Booked.

EPILOGUE

In which we say goodbye.

Steven Hall Interview

Here it is! An interview with one of our long-time favorite authors, and a bucket list interview for the podcast, Mr. Steven Hall! Enjoy!

Maxwell's Demon by Steven Hall

We're very excited to bring you a review of the upcoming (in the US) Steven Hall book Maxwell's Demon! We've been anticipating this book for a while, and in a first for the podcast, we've actually both read the book two times before talking about it! 

In our next episode, we got Steven to join us for a little over an hour of discussion about Maxwell's Demon, The Raw Shark Texts, and some exciting television projects that hopefully we'll get to see sooner than later! That episode will be available in just a week, so be sure to come back! 

The Paradox Twins by Joshua Chaplinsky

As promised, here is our review of The Paradox Twins by Joshua Chaplinsky! This is our first chance to crack into some fiction by Josh, though he has previously published Kanye West - Reanimator, and Whispers in the Ear of a Dreaming Ape. Based on how much we liked this book, his other work has jumped up on the TBR pile. The busy schedule of a book reviewer, I tell ya. 

Coming soon to the podcast: A review of Maxwell's Demon by Steven Hall, AND an interview with Steven Hall. Those are fully locked in. Beyond that, we're in talks to get another author on. It's not verified yet, but... I WANT TO BELIEVE.

Truly Like Lightning by David Duchovny

We're back with another book review, and this time, we're back to our usual format of timely reviews. While we're a few weeks behind, we're excited to bring you our thoughts on the latest book by our close friend David Duchovny! So here it is, our review of Truly Like Lightning.

Winkie by Clifford Chase

We're back with our final (for now) throwback book! Winkie, by Clifford Chase, was released in 2007, and is a pretty unique book, in as much as the main plot is that of a sentient teddy bear that is accused of being a very prolific terrorist bomber. 

We had both enjoyed reading this book back when it was released, and it's resurfaced for us over the years, so we thought we would share it with our listeners, and hope you enjoy it too. 

Coming up! We're back to reading recently released books, with Truly Like Lightning by podcast friend David Duchovny!

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

We are back with a review of one of our long-time favorite books/authors. This is one of the books that Robb and Livius bonded over before this podcast was a gleam in our eyes (yikes, that conjures disturbing images of the podcast's creation). After the review, we discuss the film adaptation The Ninth Gate, and some other books by Perez-Reverte. 

Next episode, we've been threatening it for some time, and now it's happening! Winkie by Clifford Chase is our next book, as well as the next episode you'll get to hear! 

The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger

After nearly a decade of talking about books, we finally dig in to a discussion of one of our all-time favorites, The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger. While technically it is a review, I think we all know this is going to come out pretty well for Craig. We only hope that we did the story justice, and that we inspire people to check it out, because as we say in the episode, it's a pretty perfect book.

After the book talk, we spend some time catching up on the things that we've been watching.

Next episode is another blast from the past, as we talk about The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.

The People's Act of Love by James Meek

We're back with a Patreon pick! Here's Jesse's Patreon pick for the year, The People's Act of Love by James Meek! It's a bleak tale of life and love in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Cannibals? Yep. Soldiers? Yep. Sex? Kinda. Castrated zealots? Totally. Enjoy the review! 

At the end of the episode, we share some important updates about our Patreon account. If you're a supporter, be sure to listen on. Thanks for all your support!

All The Beautiful Sinners by Stephen Graham Jones

After nearly ten years, we finally crack into one of the books that Stephen Graham Jones is best known for - All The Beautiful Sinners. It's the 13th book or story that we've discussed of Stephen's and it's a real tough one to properly discuss, because it's just so huge. But we all loved it - and in some cases revere it - so hopefully at the very least it's an enjoyable talk, even if it doesn't help you understand what happens in this mountain of a story.

We hope that somehow this story piques your interest and you're compelled to check out this book, because it presents a thriller that essentially gets everything right, and still manages to be fresh and entertaining and disturbing all at once.

Stick around after we tell you to keep reading for a quick look at all the things we even forgot to mention. It's pretty entertaining.

The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay

We're back with a review of the re-release of Paul Tremblay's 2009 release The Little Sleep! We always love to read Paul's work, and it was nice taking a trip in the way-back machine to check out some of his early work. After the review, we chat about some exciting upcoming reads, and the dangers of ebook ARCs.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

We're back with our first book review of 2021, and to kick off the year, we decided to try something different, and do a throwback review of sorts. Inspired a bit by Livius having recently watched some James Bond movies, we decided to see how the original Ian Fleming books read, starting with Casino Royale. Will we choose to read more? Tune in to see what we thought of a British spy novel from the 1950s which inspired arguably the biggest spy franchise of the 20th century.

