Wheel of Time Season 1 Impressions

February 6, 2022 Todd & Mary

Mary: Welcome to the much anticipated (by us) discussion of Season 1 of The Wheel of Time TV show! I started reading the series back in 2018, and felt moved to write a defense of how it “doesn’t suck.” Now, I’m still halfway through the 14 book series and feeling the worst effects of the dreaded Slog. BUT, we’re not here to talk about the novels. No, instead, Todd and I are going to be discussing the Amazon Prime TV adaptation of the novels. Weirdly, we’ve been anticipating this show for a long time, as we both keep tabs on showrunner Rafe Judkins (who previously starred on a season of Survivor). It’s a small world, and basically the same 5 people are in every reality show. But I digress.

Todd, kick us off by talking about how the show is choosing to adapt what you have called “unfilmable.”

YA Book Club: Those Who Prey

February 3, 2022 The Squad

Mary: WELCOME TO YA BOOK CLUB! This time around we have Susan joining us, because we know that Susan loves a good cult book. We read Those Who Prey (see what they did there??) by Jennifer Moffett. It follows Emily, a student at BU hailing from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as she becomes embroiled in a dangerous cult, eventually traveling to Italy on a mission trip. Things get wild fast once Emily leaves the country, stuck with an unenthusiastic mentor that seems to be hiding something.

Emily: I’m really disturbed by the fact that this person’s name is Emily. Oh, and before we get started, since Susan picked out the book for us this time, I wanted to ask her a little bit about why she picked it. Like, yes, it’s a cult book. But what made you excited about this specific cult book, Susan?

Susan: Of course, the cult was the first thing that got my attention, but I also love books set in or around schools. I thought the college setting would make for a fun way into the cult plot line. I also don’t read a lot of YA and wanted to mix things up a little with this one!

Spoilers for Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett to follow.

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival: A Ranking/Review

January 29, 2022 Emily

I know it’s kind of a bummer that in-person events are still iffy in 2022. But virtual events have been a nice way for those of us who live in the middle of nowhere to get to have access to things we wouldn’t normally get to see. Such as the Sundance Film Festival, which was virtual for 2022 once again. I had the opportunity to watch 12 total films over the past week, and now I’m ranking them, from worst to best, as well as offering you what information I know about when you’ll be able to see them if you missed them at Sundance. All reviews are spoiler free!

Queer Girl Book Club: Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body

January 26, 2022 Kelli & Emily

Kelli: Hello friends! Welcome back to Queer Girl Book Club. For our first QGBC pick of 2022, Emily and I read Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body by Megan Milks. This book is a wild ride and I’m super excited to get into it, but first, a content warning: we will be discussing the book’s extensive exploration of disordered eating, so if that’s something you are uncomfortable with, maybe skip this one. Also: spoilers to follow!

Fundamentalist YouTube is My True Crime

January 22, 2022 Mary

Almost too many of them to put on this page.

There’s a stereotype that a lot of women love listening to true crime podcasts. It’s possible that consuming true crime media is a way for some people to deal with the trauma they’ve experienced in their own lives, and that makes a lot of sense. We often try to confront things that we don’t understand, things that disturb us. I think that’s why I’ve been so tuned in to a very specific side of the internet lately, one related to but not directly part of the surge of interest in true crime: fundamentalist Christianity YouTube.

Board Games to Play While Trapped Inside

January 16, 2022 Mary

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.

The Best (and Worst) Books of 2021, According to a Person who Read Books in 2021

January 15, 2022 Emily

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).

Kelli's 10 Most-Anticipated Movies of 2022

January 11, 2022 Kelli

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.

One to Watch: A Chatty Review

January 7, 2022 Mary & Emily

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.

Crying in H Mart, My Mom, and a Recipe

December 23, 2021 Mary

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).

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