Sometimes it seems like every late night show is the same these days: a bland white guy tells jokes, celebrities Zoom in from their magnificent houses but only show a boring white wall, and then it’s all over. Sure, occasionally a show will feature a not-white, not-man, but that still seems to be the exception more than the rule. If you love comedy and are looking for a show to break you out of your funk, then look no further than The Amber Ruffin Show (streaming weekly on Peacock!).
Read more5 Compelling Books About Cults
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People are gripped by tales of the weirdest and most extreme things that happen in cults, but for me, the most fascinating aspect of these groups isn’t always the salacious stuff. What interests me most is exploring why people join cults in the first place, and learning how manipulation over time can lead to extremism. While we might think we’re “safe” from influence, cult survivor stories—and even fictional cult stories—show us just how vulnerable we all are to coercion when it’s disguised as something positive, whether that be religious salvation, self-improvement, or an alternative lifestyle. These five books will satisfy your cult curiosity, make you think, and remind you that we’re all human.
Read moreFinding Grrrl Power in Moxie
Back in 2018, YA Book club covered Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. The novel follows Vivian, a high schooler who wakes up to the everyday sexism happening at her school and, inspired by her former-riot grrrl mother, anonymously spearheads a feminist movement amongst her classmates. While acknowledging that the book was not necessarily meant for us (grown women), we generally appreciated what it was doing, so when the film adaptation directed by Amy Poehler showed up on Netflix last week, we knew we had to cover it.
Read moreGiving a Voice to the Voiceless: Author Kim Taylor Blakemore on 'After Alice Fell'
At the beginning of last year I spoke with Kim Taylor Blakemore about her novel The Companion, a dark and sumptuous historical thriller set in nineteenth century New Hampshire. Her new novel, After Alice Fell, shares this same setting and roughly the same time period (1865, ten years after events of The Companion). The story follows Marion, a nurse recently returned from the war to discover that her younger sister, Alice, has died after falling from the roof of the asylum she’d been committed to in Marion’s absence. Wracked with guilt, Marion sets out to investigate her sister’s death, which she’s convinced was no accident.
Read on for my conversation with Kim Taylor Blakemore about After Alice Fell, wherein we discuss history, suspense, and the treatment of the mentally ill in nineteenth century America. The last time we spoke, Kim and I were entirely unaware of the pandemic that would hit in a few months time, so it was also great catching up with her about how her writing and research process has changed in light of our new reality.
(This interview is spoiler-free!)
Read moreWhy We Won't Be Recapping The Rest of Matt James' Season of The Bachelor
We (Susan and Emily) have decided to not finish recapping this season of The Bachelor. We feel like we should explain.
If you’ve been following our recaps or following the Bachelor franchise world at all, you’re probably pretty up-to-date on the ongoing racism problems the show and its host are propagating. As the franchise digs itself deeper into a hole and has failed to protect or defend Rachel Lindsay, Matt James, or any BIPOC contestants, we felt compelled to say something. But first, let’s make one thing clear: The racism on this show is not new. Ali Barthwell, one of our favorite recappers, laid it out plainly a few weeks ago:
Read moreLate to the Game: Stardew Valley
Okay, so I might not be late to Stardew Valley per se, but when it was originally released in 2016, I didn’t give it its proper due. Sure, I played it a little, made it through a year or so, but I didn’t fully come to appreciate the joys of life in Pelican Town until recently. Until my digital world was the only one I could visit.
Read moreAnti-Racist Bachelor Alum You Should Be Following
Rachel Lindsay
Image: Noel Vasquez, Getty Images
The Bachelor franchise has been embroiled in accusations of racism in recent weeks. Calls for season 25 frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell to address her history of racially insensitive Instagram activity led to an explosive interview between Chris Harrison and former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay that has many viewers and Bachelor Nation alumni calling for ABC to fire Harrison. If you’re a regular viewer of the Bachelor, you know that discussion of the show’s racism is not new. Yesterday, current Bachelor Matt James made a statement condemning the show’s failure to address this issue for years.
Read moreBSG #51: It's Our Podcast and We'll Cry if We Want to / Transcendent Kingdom
BSG #51: It's Our Podcast and We'll Cry if We Want to / Transcendent Kingdom
Get your tissues ready. In this episode, the Squad discusses Yaa Gyasi's novel Transcendent Kingdom. Join us as we chat about mental health, depression, addiction, grief, racism, religion, and, yes, we do cry it out a little bit. You're welcome to join the trust circle and cry along with us. We're all friends here. Don't forget to join us for our next Othersode where we'll be talking about the film Nomadland, and we'll also interview Nicole Glover about her debut novel The Conductors. Read along with us for our next Bookpisode, too. We'll be chatting about When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. We love you!
Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, there are ways to get help. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Or Text “HELLO” to 741741. The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S.
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreBehind Her Eyes: Is An Adaptation Only As Good As Its Source Material?
Is the book always better than the movie/tv adaptation? There are a few exceptions to this rule. And obviously everyone is going to have their own opinions about this. Personally, I think the Hunger Games movies are better than the mediocre books. Fight Club the movie is also much better than the book. From my experience, when a book is really great, it can be a difficult feat attempting to improve upon it for the screen (be that screen big or small). And when a book is great, sometimes adaptations feel too beholden to the sacred source material.
So then it seems like, surprisingly, maybe the most promising adaptations are the ones that come from source material that is either not so great or even… bad? Which is maybe why I was so interested in watching Netflix’s adaptation of Sarah Pinborough’s novel Behind Her Eyes. I read the book shortly after it was released in 2017, and well, it was kind of a mess. Enjoyable, but ultimately ridiculous. What would a six-episode Netflix series be able to do with this material? I was curious to find out.
Spoilers to follow!
Read moreThe Bachelor S25E7: I'm a Long-Term Investment
Image: Craig Sjodin, ABC
Susan: Once again, before we get into the recap, we must address the updated foolery going on in Bachelor Nation. In the time since last week’s recap, Chris Harrison issued a statement announcing that he will be “stepping aside for a period of time.” From what we can tell, this means he won’t be hosting this season’s After the Final Rose special, but it’s unclear what it means after this season. It appears his Instagram account has since been deactivated or deleted. Here is his full statement:
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