Book Rant
41 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsA podcast for bookish people, opinionated by bookish people. Because ranting is what book clubs are missing.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Year in Books: 2023
December 31, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBWe've resurfaced! Even though we haven't exactly been super busy reading behind the scenes, we figured we'd bring everyone back to speed with a recap of what we've been reading and doing for the past year. Our favourite reads, most surprising books of 2023, DNFs, reading goals for 2024... you know the drill. Also, if anyone asks what we got each other for our 2023 Book Box, the answer is we don't know; we're late and have bad memories.
Are We Back?
February 19, 2022 22:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBSo, uh, it's been a while. We figured we should release something to let you know where we've been and what we've been reading. And to give some life updates and let you know where this podcast is going. We're not officially back from our hiatus (although we never really announced that we were on a hiatus... so were we ever officially on one?). But we felt like chatting about books! So here we are. We hope your reading is going well, too :) cw: pet loss, talk of mental illness
Chill & Travel Light
August 31, 2021 02:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MBListen, I think we just needed to have a chill episode. So, here it is. A chill episode. Vee talks about an old favourite, Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison, and thinks about how books change over time and reveal new secrets with age. Jess discusses the importance and heartbreaking reality of This Place: 150 Years Retold, a graphic novel exploring the last 150 years of so-called Canada through the lens of Indigenous voices and experiences.
I Read Ice Planet Barbarians and It's Worse Than You Think
August 02, 2021 23:00 - 55 minutes - 37.8 MBcw: rape In this month's role reversal, Jess reads a book of essays and Vee reads (really awful) alien smut! Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino is highly recommended book of personal essays exploring the ways that capitalism has ruined everything. Guest appearance by Foucault. Ice Planet Barbarians: A Scifi Alien Romance by Ruby Dixon (not her real name) is... not recommended. In fact, it's atrocious and I suggest you forget it ever existed. It's a book about heteronormative assumptions and gi...
I Like to Beautifully Read
July 01, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBSometimes you just need to get up at 5AM and beautifully read, ya know? Vee recounts her experiences reading This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, a wonderfully crafted sapphic romance about post-human time travelling agents... need I say more? And Jess gushes about the book that actually broke her reading slump: Beach Read by Emily Henry, a contemporary romance/romantic comedy (somebody tell me what the difference is) with quick banter and uncomfortably ti...
I Like to Beautifully Read
July 01, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBSometimes you just need to get up at 5AM and beautifully read, ya know? Vee recounts her experiences reading This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, a wonderfully crafted sapphic romance about post-human time travelling agents... need I say more? And Jess gushes about the book that actually broke her reading slump: Beach Read by Emily Henry, a contemporary romance/romantic comedy (somebody tell me what the difference is) with quick banter and uncomfortably ti...
Jess & Vee (Incoherently) Discuss: Piranesi
June 17, 2021 19:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBIt was bound to happen. Jess is finally out of her reading slump and dove straight into Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - which of course meant that we needed to sit down with some drinks and a pipe and chat about what we thought about this book. We by no means covered even half of the theories or ideas that this book brings up, so if you have anything to add, hit us up on Twitter or Instagram! If you haven't even read this book, what are you doing? Go read it! mouth noises sponsored by THC and...
Fantastic Histories And How (Not) To Write Them
June 03, 2021 16:00 - 1 hour - 44.4 MBIn case anyone is wondering: no, Jess didn’t get her reading chair back. The saga continues. I’m personally even wondering if the chair ever existed. Or maybe it was adopted and is now living a totally different life with another family. Maybe in Italy. I hope it’s happy. Jess reads Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, a witchy enemies-to-lovers book set in pre-unification Italy, and Vee reads The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (as part of #asianreadathon), a brutal fantasy about war and the...
Jess & Vee (Incoherently) Discuss: Book Adaptations
May 25, 2021 16:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBAre book to movie/tv/theatre/videogame adaptations ever good? We start to answer this question in our latest minisode... and then get sidetracked by talking about which adaptations we've liked and disliked. Important stuff, you know. We're not (fully) sober in this episode, so if you're not comfortable with that, no problem. You can skip this one. Drink and smoke responsibly. (But also it's not really that great, anyways, so...) Also, yes, Jess said Gary Oldman instead of Gary Marshall. I...
