Ep 100 - Fifty Shades Darker, by E.L. James

100 episodes! That means we've read and talked about 100 books, which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things but it sure feels like a lot for our little podcast.

For our last milestone episode, we read EL James' Fifty Shades of Grey. Now that we've done another 50 shows (and since the major motion picture is in theaters now), we've gone back to the sexy, sexy well to read Fifty Shades Darker.

Our frustrations with the original book are joined by some new complaints, and just like last time you can find some nearly-compelling threads amid the wreckage if you try hard enough. We also talk a little about the actual BDSM community, and how poorly Christian Grey would fit in among real-life practitioners. One of our listeners provided us with some links, which we've included below for added reading.

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Added reading:

"Feminists can be kinky too" from Femmeuary: https://femmeuary.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/feminists-can-be-kinky-too/

"The two mantras of BDSM" from The Kink Factory: http://thekinkyfactory.com/bdsm-for-beginners/ssc-rack/

Ep 099 - Six Characters in Search of an Author, by Luigi Pirandello

Luigi Pirandello's most notable contribution to the Western canon is a play about six characters come to life, intruding on a theater rehearsal in search of - get this - an author.

Please join us as we grapple with the metaphysical implications of Six Characters in Search of An Author, recycle Seinfeld jokes, compose a musical extempore, and take a lesson from Craig's acting class.

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Ep 098 - Secret of the Ninja (CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE) by Jay LEIBOLD

We dip back into the Choose Your Own Adventure well this week to read Jay Leibold's Secret of the Ninja, a harrowing tale about dojo and time travel and enchanted swords. Or something.

So jump on in the passenger seat! Come for the adventures, stay for the ridiculous voices.

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Ep 097 - Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Set in the early years of Bruce Wayne's Batmanhood, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween chronicles a murderous year in Gotham City. The mysterious Holiday killer is instigating and exacerbating an all-out mob war, and the criminals controlling Batman's town unleash a rogue's gallery of costumed "freaks" in response.

This week we talk about the best ways to dive into a superhero's back catalog, the relationship between Greek myths and comic books, failed elevator pitches with Mr. Bob Podcast, and Daddy's dictaphone.

Caveat lictor: 
The Long Halloween's legacy includes a major reveal of the Holiday killer's identity, which factors heavily into the latter part of our discussion.

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Ep 096 - Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Brabdury

It's not October anymore, but we've gone back to the spooky story well this week to read Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. Unlike The Martian Chronicles, the Bradbury book we read back in Episode 28, Wicked is a single coherent story, and it's about what happens when a mysterious and vaguely menacing carnival rolls into town.

Join us for a discussion of aging, father-son relationships, Boy Meets World, and why Andrew has sworn off making fun of people who tweet about sports.

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Ep 095 - Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville

At last, we've caught our White Whale!

Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick, a Leviathan of the American literary canon, chronicles the journey of the Pequod, a whaling ship helmed by the fanatical Captain Ahab. Narrated by Ishmael (of the infamous "Call me" opening line), Moby-Dick straddles the lines between fact and fiction, adventure and essay -- all the while never abandoning the hunt of ol' Moby.

Join us this week as we discuss the particulars of the American Limerick Renaissance, childhood mishaps, commissions (of the ship and sub variety), "shipping", and the wonders of spermaceti.

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Ep 094 - The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt, a recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Goldfinch, broke onto the literary scene over twenty years ago with her debut novel The Secret History.

Set at a small Vermont college not unlike Tartt's alma mater, The Secret History explores how a singular tragedy forever defines the lives of six Classics students. 

Tune in as we discuss Bacchanalian rites, persona curation in the age of social media, dramatic irony in "whydunits", and 2015: The Year of the Fishman.

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Ep 093 - Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Usually books try to make you root for the protagonist. Even if he or she is flawed in some crucial way, most stories try to make you feel something for the person whose mind you're inhabiting. That is not the case in Vladmir Nabokov's Lolita.

This week we share with you an uncomfortable discussion about how it feels to read a book told from the perspective of an unrepentant pedophile—how do you feel about him? How do we feel about him? How does he feel about him? The difficult subject matter is just one of the things that has earned Lolita its place in the literary canon.

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Ep 092: A Kidnapped Santa Claus/Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

What're the holidays without children's stories? Every year, families gather around their yule rocks and Festivus poles to hear their favorite tales of holidays past -- which means it's rare that anyone discovers a new seasonal story.

Enter L. Frank Baum's A Kidnapped Santa Claus and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel and Trina Schart Hyman. One's a fairy tale about saving Christmas from a bunch of Daemons, the other's about saving Hanukkah from a bunch of Goblins. So...similarities.

Save the holidays with us as we discuss Banta Claus, trolling goblins, and hilarious Hershel of Ostropol.

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Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
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A Kidnapped Santa Claus
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Ep 091 - In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

Truman Capote's Capote's "non-fiction novel" In Cold Blood chronicles the mass murder of a family in rural Kansas by two runaway parolees. inspired by a 300-word newspaper article, it basically created the "true crime" genre, making it the grandpappy to the zeitgeist-conquering podcast Serial. 

Often times chilling, moving, and morbidly fascinating, In Cold Blood dances back and forth over the line between being a compelling narrative and being exploitative. It seems worth asking what it means to "enjoy" a story like this. And what role does the author play in its telling?

Also covered on this episode: Pop-pops, teens, Quebec separatism, and child-proof locks.

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