Tag Archives: podcast

by Kait | August 15, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 55 – Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys

The Hardy Boys and the Secret of Sigma Seven

Kait, Becca, and their guests Anna of Bellwether Friends and Holly of TopatoCo continue Flashback Summer by trying to solve the mystery of the missing entertainment after slogging through Nancy Drew and the Ghost of Craven Cove and The Hardy Boys and the Secret of Sigma Seven. Will they discover why they read so many of these books as kids? Will they uncover the secret to why these series are so long-lasting? Will they deduce the three basic personality types of all teenagers in series mystery books? (Spoiler alert: no, no, yes.)

Readers advisory: Here.

Special note: Please take a short survey about our potential Patreon account!

Footnotes: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys YouTube Playlist

Nancy Drew TV Show Not Happening Because It’s ‘Too Female’

Hardy Boys Online

A Nancy Drew Ghostwriter on the Art of Being “Carolyn Keene” and the Evolution of Nancy Drew in a More Feminist Age

15 Mysterious Facts About the Hardy Boys

Nancy Drew in Starlight

The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and the Secret Ghostwriters of Children’s Fiction

Nancy Drew by Kate Beaton: 1 2 3 4 5

The Original Ghostwriter Behind Nancy Drew Was One of The Most Interesting YA Writers of All Time

Candy pairing: Kait says old-timey penny candy, Becca says Three Musketeers, Anna says Twix and Bit O’ Honey, Holly says candy buttons.

Coming up next: Angels to Watch Over Me by Lurlene McDaniel.

* 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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Tagged as Carolyn Keene, Flashback Summer, franklin dixon, nancy drew, podcast, the hardy boys

by renata | July 4, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 52 – Animorphs #1

Kait, Renata, and their guest Priscilla (@Priscellie) read Animorphs #1: The Invasion by K. A. Applegate. As the first entry in our Flashback Summer, we revisited our favorite teens who can turn into animals, and also the one teen who is a bird. Renata and Priscilla reminisced fondly about reading the series as youths, while Kait found the entire premise of human children turning into animals to fight aliens to be questionable, for some reason. What better way to spend the 4th of July than by turning into a bald eagle and celebrating your independence from our Yeerk oppressors? (N/B.: if you are not from the USA, you may turn into a different bird of your choice.)

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: The Toast: The Animorphs

Scientific Questions About Animorphs

Scholastic To Give Animorphs New Life

K. A. Applegate’s Reddit AMA

Animorphs on TV Tropes

The Time Renata Met Katherine Applegate

Candy pairing: Kait says Raven’s Revenge, Priscilla says gluten-free churros, Renata says Cinnabon.

Coming up next: Baby-Sitters Club #56: Keep Out, Claudia! by Ann M. Martin.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Animorphs, K. A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate, podcast

by renata | June 20, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 51 – Lone Wolf

Kait, Renata, and their guests Malia and Meagan read Lone Wolf by the mistress of twist endings, Jodi Picoult! This episode starts with the revelation that “Picoult” is pronounced like “pekoe” and only gets more shocking from there. Actually, a lot of the twists aren’t really that surprising, but we are still reeling from the revelation that the man who left his family to live with a pack of wolves for 2 years cheated on his wife with a human woman, rather than a wolf like we thought. If you have internet access in your wolf den, listen to this episode now! (If not: learn how to decode the wolves’ complex language of howls if you want to survive.)

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Jodi Picoult name pronunciation

The Moth: Man and Beast by Alan Rabinowitz

Snopes: Le-a

Snopes: Polished Off

Candy pairing: Kait says scavenged trail mix, Malia says Pop Rocks and soda, Meagan says assorted chocolates with mystery filling, Renata says movie theater popcorn.

Coming up next: Animorphs #1: The Invasion by K. A. Applegate.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf, podcast

by renata | June 6, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 50 – X-Men 3: The Last Stand

It’s our 50th episode! We celebrated with our favorite thing: talking about X-Men with Caroline from Fantastic Fangirls and Panels. Unfortunately, this means we had to read the novelization of our least favorite X-Men movie: X-Men: The Last Stand by Chris Claremont. It’s a movie whose convoluted plot was not aided by having been novelized in the style of a very long 80s comic speech bubble. Hey–is Cyclops in this? Oh well, thanks for joining us for 50 episodes, bubs!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Rogue Gets In Trouble by Kate Beaton

Jesse Hamm’s “Tetched” Rogue series

X-Men: The Last Stand Rifftrax

Candy pairing: Caroline says Beemans gum, Kait says your favorite candy after a recipe change, Renata says a marshmallow roasted by the flames of the Phoenix force.

Coming up next: Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Chris Claremont, podcast, X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, X3

by renata | May 23, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 49 – X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song

X-Men: X-Cutioner's Song by Scott Lobdell et al

Kait, Renata, and their guest Megan (of Academic Inquiry Into Popular Culture) read X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song by Scott Lobdell, Peter David & Fabian Nicieza, with art by Brandon Peterson, Jae Lee, Andy Kubert, & Greg Capullo. It’s an X-citing Peak 90s comics crossover event, featuring an overload of X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, and X-tra tight Spandex. Come for the incomprehensible Apocolypse-tic time travel space clone adventures, stay because Renata’s Gambit voice has awakened something inside of you, cherie.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: X-Cutioner’s Song story arc

Setting Up Your First Pull List

Dramatic Reading Panels: (click to embiggen)

Candy pairing: Kait says Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza, Megan says Fruit by the Foot, Renata says French Toast Crunch.

