Well, we’re here, the quote unquote “penultimate step of the war.” I gotta say, it feels like this war has been about to start for most of the season, but here we are yet again. In our fantasy league, Mary is still winning, and Todd is still in second place, but here in the real game, the player that nobody picked, Tony (along with Wendell), is still in the game and is still making moves, and he seems to be in a pretty good position moving into this final, although that could all change depending on who comes back from the Edge. Without further ado, let’s break down what happened last night.
Read moreListen to Your Heart E4: Nice Guys Finish Last
Mary: Welcome back for more loud kissing and petty arguments. It all starts...right now!
Read moreOthersode #40: God's Plan for This Mouse / Devs / Our 3rd Birthday!
Othersode #40: God's Plan for This Mouse / Devs / Our 3rd Birthday!
It has been predetermined that you will listen to this episode. This week on #BookSquadGoals, we examine Devs, the FX series on Hulu. We discuss determinism vs. free will vs. multiple universes, religion, the characters, and all the Alex Garland-ness of the series, including his casting choices. Plus, it’s our third birthday! We exchange “Secret Santa” birthday gifts and celebrate three years of podcasting fun! Read along for our next #bookpisode on Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo on May 18. That episode will also have an extra special interview with Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series! For our next #othersode on June 1, catch up with HBO’s series Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children, and get ready for another author interview with Mary Kay McBrayer about her debut book, America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster. Send any listener feedback to thesquad@booksquadgoals.com or DM us on Instagram or Twitter @booksquadgoals!
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Read moreYA Book Club: Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi
Guess what? Mary and Emily are back again. This time, we’ve got a brand new YA BOOK CLUB for you. And oh boy, it’s a book. Don’t read on unless you’re okay with having the whole book spoiled for you. We say go ahead and let it be spoiled. Sorry, we didn’t like this one. Let’s get into it!
Read moreListen to Your Heart E3: Romantic Compatibility
This week on Listen to Your Heart, the performances finally begin! But does everything go as smoothly as planned? Will the contestants have romantic compatibility? What does romantic compatibility even mean?! Read on to hear Emily and Mary’s recap of this dramatic (as always) episode.
Read moreApril Showers Bring May (Poems About) Flowers
National Poetry Month is almost over, and because of the current pandemic, April feels like it didn’t really even happen this year. Our normal springtime activities have been halted, and we haven’t been able to truly enjoy this season as we usually would. Today, I’m turning to poetry to channel that spring energy and feelings of hope that should come with seeing the world blossom, even if we’re not getting to experience it fully this year. Here are five poems about flowers to carry you into May and bring a bit of beauty to your quarantined spring.
Read moreWhy Did I Just Watch All Seven Seasons of New Girl?
In our present moment, a lot of people are re-watching things that bring them comfort, which makes perfect sense. Everything is weird and scary, and there’s nothing like some pop culture comfort food to bring your head to a place of temporary normalcy.
Unfortunately, I can’t really use COVID-19 as an excuse for what I’ve been consuming, because I started long before we realized just how global this pandemic was going to get. In early January, I was going through a pretty rough period of anxiety and depression. I wanted to watch something that was both comforting and new to me, perhaps something I’d popped in and out of while it was on network television but had never fully committed to because it was decidedly un-good. I knew what it had to be. New Girl.
I’m not sure why it was so clear to me. Maybe it’s because of the neverending thirst for Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) on Twitter. Maybe it’s because I feel like we, as a society, did Zooey Deschanel dirty by writing her off as “too quirky.” Maybe it’s because I hate myself. But whatever the case, I made it to the finale yesterday, and do you want to know something? I cried.
Read moreSurvivor S40: e11 Recap "This is Extortion!"
Hello from quarantine! Todd and I have been dutifully watching Survivor each week while self isolating, and I have been dutifully winning our family fantasy league each week. (Todd here, and look, I have tried to win, but I am clearly not as good as Mary. Them’s the facts.)
This week, we thought we’d try something a little different.
Read moreListen to Your Heart E2: "The Shoe Has Dropped, and It's A Boot"
Emily: Welcome back to the show that isn’t what we wanted but perhaps what we need during these quarantine times. This is the second week of Listen to Your Heart, but these people are acting like they’ve been in here for, like, a year. And apparently they think we know who they are or who any of these “established” “relationships” are. We do not.
Mary: They’ve known each other for approximately two days to a week and yet they’re all ready to be in love and make big commitments. I continuously kept saying, “DO YOU EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER?!” at my TV. I’m not sure about the editing on this show because, as you said, they expect us to know who’s “established” with very little explanation of who these people even are. It’s a roller coaster ride. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE.
Read moreBSG #40: The Bone Dome / Gideon the Ninth with Leah Rachel von Essen
BSG #40: The Bone Dome/ Gideon the Ninth with Leah Rachel von Essen
In the myriadic year of our lord—the twenty thousand and twentieth year (after death), the year of the COVID-19 pandemic!—the Book Squad packs our pets, our books, and our dirty magazines, and we escape to the House of the Ninth. Joined by guest Leah Rachel Von Essen, we engage in a rousing discussion of “Gideon the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir, the first in Muir’s Locked Tomb trilogy. Topics include queerness without romance, magical world-building, and the difference between necromancy and necrophilia. Then we cover some listener feedback and talk about what’s on the #BookSquadBlog. On our next episode (May 4) we’ll talk about “Devs,” the new Hulu show from BSG favorite Alex Garland. Our next bookpisode (May 18) will be about “The Ninth House” by Leigh Bardugo. Send your comments and feedback to thesquad@booksquadgoals.com, and don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe!
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