Spine Crackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers read American author Lauren Groff's 2021 historical novel of belief, sex, class, gender, mysticism and more, Matrix. Full episode available on Patreon as always!https://www.patreon.com/c/spinecrackers

In this episode the Spine Crackers discuss Percival Everett's 2020 novel of grief, loss, human connection, and agency in the face of a seemingly random and uncaring universe, Telephone. Full episode on Patreon as always!https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

The Spine Crackers review our 2024 in books, take questions from our Patrons, and reflect on what was and what is to come. Full episode for everyone this time, but check out our Patreon. See you guys again soon!patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss American author and critic Robert M. Coates' 1926 experimental, pseudo-Dada, proto-sci-fi, heist(?) novel The Eater of Darkness! Full episode on Patreon as always! https://www.patreon.com/c/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Susan Choi's 2019 National Book Award winning novel of trauma, memory, and the nature of storytelling, Trust Exercise! Full episode available on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss postmodern master Italo Calvino's 1957 historical-fantasy-bildungsroman-fable-novel The Baron in the Trees. Full episode available at https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss English author William Golding's (of Lord of the Flies high school fame) first post-Nobel Prize novel of art, fame, and obsession The Paper Men (1984). Full episode on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Australian master Gerald Murnane's 1982 breakout novel of place, country, and the nature of representation The Plains! Full episode on the Spine Crackers Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode the Spine Crackers discuss Djuna Barnes' pioneering 1936 novel of queer modernism, identity, and history, Nightwood. Full episode available at https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by friend of the show Nate, who is the proprietor of the excellent Books You Haven't Read Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@BooksYouHaventRead) to discuss American author Bernard Malamud's 1952 debut novel The Natural.

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss American author and literary one-of-a-kind Nicholson Baker's Vox (1992), an erotic study of character, technology, human connection, and fantasy. Full episode on Patreon below: https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this year-end episode, the Spine Crackers rank every book we read this year from worst to best, hand out various other awards such as best cover, best quote/passage, best character, answer listener questions, and more!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss American author Cormac McCarthy's penultimate novel of family, loss, madness, and genius, The Passenger. Full episode on our patreon as always! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss British author Malcolm Lowry's harrowing 1947 masterpiece of love, war, disease, culture, and meaning, Under the Volcano! Full episode available to patrons as always! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Japanese Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburō Ōe's 1967 novel of family, death, war, and history, The Silent Cry! Full episode available on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by friend of the show, real life friend, film critic, filmmaker, youtube legend, and all around renaissance man Patrick Willems to discuss David Duchovny's novel of faith, family, and life in modern-day America Truly Like Lightning. Full episode on Patreon as always! Pat - https://www.youtube.com/@patrickhwillems https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Austrian writer Stefan Zweig's final novella of war, class, and genius, Chess Story! Full episode on the Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by friend of the show and booktube stalwart Ben from Book Shore to discuss iconic postwar American author William Gaddis' posthumously published final work of culture, history, technology, and art, 2002's Agapē Agape! Full episode on the Patreon! (SORRY FOR SLIGHTLY SCUFFED/CHOPPED AUDIO GABE FROZE AND HAD TO REJOIN THE ZOOM A COUPLE TIMES!) https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas' 1957 novel of mental illness, family, nature, and perception The Birds. Full episode on Patreon as always. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss the first ever graphic novel read for the show, Emil Ferris' 2017 pulp noir horror tale of trauma, history, and childhood My Favorite Thing is Monsters! Full episode available on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss William Faulkner's 1955 collection of stories of humanity's relationship with nature, history, and race Big Woods. Full discussion on Patreon as always! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Don DeLillo's 1988 pseudo-historical novel of the Kennedy assassination, postmodernism, conspiracy, and the nature of America, Libra. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss French romantic (?) author George Sand's (aka Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil) 1832 novel of loveless marriage, colonialism, and social mores, Indiana. Enjoy. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

In the first episode of 2023, the Spine Crackers read William T. Vollmann's semi-autobiographical 1996 novel of sex, violence, regret, and loneliness The Atlas!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers go over their 2022 year in reading, including awards for our top 5 books of the year, best cover, worst book, and many more! We hope you're having a fantastic holiday season and we'll be back to our normal schedule in the new year!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss British author and 3rd Baron Ravensdale Nicholas Mosley's 1968 novel of war, love, power, and violence, Impossible Object.

