Adult Book Club

Welcome to the 96th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Discussion of the book starts at the 12th minute. Because this book is a LITRPG and not a conventional act based set up, there is no spoilers section or maybe spoilers throughout depending on how you look at it. We start by discussing our who/what/where and then move into questions about specific events and secondary characters. We make a few guesses at where we think this series is headed and then finish with Russ' final recap from his Wheel of Time journey and revealing what's on the next episode. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 95th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks. Discussion of the book starts at the 10th minute. Spoilers are between the 37 and 1:11 minute marks. We discuss our three points of view and the mystery surrounding each of them. In spoilers we talk about the Wastelands itself and the creatures and plants that inhabit it as well as what we thought about our passenger's decision at the end of the book. We finish with our usual segments and a LITRPG story for next time. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 94th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 39 and 55 minute marks. We discuss our main character Helen's life and routine as well as how it is disrupted for the betterwhen a mouse unexpectedly comes into her life. We talk about the community this builds around her and then have a quick spoilers section to cover our big dramatic moment and overall arcs. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 93rd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. Discussion of the book starts at the 11th minute. Spoilers are between the 37 and 1:22 minute marks. We break out the red yarn and plot boards as we try and figure out what actually happened in this story with its multiple timelines and many possible futures. In spoilers we get more depth on our secondary characters and their multiple versions as well as discuss what Moss went through and how the epilogue should have been handled differently. We finish with our usual segments and a cozy book for next time. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 92nd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures Night Train by Martin Amis. Discussion of the book starts at the 11th minute. Spoilers are between the 41 and 1:01 minute marks. We go in depth about how learning this book was meant as a parody after the fact, changed how we viewed it. In spoilers, and before, we go off the rails quite a few times with tangents and trying to remember different actor's names, but always steer it back to the book. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise read for next episode. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 91st Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 30 and 1:09 minute marks. We talk our lead point of view and what we liked and didn't like about his investigation into his patient Alicia and her silence. In spoilers we get into the big twist and if we had any idea that it was coming. We finish with our usual segments and a book that has been waiting on our shelves awhile for next time. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 90th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 32 and 1:11 minute marks. We talk about our two points of view and the magic system that Marske created. In spoilers we get into the relationship between Robin and Edwin as well as what we thought of the spicy bits in the story. We finish with our usual segments and a thriller for next time. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 89th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episodefeatures Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 34 and 1:01 minute marks. We talk about Tress and the incredible world she lives in where spores can kill you at any time. In spoilers we discuss her quest to saveCharlie and the friends and challenges she faces along the way as well as her growth. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 88th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. Discussion of the book starts at the 12th minute. Spoilers are between the 34 and 1:06 minute marks. We talk about the characters and setting and how the lack of description in both made it difficult to get into the story. In spoilers we discuss the quest for the grail and how our bad guys seemed to fumble their way around and get beat at every turn by children. We finish with our usual segments and an exciting book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 87th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 32 and 1:20 minute marks. We talk about our return to Klune's magical world and how he made it feel fresh and kept us interested using mostly the same characters. In spoilers we get into some of their growth as well as the conflict in our story and how this potentially set us up for more to come. We finish with our usual segments and have a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

