Book Club For Masochists: A Readers Advisory Podcast

Yee-haw! Episode 29 has us reading Westerns! We discuss whether Westerns need cowboys, if stories featuring Mounties count as Westerns (maybe?), the idea of black hats and white hats, and Mr. Coffee Nerves! Plus: Matthew shows his ignorance of US history and everything rural. You can download the podcast directly, find it  on Libsyn, or get it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Recommended The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout True Grit by Charles Portis The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt Far Out & Far Out 2 (in French) by Gautier Langevin and Olivier Carpentier Did Not Finish Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Riders of The Purple Sage by Zane Grey Links and Stuff The Lone Ranger Matthew’s pretty sure he watched this version. The space western BraveStarr in action Lucky Luke by Morris (and others) (Belgian Comic) The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt Firefly and Serenity The most rec

While we planned on talking about all the non-bookclub stuff we read, this turned out to be an Accidental Romance episode! We talk about romances in video games, romance novels (both bad and good), romance manga, and movies we watch with our partners. Plus: Meaghan really loves bicycles. (That counts as a romance, right?) In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Things mentioned (in order of appearance) Persona 5 (Recommended) Rain World Stardew Valley Red Dead Redemption While the World Is Still Asleep (The Century Trilogy #1) by Petra Durst-Benning, translated by Edwin Miles Every Cyclist's Guide To Canadian Law by Craig Forcese and Nicole LaViolette Ultralight Bike Touring and Bikepacking: The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Cycling Adventures by Justin Lichter and Justin Kline A Guide to Falling Down in Public: Finding Balance On And Off The Bicycle by Joe Kurmaskie This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself by Juliana Buhring (Recommended) Not W

In this episode, Non-Fiction Audiobooks! Join us as we discuss the power of narrators, the problems of technology, and what to do while you’re listening to an audiobook. Also: We actually enjoy things! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule, narrated by Michele Pawk (6 hr edition, which Jessi listened to) or narrated by Barbara Caruso (19 hour edition, if you prefer unabridged) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, narrated by Scott Brick Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age by Cory Doctorow, narrated by Wil Wheaton Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North by Blair Braverman, narrated by the author Read/Listened The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin by Bob Harper and Greg Critser The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth about Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker, narrated by Chris Patton Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret So

Our attempt to be super efficient in deciding the winner of Print vs. Digital and Library vs. Owning fails. We read off a bunch of Chuck Tingle ebook titles, so if our listeners might have small children in earshot...just maybe consider not. Seriously. UBC archives a pizza box (see link in the notes). Libraries have so many great things, you all! Finally, we end by discussing eating vs. consuming of library materials. Don’t eat library materials! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Books & Magazines (which we’ve read) The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum (I think this was the one I read, it’s here on Project Gutenberg  - Matthew) Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (2003...I was sure I read this earlier, you can download it for free here - Matthew) Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow Red Moon by Benjamin Percy Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Psychology Today Scientific American Mind New Scientist Nintendo Power (Wikipedia) Library Resources Adobe D

In this (long) episode, Detective Fiction! Join us as we discuss our (least) favorite detectives, inspectors, and PIs in fiction. Also: the problem of pronouncing author names without ever having heard them out loud before, to read in series order or not, all the formats and mediums we can “read” in (Yay!), detective TV versus detective novels, and how much like a P.I are you? In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson, art by Brittney Williams, colors by Sarah Stern The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime edited by Michael Sims Death in the Vines by M. L. Longworth The City & The City by China Miéville The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham City of Glass: The Graphic Novel adapted by Paul Karasik from a novella by Paul Auster, art by David Mazzucchelli Read Still Life by Louise Penny She Devil in the Mirror by Horacio Castellanos Moya, translated by Katherine Silver Seduction of the Innocent by

This episode we tackle the genre of...wait? What do you mean there’s no genre? We have to read things that aren’t for the book club?! I guess somehow we have time to consume other media outside of our book club picks! If you’re curious about what we read/listen/watch/play when we’re not way outside of our comfort zone, then listen along for a run down of what we’ve been into since the beginning of the 2017. We talk superhot sidekick guys in mystery tv shows, sharing the same haircut with friends, planes, trains, and automobiles, too much snow in Canada (or at least in Vancouver), and Jessi getting scared by her cat. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Books In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri (recommended) The Blue Castle  by L.M. Montgomery The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter The complete Long Earth series (at least the first couple are recommended for Discworld fans) Apartment Therapy: Complete and Happy Home by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Janel Laban (recom

This episode we tackle (and get distracted repeatedly from) the genre of Non-Fiction Romance, Relationships, and Dating books. We discuss what’s it like reading a book about dating when you’re in a committed relationship, the difficulties of finding books about alternative relationships, and whether or not we’d date people who hate reading. Plus! A rant about the lack of diversity in the publishing industry.  Welcome to all of our new listeners from Bustle! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg The Secret Loves of Geek Girls edited by Hope Nicholson It's Not You: 27 (Wrong) Reasons You're Single by Sara Eckel Other Books She's Just Not That Into You: The Fab Femme's Guide to Queer Love and Dating by Aryka Randall Love's Refraction: Jealousy and Compersion in Queer Women's Polyamorous Relationships by Jillian Deri If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run!: Whoopi's Big Book of Relationships by Whoopi Goldberg Th

