Four Books a Fortnight
Hannah Harlow and Sam Pfeifle, siblings and co-owners of the Book Shop of Beverly Farms, read four books every two weeks and tell you what they think! And we rate every single book with a sound effect. See which books get an explosion (this book is the bomb!) and which get a whoopie cushion (we would never!). Have a book you want our thoughts on? Hit us up at info@bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com.
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EP5: Sex, Drugs, and Arctic Terns
01/01/2026
EP5: Sex, Drugs, and Arctic Terns
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
12/18/2025
EP4: Bellyflopping into the Future
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)
12/04/2025
EP3: Go Deep! (sports and future crimes)
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)
11/20/2025
EP2: Not Crying (and another music book)
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)
11/05/2025
EP1: A New Hope (well, a new start, anyway)
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
09/15/2025
EP100: This Is the End ... For Now
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 "The River," and features much of the same brilliant nature writing, if maybe a little less "realistic." It's not as good as "The River," but that's not saying it's not great. - "The Frozen People," by Elly Griffiths, which starts a brand-new series and has time travel, but not the sci-fi sort of time travel, just the plot-device kind of time travel. If you like Elly's mysteries, you'll love this. - "So Far Gone," by Jess Walter, which is very much a novel of our moment, exploring what happens when your daughter marries a hardcore Christian nationalist. But it's also really funny and not too politically heavy. - "Help Wanted," by Adelle Waldman, which is a working-class novel about employees in a box-store warehouse and the pecking order that becomes clear when the boss announces he's leaving. Hannah liked it. And then we thank everyone and say goodbye. We'll be back, but ta-ta for now.
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EP99: The Second-to-Last Episode
08/29/2025
EP99: The Second-to-Last Episode
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 a classic of post-apocalyptic Feminist literature, and completely delivers, with a story of self-sufficiency that speaks to the essence of humanity's relationship with nature. - "A Month in the Country," by J.L. Carr, which a classic of pastoral literature, a treatise on hard work well done and the value of rural community. - "Fonseca," by Jessica Francis Kane, which is the made-up story of author Penelope Fitzgerald's apocryphal trip to Mexico (look up who Penelope is; she's dope). - "Heartbreaker," by Mike Campbell and Ari Surdoval, which is among the best musician memoirs ever produced, the story of the creation of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but so much more than that.
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EP98: Any Good Books on the Booker Long List?
08/13/2025
EP98: Any Good Books on the Booker Long List?
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 Wood, which is not available in the U.S. - "The Rest of our Lives," by Ben Markovitz, which is not available in the U.S. (though Ben is from the U.S. and used to be a professional basketball player) - "Audition," by Katie Kitamura, which is so out there that Hannah legit doesn't know how to talk about it. No one seems to know what's happening with this book. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, which we talked about quite a bit in EP92 (not 94, as Sam says on the pod, for no good reason), and is a substantive, interesting, weird novel, but maybe not Sam's favorite. - "Flashlight," by Susan Choi, a National Book Award winner, which Hannah started out super excited about, but then her fervor sort of faded... There's some great stuff in here about Japan-Korea history and the immigrant story, in general. - "The Land in Winter," by Andrew Miller, which Hannah hasn't read, but she does remember that "The Optimists" was big and she meant to read it. - "Love Forms," by Claire Adam, who was published by Sarah Jessica Parker, who also happens to be a judge! But we're sure it's a coincidence. "Like a Claire Keegan novel written by Elizabeth Strout," apparently. - "Universality," by Natasha Brown, which we know is short and is all about words and meaning. - "Misinterpretation," by Ledia Xhoga, which is similarly about words and meaning. We don't know much, really. But there seems to be a theme here. - "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny," by Kiran Desai, who has a Booker Prize under her belt. This book is going to be big. - "One Boat," by Jonathan Buckley, which is about a murder and a love affair on a Greek island. - "The South," by Tash Aw, which is this year's young gay love story, Hannah thinks, though she's not sure, but it is the first of a quartet of novels, "a reimagined epic for our times." - "Flesh," by David Szalay, which is a stylish Hungarian novel, a coming-of-age sort of thing.
