Episode 002
Trevor’s Recommendation
"[Jemisin's work] is very aspirational for me... [this book] is rough in some interesting ways. You see the seeds of the things that make her great, but they aren't always applied the way they are in her later work. That was a really informative read for me."
- on NK Jemisin’s debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Stephanie’s Recommendation
"I'm loving it… there are some things coming up where I can't believe that this was written before 2020. Like, 'This is scary in how accurate it's predicting some of what we went through with COVID.'”
- on Joe Hill’s The Fireman
Episode 003
Trevor’s Recommendation
“It's so beautifully and intimately written. I have read some very good novels recently, and I was more invested in Elamin’s WWE fan fics than [any of those narratives]. It is one of my favourite Canadian works... in terms of negotiating what a Canadian identity does and doesn't mean and has to and doesn't have to mean.”
- on Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s Son of Elsewhere
Stephanie’s Recommendation
"You get exactly what the title says you're going to get. It was silly and wonderful and I was not disappointed. There were even things I did not expect, like the clowns themselves - I was not expecting him to go in that direction with their character development, but he did and it was beautiful. Highly recommend, unless you're an arachnophobe."
- on Jeff Strand’s Clowns vs. Spiders
Episode 005
Trevor’s Recommendation
"It is a YA novel about 'what if Moby Dick but trains,' it's very much in that vein of the empire boy adventure stories, Victorian-era travelogues [and castaway] stories. I had a blast reading it and it's super weird, which I really appreciate."
- on China Miéville’s Railsea
Stephanie’s Recommendation
"It's been a really interesting deep dive into the horror genre itself, and why we love it... I'm currently working my way through the chapter on horror fiction, I have some books I have to add to my reading list."
- on Stephen King’s Danse Macabre
Episode 006
Trevor’s Recommendation
“[Murakami] has a short story collection called After the Quake… about how people reorder their lives after experiencing a collective trauma. With things being the way they are right now… exploring the ways in which people can, in imperfect and often beautiful ways, respond to a collective trauma, was healing. Maybe we still have the capacity to connect with people and grow beyond.”
- on Haruki Murakami’s After the Quake
Stephanie’s Recommendation
“I have discovered since 2020… that I love seeing how the pandemic changed making art. Haunthology is a graphic novel in which you can clearly see the pandemic influence. Some of the stories are a few pages long, some just panels long… I particularly enjoyed this graphic novel.”
- on Jeremy Haun’s Haunthology
Episode 007
Trevor’s Latest Recommendation
“There are very specific writing things that I absolutely adore. First, it’s a masterclass in generating buy-in from the audience… If you are thinking about having some wild stuff happening with your setting, watch what they do in Mr. and Mrs. Smith to generate buy-in. Second, it is espionage nonsense, there are very heightened situations… but the way they keep naturalistic dialogue and characterization in those moments is just *chef’s kiss.*”
- on Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Amazon Prime
Stephanie’s Latest Recommendation
“The performance [Wil Wheaton] gives is perfect. At the time I was listening, I was commuting to my mom’s apartment to work from her place… I’m pretty sure people thought I was insane because I was laughing and trying not to be the crazy person on the bus. This one hit all the right notes for me.”
- on the audiobook for Jon Scalzi’s Starter Villain