In our first non-genre episode for 2017 we take on Planning and Tracking Your Reading! We discuss if (and how) we track our reading, how we plan what to read in the future, and reading challenges. Plus: A kitty! In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Notes ‘n’ Things The reading spreadsheet Anna tried to use in 2016 - pretty much identical to what Brenna Clarke shared at the RA in a Day 2015 as her tracking spreadsheet The reading spreadsheet Anna’s going to try to use in 2017 includes her planning on sheet 1 and her tracking process on sheet 2. Brenna Clarke Gray’s reading tracking spreadsheet for 2016 Goodreads Librarything Bibliocommons Vancouver Public Library 2016 staff reading challenge Article about Brenna Clarke Gray’s presentation at BCLA RAIG in 2015 Blogpost breaking down Matthew’s graphic novel reading in 2015 Pottermore Meghan’s blog post about Reading Resolutions A huge list of 2017 reading challenges Books and Comics We Mentioned: Space: Punisher by Frank

In our first genre for 2017 we take on Coming-of-Age books! We discuss whether coming-of-age needs to be about teenagers, whether it needs to be fiction, and what happens if characters never age. Plus: Alliterative authors, our inability to pronounce the word bildungsroman (among other words…), and a brand new type of audio problem. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan E. Coyote The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson Binti by Nnedi Okorafor Lucky Penny by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota Read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Did Not Finish Ham on Rye  by Charles Bukowski Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Wizard of Earthsea  by Ursula K. Le Guin Other Books Mentioned The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger M

In our one hour and 22 minute long Best of 2016 episode we talk about our favourite reads from the past year, what it even means for a book to be “best”, how we are not very good at tracking our reading, and what to read when you’re on painkillers. [Our apologies for the sound quality (as usual), someday we’ll get everything to work perfectly.]  [Also, we're now on Stitcher and Google Play!] In this episode  Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi  Favourites from things we read for the Book Club  Fiction Anna: His Majesty’s Dragon - Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik (Historical Fantasy) Runner up: A Short History of Indians in Canada: Stories by Thomas King (Aboriginal/Indigenous/First Nations) Jessi: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Historical Fantasy) Matthew: The Girl With Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson (Historical Fantasy) And Ride a Mule the short story set after the novel Runner up: The excerpt of Red Spider White Web by Misha Nogha from Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indige

In this 1 hour and 25 minute episode of our podcast/never-ending quest to become better library staff we talk about Weird and New Weird Fiction! We have a few audio problems this time out (blame Matthew), but we don’t let that stop us discussing the difference between Weird and New Weird, how to make everything about ghost stories, whether you need elements of the fantastic to be considered “Weird”, and existential dread. Plus: Our special guest Jon (who’s getting his PhD in Weird Fiction) drops big words like Oneiric and talks about things like the paradox of aversion, so be ready for that. You can download the podcast on Libsyn, or get it through iTunes or your favourite podcast delivery system.   In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer 3 Strange Tales by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Uzumaki, vol. 1 by Junji Ito (graphic novel) A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates Age of Blight: Stories by Kristine Ong Muslim My Work i

In the newest episode of our podcast/never-ending quest to become better library staff we talk about Philosophy books! Who are we? Why are we here? Why do we podcast? Plus: Dead white men we find boring, Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers, and books we didn’t finish reading (as usual). In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Recommended The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Michael Patton and Kevin Cannon Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton Supervillains and Philosophy edited by Ben Dyer   Read Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics by Margreet de Heer Did Not Finish Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein African Philosophy: The Essential Readings by Tsenay Serequeberha Illuminations: Essays and Reflections by Walter Benjamin (Recommended) Other Books Mentioned The Fall o

In this very “insider-baseball” episode we discuss Metafiction! What is it? Who is it for? Why should you read it? Plus: Children’s books that help kids figure out what’s real and what isn’t, comic books with a lot of bondage, and marginalia written by library patrons. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi Recommended No Bears by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge This is My Book by Mick Inkpen We’re in the Wrong Book by Richard Byrne Logicomix: An epic search for truth by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou,illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna Opus by Satoshi Kon Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour, translated by Sara Khalili Gen13: Magical Drama Queen Roxy by Adam Warren Empowered by Adam Warren Read Redshirts by John Scalzi The End (almost) by Jim Benton Multiversity by Grant Morrison and various artists Did Not Finish The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino, translated

Join us for this super special bonus episode featuring the full version of our conversation with Jessi about Supernatural and Paranormal Nonfiction. Your hosts in this episode Jessi| Matthew Murray Recommendations Haunted Hotels by Jo-Anne Christensen National Geographic Ultimate Guide to Supernatural Places: Close Encounters, Haunted Houses, and Other Spooky Hot Spots Around the World by Sarah Bartlett Ghosts: A Haunted History by Lisa Morton Did Not Finish Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown by Ryan Buell and Stefan Petrucha The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Paranormal by Nathan Robert Brown Other Books Mentioned Wood Spirits and Green Men by Lora S. Irish, Chris Pye, and Shawn Cipa The Oxford Book of the Supernatural by D.J. Enright Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching for Proof by Roger Clarke Links and Things Lone Pine Publishing’s lists of all of the ghost books that they publish Krasue One of the SE Asian ghosts t