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EP97: Death and Time Travel
07/25/2025
EP97: Death and Time Travel
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 raft. It's wild. But ultimately a treatise on fame. "Death of the Author," by Nnedi Okorafor, which Sam thinks is the best book he's read this year so far and criminally under-talked-about. It's sci-fi, family drama, social commentary, and so much more. Also, Sam was wrong. Nnedi is 51. Older than him. He's dumb. "A Dog in Georgia," by Lauren Grodstein, which Hannah likes a lot, and not just because she was in a writing class with Lauren a while back. It's lighter than "We Must Not Think of Ourselves," which is more to her skillset. And, yes, it's about looking for a lost dog in the country of Georgia, but, yes, everyone agrees that's weird. "The Third Rule of Time Travel," by Philip Fracassi, which Sam mostly enjoyed, but was sort of a "Netflix original" of a time-travel novel. Very readable! Entertaining! But maybe doesn't stick the landing. And it's a dude writing a woman, but it's a fine.
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EP96: Yes, We Read Dungeon Crawler Carl
07/10/2025
EP96: Yes, We Read Dungeon Crawler Carl
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 Kenneth Oppel, which is a well-targeted YA novel with an original set-up and a very sweet coming-of-age story. Also, set in Canada, which is fun. But is it really Canada?!? - "Ramona," by Helen Hunt Jackson, which is an absolute classic, and was once fully canon, but has sort of now been largely forgotten. Sam's here to tell you it's an important work of American literature and legitimately a must-read book in understanding the foundation of America. - "These Summer Storms," by Sarah MacLean, which Hannah describes as "if Emily Henry wrote a book of Succession (like, the television series)." Highly entertaining and good for the beach.
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EP95: Shepherds, Guards, and Murderers
06/25/2025
EP95: Shepherds, Guards, and Murderers
This week, Sam is back from Iceland, where he read some Scandinavian literature and visited a bookstore, though mostly just looked at volcanoes, waterfalls, and icebergs. But, have no fear, we have plenty of books to talk about this week. On the agenda this week: - "The Salt Stones," by Helen Whybrow, which is a memoir about leaving publishing to become a shepherdess in Vermont. Sheep! Hannah loves it. - "Blood Ties," by Jo Nesbo, which is not a Harry Hole novel, but is rather a standalone about brothers who love each other, but also are trying to kill each other. Sam's not sure about the "moral dilemmas" it presents. - "Kill Your Darlings," by Peter Swanson, which tells the story of a marriage in reverse, starting with a wife who'd really like to kill her husband. But why? Peter's a local and does great work here. - "Until Alison," by Kate Russo, which is set at Colby College, where Kate went, and deals with a murder of a Colby student, which happened by Kate was at Colby, but is otherwise totally fiction. It's a little cartoonish. - "Mohawk," by Richard Russo, which is actually more similar than Sam was expecting. It's ALSO a little cartoonish while trying to do "small-town life." Sam doesn't believe it. But lots of stories are more lively than boring real life. - "All the Beauty in the World," by Patrick Bringley, which is another memoir, but gives you a ton of cool info about working at the Met in New York City and fits nicely in the pantheon of museum guard books. Also, this gets Sam talking about "The Clock," a piece of art by Christian Marclay that is completely amazing and you need to see.
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EP94: Lesbian Vampires and Pencil-Heart Readers
06/15/2025
EP94: Lesbian Vampires and Pencil-Heart Readers
This 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.
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EP93: Careless People and the Snarling Trumpet
06/02/2025
EP93: Careless People and the Snarling Trumpet
This week, as Sam preps to go to Iceland, we've got some of our favorite books of the year so far, with Gatsby references all over the place, general indictments of people with more money than they need, and a call back to the Beat era. Here's what we've got on tap: - "Mansion Beach," by Meg Mitchell Moore, a retelling of Gatsby with a gender reversal and a good reminder that Fitzgerald, himself, was a bit of a "beach read" writer. - "Atavists," by Lydia Millet, a story collection that works a bit like a multi-perspective novel and succeeds as both a realistic look at the suburbs and a send-up of modern life. - "Careless People," by Sarah Wynn-Williams, which offers an inside look at some of the most ethically and morally bankrupt people the world has ever known: the creators of Facebook. - "The Silver Snarling Trumpet," by Robert Hunter, which is a must-read for anyone who likes Jerry Garcia or wants to harken back to a simpler time and get a glimpse of life before the hippies.
