Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

• Episode 222 - Books from the 1980s

  It's episode 222 and time for us to talk about books from the 1980s! Okay, I say "books" but it's really "science fiction and fantasy novels from the 1980s." You probably could have guessed that if you've listened to the podcast before. You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards Things We Read (or tried to…) The Further Adventures of Batman (1989) Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (1989) Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (1987) Dawn by Octavia Butler (1987) The Kindly Ones by Melissa Scott (1897) When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger (1897) First edition cover The "more cyberpunk looking" cover Other Media We Mentioned Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Batman (1989) Batman (1960s) The Wrong Earth, vol.1 by Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Dragonriders of Pern Mort by Terry Pratchett Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett Gravity Falls Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder (1981) E.T. by William Kotzwinkle Return of the Jedi (novel) by James Kahn Links, Articles, and Things Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1980s The Sam Vimes theory of socioeconomic unfairness The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. Beanie Babies Labubu 20 Books of the 1980s by BIPOC Authors: Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here. Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (1980) Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko (1980) Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis (1981) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981) Zami, A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (1982) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982) In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton (1983) Suder by Percival Everett (1983) The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1984) Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (1984) Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (1985) An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986) Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe  (1987) Dawn by Octavia Butler (1987) The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera (1987) Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987) Scorpions by Walter Dean Meyers (1988) White Badge by Ahn Junghyo (1989) Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid by Evelyn Lau (1989) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989) Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, join our Discord Server, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, December 16th we'll be talking about our favourite books of 2025! Then on Tuesday, January 6th we'll be beginning our year of "listener suggested genres" with… non-fiction history!

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• Episode 221 - Epic & High Fantasy

  It's episode 221 and time for us to talk about Epic & High Fantasy! We talk about maps, magic, monsters, whether Pokémon counts as epic fantasy, and more! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards Things We Read (or tried to…) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb Other Media We Mentioned Masters of Reality by John Darnielle Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffery Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Discworld by Terry Pratchett Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon Swords Comic His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne The Will of the Many by James Islington Redwall by Brian Jacques The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan The Riftwar Cycle by  Raymond E. Feist and others The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Betrayal at Krondor Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Links, Articles, and Things List of high fantasy fiction (Wikipedia) 20 Epic & High Fantasy Books by BIPOC Authors Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu The Unbroken by C. L. Clark The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez Liar's Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina Seventhblade by Tonia Laird Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse The Door on the Sea by Caskey Russell The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, join our Discord Server, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, December 2nd when we'll be talking about Books from the 1980s. Then on Tuesday, December 16th we'll be talking about our favourite books of 2025!

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• Episode 220 - How Far the Light Reaches

  It's episode 220 and time for us to talk about the winner of our One Book One Podcast / Battle of the Books: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler! We discuss content warnings, anthropomorphising sea critters, our relationships with the ocean, salps, goldfish, whales, octopus, crabs, and more! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards Things We Read (or tried to…) How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler My Life in Sea Creatures: What the Ocean's Animals can Teach us About Ourselves My Life in Sea Creatures: A young queer science writer's reflections on identity and the ocean I can't actually find any edition of the book with this on the cover, though it's frequently listed as the subtitle on various book websites. I have no idea why there are different titles. Other Media We Mentioned Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Fear of Big Things Underwater by Jacob Geller How a Game Lives: The Annotated Essays of Jacob Geller Links, Articles, and Things Episode 215 - Battle of the Books 2025 Gender Reveal Episode 136: Sabrina Imbler Sabrina Imbler on Defector Sharks Aren't Fish by Hank Green  Noisestorm - Crab Rave Ghost Ship warehouse fire Pulse nightclub shooting Sci-Hub 11 Steampunk Fiction Books by BIPOC Authors: Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose Clockwork Curandera Vol 1: The Witch Owl Parliament by David Bowles, Raúl The Third, Stacey Robinson, and Damian Duffy Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus  Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen The Black God's Drums by P. Djélí Clark The SEA is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia edited by Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin A Magic Fierce and Bright by Hemant Nayak Everfair by Nisi Shawl NewsPrints by Ru Xu City of Secrets by Victoria Ying Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, join our Discord Server, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, November 4th when we'll be talking about the genre of Epic and High Fantasy! Then on Tuesday, December 2nd we'll be reading books from the 1980s!

