Judging Book Covers Podcast

Stephanie and Meghan are back to continue our month of love and romance! This time we read two novellas that center around queer romance: one modern and one historical urban fantasy!  We lucked out in two stories that aren't about a character coming out or having to deal with society trying to keep them down! And since we loved Alyssa Cole, we HAD to do a novella by her!  Next Up: A book of essays!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Blog | Stephanie's Instagram

  There is a LOT going on in this episode, as the week we recorded it was definitely a big one for pop culture! So if you want to skip ahead, please pay attention to below!  Skip GoT talk: 07:05 Skip Locke and Key (mild spoilers): 10:30 This week we read A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole! This book does lead to our discussion of sex and sexy scenes, as well as some PSAs about sex education. We also dive into our favorite of the Chrises because, naturally!  Side note: Meghan's audio screwed up and didn't record for about 10 minutes. It's been edited down, but roughly 47 minutes in, that's why she kind of disappears!  Next up: A book with LGBTIQ+ romance!   Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Blog | Stephanie's Instagram

This week Stephanie and Meghan dive into one of our more controversial authors: Dean Koontz! We grabbed a copy of Odd Thomas as it is his most highly recommended book! And any excuse for us to watch an Anton Yelchin movie, we will take!  We talk about how we are probably a little late to read this book and why, why the most terrifying thing is still spiders, does this book have a fridging, and how much we love Odd.  Next up: A romance book!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Blog | Stephanie's Instagram

It is time for Tim's annual visit! We welcome him back with another weird book (we wouldn't want it any other way?) Is Wayward Pines a ghost town, stuck in a time dimension, an entire flashback? We had a lot of fun guessing and still couldn't quite figure out what was going on in the book!    We discuss the main character's love of being naked in dangerous situations, pockets, timey-wimey stuff, the death of Payless, and Murder Mardi Gras!  Book Drink: Muddled Pines Next Up: A Cover with Purple in it!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  Tim's Twitter | Minds at Yeerk Instagram

This week Stephanie and Meghan dive into the first half of the Joe Hill's comic series Locke and Key! We discuss our relationship with comics, especially what brought us into collecting them. We also briefly discuss the new Netflix show possibility and whether or not we would want to see inside our own heads?  Next Up: Tim's annual visit to discuss a book with green on it!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

  This week Stephanie and Meghan get real with talks of childhood and puberty, inspired by this week's book: Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. We discuss early crushes, first kisses, periods, religion, and more. All while looking at the incredibly innocent and adorable Margaret as she navigates sixth grade.  Next episode: Locke and Key Find us on the web: Book Challenge | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

To celebrate Meghan's birthday, we read a classic from 1988: Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice! And who better to come talk books with us than James Anderson?! It is just a wonderful added bonus that none of us had read an Anne Rice book or seen this movie! We discuss how Anne Rice effected Twilight vampires, how other books have handled overpopulation, and our feelings on Lestat!  CW: Lots of rape discussion because apparently, it is hereditary in one of the family lines.  Next Up: Rereading a childhood favorite!  Book Drink: - Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  James's Twitter | Unabashedly Obsessed Podcast's Twitter | Unabashedly Obsessed Podcast  | Kids on Bikes Podcast's Twitter |

This week Stephanie and Meghan fall into a magical world in Howl's Moving Castle! They talk about the pressures of being the oldest child, add a new segment about the books we read between episodes, and how awesome 24in48 was this past January!  Next up: A Bestselling book from 1988!  Find us on the web: Book Challenge | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

Stephanie and Meghan check off number 2 on their JBC reading challenge: A non-fiction book based on a historical event! This week's episode is about The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen. They discuss how infuriating it is to see why women were accused, the reach of the witchcraft trials, and the lingering effects to this day.  Next up: A book recommended by someone you trust!  Find us on the web: Book Challenge | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

Stephanie and Meghan start the new year and new season with a book challenge! We have put together 27 books to read this year and will be using them as our episode guides. Our first episode of the season is a self-help book: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero!  Stephanie and Meghan discuss their relationship with self-help books, what they've retained from this book and what they feel is of benefit, and their relationship with New Year's resolutions.  Find us on the web: Book Challenge | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