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EP92: Sense of an Endling
05/15/2025
EP92: Sense of an Endling
Oh, was the sound crappy last week? Well, we've fixed that. New mic! Holy smokes! You're really going to like this. It's so much better. And now that we're done with Newburyport Literary Festival and Independent Bookstore Day, it's all systems go heading into summer, and we've got lots of books to talk about, including: - "The Lion Women of Tehran," by Marjan Kamali, who was the star at Newburyport, and who really captured the audience. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, a meta sort of novel set in Ukraine and grappling with the Russian invasion and how to make sense of it. - "Heartwood," by Amity Gaige, which Hannah started and stopped and ended up finishing, but isn't convinced is really a "thriller." Also, Amity's understanding of Maine seems ... limited. - "The River Has Roots," by Amal El-Mohtar, which is more of a novella, but is really pretty, and a lovely addition to the faerie canon. And it really gets the musical portion of the plot right. - "The Doorman," by Chris Pavone, which is a little different, not an international spy thriller, and shares some qualities with "Only Murders in the Building," but isn't, like, funny at all. Some twists and turns, though. Next time, Sam reads some blockbusters and Hannah gets literary. Maybe.
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EP91: John Green, Emily Henry, and all things real and imagined
04/28/2025
EP91: John Green, Emily Henry, and all things real and imagined
Back to normal! No guests this week, just a bunch of books to talk about, including some big names. Is Sam's mic kind of wonky early? Yes. Just get by that. It doesn't last long. And you really want to hear about: - "Great Big Beautiful Life," by Emily Henry, which is just enough different from her previous beach reads to make a great beach read. It's a ridiculous biography contest set in Georgia. - "The Name of this Band is R.E.M.," by Peter Ames Carlin, which Sam found a little boring, but it's hard to tell if that's just because R.E.M. is a boring band. - "Raising Hare," by Chloe Dalton, which really is about raising a bunny, but not a bunny, a hare, which is a different mysterious kind of animal. Better than that sounds, though. - "Everything is Tuberculosis," by John Green, which has a terrible name, but is very readable because John Green can write like crazy. This leads to talk about Reddit forums detailing woo-woo mom forum posting, for reasons, and discussion of the term "vlogger." - "Whyte Python World Tour," by Travis Kennedy, an absolutely absurd and often funny tale of a hair-metal band secretly working for the CIA to bring down the Wall in the late 1980s. Sam doesn't know what to make of it. - "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries," by Heather Fawcett, which is delightful, about an academic cataloging faeries in Norway. It's cozy and quite charming. Also, no, we didn't get this posted in time for Bookstore Day or the Literary Festival, but just try to look past that. It's already happened and you missed it. But there will be other stuff that's awesome in the future, we promise.
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EP90: Poetry & Prose with Nina MacLaughlin
04/15/2025
EP90: Poetry & Prose with Nina MacLaughlin
Okay, Hannah's back, but that doesn't mean we're done with guest hosts! This week we're joined by author Nina MacLaughlin, editor of the brand-new New England Literary News newsletter, and we've got the Newburyport Literary Festival on the brain (oh, and sorry, Nina, about putting you on the spot various times, but we did enjoy, "there's just so much garbage being published"). And Indie Bookstore Day, too! But we talked about lots of books, as well, including: - "Jailbreak of Sparrows," by Martin Espada - a poet who will be a Newburyport, where we are selling books, BTW. - "Little Great Island," by Kate Woodworth - which has "Road to Dalton" vibes and a great cover (another Maine book, yes). - "Lobster," by Guillaume Lacasble - easily the weirdest book Sam has read in a while, with, yes, lobster sex. - "On the Calculation of Volume (Book II)," by Solvej Balle - a continuation of Book I, still awesome, but could have moved forward more. - "Sad Tiger," by Neige Sinno - a very heavy memoir that manages to still be quite beautiful. And make sure to stay to the very end for some great New England poet recommendations!
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EP89: Cyndle's Debut!