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• Episode 219 - Vampire Fiction

  It's episode 219 and time for us to talk about the genre(?) of Vampires! We discuss the difference between thralls and familiars, why vampires love math, whether it's possible to not read vampire stories, how much blood is too much blood, vegetarian vampires, books that mysteriously show up on our holds lists, and more! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards Things We Read (or tried to…) Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove The Sweetness Between Us by Sarah Winifred Searle Jam's review on Storygraph Hunger's Bite by Taylor Robin Ex.Mag, vol. 05: Bloodsucker Fawn's Blood by Hal Schrieve Meghan's books Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (498pg) Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler (336pg) Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (767pg) The Informers by Brett Easton Ellis (240pg) Quicksilver by Callie Hart (624pg) The Passage by Justin Cronin (784pg) Other Media We Mentioned Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah Howe and James Howe What We Do in the Shadows Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris Murphy Brown Count Duckula Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King Silver, vol. 1 by Stephan Franck Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabriel Soria, and Warren Pleece Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film) The Lost Boys The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez Red Sonja & Vampirella Meet Betty & Veronica, vol. 1 by Amy Chu and Maria Laura Sanapo Leviathan by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli The Last Express Murder On The Rotoscoped Express | The Last Express by Dungeon Chill Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman Not A Drop To Drink - Session 0 - Vancouver Island By Night || Dice Friends Vampire: The Masquerade Makt Myrkranna (Powers of Darkness) (Icelandic "translation" of Dracula) Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu Links, Articles, and Things Renfrew–Collingwood Renfrew station Renfield The Living and the Dead: Morbius the Living Vampire, the Comics Code, & Marvel Comics' Horror Boom Jiangshi Count von Count Mercy Brown vampire incident Vampire Child (TV Tropes) War Rocket Ajax Episode 613 - Every Dracula Ever f/ Benito Cereno and Elle Collins Vampirella Maila Nurmi (Vampira) Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) 20 Vampire Fiction Books by BIPOC Authors: Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here. The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-Ran, translated by Gene Png  Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu and Soo Lee Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco Now Comes the Mist by Julie C. Dao A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal The Vampire Skeleton by Sara General Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez Sign of the Slayer by Sharina Harris House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, join our Discord Server, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, October 21st we'll be discussing How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures (or whatever the UK title is). Then on Tuesday, November 4th we'll be talking about the genre of Epic and High Fantasy!

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• Episode 218 - Book Club Books

  It's episode 218 and time for us to talk about the Book Club Books! We discuss what counts as a book club, religion, food memoirs, historical fiction, girls loving each other in 1954, the prison industrial complex, and more! Plus, we discuss geographic-specific food we miss! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards Things We Read (or tried to…) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Dua Lipa In Conversation With Michelle Zauner Service95 Book Club: Michelle Zauner On Writing Crying In H Mart Michelle Zauner's Writing Soundtrack For Crying in H Mart South Korean Chef Songsoo Kim's Leek & Daikon Jeon Pancake Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Other Media We Mentioned Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori Leech by Hiron Ennes In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust Data Feminism by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein Nimona by N.D. Stevenson Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Dua Lipa - Let's Get Physical Work Out Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet feat. So!YoON! (Korean Version) Final Fantasy VII Remake Links, Articles, and Things Marcel Proust How women invented book clubs, revolutionizing reading and their own lives  Below the Fray: Dua Lipa versus the literary landscape Mangasplaining Foods We Miss Del's lemonade Clam cake Dunkin' Donuts Stuffies Alaska blueberry ice cream (Okay, that's just a link to the ice cream place in Alaska Anna likes) Pickled cheese Eggplant parm grinder Bánh mì Fruiterer Buffalo chicken calzone Pizza in the United States vs. Pizza in Canada Sushi Cheese and onion crisps 15 Book Club Books by BIPOC Authors (Being Read This Month) Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers' Advisory Podcast chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here. The books below are being read by book clubs in September 2025, so you can read along with them! The group reading the book is included in parentheses. Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker (Mocha Girls Read) Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Good Morning America YA Book Club) Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown (Well-Read Black Girl Book Club) Resting Bitch Face: Poems by Taylor Byas (The Audacious Book Club) The Trees by Percival Everett (Service95 Book Club) How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler (Book Club for Masochists) The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez (Subtle Asian Book Club) Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus is Alive! Stories by Melissa Lozada-Olivia (Weird Girl Lit) The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Las Comrades and Friends National Latino Book Club) Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (Erin & Dani's Book Club/The Indigenous Reading Circle) The House of Doors by Twan Eng Tan (Bluestockings Queer Book Club) Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P Johnson by Tourmaline (Pep & Hughes Queer History 101 Book Club) On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Read the Rainbow St. Louis) One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (Eclectix the Book Club) Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon (The Adam Silvera Book Club) Give us feedback! Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our Tumblr, join our Discord Server, or send us an email! Join us again on Tuesday, October 7th we'll be discussing the genre of Vampires! Then on Tuesday, October 21st we'll be discussing How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures (or whatever the UK title is).

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