Meghan and Stephanie end the year discussing Stephen King with one of our favorite guests! We debate whether we are going to read the entire Dark Tower series, our love for Idris Elba, who really is Dean Koontz, the idea of passing time by poops, and the perils of spoiling oneself!  Book Drink: Bourbon, Whiskey, or Water Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  The Citadel Podcast | Chris's Twitter

This episode is way too late, and we will get the last one out before the new year!! We read Chemistry by Weike Wang right before the holidays. While it isn't a seasonal book, it does lead us into a discussion of bad boyfriends, toxic families, and how awful grad school is! Doesn't that sound like a great way to get ready for the holidays? Juuuuuust kidding!  Join us for our final 2018 episode where we read The Gunslinger by Stephen King!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

We apologize for the delay — Meghan had a stomach bug that could not be tamed! But we have an excellent short story collection to discuss with you this week! We read Roxane Gay's Difficult Women for this episode, expecting a wonderful essay collection but instead, we got an inspiring short story collection! This may be a bit too dark for holiday reading, but still worth giving a shot.  We also discuss Hallmark holiday movies at the end of the episode, because Meghan just can't not talk about them apparently.  Content warning: rape, abortion, cheating, death Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

On this episode, we take a look at a book from Stephanie's TBR list! And it is a dozy of a book, coming in at 500 pages!  We discuss The Alienist by Caleb Carr, who as a person is also quite fascinating. We review the book through its historical lens and as a murder mystery. We also have a long discussion in which we realize how little Stephanie and Meghan maybe don't understand Easter? Content warning: death, rape, rape of young boys Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

In today's episode, Stephanie and Meghan tackle a book that's been on Meghan's TBR list since she started keeping one: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi! We both own up quickly to how little we know about the history of the 80s and 90s, especially in the Middle East - both blame the American education system.  Persepolis is a fantastic graphic memoir about a woman growing up during the 1979 Revolution through the Iran-Iraq War.  We discuss the optimism of her as a child, the term martyr as it is used throughout the book, and the horrifying understanding of having your psyche broken down.   Book Drink: Good, strong, delicious tea Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

Stephanie and Meghan sit down to discuss a classic horror/gothic/sci-fi novel: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley! We also are so excited it is fall, so there is some fall food discussion as well.  If you haven't read this amazing classic novel, treat yourself to a new annotated collection! (Or buy Meghan one, she's apparently really wanting one.) It is 200 years this year, and it definitely holds up as to why it's a classic and important book.  We make more Buffy and Angel analogies, discuss whether Victor or the monster is the worse villain, and is there is a purpose to Mary making her female characters so passive.  Book Drink: Anything green and halloween-ish!  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

We apologize for the week delay — NYCC was a bit too much to balance! Don't worry, we will be back next week with a new episode. As for this week, we read We Sold Our Soul by Grady Hendrix, one of the best contemporary horror authors! This book is a fun combination of metal music and Faustian horror!  Stephanie postulates that this book is maybe a Serenity fan fic, Meghan and Chris discuss if this book shows if Grady Hendrix is a fan of metal or not, and we all discuss the actual horrors of this book!   Book Drink: Metal music infused beer Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  The Citadel Podcast | Chris's Twitter

When you invite on old friends, it definitely takes a while to get to the book SORRY! So enjoy some Great British Bakeoff discussion, as well as some Crazy Rich Asians discussion but we do eventually settle into talking about I Am Legend by Richard Mathison. We discuss if we would survive post-apocalypse and what some of our ideas are.    Book Drink: a good good scotch Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest!: Best Acquaintances' Twitter | Best Acquaintances' Facebook | Best Acquaintances' Facebook Group

Stephanie and Meghan tear themselves away from the US Open to read The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling! It's banned book month, so it seems a little appropriate to read a book by one of the most discussed "controversial" authors.  Especially with one of her most controversial books! This book has 34 "main" characters, and 300 pages of character development. We aren't sure if we enjoyed it, but we definitely had plenty to talk about.  Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram

Stephanie and Meghan are joined this week by Tim Stevens, to discuss Jensen Karp's memoir: Kanye West Owes Me $300 and Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big! This book was (almost surprisingly) a great read, causing us to dig in a little to our own nostalgia. We learn a little about the music production world prior to Napster, and Stephanie learns a new phrase she can never unlearn.    Book Drink: Champagne Cocktails    Find us on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  Tim's Twitter | Tim's Website