Book Club for Masochists: a Readers’ Advisory Podcast
It’s episode 231 and time for us to talk about Sapphic Horror! We discuss which monster is the most sapphic, unrealistic reality TV shows, and how queer a book has to be to count as sapphic. You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) Diavola by Jennifer Thorne The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin, read by Chase Sui Wonders Extasia by Claire Legrand by Caitlin...
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It’s episode 230 and time for us to talk about media we've been enjoying! We discuss music, video essays, movies, comics, books, crafts, and more! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We're Enjoying: Matthew by Patrick (H) Willems Hobtown Mystery Stories, vol. 2: The Cursed Hermit by Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes, colour by Jason Fischer-Kouhi Witchy Stitching: 25 Patterns to Haunt Your Home by Meg Black Meghan KEXP “” by the Brudi Brothers (full set) (full set)...
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It’s episode 229 and time for us to talk about Media Criticism. We talk about what counts as media, the challenges of writing about emerging forms of media, how we interact with criticism, and more! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men by Manuel Betancourt Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean by Douglas Wolk Marvel Age of Comics: Doctor Strange:...
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It’s episode 228 and time for us to talk about Computers and Computer Science books! We discuss technology, digital humanities, coding, and more! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing by Matthew G. Kirschenbaum (2016) Floppy Disk Fever: The Curious Afterlives of a Flexible Medium (2022) I could not find a free version of this online edited by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks, and Kavita...
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It’s episode 227 and time for an emergency backup episode! This episode is the audio version of “Utterly Unfamiliar and Downright Detestable” a presentation we gave for the 2022 Ontario Library Association’s RA in a Day event. There’s also a video version on our YouTube channel. You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Video version Slides Give us feedback! to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read! Check out our , join our , or...
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It’s episode 226 and time for us to talk about our 2026 Reading Resolutions! We discuss reading books, not reading books, quitting reading books, throwing books in the garbage, and more! Plus: Oh no, the passage of time! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | 2026 "resolutions"/intentions Matthew Read all the personal "book of the month" display books Read all the fiction books owned Read all of the non-comics non-fiction owned Read all the graphic novels owned Be on the internet less and...
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It’s episode 225 and just in time for Valentine’s Day we talk about Queer Romance! We discuss what counts and doesn’t count as romance, ice hockey, regency, spies, demons, and more! Plus: Matthew reads a book he actually likes, Jam reads a book they dislike, and a fairly large chunk of the episode wasn’t recorded and had to be edited around! Guess what parts were re-recorded! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) Betrothed to the Emperor by Kai Butler...
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It’s episode 224 and time for us to talk about History books! We discuss queer history, local history, spies, roads, colonialism, and more! You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) by Norma Greggie and Stuart Greggie (1974) by Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh (2024) by Mark Richardson (2025) by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett (2025) by Eric Cervini (2020) by Lynne Olson (2019) by Daniel Immerwahr (2019) (2025) by Donna Seto (2025) by...
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It’s episode 223 and time for us to discuss our favourite reads (and other things) from 2025! We talk vampires, monster romance, cultural studies, linguistics & language, and more. Plus: Guess how many of our favourite reads are actually from 2025 (it’s more than zero!). You can download the podcast , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Genres (and "genres") we covered in 2025: Fiction Non-fiction Other Favourite Fiction For the podcast Anna (2025) by Barbara Truelove () Jam (2019)...
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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 , find it on , or get it through or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | | | Things We Read (or tried to…) (1989) by Terry Pratchett (1989) by Terry Pratchett (1987) by Octavia Butler (1987) by Melissa Scott (1897) by George Alec Effinger (1897) Other Media We Mentioned ...
info_outlineIt’s episode 209 and time for us to talk about the genre of Design! We discuss graphic design, interior design, the line between design and art, fonts, kerning, footnotes, and more! Plus: Anna talks about evidence synthesis and search design!
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…)
- Make Your Own Pixel Art: Create Graphics for Games, Animations, and More! by Jennifer Dawe and Matthew Humphries
- The Wright Style: Re-Creating the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright by Carla Lind
- The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers by Debbie Berne
- Maker Comics: Design a Game! by Bree Wolf and Jesse Fuchs
- Patternalia: An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage, & Other Graphic Patterns by Jude Stewart
- Design: The Definitive Visual Guide
Other Media We Mentioned
- Graphic Wit: The Art of Humor in Design by Steven Heller and Gail Anderson
- Bear and Breakfast
- Two Point Campus
- Cat Cafe Manager 2
- Soviet Bus Stops by Christopher Herwig
- The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century by Mark Lamster
- The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt
Links, Articles, and Things
- Folio - 019 - immanence 01 - with jam edwards & garbageface aka gnostic front aka karol orzechowski
- Jam's Pokémon design
- Kerning
- River (typography)
- Ampelmännchen (East German pedestrian walk signal)
16 Design Books by BIPOC Authors:
Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts 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 Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures by Christian Allaire
- More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech by Meredith Broussard
- Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines by Joy Buolamwini
- The Layered Edible Garden: A Beginner's Guide to Creating A Productive Food Garden Layer by Layer by Christina Chung
- Exploring Game Mechanics: Principles and Techniques to Make Fun, Engaging Games by Maithili Dhule
- Salish Blankets: Robes of Protection and Transformation, Symbols of Wealth by Janice George, Leslie H. Tepper, and Willard Joseph
- Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers by Josh A. Halstead, Leslie Xia, Farah Kafei, Kaleena Sales, Ellen Lupton, Valentina Vergara, and Jennifer Tobias
- Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes
- Reimagined Worlds: Narrative Placemaking for People, Play, and Purpose : A Designer's Manifesto by Margaret Chandra Kerrison
- The Creative Gene: How Books, Movies, and Music Inspired the Creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid by Hideo Kojima
- User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant
- Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble
- Now You See Me! An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design by Charlene Prempeh
- Just Enough Design: Reflections on the Japanese Philosophy of Hodo-Hodo by Taku Satoh
- Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games by Steenz and Samuel Sattin
- Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall
Give us feedback!
- Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
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Join us again on Tuesday, April 1st we’ll be talking about the genre of Romantasy!
Then on Tuesday, April 15th it’s time for our Spring Media Update, as we talk about books and other things we haven’t read for the podcast.