Category Archives: Podcasts

Podcast audio files

by | December 21, 2020 · 12:00 pm

Episode 164 – Bests of 2020

In more precedented years, we’ve picked our favorite and least favorite books that we read each year outside of the podcast. But in 2020, we were too busy just trying to get through the year to do much recreational reading. Instead,  Kait and Renata convened to discuss the top ten things that helped each of them make it through this year. Tune in to hear us discuss all of these things, and keep reading to see links and pictures!

Note: after this episode, we’re taking a short hiatus to attempt to recover from 2020. We’ll be back in February 2021!

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by | December 7, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 163 – Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

 

Per the request of our wonderful Patreon patrons, our editor Becca joined us to discuss the anti-drug cautionary tale Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (aka Beatrice Sparks). Reading it in 2020, we’re not sure what’s harder to believe: that this ever deterred anyone from using drugs, or that anyone ever believed it was actually the diary of a human teenager. We’re grateful to our patrons for supporting us, and just as grateful that we’ve never been invited to any parties where someone slipped LSD into our soda.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Paul F. Tompkins – “Go Ask Alice”

“Lines From Go Ask Alice That, In Hindsight, Should Have Tipped Me Off That This Was Not A True Story” by Daniel Lavery

“The Book That Defined My Teen Anxiety Turned Out to Be a Lie” by Sloane Tanen

“A Queer Reading of Go Ask Alice” by Frankie Thomas

Amazon review of Go Ask Alice by the author of Drugs Make You Un-Smarter

Candy pairing: Becca says any candy that isn’t secretly acid, Kait says pot gummies, Renata says orange yeast rolls.

Coming up next: Bests of 2020.

 

* 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.)

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by | November 23, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 162 – The Awakening (Vampire Diaries #1)

The Awakening (Vampire Diaries #1) by L. J. Smith

Like a newborn vampire, we’re always thirsty for more supernatural teen drama around here. We turned to a finely-aged vintage, The Awakening (Vampire Diaries #1) by L. J. Smith, and we were thrilled to be joined by Lily Sparks (@lilyroro), author of non-vampire, but still high stakes, YA novel Teen Killers Club. Join us as we extoll all the ways L. J. Smith’s teen vampires are cooler than Stephenie Meyer’s teen vampires, including the best take on a love triangle we’ve ever seen in our storied history.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Carmilla (YouTube series)

“Italy’s annual calcio storico tournament — part football, part MMA — is a brutal sight to behold” by Paolo Bandini

Candy pairing: Kait says Hershey’s Special Dark Kisses, Lily says a vanished spicy-sour candy of her youth, Renata says mini Milky Way Midnights.

Coming up next: Go Ask Alice by Anonymous.

 

* 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.)

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by | November 9, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 161 – The Wig, The Bitch, And The Meltdown

The Wig, The Bitch, And The Meltdown by Jay Manuel

We read a semi-fictional, semi-self-published, completely bonkers book about the inner workings of the reality show Model Muse which is, of course, legally distinct from the long-running reality show America’s Next Top Model. Bestselling author and ANTM superfan Mackenzi Lee joined us to discuss The Wig, The Bitch, And The Meltdown by Jay Manuel.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Episode 161.5 – Extra Video Footage of Kait, Renata, and Mackenzi discussing The Wig, The Bitch, And The Meltdown

“The real reason Jay Manuel from ‘ANTM’ made his debut novel fiction, not a memoir” by KC Ifeanyi

“Jay Manuel’s Truth is Out There” by Rich Juzwiak

“Jay Manuel’s satirical ‘America’s Next Top Model’ novel angers Tyra Banks’ by Carlos Greer

“Tyra Banks Was ‘Hurt’ After Hearing About Jay Manuel’s Novel Inspired by ‘America’s Next Top Model’” by Meredith Nardino

“The 15 Craziest Tyra Banks Moments on America’s Next Top Model” by Kelsea Stahler

“The real reason why Jay Manuel left America’s Next Top Model” by Brent Furdyk

‘Tyra Banks Wouldn’t Have Made It If Her Mom Didn’t Support Her Booty in ‘Any Shape or Form'” by Stephanie Eckardt

Pod Ledom Podcast

Coming up next: The Awakening (Vampire Diaries #1) by L.J. Smith.

 

* 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.)

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by | October 26, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 160 – Wait Till Helen Comes


Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

It’s spooky season, so we revisited a classic of our childhoods: Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. It was a nice change of pace to read a competently-written book, so we had to spend most of our time raging against the poor parenting on display in this book. Our guest Rebecca Mahoney (@cafecliche)’s debut novel, The Valley and the Flood, comes out in February 2021, so listen to this episode while pre-ordering your copy! PS: Sorry for some extra sound issues on this episode. It was a ghost probably?

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Wait Till Helen Comes movie trailer

Candy Pairing:  Kait says a candy apple, Rebecca says Tootsie Roll pops, Renata says sour apple Jolly Ranchers.

Coming up next: The Wig, The Bitch, and The Meltdown by Jay Manuel.

 

* 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.)

