There are plenty of great reasons to stay inside right now. If you’re not worried about catching covid (and, let’s be clear, you absolutely should be), there are several winter storms wreaking havoc across America that should serve to keep you locked in with a cup of tea and a good book. Sometimes, though, the cabin fever starts to settle in, and a book just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Yes, I said it. Sometimes it’s okay to not want to read! That might not be the advice you’d expect from a book podcast, but here we are.
Read moreThe Best (and Worst) Books of 2021, According to a Person who Read Books in 2021
Actual photo evidence of Phantom helping me pick out books to read in 2021
Friends, I know this might seem like late in 2022 to be looking back at the best of 2021, but our episode on our favorite things of 2021 just dropped, and I needed some time to reflect on what I truly loved and hated about my reading in 2021. I love that for the first time I read 100 books, which beat my highest ever record of last year’s 75 books. I know that still doesn’t seem like a lot to many, but for me, a person who is a self-proclaimed slow reader, I feel pretty great about it. The pandemic has been good to my reading life.
But that doesn’t mean all the books I read this year were great. So here I give you my top 10 favorite books I read in 2021, and then we’ll end with my least favorite books of 2021 (since that’s what y’all are all here for anyway).
Read moreKelli's 10 Most-Anticipated Movies of 2022
live footage of me risking my life to go to AMC
I didn’t make very many New Years resolutions for 2022 because A) I don’t have a great track record when it comes to follow-through and B) we are still technically in 2020, but an unofficial resolution of mine for this year is to watch 100 movies. I probably accomplished this at some point as a teenager, but for the last few years I’ve hovered around 70, which is frankly not very many for claiming to be a person who “enjoys film” or whatever. Below, I have compiled my ten most-anticipated films of 2022. I promise to check back in December and let you know if I actually watched any of them.
Read moreOthersode #62: It Made Me Want to Die / Our Favorite Things of 2021
Othersode #62: It Made Me Want to Die / Our Favorite Things of 2021
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—time for us to talk about all of our favorite things! Listen to us chat about our pop culture highlights of 2021, and as a special treat, hear from this year’s guests too! Then we exchange Secret Santa/non-denominational gifts and tell each other how much we love each other. Read along for our next Bookpisode on January 24th as we discuss My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. Then get post-apocalyptic with us on February 7th for our next Othersode on the HBO series Station Eleven. Email us at thesquad@booksquadgoals.com with your favorite things of 2021!
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreOne to Watch: A Chatty Review
Mary: Okay, so here we are, not doing any kind of YA book club or anything, just talking about a ROMANCE novel we’ve read. I think—and Emily correct me if I’m wrong—that romance is one of those genres that neither of us would pick up first, but we sometimes get one we really enjoy.
Read moreBSG #62: Misandry: The Episode / Everyone Knows Your Mother's A Witch
BSG #62: Misandry: The Episode / Everyone Knows Your Mother’s A Witch
yla Zuraw-Frieldand joins the squad to discuss Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. The team takes it back to the 1600s to talk about ageism, humor, and history in this quirky standout 2021 novel. Next time, we’ll discuss our favorite things of 2021 and exchange presents. On our next bookpisode, we’ll discuss My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones.
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreCrying in H Mart, My Mom, and a Recipe
Pls ignore the Halloween costume. And yes, I was a very ugly child.
I’m getting ready to celebrate another holiday season without my mom, and it feels just as weird this year as it did last year.
I normally don’t write posts that are so personal, but more and more I’m thinking it’s important to see how other people experience grief, especially during times that are traditionally happy and full of cheer. Earlier in 2021, I read Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (who I got to know first as Japanese Breakfast).
Read moreOthersode #61: For Virgins, By Virgins / The 2000s Made Me Gay
Othersode #61: For Virgins, By Virgins / The 2000s Made Me Gay
We’re journeying back through 2000s pop culture to discuss all the best gay stuff! Join us for our chat about Grace Perry’s essay collection The 2000s Made Me Gay. We talk about the personal aspects of the collection, Harry Potter, Taylor Swift, Buffy, Mean Girls, The Real World, and of course, anxiety. Tune in on December 27th for our next Bookpisode on Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen (featuring special guest Ayla Zuraw-Friedland). Then it’s time for a BSG tradition: The Best of the Year episode! Join us on January 10th as we recap our favorite pop culture things of 2021 and trade Secret Santa gifts!
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreBSG #61: Reading Comprehension Breakdown / Unsettled Ground
BSG #61: Reading Comprehension Breakdown / Unsettled Ground
Come along to the (not as cozy as you’d think) English countryside for our discussion of Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller. We talk about the setting, the writing style, the sibling relationship at the heart of the novel, the twist(s), and whether this book is sadness porn. Read along with us for our upcoming Othersode on December 13th as we shift gears into nonfiction with the essay collection The 2000s Made Me Gay by Grace Perry. Then for our next Bookpisode, we’ll be discussing Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen on December 27th.
Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!
Read moreQueer Girl Book Club: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
Emily: Welcome to another edition of Queer Girl Book Club, which is now past its inaugural stages and is in full swing. We’ve read some great books, we’ve read some okay books, and we’ve read some really bad ones. So where does our latest one fall on the scale? This time, we’re discussing Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca. It’s a novella written all through e-mails and instant messages between two women who enter into a BSDM relationship with each other that’s entirely virtual. Agnes meets Zoe when she’s trying to sell her apple peeler on a queer message board. Agnes seems desperate to find connection, and Zoe… well, her motivations are a little less clear and something I think we should discuss. We also have a guest with us this time! So welcome Mary! What made you want to join Queer Girl Book Club for this particular book?
Mary: When you mentioned that y’all were reading this book, I knew I had to force my way into the discussion because I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time. I keep seeing posts on BookTok about it, and a lot of book influencers have talked about how shocking and horrific it is. Nothing gets me hooked more than something people are disgusted by–I just have to know what’s up. Also, I love an epistolary novel; the constraint required makes for a more interesting story, sometimes. I’m not ashamed to say I read this one in one sitting!
Emily: Well, this is interesting because I know Kelli hates epistolary novels so maybe we should start there and let y’all duke it out. Did this form work? What sort of constraints does this form put on the story, if any?
I should also say… spoilers to follow!
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