Can We Just Read, Please
April 28, 2021 18:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MBDay 829 of our reading slump. Things are looking bleak. The books on the shelves don't vibe with us. Our library books are being returned without ever having been read. We barely know how to read anymore. Do we just hold the books in our hands? Or is there another step? We can't remember. Please, send help. (Also, Vee reads Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and Jess reads Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller)
When Opposites Attract
March 28, 2021 14:00 - 1 hour - 47 MB(well, when opposites get compared) Tag along another unhinged episode of emotionally charged ranting! It’s great, though. Don’t be scared. Jess reads/rants about Sarah J. Maas’ latest book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series, A Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR #4? 5? ACOSF #1?), which follows the coerced romance of Nesta and Cassian. It’s weird and creepy and SJM isn’t even aware of it because she and her fans keep selling us propaganda about how feminist and progressive her books are...
Welcome to Black Future Month
February 27, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 49.1 MBHappy Black History Month! And also Black Future Month! Vee reads the incomparable genius N.K. Jemisin with her book of short stories, How Long 'Til Black Future Month, and Jess reads the magical and relevant The Midnight Bargain by Canadian author C.L. Polk. We talk about SJM controversy, reading vibes, and generally struggle. Like, it's February. It's rough. Black Lives Matter ✊🏿
Like Nothing We've Ever Read Before
January 28, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 47.8 MBJess and Vee both read books like nothing they've read before, even though Vee has already said that about the same author and - well, Jess is probably right. She often is. Jess reads The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, a beautifully written story about a woman from the 18th century who makes a deal with night to live forever - but where no one will remember her. An instant classic! Vee reads A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and talks about the controversy surrounding the ...
Year in Books: 2020 (An Ode to the Library)
December 31, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 43.2 MBIt's that time of year again... when your brain is mush from all the reading you've been trying to stuff into the last few days of the year, because you haven't quite come to terms with the fact that you won't reach your reading goal for this year and that good habit you tried to pick up last, oh, what, a month or two, and you're too ashamed to even admit your shame to yourself. Sound familiar? It's okay. It happens. But, hey. We made it through this year. Good for us. And in celebration...
Memory Lapses & Pronunciation Problems
December 27, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 44 MB'Tis December, which means it's time to rant about our Book Box books! (If that makes no sense to you, listen to the last episode - or, at least, the last ten minutes of it) Well, rant may be a strong word, because we loved both of our books. Vee reads (most of, sorry!) Circe by Madeline Miller, a retelling of the goddess Circe's story that upheaves the world and smashes the patriarchy and just, gosh, it's so good. Jess shares what she found most eye opening about Daring Greatly by Brene...
Memory Lapses & Pronunciation Problems
December 27, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 44 MB'Tis December, which means it's time to rant about our Book Box books! (If that makes no sense to you, listen to the last episode - or, at least, the last ten minutes of it) Well, rant may be a strong word, because we loved both of our books. Vee reads (most of, sorry!) Circe by Madeline Miller, a retelling of the goddess Circe's story that upheaves the world and smashes the patriarchy and just, gosh, it's so good. Jess shares what she found most eye opening about Daring Greatly by Brene...
Vampires do Sexy Science
December 06, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBIt's... our November episode! In December! Because reasons! We hope that our sporadic upload schedule (sorry about that) is made up for (we hope) with two amazing books - and our Christmas Book Box unboxing! If you have no idea what our Christmas Book Box is, well, listen to the episode and you'll find out. Easy peasy. Jess binges and gushes about the page-turned that is A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, the first book in the All Souls trilogy. Part foray into dark academia, part...
Of course this is our Halloween episode...
October 29, 2020 14:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBIn this episode, Vee rationalises that she's reading a spooky Halloween book because all fantasy, if you think about it, is an exploration of the Other. Right? And what is Halloween but a showcase of those things that we avoid and reject and therefore become afraid of? Am I convincing anyone? Probably not. A Dreamer's Tales by Lord Dunsany (Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany) is a unique exploration of both that otherworldly fantasy that lifts you out of the familiar...
Jess & Vee (Incoherently) Discuss: A Court of Thorns and Roses
October 17, 2020 15:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBSo, this happened. Back in episode 8, Jess read A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, the second (and most popular) book in her A Court of Thorn of Roses series. She specifically did not recommend the book to Vee and told her that she wouldn’t like it. But then Vee went ahead and read the series, because torturing herself by reading books she doesn’t like is a particularly fun hobby of hers. And thus this episode was born. An entire rant and discussion about our unfiltered emotions...