2020 in review

We're back after taking a week away due to a certain crisis playing out in the nation's capitol. We know that 2020 was challenging for us all, and not many people are eager to reflect on it. What we try to do in this episode is touch on the positive points of the podcast for 2020, from interviews to great books, new traditions to new living spaces. So join us for about an hour of talking about the silver linings of 2020, if that's the sort of thing you're in to. Also, look for our quick top five books of 2020 video on our YouTube channel!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

It's our final review of 2020, and I guess the final episode for 2020 as well. Join us as we review what has been called the best book of 2020, and see if we agree with the masses.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and have a safe and fun New Years. We appreciate all of your support over the years - this wouldn't be possible without you. Here's to more book love in 2021!

Office Holiday Party 2020

It's our annual Office Holiday Party! This year, we discuss two modern classic holiday films - Gremlins, and Scrooged! Join Liv, Robb, Misty, and Jesse in a fun movie discussion, a weird quiz, and some general holiday banter. 

And of course, Happy Holidays to everyone who has supported us over the years! You are all wonderful and we're eternally grateful!

Les Edgerton Interview

Here's a little bonus episode for everyone! We managed to get Les Edgerton back on the podcast to talk about his new book Hard Times, and naturally we wander off into a variety of other topics, like his teaching, and planning the perfect crime. Enjoy!

If you're interested in more Edgerton, check out the blog we mention in this interview!

 

524 - Lamb by Christopher Moore

It's the holidays. We could all use some humor in our lives. It was in that spirt that we decided to review the classic Christopher Moore book Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Join us for a chat about one of our favorite books, and if you haven't read it, we think maybe it could become one of your favorite books as well. Check back in a few days for our interview episode with Les Edgerton!

523 - Hard Times by Les Edgerton

We're back with a new Les Edgerton book! Join us on a journey into the life of an impoverished woman who is trying to keep her family alive in dire circumstances, and the crazy people and situations that threaten them. Hopefully next week we'll have Les back on the podcast to talk about it.

522 - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

More books! We're determined to hit our reading goal for the year, so we're not letting off the gas just because it's the holidays, so here's another book. This author made our radar because Livius had recently audiobooked a couple of the author's other books, and wanted to get one on the podcast. Without giving too much away, I'll say that this was the biggest gap in ratings between Liv & Robb probably all year.

521 - Ink by Jonathan Maberry

It's the triumphant return of Livius to his hosting duties! After a very relaxing vacation, Liv is back to talk about the latest Jonathan Maberry book, Ink! Check out our thoughts, and support us on Patreon if you're interested in hearing our spoiler talk about Ink!

520 - Mark Olshaker Interview

Misty Bennett joins Robb again, and this time it's for an excellent hour of discussion with Mark Olshaker. I gotta be honest, we were excited about this one from the moment the pitch landed in our inbox. Mark was an engaging and entertaining guest, and we know you're going to love listening to what he has to say. 

His latest book, The Killer's Shadow, releases 11/17, and we really enjoyed it, so get those pre-orders pre-ordered!

519 - The Killer's Shadow by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Guess what kiddos? We managed to sneak in a book review without Livius! Robb's been itching to even the odds ever since Livius did a couple book reviews without him over the years, and the opportunity finally presented itself in the form of a non-fiction, true crime book, The Killer's Shadow! Long-time holiday cohost Misty Bennett steps in to take over the point to Robb's counterpoint, and absolutely knocks it out of the park. So please enjoy this hour-plus discussion of The Killer's Shadow, and keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Mark Olshaker coming very soon!

518 - Spookedtacular 2020

Here is our uncut, unedited recording of our 2020 Spookedtacular! We talk a whole lot about the Hulu Books of Blood adaptation, there's a quiz, we talk movies and TV shows, haunted houses, and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

 

If you want to see the video version, it's available on our Facebook page.

517 - This Is Horror crossover discussion of They're Watching

It's been hundreds of episodes since we've had a crossover with This Is Horror! I guess we were just looking for a good excuse, and one presented itself. Check out over two and a half hours of discussion about the new book They're Watching, co-authored by the This Is Horror podcast hosts Bob Pastorella and Michael David Wilson. We also talk about Halloween, the supernatural, interviewing tips and tricks, and more!

 

Feel like checking out This Is Horror? Here are a couple episodes we discussed:

Interview with Chuck Palahniuk

Episode #300

 

And if you're feeling generous, support them on their Patreon as well.

516 - Radicals by Nik Korpon

It's our first audiobook review ever! Join us for a discussion of the latest by Nik Korpon, Radicals! It's a punk rock infused cyber crime adventure from one of our favorite crime writers! We also discuss the experience of audiobooks, and how it impacts preparing for reviews. Also, we explore the podcast Robb is moonlighting on.