Body and Other Parties, and sets us up for our next series on American Psycho! We hope you enjoy this one, and we will be excited to see you again next week for our plot summary of the cult classic.

Other works discussed this episode:

Ms. 45 (1981)

Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023)

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

We are ending our time with the powerful short story collection Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado with a discussion on two final stories: "Mothers" and "Difficult at Parties". These two stories deal with the struggle to put things back together after they fall apart, looking at the pain of mourning an abusive relationship in the first and the challenges of intimacy after an assault in the later. After discussing them both we will talk about the collection as a whole, what we liked and what we didn't, before finally answering the question everyone is asking; where does this book fall in the Satire Fire Official Rankings?? Tune in to find out!

Other works discussed this episode:

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean

Normal People by Sally Rooney

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

"Venus in Two Acts" by Saidiya Hartman

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Another week, another set of stories that are tough to be witty about! This week we are continuing our series on Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado by discussing "Real Women Have Bodies" and "Eight Bites", two stories dealing with the beauty standards women face and the resulting harm that befalls them. This is another heavy one so listen at your own discretion! Next week we will be finishing our series on this book with a discussion on "Mothers" and "Difficult at Parties". Surely those aren't also deeply emotional, right?

"When Can a Woman Who Kills Her Abuser Claim Self Defense?" by Rachel Louise Snyder

Other works discussed this episode:

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022)

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Oh boy, time for a doozy! This week we are kicking off our series on the short story collection Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. This series will be a little different than most, where instead of breaking the entire book down over three episodes we will instead be fully exploring only one or two of the short stories for each of the three parts. This week we start with the opening story "The Husband Stitch", a grueling depiction of the entitlement men feel over the lives and bodies of women. We still have fun looking at the plot and context, but do be aware of the content warning at the top! Next week we will be covering "Eight Bites" and "Real Women Have Bodies" and we will be excited to see you again then!

Tulane's Timeline of the History of Sexual Violence in the U.S.

Other works discussed this episode:

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

So, anybody feeling Jello Shots? Or perhaps want to attend a Broadway show? If you're looking for a man who can do both, look no further than the late, great satirist Tom Lehrer! In this episode we break down the interesting life history of Lehrer, as well as examining some of his most popular satirical songs. Was he the Bo Burnham of his time? Is he better at math than us? Was he on a first name basis with multiple rappers or only the one? Tune in to find out, then come back next week when we start our series on Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado!

Other works discussed this episode:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!

Your two favorite public library supporters are back to finish our series on Kirsten Miller's book Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books! In Part 1 we summarized the plot of the book, in Part 2 we discussed the context behind the book, and now in Part 3 we will be using what we have learned to analyze, rate, and rank this book! After that we will be leaving this fantasy world of book banning behind and entering the real world where surely we have solved that problem by now, right?

Donate to Little Free Libraries

Other works discussed this episode:

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Bite Me by Renee Rapp

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Want to support our podcast and a local bookstore? Check out our page on Bookshop.org to pick up any book we cover on the show, or our personal favorites!