I am declaring a personal moratorium on books and shows and movies about kidnapped-presumed-raped-and-murdered girls. I don’t care how awesome the shows or books or movies are. I don’t care if they are Twin Peaks, a show I have still not seen in spite of its fanatical popularity in certain circles and now may NEVER SEE because I have absolutely had it with this storyline. This weekend I read Sara Zarr’s Once Was Lost. Once Was Lost is a pretty good book, per usual for Sara Zarr. It speaks thoughtfully about questions of faith and the benefits and drawbacks of belonging…
31 CommentsReading the End Posts
Late but not forgotten! The demographically similar Jennys belatedly post our podcast! (We really are sorry, we won’t let it happen again.) This week we’re talking about the death of Elizabeth Peters, the new series by the good folks behind The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (a show we absolutely cannot shut up about), summer reading and assigned reading more generally, and David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository). You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 5 Or if you…
21 CommentsWe are slightly delayed in posting this week’s podcast. Whiskey Jenny and I are both extremely sorry. For some time now, Whiskey Jenny’s computer has had a cracked screen that has made ordinary computer activities challenging to impossible. She is having her computer repaired, but in the meantime we could not record Episode 5 of the Reading the End Bookcast. The episode was recorded last night and is being edited at TOP SPEED by our champion producer, Randon; I promise I will post it by the end of this week. We are very sorry about the delay! It will not…
1 CommentLast month, my adjunct sister Kate and I both read The Heiress Effect and discussed it back and forth via email in many paragraphs, with an eye to posting a joint review on the blog based on what we both said about it. I have always been jealous of Teresa and Proper Jenny and their joint reviews, so I am constantly trying to get people in my life to do joint reviews with me. And haHA! I finally conned Kate into doing this. The Heiress Effect (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository) is about a woman called Jane who is…
14 CommentsThe beginning: In Paper Towns (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository), a band kid called Quentin gets summoned in the night to join in an eleven-part revenge crusade by his neighbor, the gorgeous and popular Margo Roth Spiegelman, whose boyfriend (it turns out) has cheated on her with her best friend. The following day, Margo Roth Spiegelman disappears. But she has left clues behind as to her whereabouts, and Q becomes determined to track her down. Is there a term for that phenomenon where someone points out a flaw or irritation in a piece of media you had previously enjoyed,…
24 CommentsThe beginning: Comics are so short when they’re a single volume! This format feels a little silly for such a short comic. But never mind. I like this format and I’m sticking with it unless you beg me to stop. Once upon a time in Pride of Baghdad (Amazon, B&N, Book Depository), there are four lions (three adults and a cub) living in a zoo in Baghdad, and the zoo gets blown up by American bombs. The lions, who have lived in captivity most (or all) of their lives, must learn to fend for themselves in a war-torn Iraq. The end…
13 CommentsYou asked for it (you didn’t ask for it), and now we are delivering! The extra special all-comics episode of the Reading the End Bookcast, featuring recurring guest star Captain Hammer! You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 4 Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes. If you want to skip around, here are the contents of the podcast: Starting at 2:20: We talk about why Randon feels defensive of comics. I only feel defensive of comics when I am…
7 Comments