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by | October 12, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 159 – The First Time

The FIrst Time by Colton Underwood

We read The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking For Love on Reality TV by Colton Underwood with our special guest Rebecca Kim Wells (@RebeccaWriting), Bachelor fan and the author of Shatter The Sky and Storm The Earth. If you didn’t already know (or guess from the title), Colton was a contestant on The Bachelorette and later a Bachelor who famously told the world via reality television that he was a 26-year-old virgin. Colton brought a lot of baggage to the Bachelor mansion so we have much to unpack!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Episode 04 – I Didn’t Come Here To Make Friends

Episode 04.5 – I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends, Part 2

All The Pretty Pandas

“Cassie Randolph Says COVID-19 Had ‘Nothing to Do with’ Colton Underwood Split” by Robyn Merrett

“Colton Underwood Denies Cassie Randolph’s Accusations That the Former Bachelor Is Trying to ‘Monetize’ Their Split” by Sarah Hearon

“Bachelor’s Colton Underwood Explains Where He Stands With Ex Cassie Randolph, the Truth About the New Chapter” by Johnni Macke

“Cassie Randolph Files for Restraining Order Against Colton Underwood 3 Months After Split” by Erin Crabtree

“Meet Alex Dillon, the Boston woman who dressed as a sloth on ‘The Bachelor’” by Kevin Slane

“The 15 Best Looks From Colton’s ‘The Bachelor’ Season Premiere Are So Damn Cute” by Theresa Massony

Candy Pairing:  Kait says fundraiser candy for a football team, Rebecca says Three Musketeers, Renata says the cherry on top of a Steak N Shake milkshake.

Coming up next: Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn.

 

* 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.)

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by | September 28, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 158 – Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

There’s a lot that’s bad about 2020, but hey, we’ve made it to our 6th anniversary! We are feeling extremely #blessed that Stephenie Meyer saw fit to release Midnight Sun just in time for this momentous occasion. Even so, we indulged in some day drinking with our very first guest Carrie to get through this book. We’re planning to record a sober Q&A follow-up episode, so if you have questions about the book that were left unanswered by our tangent-filled episode, please email them to us at worstbestsellers at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening to us for six years (?!)

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: 

Quileute Move to Higher Ground

Worst Bestsellers Drinking Game

Episode 133 – The Host

Episode 107 – 4th Anniversary Twilight Spectacular

Episode 82 – Breaking Dawn

Episode 40 – Twilight Life and Death

Episode 31 – New Moon

Episode 01 – Twilight

Griffin and David Present The Phantom Podcast

The Batman Teaser Trailer

Team Alice Fanart

Candy Pairing:  Carrie says candy corn pumpkins, Kait says Twilight-branded Sweethearts, Renata says green apple Skittles.

Coming up next: The First Time by Colton Underwood.

 

* 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.)

 

 

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by | September 14, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 157 – I Know This Much Is True

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

Think of the saddest thing you can imagine. No, sadder. Make it fifty times sadder. Okay, you are in the vicinity of comprehending the levels of tragedy porn Wally Lamb has packed into his novel I Know This Much Is True. Because life in 2020 wasn’t already sad enough, and because some of us love Mark Ruffalo, we brought Arielle back to discuss this peak 90s Oprah’s Book Club pick. Content warnings for just about every imaginable potential trigger. We are serious!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “‘This will happen’: Mark Ruffalo moved mountains to make HBO’s new Emmy hopeful” by Meredith Blake

“Why I Almost Stopped Watching ‘I Know This Much Is True’ After the First Episode” by Rebecca Chamaa

Oprah’s Book Club: The Complete List

Candy Pairing:  Arielle says Torrone, Kait says your favorite candy that’s been stomped into the dirt, Renata says generic fundraiser candy.

Coming up next: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer.

 

* 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.)

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by | August 31, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 156 – Devil’s Advocate

The X-Files Origins: Devil's Advocate by Jonathan Maberry

Did you ever wonder what Special Agent Dana Scully was like as a teenager? Did you assume she was probably really into taking classes at her small town’s extremely popular New Age shop? No? Well, she was, and meanwhile also the government was doing some kind of shadowy experiments with unknown goals. That’s according to The X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, an X-Files YA prequel novel by Jonathan Maberry. We’re confused as to why this book was published in 2017, but since it was, we read it with Kait’s True Believer cousin, writer Nicole DeGennaro.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “X-Files Origins: Inside The Mind of Young Fox Mulder With Author Kami Garcia” by Chris Longo

“X-Files Origins: Author Jonathan Maberry on Young Dana Scully’s Path To Belief” by Chris Longo

The Montauk Project on Wikipedia

The Adventure Zone: Amnesty

This chocolate-covered Brussels sprouts prank is pure evil genius

Fanfiction 101

Candy Pairing:  Kait says some dirt, Nicole says Mit-Mats (knock off Kit-Kats), Renata says carob chip cookies.

Coming up next: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb.

 

* 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.)

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by | August 17, 2020 · 12:01 pm

Episode 155 – Ground Zero


The X-Files: Ground Zero by Kevin J. Anderson

Flashback Summer 2020 draws to an end with a return to the 90s, which contains within it a return to the 1940s. Our mysterious guest M joined us to read Ground Zero by Kevin J. Anderson, an X-Files tie-in novel. Come along with us on an X-File unbound by the production costs of a weekly television show, as Mulder and Scully suddenly gain the jurisdiction to investigate nuclear ghosts in glamorous locations like Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, and New Mexico. Be advised, it’s going to take awhile to download this episode over the dialup connection from your clunky government-issue laptop.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “How the Owl Bar’s Green Chile Cheeseburgers Fueled the Atom Bomb Scientists” by Robyn Lee

Fanfiction 101

Candy Pairing:  Kait says Dunkaroos, M says malted milk balls, Renata says sunflower seeds.

Coming up next: The X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate by Jonathan Maberry.

 

* 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.)

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