Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives by Gretchen Rubin - Episode 225
Release Date: 08/26/2025
Now That You Have Seen Me by C.L. Roberts - Episode 239
Terrible Book Club
We're back, we're sober, and another Boston book has appeared on our digital doorstep! Now That You Have Seen Me was submitted to the show by the author herself sometime over the last two years. Every once in a while it's fun to experience Boston-based fiction and it's been a little bit since we've dealt with an unreliable narrator, so we thought we'd take this for a spin this season. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of drug use, severe mental illness, sex, and just a dash of racism and a pinch of some phobias we gotta' talk about a...
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Star Wars, Star Trek, and the 21st Century Christians by Winkie Pratney *Patron’s Choice* - Episode 238
Terrible Book Club
At last, we give you the final episode in our alcohol-fueled quadrilogy. Our wonderful Patron Beastwiththeleast mailed us this book of their own free will. Thoroughly in debt to them and their glorious book packages, we selected this one for review this year especially for our dear Beast. As we are far from being biblical scholars ourselves, we're desperately trying to summon Dan McClellan for an assist here to provide a fact check for our own sanity. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are intoxicated after...
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Dontrell's Tales by Dontrel Murphy *Patron's Choice* - Episode 237
Terrible Book Club
It's another alcohol-infused episode of TBC. Our long-time Ko-Fi Patron KiwiThing requested this book for 2026, so we were obliged to enter TRELLAND - the mishapen world that bubbled forth from a crucible of literary confusion, where popular video game franchises were melted down with Euopean fairytales and random writing exercises! In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are intoxicated after sampling cocktails from the book we reviewed last episode in your timeline, but have yet to record in ours). TBC is an...
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Free The Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women by Jennifer Croll (Illustrated by Kelly Shami) - Episode 236
Terrible Book Club
You've heard of feminism, right? ... you wanna' drink it? You may recall us saying that we were a bit tipsy in the first episode of this season and would be for a whole four episodes in service to a later terrible book. Today, you meet that book. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are fairly intoxicated after sampling several cocktails from the book). Be forewarned that there's a big ol' vulnerable bummer section where we discuss the death of our family member from 1:54 - 12:49 before the episode properly...
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A Live Reading of The Story of the Beetle Hunter by Arthur Conan Doyle *Special Guests: Antiques Freaks*
Terrible Book Club
It wouldn't be a new season of TBC without a Victorian visit from the Dig your out of storage and enjoy a live reading of The Story of the Beetle Hunter by Arthur Conan Doyle, all set to the impeccable scoring and sound design talents of . If you'd rather hear a properly acted, serious version of this story, please check out the . In addition to our usual barnyard language, this episode includes irreverant and sexual humor and some bad Victorian ideas and opinions.
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The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig - Episode 235
Terrible Book Club
Scribando and Bookbarella return! We're a little tipsy for the first four episodes of the season in service to a future TBC episode, so this one is perhaps not our greatest season opener. We try and fail to do a little scientific thinking around particle and quantum physics and sing a fake song for your amusement, though, so there's that. Special Thanks to: Ken from for narrating our cold open for this season for our new photos for our new logo and graphic design Links & References: You can find many episodes about particle physics and other quantum topics we mentioned on ...
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The Third Force: A Novel Of Gadget by Marc Laidlaw *Patron's Choice* - Episode 234
Terrible Book Club
Thank you to our Patron One In A Thousand who requested this week's book! They wrote in to us earlier this year, saying: "...At some point in your lives, you've probably experienced media that you felt was ALMOST really good, but for whatever reason it just wasn't, and media that was almost really good can be just as frustrating as outright bad media because you can see that it just needed a little bit of fixing. That's how I felt about The Third Force. It's a tie-in novel to an obscure Japanese multimedia franchise from the 90's called Gadget...Marc Laidlaw was given a lot of creative freedom...
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Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May - Episode 233
Terrible Book Club
It’s winter up here in the northern hemisphere, so why not explore a fluffy memoir that flirts with self-help specifically for the season? Get a nice blanket and a stuffed creature, a hot beverage, maybe light a candle or incense or perhaps even a fire, and snuggle in. Take care of yourselves out there - make that doctor, dentist, therapist, etc. appt you've been avoiding! In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of injury, surgery, mental health struggles, and alternative treatments for health and wellness. References & Resources:
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Temple of the Winds (Sword of Truth #4) by Terry Goodkind - Episode 232
Terrible Book Club
Terry has been dead for a few years now, but it's clear that he controls Chris from beyond the grave with a Rada'Han because Chris begged Paris to read yet another Sword of Truth novel this year. The suffering is turned up to 11 as we're both crushed beneath a block of fantasy plot swiss cheese. Even though it's more holes than cheese-plot, it still hurts because the holes have spikes, in Goodkind fashion. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of abuse, sexual assault/coercion, sex worker murder, slavery, and pandemics. Other episodes in...
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A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #1) by Sarah J. Maas *Special Guest Emily* - Episode 231
Terrible Book Club
The time has come. It was inevitable; at last, we submitted to the will of Terriblo, listeners, and fate to bring down the evil monarch and find our destined mate - I mean, bring you our review of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, popularly known by its acronym of ACOTAR. To ease us through this experience, I’ve brought my emotional support Emily who herself is an avid reader who has suffered through not only this first book, but most of the series that follows. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of hunting, kidnapping,...
info_outlineWe haven’t done any self-help lately, so Paris braved Oprah's Book Club list to pull the recently published Secrets of Adulthood straight from its maw. Though it attempted to take her, she fought her way out to bring you this episode about the science of happiness and the pop cultural grift which swirls around it.
References & Resources:
- Dr. Robert Waldinger: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
- The Good Life by Robert Waldinger, MD & Marc Shulz, PhD
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The Science of Well-Being: Dr. Laurie's Yale course, free for adults and a teen version
- University of New Hampshire - Positive Psychology
- The You You Are by Ricken Hale, PhD
Content Warnings: In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of capitalism and eating the rich.