2026 is upon us! If you need some consolation for failing your New Year's resolutions, look no further than this episode, where Trish and Ish look back on 2025 through discussing some of the books they read that weren't featured on the pod. Whether you like women turning into plants, excessive references to Edgar Allan Poe, or modern plagues (literal and metaphorical), there's a little something here for everyone.

A book podcast, you say? Bah, humbug! Is there no BookTok? In our final episode of the year, Trish and Ish will try to warm your squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old heart as they discuss the Christmassiest book of all time, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. You will be haunted by two hosts as they reference Episodes of Podcast Past, Pop Culture of Podcast Present, and Books of Podcast Yet to Come. Along the way, we visit the novella's influence on the Christmas genre, Scrooge's transformation from heartless miser to jolly old gent, and a rare sincere moment where your hosts view each other as fellow passengers to the grave. If you needed a sign to go fetch that prize turkey in the window (the one as big as you), this is it. If you listen to this episode on the way, we'll give you half a crown.

If you're feeling literally run off your feet by the holidays, wipe the snow off your goloshes and join us at the table as we give a toast to James Joyce's story "The Dead". Described as "one of the most powerful evocations of human loss and longing that the English language possesses", this crown jewel of the Dubliners collection might just be too sophisticated for our humble hosts. Nevertheless, like Gabriel Conroy, they talk at great length to an indifferent audience about Joycean jargon, stylistic sentences, ire-inducing Irishness, and the drifting descent of the dead. After listening, you'll rate the show 5 stars as if you enjoyed this episode.