04/01/2025
EP89: Cyndle's Debut!
Hannah's been busy grinding out elementary school book fairs (drug-dealer mentality for the win), so the John Updike's Ghost podcast has put in a call to the bullpen, and out walks ... Cyndle Plaisted Rials! Cyndle is a writer and creative writing teacher who teamed with Sam on a book earlier this year, as well as the Beer & Weed project, so you know she's ready to go. She has not, however, read "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Of Mice and Men," so weird stuff is on the way. Here's what she and Sam had to chat about this week: - "All the Pretty Horses," by Cormac McCarthy — Sam has never read this, but it's awesome. If you've never read it, you should do it now. Just be prepared for very few commas. - "Lady Macbeth," by Ava Reid — Cyndle finds this a little better than Shakespeare's historical works, anyway. It's a little bit of a "Wicked" situation and it might help to read the original; what is Lysander doing in this book? Decent audiobook. - "Pickleballers," by Ilana Long — A racy book about people who play pickleball and like to bang. Sam laughed a few times, but didn't manage to finish this. Still, if you like romantic comedies, this is fine. - "Rejection," by Tony Tulathimutte — You might have seen the story "The Feminist"? That's the lead story in this collection, which is a serious collection of bad dudes. And hyper-online.
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EP88: Parables, Memoirs, and Chords
03/17/2025
EP88: Parables, Memoirs, and Chords
It's Daylight Savings and we are alternately miserable and happy about it. Which is a good reflection of the books we've read this week. We love them and not! Here's what's on the agenda: - "Wild Dark Shore," by Charlotte McConaghy — if you like one of her books, you're going to like this one. Hannah's a big fan. Nevermind the sleeping with the seals. - "A Thousand Splendid Suns," by Khaled Hosseini — also, like "The Kite Runner," not a memoir. Sam was confused. Kinda miserable. Hope the U.S. doesn't wind up like this. - "Lion," by Sonya Walger — she's "Penny" from "Lost," and here she is with an autobiographical novel. The lion in question is her father, who's a crazy rich guy. - "How To Lose Your Mother," by Molly Jong-Fast — did everyone else know that Erica Jong was Molly's mom? Read this, regardless, because Molly can write like hell. - "I Heard There Was a Secret Chord," by Daniel Levitin — an exploration of music therapy and why it works. Sam was already a convert, but you should read it if you're not. - "Parable of the Sower," by Octavia Butler — after some confusion with how this dovetails with the Patternist novels (it doesn't), we come around to discussion why this novel is must-read.
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EP87: Reading Banned Books with PEN America
02/27/2025
EP87: Reading Banned Books with PEN America
It's a very special episode this week, as we're joined by Sabrina Baeta, senior program manager on the Freedom to Read team at PEN America, an organization founded by authors more than 100 years ago to protect the freedom to write and read whatever you want. Sabrina's here to talk about book bans, which are a priori uncool, and which she works to defeat. There have been more than 10,000 efforts in the past year alone to ban individual books in school settings across the United States, and efforts to ban books are increasing rapidly, particulary books for younger kids. That's bad. So, we all read some banned books, including: - "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole - "Queer Ducks," by Eliot Schrefer and Jules Zuckerberg - "A Court of Mist and Fury," by Sarah J. Maas - "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe - "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini - "The Fire Next Time," by James Baldwin - "James," by Percival Everett - "Red, White, and Royal Blue," by Casey McQuiston Y'all, there are some really good arguments against banning books in this episode and some great discussion of the power of literature. You need to listen to it!
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EP86: Murakami and the Fourth Wing
02/16/2025
EP86: Murakami and the Fourth Wing
Did you get your photo taken with Rabbit the Bookstore Cat Cutout? If not, you probably missed our 5th Birthday Party. Too bad. But not worries: There will be more parties. This week, Sam is caught up in the new Haruki Murakami, but Hannah luckily has three books to talk about, so it's not a disaster. Here's the lineup: - "Fourth Wing," by Rebecca Yarros — Hannah's been saving it and it reminds her of the time we discovered Philip Pullman (but, no, it's not that good). Perfect vacation reading. - "The City and Its Uncertain Walls," by Haruki Murakami — Sam is wondering if Haruki is trolling us at this point. Cats! Spaghetti! A record store! Teenage girls! But it's still oddly compelling. - "The Collaborators," by Michael Idov — Hannah thought this was pretty good. It's international espionage. With Russia. It's just not always clear why we're supposed to care. - "The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You," by Neko Case — Hannah is highly enamored of this, and doesn't think it matters if you can name a song by her. Some messed up shit happens in Neko's life. Also, no, we didn't get our act together to post this in time for Valentine's Day. It's nobody's fault.
