Overdue

A podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. Updates Mondays.

Overdue is a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. Join Andrew and Craig each week as they tackle a new title from their backlog. Classic literature, obscure plays, goofy murder mysteries: they'll read it all, one overdue book at a time.

 

The Sillymarillion Episode 1 - A Shortcut to Ilúvatar (J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion)

For this show-within-a-show, Craig and Andrew learned about the world of Middle-Earth by reading J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously published legendarium THE SILMARILLION.

In the beginning, Eru Ilúvatar created the heaven and the earth, primarily by watching his child-angels have an epic sing-off. And Melkor was there singing bad stuff, but Ilúvatar was like "no matter how bad you sing I can always make it a part of the awesome world I am building."

Anyway, this episode is about perhaps the most biblical part of the Hobbit Bible, where a god-like figure creates the world and casts out one of his followers who thinks he's good enough to challenge god himself. Also: the Dwarves are created, and the Elves wake up.

This episode posted first for our Patreon supporters in June 2025. If you want to hear our current longread project TOKYO DRIFTERS (and a bunch of other stuff besides), visit Patreon.com/overduepod.

The reading list:

Ep 1 - Ainulindale, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion Ch 1-3

Ep 2 - Quenta Silmarillion Ch 4-10

Ep 3 - Quenta Silmarillion Ch 11-16

Ep 4 - Quenta Silmarillion Ch 17-20

Ep 5 - Quenta Silmarillion Ch 21-24

Ep 6 - Alkallabeth, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, Appendices

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.

Ep A02 - Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (Annotated)

Our stroll down memory lane continues this week, but we come provisioned with Present-Day Overdue research and context. This week, 2026 Andrew and Craig talk about Mary Shelley and the legacy of her most famous work while 2013 Andrew and Craig deal primarily with the story, including the titular Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. (Even past us knew that Frankenstein is the doctor, okay??). Also please bear with 2013 us as we discuss artificial intelligence with no knowledge of where we'd be in 2026.

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.

Ep A01 - Dune, by Frank Herbert (Annotated)

We're revisiting our past this month, adding Present-Day Overdue research and context to a few old episodes that didn't have them. This week, 2026 Andrew and Craig talk about Frank Herbert and the extended Dune-iverse while 2013 Andrew and Craig do their best to talk about the book. 

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.

Special Collections: Twilight (2008)

This isn't a belated April Fool's joke. We really did watch the movie Twilight, and we're really here to talk about it. Why are Edward and Bella SO strange? How is it that all of the side characters come off as more human than they do in the books? Why is the vampire running like that??

Sometimes over on the Patreon (patreon.com/overduepod) we discuss movies and TV under the Special Collections banner. Join us to find out what we thought about the first appearance of the Minions, for instance.

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.

Sit Me Baby One More Time Bonus - The Baby-Sitters Club: The Movie (1995)

Ho-na-na-na Hey-ey! It's time to talk about the 1995 film adaptation of the series, directed by Melanie Mayron and written by Dalene Young. We mostly enjoyed it, though we have to acknowledge how hard it is to squeeze full plots for each BSC member into one 94-minute movie. Also, what is the deal with Kristy's dad? Why is he so stinky?

Enjoying this longread series? Keep an eye out for THE SILLY-MARILLION next and join us over on Patreon to stay current with TOKYO DRIFTERS.

Ep 747 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1, by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Before everyone's favorite heroes in a half-shell wore brightly colored bandanas and ate pizza for every meal, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were black-and-white underground vigilantes. Eastman and Laird drew on a variety of influences to create something that starts with the energy of self-serious parody before transitioning into the violent yet goofy comic series that would ultimately launch a goofy (but still sort of violent) cartoon empire. This collection contains the first 8 published issues from 1984-85, which includes a Raphael one-shot that introduces hockey stick enthusiast Casey Jones. Cowabunga!

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.

Ep 745 - Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom

I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and - wait, Morrie's here. Tuesday's not so bad after all! Mitch Albom's breakthrough account of his meetings with the late Morrie Schwartz includes some moving lessons about how facing death head-on can help you lead life to the fullest. It also includes some observations by Albom that really threw Craig for a loop.

Support the show! Buy the book on Bookshop.org.