Bad news: A Werewolf in Riverdale by Caleb Roehrig is not a tie-in to the CW show Riverdale, but rather to the town of Riverdale from the Archie comics. Well–from the Archie Horror comics. Good news: we once again teamed up with J. and Collision from I Don’t Even Own a Television to tackle the big questions raised by this novel, most importantly: did you know that Jughead’s little hat is called a “whoopee cap,” and when Jughead transforms into a werewolf, does he still wear his whoopee cap?

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “The Weird History of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa” by Avery Kaplan

“A Feud in Wolf-Kink Erotica Raises a Deep Legal Question” by Alexandra Alter

I Don’t Even Own a Television #146 – The Day Before (Riverdale prequel novel)

I Don’t Even Own a Television #157 – Resident Evil II: Caliban Cove (featuring Kait & Renata)

Candy Pairing:  Collision says a Hershey bar when he expected a Mr. Goodbar, Jay says Laffy Taffy, Kait says cold French fries, Renata says a hamburger when she ordered a milkshake.

Coming up next: Flashback Summer Super-Special Edition!

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

We like X-Men. Our guest Anna (@lcarslibrarian) likes Star Trek. So we thought it would be fun to read the Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men crossover novel Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman. But it turns out that this exhausting crossover novel spends most of its time focused on a new character who isn’t particularly connected to either franchise. Set your phasers for “none” and don’t read this book!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Episode 49 – X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song

Episode 50 – X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Tsunkatse (Star Trek Voyager episode feat Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson)

Candy Pairing:  Anna says earl grey macarons, Kait says X-Men ice cream, Renata says mixed Jelly Bellies.

Coming up next: A Werewolf in Riverdale by Caleb Roehrig.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

When the going gets tough, the tough get to reading cozy cat mysteries. We read The Fast and the Furriest by Sofie Ryan, the story of a small coastal town plagued with murder and antiquers. Our opinions were split–Renata liked the cat but not the murder, Kait liked the murder but not the cat, and Duarte just hopes that feline detectives are paid a fair wage. Listen to this episode at a safe social distance from any murderers and/or antiquers!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Flashback Summer Featuring…You?

“Crime-Solving Cats And Cozy Mysteries Are A Publishing Juggernaut” by Hillary Kelly

Candy Pairing:  Kait says a cup of tea, Renata says Annie’s fruit snacks.

Coming up next: Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Katharine McGee’s novel American Royals dares to ask: what if the United States had a royal family? And what if the modern-day American royal children were a little bit horny? The Bellwether Friends, Anna and Alene, joined us to discuss this book’s baffling structure, insufficient world-building, and potential Wawa sponsorship.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Bellwether Friends #113 – ABBAsode

Royal Romance: 13 Stories Of Everyday People Who Fall In Love With Royalty by Ann Foster

Red Fox James on Wikipedia

Candy Pairing:  Alene says Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (from Wawa), Anna says a Disney Princess Candy Fan, Kait says old timey penny candy, Renata says a caramel apple.

Coming up next: The Fast and the Furriest by Sofie Ryan.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

We’ve been reading too much frivolous lady fiction around here, so we had to make time to read a Serious Book by an Important White Man. Our guest Amy used her human skills of persuasion to get us to read Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Finally, someone has dared to ask the questions: what if robots could have emotions and also working penises and also what if the UK had lost the Falklands War?

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “Archana and Chandni” by Iona Datt Sharma

“Ian McEwan: ‘Who’s Going to Write the Algorithm for the Little White Lie?'” by Tim Adams

“In McEwan’s Latest, The ‘Machine’ Is Too Much Like You” by Heller McCalpin

Candy Pairing:  Amy says Fry’s Turkish Delight, Kait says a potato battery, Renata says Mystery Airheads.

Coming up next: American Royals by Katharine McGee.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Hey girl, guess what? Your life could be way better than it is right now if you just believed in yourself and also married a high-up Disney executive! Definitely mostly the first thing though. We were joined by Margaret H. Willison (1/2 of Two Bossy Dames, 1/3 of Appointment Television, and one of Pop Culture Happy Hour‘s 4th chairs) to discuss Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, a Christian self-help book that misleadingly contained no skin care advice whatsoever.