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EP85: Is Cozy Horror Next?
02/01/2025
EP85: Is Cozy Horror Next?
It's another episode of "John Updike's Ghost After Dark," a wild and crazy recording that finds Sam with a blanket on his lap and Hannah reading books infused with the number three (and using the word "tome"). We move from Anne Tyler (don't worry, she's a little bit funny) to weird French YA and cover a lot of ground in between, including: - "Three Days in June," by Anne Tyler (Sam thinks he read "The Accidental Tourist") - "Infinite Jest," by David Foster Wallace (just touching on it, really) - "Beta Vulgaris," by Margie Sarsfield (kinda like "Lazy City," except totally crazy with evil sugar beets, and a little bit like "Banal Nightmare," except scary instead of funny) - "The Three Lives of Cate Kay," by Kate Fagan ("it's all so ridiculous," romantic without being a romance, a book that makes grand statements; this Kate woman is crazy impressive) - "The Bookshop," by Evan Friss (Sam mispronounces his name, sorry; this one is a little close ot the quick; please remember that Sam considers "weirdos" a compliment) - "The Missing of Clairdelune," by Christelle Dabos (completely out-there French YA, so good) - "Water Moon," by Samantha Sotto Yambao (completely you-there Japanese YA, so good; "this book delivers" and is NOT cozy) Also, come to our 5th birthday party. You'll know when it is if you listen to the end.
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EP84: Adichie and the Good Girl
01/16/2025
EP84: Adichie and the Good Girl
It's the post-holiday lull, which luckily gives us plenty of time to plan our 5th Birthday party! Hannah's buying the cake, Sam is DJing. Don't miss it. You have to listen to find out when it is. When you arrive, we can talk about these books (and others): - "Dream Count," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Hannah is a little perplexed by this much-awaited big deal, with its women being idiots about men; the marketeers are struggling) - "Good Girl," by Aria Aber (this book is going to be hot; maybe even as good as Morgan Talty's cover blurb, but not because of the sex stuff, which is, in fact, done well) - "A Sea of Unspoken Things," by Adrienne Young (there's a twin-magic thing that Hannah is not really feeling) - "Heartbreak is the National Anthem," by Rob Sheffield (this is music-writing at its best, a celebration of what we love about pop music as a collective thing) - "The Queens of Crime," by Marie Benedict (featuring much discussion of when, exactly, Agatha Christie disappeared and then reappeared) And, of course, so much more.