Just in time to miss Halloween, this episode has us reading Supernatural and Paranormal Non-fiction. And by “reading” we mean “not reading”, as several of us fail to finish any books. Thankfully, we can blame everything on gremlins. Plus wolfmen, ghosts, mermaids, dramatic readings, and special guests.   Your hosts this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Inti Dewey |  Jessi Recommended (thanks entirely to Jessi) Ghosts: A Haunted History by Lisa Morton National Geographic Ultimate Guide to Supernatural Places by Sarah Bartlett Haunted Hotels by Jo-Anne Christensen The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Paranormal by Nathan Robert Brown Read Yurei: The Japanese Ghost by Zack Davisson The Little Book of True Ghost Stories by Echo Bodine Mermaids 101: Exploring the Magical Underwater World of the Merpeople by Doreen Virtue Did Not Finish On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids by D

This episode we take on the genre of Self Help, and are decidedly unenthused. We talk about reading what was on our parents' book shelves, books filled with terrible advice, and the fact that even if the advice in a book is good we're probably just going to ignore it. Your hosts in this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Jessi | Matthew Murray Recommended Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte The Diva Rules by Michelle Visage Read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin Happiness by Joan Duncan Oliver She’s Just Not Into You by Aryka Randall He Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo Did Not Finish Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown Other Titles Mentioned Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō, translated by Cathy Hirano It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken by Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt

This episode we tackle a fantasy genre for the first time and once again ponder the question “How much history do you really want in your historical [genre]?” We encounter a lot of ghosts and westerns, but not nearly enough luchadores, wonder how steampunk fits into Historical Fantasy, and discuss the importance of research, the appeal of setting, and how authentic we should expect historical fiction to be in regards to race and gender. Plus: We say goodbye to Amanda :’( Your Hosts This Episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray Recommended Hellboy in Mexico by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Comic) (Recommended) Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente The Girl With Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson Vermilion by Molly Tanzer The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke His Majesty’s Dragon - Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle Read The Bone Collector’s Son by

This episode we take on books about Spies and Espionage, which meant extra painful reading for Anna. We tackle topics like how to pronounce John Le Carré’s name, if the Cold War is necessary for the spy-espionage genre, how to use Novelist to read diversely, whether we need a “Badass Women” subject heading, if spy novels are fundamentally boring, what to do when authors don’t write their own books, and if it ever hurts to call officers “dude”. Your Hosts This Episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Amanda Wanner Recommended Clementine by Cherie Priest Your Republic is Calling You by Young-Ha Kim, translated by Chi-Young Kim Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley League of Unexceptional Children by Gitty Daneshvari (Middle Grade) The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton The Bletchley Girls by Tessa Dunlop (Non-Fiction) Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn J. Atwood  (Non-Fiction) Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (YA on the younger side) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (try the audiobook

Our “genre” this month (Zines!) is one that is close to our hearts. We discuss our extensive and not so extensive backgrounds in zine reading and creation, what distinguishes zines from other self-publishing efforts, how Matthew is a big cheater, whether the motivations behind writing zines is different from reading zines, when Amanda and Meghan used to be twins, the best time of day to make a zine, perzines, artzines, wordless zines, and Kirk/Spock fan fiction. Your Hosts This Episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Amanda Wanner Zines Read (in order of appearance): Never Finish Grad School Skillshot Taking the Lane #1, #2, #9 by Elly Blue Culinary Cyclist (zine?!) Fix your clothes by Raleigh Briggs Fashion (We couldn’t find it in the catalogue!) Great Chicken Escape by Nikki McClure Eggheads by Rick Quemado Puddles of Cute by Leda Zawacki Samurai Dreams #6 Velo Vixen #1, #2 by Rachel Krause Long Distance #1 by Sassy Fran Circus Dropping out for Students by Cavegirl He/Her/Him Free/Frer/Frim b

Our genre this month (Religious Fiction) demands we take a look at what makes a book count as "religious fiction" (instead of just fiction about religion). Plus in our one hour and 48 minute episode, Meghan reads too many books (as usual), Amanda explains Sex Magicks, Matthew makes terrible jokes, and Anna fails to finish anything. BIG spoiler for the graphic novel Therefore, Repent! by Jim Munroe and Salgood Sam. Your Hosts This Episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Amanda Wanner Recommended: The Harem by Safia Fazlul (Muslim) Godless but Loyal to Heaven by Richard Van Camp (Dogrib [Tlicho] Dene) Les vacances de Jésus et Bouddha/Saint Young Men (Christian/Buddhist) (Manga/Comic not available in English due to weird reasons - see paragraph 2) Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (Christian) A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick (Philip K. Dickianism) Creature Tech by Doug TenNapel (Christian) (Comic/Graphic Novel) Read: Therefore, Repent! by Jim Munroe, illustrated by Salgood Sam (Christi