It’s been a while since I’ve checked in on my progress in reading the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan. I started reading the series over a year ago—I admit for entirely sentimental reasons. I’ve never been a huge fan of swords and sorcery high fantasy—Lord of the Rings is one of my most hated books and movies—but Todd read The Wheel of Time when he was a kid and loved it. When he reread it in college to prepare for the end of the series, he still loved it. Sometimes, when you love someone, you want to know what made them the person you love today. I needed to know what young Todd was reading all the way back when.
Read moreBSG #34: Troubled Baby / Freshwater with Leah Rachel von Essen
BSG #34: Troubled Baby / Freshwater with Leah Rachel von Essen
Join the #BookSquad and special guest Leah Rachel von Essen for our #bookpisode about Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel, Freshwater. We talk about the novel’s unique, nonlinear narrative structure, mental illness, the spirit world, gender and trauma. Then we get into some listener feedback on Circe and Nine Perfect Strangers and tell you about all of the great recaps, reviews and series on the #BookSquadBlog. Go to the movies and join us on November 18 for our next #othersode about Doctor Sleep, and read along for our next #bookpisode on American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson on December 2!
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreSurvivor S39: e6 Recap
Last week on Survivor: Island of the Idols, the tribes swapped up, leaving the new Vokai divided evenly 4-4, and the new Lairo divided 5-3 in favor of Vokai. Seemingly, this switch offered Lairo a chance to get out of their losing streak, but they were not able to capitalize, and ultimately Tom was sent packing. Will Lairo lose again? Or will Vokai be forced to draw rocks? You can only know if you read the rest of this recap, coming up now!
Read more10 Weeks of Spooktober: Countdown: The Final Spook
Well, this has been really fun, guys. Over the past 10 weeks, you and I have truly gone on a journey together.
We’ve covered 10 scary movies. We’ve attended a wedding gone terribly wrong. We’ve ghost hunted. We’ve hunted a killer clown. We were trapped in a Sharon Tate nightmare. We ventured into a sinkhole somewhere in Ireland. We got to hear some really excellent cello performances. We got to see Sally Draper get possessed by a demon. We swam with killer gators. We partied with zombies. And finally, we’re finding out the exact time of our deaths.
It has all led up to this moment: Countdown. A great title for the final movie in our 10 week countdown to Halloween. We’ve made it.
But was this a good movie?
Read moreRiverdale Season 4 First Impressions
Here at BSG headquarters, we have decided to engage in an act of communal self care and NOT recap the fourth season of Riverdale. We know that this is a huge disappointment to all five of the people who actually watch the show in real time and not when the entire season drops on Netflix over the summer, and we’re sorry. Of course, you know we can’t quit cold turkey, so here’s the plan: we will do three blog posts for Riverdale’s fourth season. This, the first, is our “season preview,” if you will. We’ve watched the first three episodes and have recorded our thoughts and predictions based on what’s gone down so far. We’ll check in again during the mid-season hiatus, and then we’ll post after the finale to see how everything stacks up and how truly unpredictable this show is.
Read moreWhy I Love Season 10 of The Great British Baking Show
I'd like to start by saying that this article, which calls the current season of The Great British Baking Show the worst one yet, is wrong. Not only is the current season not the worst one yet, but it's one of my personal favorites of the show's entire run.
Season 10 spoilers to follow.
Read moreSurvivor S39: e5 Recap
Last week, the Lairo tribe decided that a potential showmance was more dangerous than basically anything else, and since on one wanted to vote out anyone, it seems, Chelsea was voted out. What will happen this week? Who will be voted out next? There is only one way to find out, so let’s get to the episode!
Read moreWas "Moulin Rouge: The Musical" Spectacular, Spectacular?
Kelli and Emily are at it again, going to the theater and coming here to share our reviews and make you very, very jealous of the cool stuff we’ve seen. This time, we’re talking about Moulin Rouge, the broadway musical based on the 2001 Baz Luhrman movie of the same name. Spoilers for both the movie and the play to follow, but like, dang, if you haven’t seen this movie yet, what are you doing?
Emily: Moulin Rouge is my favorite movie of all time. So when they FINALLY got around to making a musical, which first premiered on July 10, 2018 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, I knew I WAS DESTINED to see it. Then it came to New York, and that’s when I knew I would have to drag my theater buddy Kelli along. Kelli is not as obsessed with Moulin Rouge as I am, but she was game anyway. Now here we are, one play and one rewatch of the movie later, ready to discuss this thing. So let’s get into it. Kelli, you saw this movie a super long time ago, and you didn’t really remember it going into the play, so how was that for you?
Read more10 Weeks of Spooktober: Zombieland: Double Tap (Week 9 of 10)
Just when you thought too many years had passed for Zombieland to have a sequel, enter Zombieland: Double Tap, the second installment of this film franchise, only ten years later. Everyone is back. Woody Harrelson. Emma Stone. Jesse Eisenberg. Abigail Breslin. And, yes, even [REDACTED: SPOILER] is back. The zombies are back, too, and they’re mutating into even scarier, smarter, faster versions of themselves. So what is our gang supposed to do, 10 years into the zombie apocalypse?
Let’s read on to find out?
Read moreOthersode #33: Fear the Worm / My Best Friend's Exorcism
Othersode #33: Fear the Worm / My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Things get downright demonic as the #BookSquad is joined by Mary Kay McBrayer (author and co-host of Everything Trying to Kill You podcast) to talk about Grady Hendrix’s novel My Best Friend’s Exorcism. We talk about rad 80s nostalgia, feminism, religion, class, tropes of possession narratives, and -- most importantly -- friendship! Catch up with us on the #BookSquadBlog with recaps, television and film reviews and more. Read along for our next #bookpisode on Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (11/4), and go see Doctor Sleep for our next #othersode (11/18)! Don’t forget to subscribe to #BookSquadGoals so our new episodes hit your feed right away. Send your feedback and miscellaneous commentary to thesquad@booksquadgoals.com!
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
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