EP5: Sex, Drugs, and Arctic Terns
Four Books a Fortnight
We shake it up this week with a philosophical text and some YA, plus a favorite backlist title of Hannah's that Sam experiences for the first time! Also, we get a treatise on the difference between a romance and a love story. This fortnight, we read: "The Rest of our Lives," by Ben Markovits "On Drugs," by Justin Smith-Ruiu "Red as Royal Blood," by Elizabeth Hart "Migrations," by Charlotte McConaghy What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
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EP4: Bellyflopping into the Future
Four Books a Fortnight
It's all fiction all the time this episode and we mostly liked these books. Mostly. See which one gets the bellyflop splash! This fortnight, we read: "Television," by Lauren Rothery "The Listeners," by Maggie Stiefvater "House of Day, House of Night," by Olga Tokarczuk "Emergency," by George Packer What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
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EP3: Go Deep! (sports and future crimes)
Four Books a Fortnight
We've got some biggies this week, from one of the leading Dad-gift books of the season to the latest from from a few literary powerhouses. See which one gets the whoopie cushion! This fortnight, we read: "American Kings," by Seth Wickersham "What We Can Know," by Ian McEwan "A Guardian and a Thief," by Megha Majumdar "The Four Spent the Day Together," by Chris Kraus What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
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EP2: Not Crying (and another music book)
Four Books a Fortnight
Are you a cryer? Hannah is. But for some reason Ann Packer's brand-new tear-jerker didn't get the waterworks flowing. And, yes, Sam has another music book for you, but he swears it won't be every week! Also, we've got some sci-fi for you (and even some workplace sci-fi). This fortnight, we read: "Some Bright Nowhere," by Ann Packer "Tonight in Jungleland," by Peter Ames Carlin "The Memory Police," by Yoko Ogawa "The Employees," by Olga Ravn What sound effects did we give these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
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EP1: A New Hope (well, a new start, anyway)
Four Books a Fortnight
It's here! The brand-new podcast, "Four Books a Fortnight," where we, Hannah Harlow and Sam Pfeifle, co-owners of the Book Shop of Beverly Farms, read four books every two weeks and tell you all about them. Then we rate them with a sound effect! This fortnight, we read: "Katabasis," by RF Kuang "Wreck," by Catherine Newman "The Uncool," by Cameron Crowe "Remain," by Nicholas Sparks and M Night Shyamalan What sound effects did we give these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
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EP100: This Is the End ... For Now
Four Books a Fortnight
That's right, folks. This is the last episode of "John Updike's Ghost"! But not to worry! We'll be launching a new podcast very soon! What's the name? What will it be about? When will it launch? We're not telling you yet! Until that amazing day comes, you'll just have to listen to us talk about the books we've read recently, such as: - "Sisters in the Wind," by Angeline Boulley, which is in the same universe as "Firekeeper's Daughter" and "Warrior Girl Unearthed," and it is just as good. Angeline just keeps cranking them out. - "The Guide," by Peter Heller, which is the follow-on to...
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EP99: The Second-to-Last Episode
Four Books a Fortnight
That's right, folks. This is the second-to-last episode of "John Updike's Ghost," which will end with Episode 100. But not to worry! We'll be launching a new podcast not long afterward, with a new name and a little bit of a new focus. In the meantime, though, we've got a cracker-jack episode for you this week, with a bunch of books we really like. Here's the deal: - "Flashlight" by Susan Choi, which is one of those books you tell other people about. The history of Korea-Japan-China conflict is at its heart. - "The Wall," by Marlen Haushofer (translated by Shaun Whiteside), which is...
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EP98: Any Good Books on the Booker Long List?
Four Books a Fortnight
We're switching it up a little bit this episode, as the Booker Prize Long List has just been released and it's fun to talk about what they've chosen — plus, the judges this year are really interesting! These are "chosen from 153 submissions, celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025." Some of the books we've read, some we've just heard about, some we have no idea about. Play along! Here's the list as we tackle it: - "Seascraper," by Benjamin...
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EP97: Death and Time Travel
Four Books a Fortnight
This week, Hannah is on vacation, Sam is working hard, but both have two books to talk about and we mostly like them. Yes, there's some embarrassing stuff where Sam has no idea about major biographical elements of the authors he's praising profusely, but let's pretend it's not happening in the moment. On the agenda this week: "A Marriage at Sea," by Sophie Elmhirst, which is a real-life story about a couple who decided to just drop out of society and "live a more interesting life." So, they bought a boat, then crashed it against a whale, and then somehow survived for months in a life...
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EP96: Yes, We Read Dungeon Crawler Carl
Four Books a Fortnight
This week, Sam and Hannah have spent some serious time on the dock where they ... actually read the same book for once! Amazing. And it's maybe not a book you would have guessed. Plus, we've got a long-lost classic and a really fun summer read (even if it's about rich people. Again), and a good discussion of what makes a 14+ book. On the agenda this week: - "Dungeon Crawler Carl," by Matt Dinniman, which Sam and Hannah both decided they liked quite a bit, even though it's very much a "dude-bro" sort of book. It's a sensation. You should give it a shot. - "Best of All Worlds," by...
info_outlineThis week, Sam and Hannah are back from a heavy Memorial Day Weekend of reading, and Hannah's books, in particular, are once again well-coordinated. Even if they're a little hard to describe. Also, this is a solid Pride episode, sort of by mistake. Here's what's on tap:
- "The Book of Records," by Madeleine Thien, which is as meaty a read as we've had in a while, full of philosophical truths and a building made of time. This is great stuff.
- "Erasure," by Percival Everett, who is legitimately among the most important writers working today. This is the book that was made into the movie "American Fiction," but, as you might imagine, is even better than the movie.
- "I'll Tell You When I'm Home," by Hala Alyan, who this time delivers a memoir grappling with her family's history of immigration, escaping Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion and coming to the U.S. This book shows you what generational trauma means.
- "The Phoenix Pencil Company," by Allison King, a data privacy professional who's crafted a magical text about a family that can read pencil hearts (they stab it into their veins) that's perfect for Pride month. It's weird, yes. But new and different.
- "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil," by V.E. Schwab, which is an ode to Anne Rice — a vampire book — but doesn't really follow Rice's vampire rules, exactly (they're all lesbian vampires, which is different). The second half of this is pretty great.
- Oh, and we're not going to tell you which book it is we disliked so intensely. See if you can figure it out. And there's no real good reason why this didn't get posted before June 10, other than Sam being in Iceland and not feeling like posting it. Sorry.