This episode we come to you live from the Newburyport Literary Festival, which is a truly kick-ass event. But, don't worry: It's still just us talking about four books! They just happen to come from authors speaking at the Fest — including two poets! Hey, it only took us 14 episodes to get a couple books of poetry on this thing. But we've got a couple of great novels, too — People are dying in John Irving ways! And winning awards in John Irving ways! — so we're not too far outside our norms. And you may notice that we're slightly more prepared than normal. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Good Monster," by Diannelly Antigua
2. "The Road to Tender Hearts," by Annie Hartnett
3. "The Diaspora Sonnets," by Oliver de la Paz
4. "The Award," by Matthew Pearl

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

Folks, it's just all bangers this week, with four books we really enjoyed, all brand-new and ready to be given to your mom. We've got a love letter to Earth, a love letter to bad guys, a love letter to Brooklyn, and a love letter to Monica Lewinsky. And we loved the books. That doesn't happen all that often. The big revelation is that Hannah hasn't read Emily St. John Mandel; and, yes, we know that "Cloud Cuckoo Land" was not written by David Mitchell. We just went with it and assumed you understood that we were jumping right to "Cloud Atlas." This fortnight, we read:

1. "Homebound," by Portia Elan
2. "Villain," by Natalie Zina Walschots
3. "Last Night in Brooklyn," by Xochitl Gonzales
4. "Dear Monica Lewinsky," by Julia Langbein

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

We open this week with a book that might not be for Sam, who is not a middle-aged woman, it turns out. Hannah is, but didn't really like it either. However, Hannah did love the trad-wife tale that is "Yesteryear," where 1855 isn't all it's cracked up to be. And Sam liked the new TC Boyle just as much — is there a better writer of people who make bad decisions. But then things finish up with a belly-flop. Oh well. Maybe Hannah should have read "Butter," instead. Also, there is a Sarah J. Maas discussion in this episode for no good reason. This fortnight, we read:

1. "American Fantasy," by Emma Straub
2. "Yesteryear," by Caro Claire Burke
3. "No Way Home," by TC Boyle
4. "Hooked," by Asako Yuzuki

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

If you're going to do a retelling of Cinderella, you gotta include some slippers, right? Apparently not! Liberties have been taken. And that's just the start of an episode that takes you from Shakespeare's England to the International Space Station — with a quick stop at Joan Didion's NYC apartment for a smoke. Man, can she write. We have some thoughts on what makes her so good and why some of that energy is missing nowadays. Somehow, it hangs together better than you might think. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Lady Tremaine," by Rachel Hochhauser
2. "Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell
3. "Blue Nights," by Joan Didion
4. "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out! Also, don't miss our treatise on not leaving reviews and make sure you follow the instructions.

How do you know we're not just trying to sell books with this pod? Well, we fire up with a Carolyn Chute novel that's ... out of print. That's some business savvy! But Sam claims she's the Faulkner of the north (an important Mainer!) and you should really find a copy if you can. And, not to worry, the rest of these books are widely available. We've trotted out the Alarm Clock sound effect again, too, which means one of these books is seriously important. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts," by Carolyn Chute
2. "The Fountain," by Casey Scieszka
3. "Leviathan Falls," by James SA Corey
4. "London Falling," by Patrick Radden Keefe

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This episode includes, among other things, "the most French thing editor Chris could find on the Internet." Can you guess which book that might be for? If not, you better listen, because we've got four very different books, despite two of them being written by women named Rebecca. Maybe we should do an episode in the future where all the books are written by someone with the same first name! Or one where all of them are set in Ipswich, MA! Put a pin in that. Anyway, this fortnight, we read:

1. "Murder Bimbo," by Rebecca Novack
2. "The Memory of Babel," by Christelle Dabos
3. "Family Drama," by Rebecca Fallon
4. "Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird," by Keith O'Brien

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out! Oh, and if you're listening to this before March 10, 2026, you should come to the Beverly Farms Library and hear us chat with Keith O'Brien!

Do we sometimes read books because they have a hot-pink cover? We do. But we're glad we did! Kathy Acker is a crazy badass and her cult classic gets us started on a white-hot episode full of machine smashing and sea scraping. This is about as wide-ranging as an episode gets. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Blood and Guts in High School," by Kathy Acker
2. "The Infamous Gilberts," by Angela Tomaski
3. "Against the Machine," by Paul Kingsnorth
4. "Seascraper," by Benjamin Wood

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

Firing up with some craft talk, we quickly dive into the final installment in Philip Pullman's Golden Compass universe, which is, well, sad. For lots of reasons. But also incredibly powerful and full of love. Oh, and we've got a couple less weighty things, too, including a comic book and time travel novel with some "funny torture." Oh, and some "Heated Rivalry" chit-chat. This fortnight, we read:

1. "A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction," by Elizabeth McCracken
2. "The Book of Dust: The Rose Field," by Philip Pullman
3. "George Falls Through Time," by Ryan Collett
4. "Physics for Cats," by Tom Gauld

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!