In the Bonus episode for 2024 we cover two different books from the Big "D" Dads: The Daltons series by Joanna Wayne and then have some year end trivia to wrap up 2024. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 86th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Survivors by Alex Schulman. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 39 and 1:15 minute marks. We spend a lot of time discussing the set up of this book as well as the interesting way it was written. In spoilers we get more into our characters and discuss the big reveal and how it changed how we viewed the relationships in the rest of the story. We finish with our usual segments and set up our holiday bonus episode with a surprise book reveal. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 85th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 47 and 1:22 minute marks. We discuss our characters and how much we enjoyed the realism created by the setting of this novel. In spoilers we get into the portrayal of religion and spiritualism, as well as the issues we had with the third act and most relationships in the book. We finish with our usual segments and surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 84th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 26 and 59 minute marks. We discuss the perspective of this book and what it's like being inside of Christopher's head. In spoilers we get into the relationships with his mom and dad and discuss how we felt about the twists in our story and the overall plot. We finish with our usual segments and Taja creating a new rule for our grading system. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 83rd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold. Discussion of the book starts at the 10th minute. Spoilers are between the 41 and 1:44 minute marks. We discuss our three different points of view as well as our setting and cause of the apocalypse. In spoilers we get out our string and create our own conspiracy boards about the different paths our characters have taken and where that leaves them. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 82nd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Discussion of the book starts at the 10th minute. Spoilers are between the 37 and 1:21 minute marks. We discuss how much we enjoyed the set up of this book and our main character Katey as well as the setting of 1938 New York City. In Spoilers we discuss our favorite character Wallace as well as the truths that are revealed about some of the others. We finish with our usual segments and grades. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 81st Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. No spoilers section for this book as we change up the podcast form to fit the novel. We discuss the structure of the book and how it often left us confused as to what was actually happening and which parts, if any, were scenes from a show. We also cover how the message behind the story really stuck with us and how different characters revealed different struggles for Asian Americans. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 80th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Virtual Mode by Piers Anthony. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 38 and 1:16 minute marks. We discuss how this book lost us from the start and never got us back. In spoilers we get into the rest of our characters and how the ideas of them may have worked but the execution failed; as well as how the ending left us not wanting to continue the story. We finish with our usual segments after. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 79th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Discussion of the book starts at the 5th minute. Spoilers are between the 35 and 1:25 minute marks. We discuss what we liked about the world and school that Yarros built as well as which characters stood out to us and why. In spoilers we get into the romance and sexy bits, while also getting more in detail about the dragons, twists, and how we think she handled the ending. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 78th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Abandon by Blake Crouch. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 36 and 1:31 minute marks. We discuss how Crouch handled the dual timelines and bleed through of past and present at length. In spoilers we dig into both timelines and discuss the characters we liked and how we felt about the mystery behind the ghost town. We finish with our usual segments and grading. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 77th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree. Discussion of the book starts at the 11th minute. Spoilers are between the 39 and 1:11 minute marks. We discuss our characters and the decision to write a prequel to a best seller at length.  In spoilers, we get into the rest of our troop and romantic interest while discussing how we thought the ending was a bit flat. We then have our longest book grading conversation to date and the first ever scoring change mid-podcast. We finish with a double surprise book and our usual segments. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 76th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Discussion of the book starts at the 6th minute. Spoilers are between the 27 and 1:03 minute marks. We discuss our characters and the decisions that they make and how they deal with the consequences.  In spoilers, we get more into their backgrounds and discuss how we see their lack of growth and what this means for their future. And then we finish with our scores and usual segments. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 75th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 39 and 1:08 minute marks. We discuss our characters and the magic of being able to read people and things out of a story and into your world. In spoilers we talk about the not-so-subtle twist and what felt like a merry-go-round of a plot where we kept circling back to the same place and situation. We end with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!  

Welcome to the 74th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 47 and 1:43 minute marks. We discuss our strong female lead and her growth throughout the story. We spend a lot of time in spoilers discussing the secrets of Gaea Station as well as the truth behind Commander Jole and the rest of our supporting cast. We wrap up quickly with our usual segments. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 73rd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods. Discussion of the book starts at the 12th minute. Spoilers are between the 40 and 1:16 minute marks. We discuss our three points of views and two timelines at length as well as what we thought about the magical realism in this book. In spoilers we discuss the twists and turns as well as the relationship between Martha and Henry. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 72nd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant. Discussion of the book starts at the 14th minute. This episode is set up differently as this book is a collection of essays so we take time going through each one and have a larger discussion throughout. The book is heavy into politics, religion, and the American lifestyle so our conversation is veered towards those topics and can be heavy at times. We do not intend to anger or hurt anyone with our opinions and just wanted to make note of that from the beginning. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 71st Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley. Discussion of the book starts at the 10th minute. Spoilers are between the 41 and 1:16 minute marks. We discuss the difficulties we had with this story trying to connect with its characters and visualize our setting. In spoilers we talk about the mysteries and magic of the world and how some of the revelations came too late for us. We finish with a brief segment sections and another surprise book for the next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 70th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Discussion of the book starts at the 12th minute. Spoilers are between the 50 and 1:30 minute marks. We discuss our strong female lead and supporting cast of a few good men at length and then in spoilers get into how we thought Reid did portraying the tennis matches, romance, and comeback of Carrie Soto. We gush about how well this book was written and the flawless choices the author made and then finish up with our usual segments Enjoy!