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EP83: New Year, Old Books, New Ideas
01/03/2025
EP83: New Year, Old Books, New Ideas
Sam's had himself a little skiing accident, but powers through a mild concussion to lead us thorugh a discussion of Christmas gift-giving (with a deviation into the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood) and the joys of reading books written quite a while ago. But don't worry! We're reading stuff from 2024 and 2025, too. It's a wiiiide-ranging chit-chat here in the New Year, with some deep philosophical stuff, and a focus on: - "Anti-Semite and Jew," by John-Paul Sartre (which is in print, thanks Knopf) - "Playground," by Richard Powers - "Superbloom," by Nicholas Carr (who posits Martin Luther as the world's first influencer) - "Heir," by Sabaa Tahir (which we decided is NOT YA; Sam was confusing it with "Black Sun") - "The Forever War," by Joe Haldeman (this is important stuff) - "The World She Edited," by Amy Reading (Katharine White was, indeed, EB White's wife)
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EP82: The Age of Innocent Chickens
12/12/2024
EP82: The Age of Innocent Chickens
The Shop is bursting at the seams here at Christmas-time, but Hannah and Sam haven't stopped reading! With their favorites of the year behind them, they look to the past and future for new things to consume (such as "Minority Report" and "The Dream Hotel"). But you'll have to wait for the full discussion on that. On the full agenda this episode is: - "Age of Innocence," by Edith Wharton - "The Quiet American," by Graham Greene (from 1955, NOT the 1970s, Sam) - "Rental House," by Weike Wang - "The Ladies of Grace Adieu," by Susanna Clarke - "What the Chicken Knows," by Sy Montgomery (much giggling ensues) - "Persepolis," by Marjane Satrapi - "What Happened to the McCrays," by Tracey Lange (with much middle school hockey discussion) - "The Last Dragon on Mars," by Scott Reintgen
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EP81: Our Favorite Books of 2024
12/03/2024
EP81: Our Favorite Books of 2024
Did we get this out in time for Thanksgiving travel? We did not. But we did get this out in plenty of time for you to grab one of these bangers as a present — or for yourself to read and be a part of the big community discussion. This week it's simple stuff: Our favorite books of the year. No, not the "best" books (since we only read about 75 books each this year), but the ones we liked the most. Here's the list, in no particular order. Listen up to hear why: HANNAH'S PICKS James, by Percival Everett Brightly Shining, by Ingvild Rishoi Fire Exit, by Morgan Talty Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Sandwich, by Catherine Newman The Safekeep, by Yael van der Wouden Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley The Book of Love, by Kelly Link The Guide, by Peter Heller All Souls, by Michael Patrick McDonald SAM'S PICKS The Most, by Jessica Anthony On the Calculation of Volume, Book 1, by Solve Balle Banal Nightmare, by Halle Butler Fire Exit, by Morgan Talty The Bright Sword, by Lev Grossman The Book of Elsewhere, by Keanu Reaves and China Mieville The Physics of Sorrow, by Georgi Gospodinov King Nyx, by Kirsten Bakis Charlie Hustle, by Keith O’Brien Rebel Girl, by Kathleen Hanna
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EP80: Big Books for Holiday Shopping
11/17/2024
EP80: Big Books for Holiday Shopping
The front window has been well decorated by mom and dad, the Polar Expresses have been ordered, and it is officially Holiday Season. So, what books are you going to buy for your friends and families? Well, let us tell you: - "James," by Percival Everett, Hannah's pick for book of the year (even if it didn't win the Booker). - "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey, which Sam somehow hasn't read yet, but is about astronauts and what it's like to be human (also, it's "James S A Corey," the fake name of two guys who wrote the Expanse series, not "S A Andrews" who doesn't seem to be a person). - "Lazarus Man," by Richard Price, which should be big, by all rights, but who knows? Seems like a good book for literary dudes. - "The Serviceberry," by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which is great for the right open-minded reader. They have to be anti-capitalist, probably. - "The Backyard Bird Chronicles," by Amy Tan, who is very much alive despite having been in a band with Stephen King in the 1990s, we think. We also use the word "flexi-bound" in describing this book. - "The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics," by Chad Finn, who really lucked out with the Cs winning the championship just as he was finishing up. - "Why We Love Football," by Joe Posnanski, a follow-up to "The Baseball 100," which is easily digestible and fits with the attention spans of teenaged boys. - "Be Ready When the Luck Happens," by Ina Garten, a memoir by the super-famous chef, who Sam has never encountered in any way for some reason. This involves a sidebar on Martha Stewart. - "Heartbreak Is the National Anthem," by Rob Sheffield, which is shaping up to be one of the first important examinations of what Taylor Swift means for the future of popular music. - "Small Things Like These," by Claire Keegan, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a movie. - "Say Nothing," by Patrick Radden Keefe, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a limited series. - "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a movie, and may get you to buy others of his books, which will likely disappoint you. - "The Women," by Kristen Hannah, which is emerging as maybe Hannah's most important book, dealing with the Vietnam War as it does and speaking to women about that time in a unique way. - "Impossible Creatures," by Katherine Rundell, which is emerging as the best book for middle schoolers of the season.