Readers advisory: Here.

Transcript: Here.

Footnotes: Rachel Hollis on Jen Hatmaker

Rosie Perez on Bullseye

Girl, Wash Your Face on By the Book

Candy Pairing:  Kait says an Oreo while crying, Margaret says leftover Christmas candy, Renata says a cheese plate.

Coming up next: Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

We invited Rebecca Mahoney, co-writer of The Bridge podcast and author of the upcoming YA novel The Valley and the Flood, to be a guest on our new podcast, My Least Favorite Murder. We read novelist Patricia Cornwell’s ambitiously-titled true crime book Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper–Case Closed. Listen now to hear more than you ever wanted to know about a famous painter’s penis!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: A new Ripper mystery: Why Patricia Cornwell won’t stop hunting him by Mary Wakefield

“Whitechapel mural will celebrate the lives of Jack the Ripper’s victims” by Alison Flood

“Historian speaks of ‘constant trolling’ over Jack the Ripper book” by Mark Brown

Sawbones #151 – The Royal Fistula Fad

Sawbones #245 – Medical Illustration

Bear Brook podcast

The Fall Line podcast

In the Dark podcast

Candy Pairing:  Kait says gruel, Rebecca says bachelorette party penis pops, Renata says ginger chews.

Coming up next: Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

As a belated Valentine to ourselves, we invited our friend Angie Manfredi (@MissKubelik), editor of The Other F-Word, back on the show to read a Best Bestseller. We read Scythe by Neal Shusterman, a twisty YA utopia-ish where death is optional and the cloud is your friend. This episode does contain full spoilers for a book that we sincerely recommend reading, so maybe hold off on listening if you’ve been meaning to read Scythe? Or listen to the episode now–in the age of mortality, life is short.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes:

Angie sent me this clip from an interview with Neal Shusterman before we recorded but the actual article seems to have disappeared from the internet???

Four Questions for Neal Shusterman

Candy Pairing: Angie says whatever candy you like best, Kait says a box of chocolates with one poisoned one, Renata says Dippin Dots.

Coming up next: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper–Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

To ease ourselves back into reading garbage after our winter break, we had returning guest Christine join us for another book by Our Lady Nora Roberts. This time around, we read Midnight Bayou, a Louisiana love story for the ages between a man and home renovations. You’re going to have to turn your volume way up if you want to listen to this episode over all that Mardi Gras ruckus!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “Welcome to Noraville, the Small Maryland Town Rebuilt by Nora Roberts” by Esther Wang

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books – Renovation Romances

Candy Pairing:  Christine says rum candy, Kait says a French 75, Renata says beignets.

Coming up next: Scythe by Neal Shusterman.

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Tune in to our Bests & Worsts of 2019 episodes to hear us discuss these titles and read excerpts from our favorites! Please note:

5.) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

4.) Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

3.) A Light Amongst Shadows (Dark is the Night Series) by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

2.) Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

1.) The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

5.) Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

4.) Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

3.) Thick and Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

2.) My Life as a Goddess by Guy Branum (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

1.) Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

5.) The Life of Melody by Mari Costa (Kickstarter)

4.) Sheets by Brenna Thummler (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

3.) Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

2.) The White Trees by Chip Zdarsky, Kristofer Anka, & Matt Wilson (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

1.) Crowded by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Triona Farrell, & Cardinal Rae (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

An excerpt from Crowded (click to embiggen)!

War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery by The McElroys & André Lima Araújo (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

5.) Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North & Derek Charm (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

4.) Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki & Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

3.) This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

2.) The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

1.) New Kid by Jerry Craft (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)

An excerpt from New Kid (click to embiggen)!

Doctor Strange, Vol. 3: Herald, by Mark Waid, Barry Kitson, Scott Koblish, & Brian Reber (Amazon | Trident Booksellers)