Welcome to the 69th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. Discussion of the book starts at the 16th minute. Spoilers are between the 1:02 and 1:51 minute marks. We discuss our middle aged, legendary protagonist at length while getting into the style of how the book was written and what we took away from it. In spoilers we talk about our villains in this story as well as what we thought of her representation of magic in this world. We finish with our usual segments and have another mystery book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 68th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Discussion of the book starts at the 15th minute. Spoilers are between the 53 and 2:05 minute marks. We discuss at length the different hosts our protagonist inhabits throughout the story as well as how different and exciting the set up for the novel was. In an extra-long spoilers section, we discuss how Turton tied up all the loose ends and avoided the usual follies involved in time travel stories. We then finish with our usual segments. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 67th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Bone Smith by Nicki Pau Preto. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 36 and 1:32 minute marks. We discuss our characters, history, and magic of this world at length and tell you which Smith we would most like to be. In spoilers we go over the multiple discoveries throughout the novel and how most, if not all, felt a little too predictable. We finish with our usual segments and a surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 66th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne. Discussion of the book starts at the 10th minute. Spoilers are between the 48 and 1:16 minute marks. We discuss the setup of the book as well as what we discovered to be the more enjoyable way to appreciate it. We also deep dive the characters in our party and talk about the many side quests our party endures. We finish with our usual segments and a mini pod within a pod discussing Beartown and Frederik Backman. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 65th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 59 and 1:54 minute marks. We discuss Schwab's return to her Shades of Magic world and how we felt this continuation of the story was handled compared to others we have read. We get into the characters, new and old, and explore quite a few tangents before and during spoilers. We finish with our usual segments and have another mystery book reveal for next episode. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 64th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra. Discussion of the book starts at the 14th minute. Spoilers are between the 1-hour and 1:54 minute marks. We touch on the multiple issues we had while reading this book, specifically with the set up and execution of telling the story through letters between the two characters; as well as some of the events and actions that happen throughout their relationship. We finish with our usual segments and touch on pen pals that we've had in the past. Enjoy!

Welcome to a bonus episode of the ABC POD the Adult Book Club with Taja and Russell where we drink and we read things. This special end of year episode features a recap of two Love Inspired Suspense novels and then a wrap up of our top books from the year.

Welcome to the 63rd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. Discussion of the book starts at the 15th minute. Spoilers are between the 1- and 2-hour marks. Like the book, we spend a lot of time pre-spoilers setting up the background for our characters and setting. In spoilers we discuss the fictional part of this historical fiction as well as what we thought of the writing and some of the tangents we were taken on. We finish with our usual segments, another surprise book for next episode and maybe a holiday bonus on the horizon. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 62nd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett. Discussion of the book starts at the 13th minute. Spoilers are between the 38 – 1:17 minute marks. We start off by getting a recap of Taja's WinterCon experience and then dive into the book discussing the characters, setting and comedy that was used throughout. In spoilers we discuss our characters growth and share a few snippets that add some deep thought between the laughs. We finish with our usual segments and a return to surprise book reveals. Enjoy!

This episode features Wool by Hugh Howey. Discussion of the book starts at the 8th minute. Spoilers are between the 45 – 1:37 minute marks. We talk about the set up of the book being five novellas and cover the first two pre-spoilers and then get into our main character for the last three, Juliette. In spoilers we touch on more of our supporting cast as well as how we thought Howey handled his storytelling and the balance between all the plot lines. We discuss where we think we'd fit in the Silo and then finish with our usual segments. Enjoy! 

