Surprise! After a four-year hiatus, we're back with 10 W33ks of Spooktober. Get it. The Es are 3s because this is the third time we've done this series. This time, we're starting with I Saw the TV Glow, and Kelli is joining us to chat about this movie. So bathe yourself in the pink opaque, and let's get ready for another season of scary movies.
Read moreThe Bachelor S28E7: Did They Forget That I Have an Axe?
Emily: Welcome back, Bachelor fans. The week before hometowns always creeps up on us. One minute we have a bajillion prospective fiancées, and then suddenly we’re down to four. But to get there, first we have to journey to the beautiful Jasper, Canada, and by all appearances, this seems like the kind of place where you might actually get to ride a moose. Too bad Lea has to miss it.
Kelli: RIP.
Emily: I have to say for once, the tourism propaganda is really working on me. I had no idea where Jasper, Canada was before this, but now I suddenly have to go. I mean! The mountains! The trees! The rainbows!
Read moreThe Bachelor S28E6: I'm Gonna Be Pushing You Out of a Plane
Kelli: Hello and welcome to another recap of The Bachelor. This week our goal is to get back on track after ABC threw us off with a random two night event last week. I still haven’t forgiven them.
Emily: We’re slowly inching our way towards posting on-time recaps. But you know, better late than never, friends. Better late than never.
Read moreThe Bachelor S28E4/5: It's Giving Disrespectful
Emily: Yes, we’re back, everyone, with another (belated) Bachelor recap, but the important part is we’re here, and we’re getting it done. And we have two episodes to get through this week. Eek! So let’s just dive in because there’s a lot of drama to break down from last week’s episodes.
Read moreThe Bachelor S28E2: This Isn't Red Velvet
Kelli: Hello everyone, and welcome to our first official week of competition: it’s Team Daisy is My Yoshi vs. Team Throw it in the Fire! I’m just going to go ahead and spoil it for you now: things do not go well for me this week.
Emily: Well, as they say on Love Island, it’s still early days.
Read moreThe Bachelor S28E1: A Little Smoochie Poo
Well, Bachelor Nation, Book Squad Goals is finally recapping a season of The Bachelor again, after taking a hiatus at the end of Matt James’ season. And this time, Emily has convinced Kelli to come along on this ride with her. Will Kelli and Emily regret this by the end of everything? Probably. But will we have fun along the way? Maybe.
But you’d better believe we’re not here to make friends. This is a competition for the ladies, but it’s also a competition for Kelli and Emily. Following this first episode, Kelli and Emily will draft their Bachelor teams and as the recaps continue throughout the season, they’ll continue to get points. The prize for winning? Bragging rights. And the journey we had along the way.
Come along with us as we draft or teams and reflect on episode 1 of Joey’s season.
Read moreQueer Girl Book Club: House of Hunger
Emily: It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally here with another installment of QUEER GIRL BOOK CLUB! And this month, we’re chatting about House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson. I picked this one out because I read and enjoyed Henderson’s last book The Year of the Witching. At first, I thought this book was going to be a sequel to that book, but then I heard that the sequel (entitled The Dawn of the Coven) had been pushed back, and that House of Hunger was going to be its own standalone novel. And that it was going to be super queer. So of course I thought… hey, this sounds like the perfect book for our lil club. Despite this cover. Which I’d love to hear Kelli talk about.
Read moreQueer Girl Book Club: Briefly, A Delicious Life
Kelli: Happy New Year! I’m allowed to say that through the end of January, right?
Emily: I say ‘til the end of February. Let people ease into 2023. Haven’t we earned that?
Kelli: We may be a little late, but better late than never, and we are finally ready to discuss Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens. I picked this book because we love queer ghost stories here, and I’m also a fan of queer historical fiction (girls kissing but it’s not ALLOWED? Sign me up). This one also sparked my interest in that it’s actually from the perspective of the ghost, which is something we don’t get all that often. Ghost stories are scary because ghosts are unknown, and with that element removed, a ghost story turns into something melancholic rather than horrifying.
How did you feel about the way this book approached ghosts?
Read moreQueer Girl Book Club: The Verifiers
Emily: Queer Girl Book Club is back in action, and this time we’re talking about the mystery novel The Verifiers by Jane Pek. The Verifiers is Jane Pek’s debut novel, introducing amateur sleuth Claudia Lin. Claudia is a mystery novel-loving twenty-something who's just been recruited by Veracity, a referral-only online dating detective agency. But when one of the agency’s clients goes missing, Claudia finds herself breaking the rules to dive deep into the secret world of people’s online lives and corporate deceit.
Some spoilers to follow.
Read moreWe're Glad This Book is Called I'm Glad My Mom Died
Emily: This blog post has been a long time coming, but we’ve finally gathered here to discuss Jennette McCurdy’s bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. Thanks so much to Jayce, former guest and friend of the pod, for joining us for this chat!
McCurdy is a former child actor and star of the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly. In this book, she explores her difficult relationship with her mother, how her mom manipulated her, forced her into acting, encouraged her to develop an eating disorder, and more.
The book covers very difficult material, but nevertheless the book is reaching a very wide audience. I was interested in reading the book because I have been a huge fan of iCarly (and specifically McCurdy) for years. But a lot of people picking up the book are people who have no previous knowledge of McCurdy and her career. I think that’s so cool because I don’t think that’s something we see often with celebrity memoirs. So I thought I’d start by asking you guys: What made you pick up this book? And why do you think so many people are reading it?
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