This week, the Spine Crackers were lucky enough to be joined by Julie, who runs the fantastic bookstagram account @Juliemichellereads, to discuss James Baldwin's 1956 novel of sexual and national identity, desire, morality, and death Giovanni's Room! Enjoy and make sure to follow Julie!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Ivan Turgenev's legendary 1862 novel of family, friendship, generational difference, philosophy, and love Fathers and Sons. Enjoy!

Matt sits down for a conversation with Sydney and Eric, L.A. transplants and newly minted bookstore owners of the legendary "bibliophile Mecca of Washington County": Owl Pen Books! Please enjoy this casual discussion about the rationale behind assuming ownership of a bookstore in 2022, the history of the store, literary loves, leaps of faith, and hopes for the future running a business out of a converted chicken coop. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers read prolific American author Percival Everett's most recent (and recently longlisted for the Booker prize) novel of race, memory, genre, and violence, The Trees, which tells the story of a series of mysterious and gruesome murders in a small, but historically significant, Mississippi town and winds up in places you will never expect. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by friend of the show Ben, who runs the fantastic booktube channel Book Shore, to discuss legendary Chilean author Roberto Bolano's first novel, published after his untimely death but written in 1989, The Third Reich! https://www.youtube.com/c/BookShore https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Maxine Hong Kingston's 1987 novel of race, American and Chinese history, love, and the legacy of the 60s, Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Colin O'Sullivan's sci-fi novel of family, loss, AI, and getting drunk, The Dark Manual! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Japanese author Yu Miri's 2014 novel of national identity, trauma, family, regret, and class, Tokyo Ueno Station!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel of race, trauma, memory, family, community, and so much more Beloved.

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are lucky enough to be joined by Sean, who is the creator of the fantastic YouTube channel Travel Through Stories, to discuss Australian author Gerald Murnane's reflective novel of the life of the writer, memory, and subjective experience "Barley Patch."

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Ted Chiang's much-lauded sci-fi short story collection Exhalation, which touches on issues as wide ranging as tech startup culture, free will, and time travel!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by Seth, proprietor of the excellent Instagram and Youtube accounts under the W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List moniker, to discuss John Wyndham's 1951 catastrophe novel of war, science, and human society The Day of the Triffids. https://www.instagram.com/wastemailinglist/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6TqI_9Rj0jWXsAGTnNmodw https://mobile.twitter.com/wastemailing https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss Nobel Prize winning Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's 2009 existential pseudo-murder-mystery Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

This week, the Spine Crackers discuss Katharina Volckmer's transgressive 2020 novel of sex, identity, and trauma, (still unpublished in her native country of Germany) The Appointment. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

This week, the Spine Crackers read American author Paul Auster's 1992 novel of friendship, writing, and finding one's place in political history, Leviathan. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers discuss their first devotional text, John Bunyan's 1678 allegorical adventure and proto-novel The Pilgrim's Progress. See y'all down the road! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers read American author Lorrie Moore's elegiac collection of short stories on isolation, rootlessness, art, and, well...you get the idea, Like Life. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

This week, the Spine Crackers read English author Anna Kavan's final novel, 1967's schizological sci-fi blizzard-dream, Ice. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers read controversial German author Ernst Junger's 1957 science fiction novel of technology, war, celebrity, and fascism (?) The Glass Bees. https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode, the Spine Crackers are joined by Nate Rankin, proprietor of the YouTube channel Books You Haven't Read, to discuss Italo Calvino's 1979 metatextual novel (within novel within novel) If on a winter's night a traveler! https://www.youtube.com/user/IamSeamus1 https://www.naterankin.com/ https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers https://www.buymeacoffee.com/spinecrackers

In this episode (the first in our new condensed format) the Spine Crackers read Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel of grief, aging, and the American psyche, A Single Man! Full two-and-a-half hour discussion available to patrons! https://www.patreon.com/spinecrackers

The Spine Crackers share a very important announcement regarding plans for 2022 and beyond! We will be taking a brief break to get ourselves mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally ready for the coming changes and are so excited to get back to the show in a couple weeks!

In the first episode of 2022, the Spine Crackers welcome the bleak midwinter months with their first ever episode on poetry. Specifically, they discuss the bleak, philosophical, surreal, and deeply human poetry of Yugoslav-American poet Charles Simic.

In this very special episode, the Spine Crackers present their first annual end-of-year awards. They each count down their personal top 5 books of the year, give out awards for categories such as Best Character, Best Cover, Most Disappointing Book, and many more! Have a fantastic New Year!

In this episode, the Spine Crackers read Herman Melville's final novel, the 1857 satirical masterpiece of identity, religion, irony, and the American psyche, The Confidence-Man.