This episode features The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Discussion of the book starts at the 9th minute. Spoilers are between the 46 – 1:45 minute marks. We spend a lot of time prespoilers talking about our large cast of characters as well as how Russell balanced the book between past and present. In spoilers we talk more about the world building of Rakhat as well as Emilio's experience there and his relationship with God. We finish with our usual segments. Enjoy! 

This episode features The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris. Discussion of the book starts at the 13th minute. Spoilers are between the 52 – 1:54 minute marks. We discuss the ensemble cast of this book at length as well as how the setting and specifically the tension played heavily in the book. In spoilers we get into the murder as well as relationships between our characters and spend time dissecting the ending. We finish with what we missed and other segments. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 58th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. Spoilers are between the 49 – 1:46 minute marks. We talk about how well Cronin developed his characters and the world he put them in as well as how the twists and turns keep you guessing throughout. In spoilers we get into the small and big reveals and give our thoughts on how it all came together and how well it was explained. We end with our usual segments and a little too much Johnny Walker. Enjoy! 

This episode features The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. Spoilers are between the 40 – 1:33 minute marks. We discuss the different layout of this book compared to other mysteries and thrillers and how a lot of our characters aren't as important as they usually are in books. In spoilers we talk about the genius of Ishigami and Yukawa and how both kept us guessing throughout. We end with our usual segments and another surprise book for the next show. Enjoy!

This episode features Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim. Spoilers are between the 40 – 1:20 minute marks. We talk at length about how this book started off with so much potential only to struggle in the second and third acts. We get into the issues we had with the pacing and character development as well as where this book leaves you for the sequel. We also recap our time at DragonCon and finish with our usual segments. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 55th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Spoilers are between the 39 – 1:24 minute marks. We discuss the layout of this book and how easy it was to visualize our characters. We also get into Daisy and Billy's relationship before and during spoilers, as well as discuss who we think this book is truly about. We finish with our usual segments and wrap up with another mystery book reveal. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 54th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Spoilers are between the 36 – 1:30 minute marks. This is the first book we've covered that we don't feel the same about. We discuss our different feelings about the characters, how it was written, how believable the mystery and solving it was as well as Joyce at length. We then wrap up with our usual segments and a slightly tipsy ending. Enjoy!

Welcome to the 53rd Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher. Spoilers are between the 39 – 1:35 minute marks. We sing our praises about this book throughout and spend a lot of time in spoilers talking about our group of heroes and their Bonedog. We also discuss what we liked about the writing and how good the pacing was in our story. We wrap up quickly with our usual segments and random recommendation. Enjoy!

This episode features Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Spoilers are between the 47 – 1:29 minute marks. We spend a lot of time discussing how well the characters and setting were written in this book and what we liked and disliked about all of it. We also touch on how we would feel if we were recruited to be Scythes and how at times this book felt like bows on bows on bows. We finish with our usual segments and another surprise book for next episode. Enjoy!

This episode features My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Frederik Backman. Spoilers are between the 38 – 1:59 minute marks. We spend a lot of time in spoilers talking about the community that Backman built in this book and which characters tie into which fairy tale from the Land-of-Almost-Awake. We also touch on Elsa's growth and the relationships she has as well as the connections between the characters that live in her building. We finish with our usual segments and another surprise book. Enjoy!

This episode features In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune. Spoilers are between the 38 – 1:30 minute marks. We discuss the characters at length as well as what we liked and didn't like about the setting. During spoilers we get into more questions we had about what happened in the book and about how the author's acknowledgements may have affected our feelings for it. We finish with our usual segments and another surprise book. Enjoy!

This episode features Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards. Spoilers are between the 38 – 1:25 minute marks. We discuss the books late rise to viral fame over a decade after it was released as well as what we thought Richards did well and some veteran tricks he used in this debut novel. We also talk about some issues we had with it and then wrap up with our usual segments. Enjoy!

This episode features Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler. Spoilers are between the 50 – 1:55 minute marks. We discuss at length the differences and similarities between Anyanwu and Doro as entities and in the settlements they create. We also touch on their different powers and gush about Isaac during spoilers. We end with our usual segments and another surprise book reveal. Enjoy!