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EP79: Blood, Vampires, and Moral Philosophy
11/03/2024
EP79: Blood, Vampires, and Moral Philosophy
It's getting cold, the election season has been busy, and we're reading books all over the map. Sam's on a philosophical bent and just saw "The Wild Robot"; Hannah's mildly unprepared, but rallies. All told, we tackle: - "The Other Valley," by Scott Alexander Howard, which explores regret, but has some weird world-building. - "Blood Test," by Charles Baxter, who you should know, and has penned a story about a blood test for propensity for murder. - "Interview with the Vampire," by Anne Rice, which holds up great and is not an easy book and engages with serious philosophical questions. - "Colored Television," by Danzy Senna, about middled-aged artists who get to pretend to be rich and make bad choices. - "The Wild Robot," by Peter Brown, which we talk about mostly because Sam saw the movie. It's not as good as the book. Shocker! And then we finish up with some Christmas stuff because Matt Tavares is coming to the Farms on Dec. 7, which will be great.
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EP78: Deep Cuts from the Boozy Book Fair
10/20/2024
EP78: Deep Cuts from the Boozy Book Fair
High on the success of the Boozy Book Fair (it was, according to Sam, "really banging"), a great in-shop reading and signing, and a couple days off for Indigenous Peoples Day, Sam and Hannah are in a mood, with nothing to complain about. Also, no dudes allowed, this week, with a shout out to the guy who really likes Rachel Kushner. - "The Time Keepers," by Alyson Richman, which, sorry, is rather maudlin and bad. It's not a time travel book. - "The Plot," by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which Hannah read mostly because "The Sequel" just came out. The second half was entertaining, anyway. - "The Road to Dalton" and "Where the River Meets the Sea," by Shannon Bowring, a librarian who grew up in the County in Maine. You really should have come to see her speak a couple weeks ago. - "Deep Cuts," by Holly Brickley, which comes out in, like, February, but it was the bottom of the TBR pile and about a fictional music writer, so Sam read it anyway. It's a major nostalgia trip if you ... like music. - "From Here to the Great Unknown" (not, actually, "From Here to Eternity"), by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. Hannah actually listened to it, mostly because Julia Roberts is the narrator, but also really enjoyed it.
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EP77: Ski Romances and Outdoor Tragedy
10/04/2024
EP77: Ski Romances and Outdoor Tragedy
The road in front of the Book Shop is freshly paved and Sam and Hannah are all sorts of amped up about it. No, you didn't screw up and set it to 1.5x. We're just talking really fast about: - "Factory Summers," by Guy Delisle. Sam's daughter gave him this graphic novel and it is properly obscure and entertaining. It doesn't smell bad, even though it's about papermaking. - "Full Speed to a Crash Landing," by Beth Revis. It's sorta like the Murderbot series, but without the body count, and the first in a trilogy. - "The Lodge," by Kayla Olson. Sam's reading cosy romances about skiing. There isn't even any sex. It's "set" at Stowe, but it's unclear whether the author has ever been to Vermont (but Sam is wrong that there is, indeed, a gondola at Stowe. Sorry). - "Death at the Sign of the Rook," by Kate Atkinson. The new Jackson Brodie book! He's in his 70s now, but doesn't play pickleball. - "The River," by Peter Heller. Hannah's been talking about how amazing Peter is. Sam had to investigate. It's really, really good. The hype is true.
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EP76: National Book Award Longlist Reactions (We're So Smart!)
09/19/2024
EP76: National Book Award Longlist Reactions (We're So Smart!)
Have we read all of the NBA fiction longlist books? We have not. Do we have thoughts on the ones we have read? We do! Jessica Anthony! Amazing! But we also read a bunch of other books for this episode, even if Sam has trouble remembering which ones (much as he could not remember the word "seersucker"). Here's what's on tap: - All of the National Book Award Longlist for Fiction. . A lot of great choices; a few headscratchers! - "The Life Impossible," by Matt Haig. It's uplifting! About grief and getting past it. - More on "The Light Pirate," which starts kind of boring but gets awesome. - "You Are Here," by David Nicholls. Yes, now Sam has read it, too. - "Brooklyn," by Colm Tóibín. Hannah's not sure why people love it so much. What is she missing? - "Clark and Division," by Naomi Hirahara. Sam doesn't like historical fiction, but he likes this.
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