In this edition of the Reading the End Bookcast, the Jennys talk about authors and their B-sides: the lesser books that we love and hate. We review Hanya Yanigahara’s The People in the Trees, because once just isn’t enough, and we play a game of my own invention about mad scientists of fiction. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go.
Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We appreciate it very very much).
Here are the contents of the podcast if you’d like to skip around!
Starting at 1:15 – I briefly shriek about the upcoming Showtime show Penny Dreadful. Since recording this podcast, I have watched the pilot episode, which is freely available on Showtime’s website! Basically, Timothy Dalton teams up with a sharpshooter, Eva Green, and Dr. Frankenstein to save his daughter from vampires. There’s no reason not to be excited for this.
Starting at 4:30 – We talk about authors and their B-sides. My taxonomy of B-sides is as follows, in case you are curious:
Category 1: Books that are on an author’s B-side, but I think they should be on the A-side
Category 2: Books that have made the transition from B-side to A-side due to shifts in cultural awareness
Category 3: Books that are on an author’s B-side and you believe they belong there, but you still love them
Category 4: Books that are on an author’s B-side and you believe they belong there, and you don’t care for them
Starting at 20:50 – We review The People in the Trees (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository), with all spoilers throughout — although truly, the newspaper article that kicks off the book pretty much tells you the outline of what the book’s going to be about. So spoilers may not be a thing for this book.
Around 21:05 – Note that I advance-criticize people for concern-trolling Hanya Yanagihara about her second book, while basically concern-trolling her myself. I realize this is how it came off. I apologize. I want more than anything for Hanya Yanagihara to become one of those authors that I read every word she’s ever written and love everything. Forever.
Starting at 37:52 – MAD SCIENTIST GAME.
Starting at 49:25 – For next time, we’re going to do some fun YA reading! We’re reading the first two books in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series: Cinder and Scarlet. Woohoo!
51:50 – Closing remarks and outro
Credits
Producer: Captain Hammer
Photo credit: The Illustrious Annalee
Song is by Jeff MacDougall and comes from here.