Coming up next: X-Men 3: The Last Stand movie novelization by Chris Claremont.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Andy Kubert, Brandon Peterson, Greg Capullo, Jae Lee, Peter David & Fabian Nicieza, podcast, Scott Lobdell, X-Men, X-Men Apocalypse, X-Men: X-Cutioner's Song

by renata | May 9, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 48 – Ruthless.com

Ruthless.com by Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg

Kait, Renata, and their guest Patrick read a book a ghostwriter wrote based on a computer game created by Tom Clancy based on a nonexistent website. If that sounds confusing, it’s still not as confusing as this corporate espionage-y Orientalist mess of a novel. Please don’t hack our website and/or submarine! Dot Com!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Tom Clancy’s Ruthless.com on Moby Games

Tom Clancy’s Politika on Board Game Geek

The Cold War of Clancy vs Clancy

No way is this domain worth thousands of dollars!

No way is this domain currently hosting pornography!

Candy pairing: Kait says an actual microchip, Patrick says a durian cream puff, Renata says Candy Crush.

Coming up next: X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song by Scott Lobdell, Peter David, et al.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Martin Greenberg, podcast, Ruthless.com, Tom Clancy, Tom Clancy's Power Plays

by renata | April 25, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 47 – One for the Money

One For the Money by Janet Evanovich

Happy early Mother’s Day! Kait, Renata, and their guest Rachel read their moms’ favorite book, One For the Money by Janet Evanovich. It’s the origin story of Spandex-clad rookie bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Fellow Jersey Girl Kait has a lot to say about the book’s portrayal of Trenton, Renata has a lot to say about her mom, and Duarte has a lot to say about Stephanie’s pet hamster. This episode will give you plenty to talk about at your next charmingly awkward family dinner–just make sure to take your gun out of your purse before you head over there.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Tricky Twenty-Two Excerpt

‘I Don’t Know Whether to Kiss You or Spank You’: A Half Century of Fear of an Unspanked Woman

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson admits he ‘hates’ cod after eating 800 pounds of it in a year

Candy pairing: Kait says Warheads, Rachel says a Bubble Beeper, Renata says sugar free Baskin Robbins hard candy.

Coming up next: Ruthless.com by Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Janet Evanovich, One For the Money, podcast, Stephanie Plum

by renata | April 11, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 46 – Killing Lincoln

Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

Kait, Renata, and their guest Caitlin read Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard. And–because we care about the youth of America–we also read the young readers’ adaptation, Lincoln’s Last Days, by Bill O’Reilly and Dwight Jon Zimmerman. These books put forth the truly shocking thesis that Abraham Lincoln was a good dude and John Wilkes Booth was a bad dude. But also that they were both pretty sexy? And most importantly: USA! USA! USA! Listen now to hear three sockdologizing old mantraps play a rousing game of Fucking, Marrying, Killing and speculate on how history might have turned out differently if only Abraham Lincoln had taken a cat to the theater with him.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Lincoln Homestead State Park

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

Kait + Creepy John Wilkes Booth (sorry, these are scanned in from Early Internet Days and we don't know where the originals are to re-scan)

Kait + Creepy John Wax Booth
(sorry, these are scanned in from Early Internet Days and we don’t know where the originals are to re-scan)

Renata + Creepy John Wilkes Booth (sorry, these are scanned in from Early Internet Days and we don't know where the originals are to re-scan)

Renata + Creepy John Wax Booth
(sorry, these are scanned in from Early Internet Days and we don’t know where the originals are to re-scan)

Candy pairing: Caitlin says fancy old timey hard candy, Kait says Boy Scout popcorn, Renata says mystery Dum Dums.

Coming up next: One For the Money by Janet Evanovich.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Bill O'Reilly, Dwight Jon Zimmerman, Killing Lincoln, Lincoln's Last Days, Martin Dugard, podcast

by renata | March 28, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 45 – Hollow Earth

Hollow Earth by John & Carole Barrowman

For part 2 of Nemesis Month, Kait, Renata, and returning guest Naomi read Hollow Earth by Kait’s nemesis John Barrowman (and Carole Barrowman, with whom Kait has no particular beef). It’s a confusing middle grade novel about twins with magic art powers, and the totally not derivative secret society that wants to control those art powers. Or destroy their art powers. Or use their art powers to somehow unleash a bunch of monsters on earth, which for some reason some people would want to do. Or whatever! Listen now to listen to us struggle through good art gone bad.

Retraction: We mistakenly took the Barrowmans to task for putting a Chicago-based painting into their London-based narrative but it turns out the painting in question is the Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat, which is in London’s National Gallery. OUR BAD, BARROWMANS. Good job with your art research.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: John Barrowman & Daniel Boys – I Know Him So Well

Sorry, Kait.

Candy pairing: Kait says chocolate coated candy gems, Naomi says saltwater taffy, Renata says sherbet lemons.

Coming up next: Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Tagged as Carole Barrowman, Hollow Earth, John Barrowman, Nemesis Month, podcast

by renata | March 14, 2016 · 12:01 pm

Episode 44 – Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

Kait, Renata, and Rob Lowe’s Other Nemesis Steve read Stories I Can’t Tell My Friends by Renata’s Nemesis, Rob Lowe. In addition to a lot of grade-A 80s celebrity gossip, we learned a lot about Rob Lowe, such as how important he thinks celebrities are and how Cary Grant once gave him a soap on a rope. Listen now to hear Renata over-explain why Rob Lowe is “a hot Paul Harvey.”

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Renata’s Moth story about Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe Can’t Read dot com

Rob Lowe’s George magazine

The Rest of the Story: Paul Harvey, Conservative Talk Radio Pioneer

Candy pairing: Kait says weird Lindt truffles, Renata says expensive airport candy, Steve says a Charms Blow Pop.

Coming up next: Hollow Earth by John & Carole Barrowman.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)