Overdue

The Games may have ended, but we're still hungry! We travel back to Panem for the close of Collins' trilogy about Katniss, Peeta, and revolution. It's time to talk (a)political messages, rickety love triangles, the limits of a hero's POV.If you aren't caught up on our Hunger Games journey, go give Episode 400 or Episode 410 a listen!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes a book is about exactly what it says on the cover. Oyinkan Braithwaite's debut novel is plenty dark but surprisingly funny, exploring sibling dynamics heightened by the fact that there is serial killing involved.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Craig loves dinosaurs, so Andrew let him talk for an hour about Steve Brusatte's recent book for dino devotees. Time to talk T-Rexes, Sauropods, and graphic depictions of the end of the world with our live Patreon chat.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode recordings, head to patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Special guest Margaret H. Willison joins us this week to talk about the consensual, gay, historically accurate romance novels of KJ Charles.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How could a dream upend your life? Would you stop eating meat? Embark on a ruinous affair? Desert your family?Han Kang's The Vegetarian asks visceral questions about our capacity for violence and what'd be willing to give up to be rid of it.Our new theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Candide is a novella-length takedown of the idea that we are living in the best of all possible worlds, as ordained by God. These days it's hard to believe we need a whole book about this but it's pretty funny anyway?Our new theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Noted symbologist Robert Langdon has to "solve" a "mystery" that "references" Dante's Inferno! Let's see if he can crack the clues before the whole world succumbs to a transhumanist disease (yes, that's a real sentence that makes real sense.) For context, this was originally released in late May for some of our Patreon supporters.***As we say in the pre-show, we've donated to the Marshall Project, which seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.If you are able, we would encourage you to also support those fighting for the rights of Black folks in the face of escalating police violence. More donation links and educational resources can be found at: blacklivesmatters.carrd.coConsider ordering some books from Black-owned independent bookstores. LitHub has a great list.Want to support a beloved bookstore in Minneapolis? Help Uncle Hugo's rebuild.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we read an (1) explicitly autobiographical (2) non-fiction (3) graphic novel, things we don't usually do! But we try to have a useful discussion anyway. This episode, like most of our shows, does not pass the Bechdel Test.Our new theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the last official installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this episode, we wrap up our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy.Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every other month we release them for general consumption. This episode carries us to the end where we meet a Who's Who of Biblical heroes and stare directly into the face of God (Paradiso XXVIII-XXXIII). Then it's time to reflect on our ascension from Hellboys to Heavenlads.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jhumpa Lahiri's second short story collection focuses on the experiences of second- and third-generation Bengali-Americans, people caught between the futures they're trying to build and the pasts they're trying to honor. Her direct, compelling writing style makes these slices of life particularly affecting, as do the characters and the misfortunes that befall them.Our new theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. We hope you dig it!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Orlando is an English nobleman in the 16th century who, by the end the Woolf's tongue-in-cheek biography of the character, is an English noblewoman in the 20th century. It's quite a journey for all involved! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

My grandmother asked me to tell you about this podcast. It's about a book by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, and it's about a precocious young girl named Elsa and her quest to deliver her Granny's letters of apology.It's a fairy tale - of sorts. It's also a story about coming to grips with the world's complications, with the ways in which we are all more than we appear at first glance, and with grief.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Llama Llama Red PajamaOn a podcast with his mama!We read llama books to kidsTo make them close their small eyelids.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's a boy to do when his dad is the bumbling Chief of Police? Solve crimes, of course! Join us as we solve The Mystery of How Donald J. Sobol Wrote Detective Fiction for Kids!Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode recordings, head to patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fair warning: this book's a bit of a bummer! Agee's autobiographical A Death in the Family centers on the aftermath of the automobile accident that took his father's life in 1915. It's a poetic exploration of grief and trauma -- which may not be everyone's cup of tea these days! Ways we try to lighten the mood include: It's a Wonderful Life musings, Andrew's Heavenly Dogs, and a bunch of words that Craig may or may not have made up.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For this, the highest of holy days, we've revisited the Choose Your Own Adventure-verse with R.A. Montgomery's Smoke Jumpers. Come for the information about what it's like to be a trainee firefighter, stay for the ranger who sounds a whole lot like Strong Bad.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The arena calls our name again, and we must volunteer as tribute! It's time we talked about Suzanne Collins' second novel about the dystopic land of Panem and their annual Hunger Games. Tune in for a discussion of revolution, game design, and underbaked love triangles. Plus, Andrew goes a-Googlin'!If you aren't caught up on our Hunger Games journey, go give Episode 400 a listen!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! We're continuing our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy a few cantos at a time.Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we combine them for general consumption. This combo episode carries us further into space where we meet some friars and Dante's grandpa (Paradiso X-XVIII) before inching closer and closer to God (Paradiso XIX-XXVII). We argue about God, learn about love, and cower before a giant eagle.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Shadow of the Wind is a complex noir-ish mystery set in post-WWII (and post-Spanish Civil War) Barcelona. Come for the endearing characters, stay for the Byzantine explanation of what is going on! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katherine Arden's debut novel is a potent mix of Slavic folklore, Russian history, and good old-fashioned fantasy. We dig into which of those ingredients work best within the scope of The Bear and the Nightingale's story, but first we take a moment to debut Andrew's new classic catchphrase.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Andrew read The Colour of Magic, people suggested that the beginning of the Discworld series was not necessarily the best place to start. Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in the series, is the start of its own contained-ish arc. According to our listeners and many readers, this serves as a more suitable jumping off point.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are some cars you just shouldn't get into! Michel Faber's thriller Under the Skin is about Isserley, the driver of one such dangerous vehicle. Why do all the men who get into her car disappear? Is she even really human? Are you? Hop in for the answers to these questions and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Friday Black, a debut collection of short stories by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, deftly employs hyperbole to make the reader notice horrors of American life that have become less-noticeable through repetition. It’s also going to resonate with anyone who has spent any amount of time working retail on the day after Thanksgiving.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We had a blast processing this novelization of the hit film Sonic the Hedgehog! Did you know it's based on a video game?! Gotta read fast!Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode recordings, head to patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s episode is our recent live show crossover event with Appointment Television at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The Appointment Television and Overdue crews gather together to discuss the recent TV adaptation and compare it to the book from which it (and the film, and the ill-starred musical) sprung. Whether we figure out the relative superiority of books or TV as competing artistic formats is left up to the listener.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this challenging novel, award-winning author Toni Morrison explores how utopias are defined (and perhaps undermined) by their boundaries. The all-black town of Ruby, Oklahoma survived for decades by cordoning itself off from the outside world. But what happens when the outside world starts gnawing at the people inside?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's book is a cozy mystery, but for kids! Author Kate Racculia joins us for a discussion of The Westing Game, which was a major inspiration for her own work (and is a completely wild read, besides).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What better way to celebrate a milestone episode than to make a bunch of teenagers fight each other to the death? Join us as we discuss the first entry in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, taking particular delight in its worldbuilding and its protagonist Katniss Everdeen. We also get into some of the film-informed Discourse that has surrounded the series since its release, and of course we take time to get our celebrities all mixed up.(Special note: Want to come see us live with our friends from Appointment Television? Head to bit.ly/booksortv for info on our live show at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH on Thursday, February 20th. It's free!)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Febuwary! This week’s episode is a follow-up of sorts to Episode 291, in which Andrew read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind. The Wind Done Gone is labeled a “parody” for legal reasons but it feels somewhere in between a sequel and a critique, acknowledging the strong characters of the original but tearing down its rose-tinted nostalgia for the antebellum American South. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! We're continuing our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy a few cantos at a time.Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we combine them for general consumption. This combo episode carries us to the top of Mt. Purgatory (Purgatorio XXIII-XXXIII) and up into the stars (Paradiso I-IX). We walk through fire, visit a Garden of Eden, and meet some truly charming moon people.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the future, all of mankind will be confined to an underground silo, wondering when and if the world outside will ever be habitable again. But if things aren't as bad as they seem? And what if everyone in the silo isn't as alone as they think?That's the premise of Hugh Howey's Wool, a collection of stories woven together into a novel about secrets, duties, and revolution. Time to talk about climate change and what makes a short story compelling!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids commence with a new teacher who just MIGHT be a vampire! It's time to get to the undead bottom of this...or is it?We recorded this week's show with Alli from the SSR Podcast, a great show you should check out if you want a trip down memory lane to your middle school library. We were really honored to be included in SSR's "Manuary" lineup this year, and we hope you enjoy this hot collab!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To put it mildly, a lot of stuff has happened since we released our episode on The Handmaid's Tale back in 2014. Among that stuff is the release of The Testaments, the 2019 sequel to the original book and a companion piece of sorts to the Hulu television series.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It is better to be feared than loved. The ends justify the means. King Louis sucked. These are the (clearly) famous quotes from Machiavelli's classic yet innovative work of political science. It's time to talk power, political satire, and the wonderful translation by Tim Parks.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inspired by the raunchy humor and biblical events of Christopher Moore's take on Jesus, we recorded a rowdy bonus episode with our rollicking Patreon chat. Want to join us for the next bonus recording? Head to patreon.com/overduepod to find out how.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Mists of Avalon is a seminal work of fantasy fiction that centers the women of Arthurian legend such as Morgan Le Fay. Its author was a terrible person. We talk about the terrible stuff first, and then we try to unpack why the book has entertained and resonated with so many.Also - don't spend any money on this book! Donate to www.rainn.org instead.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Book one in the one-book Sexy Sylvie series isn’t about a sexy Hanukkah miracle where one night’s worth of personal lubricant lasts for eight nights, but we had fun with it anyway. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Eyre Affair is the book that you would get if Ready Player One were about literature instead of the 1980s, and also if Ready Player One was more engaging or half as clever as it thought it was.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

George Selden wrote a charming story about a charming cricket named Chester who just charms the pants right off everyone living in New York City - including a cat and a mouse. And the illustrations by Garth Williams are also charming!You know what's not so charming? Liverwurst.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrew's got the week off so Craig's wife Laura joins the show again to talk about Kate Grenville's award-winning novel The Secret River.The story is an an attempt to tell more truthfully the British settlement of Australia, as through the eyes of one man sent to the penal colony that would ultimately become the country we know today. The violence he witnesses - and participates in - against Aboriginal people defines him as well as the generations that come after.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! We're continuing our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy a few cantos at a time.Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we combine them for general consumption. This combo episode carries us through the first two thirds of the Purgatorio, covering Cantos I-XXII. We climb up God's "Learn Your Lesson" mountain, meet a bunch of Dante-thirsty paparazzi, and encounter one "hell" of a Virgil stan.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elements of Ayn Rand's Objectivist worldview hold a lot of sway in conservative American politics, so we go back to one of Rand's most significant works to see what all the fuss is about.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we're joined once again by Gwen and Frank from the New York Public Library's The Librarian Is In podcast, this time to talk about Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (and the movie of the same name). It's a discussion of narrator reliability, "boy books," and the long and fruitful career of Louise Fletcher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's up, daddio? Dig this, you cool cats: a podcast, burning with the soul of American individualism and the poetry of the open highway. Kerouac's legendary novel defined the Beat Generation, and it's chock-a-block with hallmarks of the era. Join us for a road trip back to the late 1940s -- an era of sweaty jazz, discarded marriages, and Benzedrine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

James Henry Trotter has a hard life. He's suffered loss. He's been mistreated. But things start looking up when a giant peach and a menagerie of bug friends come into his life! Roald Dahl's classic story of a typically-sized boy and his atypically-sized fruit is a real crowd-pleaser, even if there's a bunch of stuff we didn't remember from our childhoods.Natasha from the UNSpoiled! Show joins us to kick off Remember November festivities, wherein we read books at least one of us has read before. Breaking our own rules - how rebellious!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is Halloween. This is Halloween! Halloween. Halloween.Join us for a bonus episode that includes a frightening chat, horrifying drawings, and a spooky spelunk through the world of Tim Burton's (children's book?) The Nightmare Before Christmas.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stop me if you've heard this one: a strange man who runs a motel with his mom (maybe) commits several murders before people get wise to him. At least one of them is in a shower. It's very creepy. Were you thinking of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho? Well we're not talking about it! This is a book podcast, silly!Actually we do talk a bit about what the movie lifted from the book, but we also dive into topics such as the murders that inspired Bloch, Norman Bates' murder swamp, and the prolific writer/musician Chet Williamson.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Come on into our spooky kitchen and let us cook you up a big steaming bowlful of creepypasta! This week's book began life as a series of Reddit posts that were later Kickstarted into a book self-published on Amazon, which is maybe the most early-2010s sentence that has ever been written. Join us for a lesson in creepy story etymology, and also a lesson in Skinhorse, the inside-out horse.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ever wanted to marry a ghost? Then boy do we have a book for you! Spooktober continues with Yangsze Choo's debut novel about a young woman in late 19th-century Malaya who winds up promised to a spectral groom.It's a fun book that is almost overflowing with hallmarks of different genres. Coming-of-age concerns, supernatural fantasy, historical fiction, romance: it's got a lot going on! But the heart of it all is Li Lan's entertaining exploration of the afterlife, its characters, and its bureaucracies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We rip our way into Spooktober 2019 with From Hell, a 90s graphic novel from writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell about Jack the Ripper. The book presents one (possible, but unlikely) solution to the mystery, and our research leads us through a lot more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.