A Love Letter to Stephenie Meyer
September 27, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 45.4 MBIn our most incoherent, tangental, sleep deprived, and overall nonsensical episode yet, we delve into two very different YA books and how they impact the way we read. Jess rants about the trash fire that is Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which recounts the events of the first Twilight book from the perspective of Edward Cullen who, let's he honest, is a creepy serial killer. (sorry to any Twilight fans out there, but maybe sit this episode out or, like, you know, read better books that do...
Stay Sexy and Read Books
August 21, 2020 03:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBDo you ever have that thing happen where you pick up a book and it's just what you wanted to read at that exact moment? Yeah. That's what happened when Vee read A Sense of the Mysterious by Alan Lightman, a wholeheartedly human book about the artful balance between science and the practice of it. Jess talks about (via audiobook, because AUDIOBOOKS ARE BOOKS) Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (we may have forgotten to mentio...
This Episode is Cursed
July 24, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 49.7 MBThe universe may have attempted to stop us from getting this episode to you, but we did it. Might be a week late, but here you have it, anyways. Maybe we were cursed by the same witches who tried to hex the moon? Anyways. Jess gushes about the historical mystery with a soupçon of thriller energy that is Kate Morton's The Lake House. Elements of Atonement and Diane Setterfield meet in this trans-century murder mystery. Vee talks about reading High Fantasy in the midst of Black Lives Matte...
Learning to be Anti-Racist
June 19, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBAs two white people living in Canada, we have a lot to (un)learn in regards to racism. About our history, about how we are complicit in white supremacy, about how to help - and even about how to (un)learn without centring ourselves or our whiteness. And because of the wealth of information offered in books about Black Lives Matter and why this movement needs to exist, we've decided to using reading as one of our many tools in becoming anti-racist. This episode, Vee reads Me And White Supre...
Chickens Are So Weird
May 21, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 46.4 MBBecause we value bringing you a diverse selection of books, we present to you nothing less than a YA fantasy and a chicken how-to guide. Jess reads Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young, a YA fantasy about family and, well, common enemies, marinaded in a flavourful dose of all things viking. Vee reads CHICKENS IN YOUR BACKYARD: A Beginner's Guide by Gail Damerow and Rick Luttman. Ever wanted to know what a wattle was? Read this book. Want to know more about attaching saddles to your hen to fa...
The Conversation Resumes
April 17, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 51.5 MBVee breaks in her first audiobook experience with a book that she’s been reading out loud for years, anyways: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, narrated by Rob Inglis. And Jess breaks into something other than a book…: the newly released essay by Caroline Calloway, “I Am Caroline Calloway.” Yes, it’s dramatic and kind of a dumpster fire of a scene, but sometimes you just gotta read what you wanna read. And this essay was it. Content warning for suicide.
It's Not You, It's Me
March 27, 2020 20:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MBIn a strange turn of events (that we are blaming entirely on this being episode number thirteen), neither Jess or Vee finished the books they wanted to read for this episode - but by no fault of the books themselves. Jess read half of Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch (and plans to finish it soon - no DNFs here), and Vee almost finished Winter by Ali Smith (and has already finished it by the release of this episode!). We talk a lot about reading for deadlines, book clubs, and introduce a c...
Not A Roast, But A Slow Braise
March 12, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 44.4 MBVee finally releases the hold that The Glass Sentence (by S.E. Grove) has had on her mind for nearly a year and finishes a DNF! Who would have even thought that possible. Middle grade books are just not her thing, despite the time-bending narrative and wonderful world building that this book has to offer. And Jess talks about not just one, but two oposite-of-queerbating graphic novels: The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang, a fairy tale love story that explores beyond the gender binary,...
What Fantasy Should Be
February 27, 2020 23:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBIn this episode, Jess and Vee celebrate two talented black authors for Black History Month! Jess talks about Pride by Ibi Zoboi, a modern black and latinx retelling of one of her favourite books, Pride & Prejudice. Of note: Jess listened to the Pride audiobook, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo! Vee gushes over the power that is Marlon James' Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star #1), a reimagining of what fantasy should feel like. Because fantasy should feel more diverse - and feel more magi...
What Fantasy Should Be
February 27, 2020 23:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBIn this episode, Jess and Vee celebrate two talented black authors for Black History Month! Jess talks about Pride by Ibi Zoboi, a modern black and latinx retelling of one of her favourite books, Pride & Prejudice. Of note: Jess listened to the Pride audiobook, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo! Vee gushes over the power that is Marlon James' Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star #1), a reimagining of what fantasy should feel like. Because fantasy should feel more diverse - and feel more magi...
Toss a Coin to Your Badass
February 13, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBVee talks about the adorable and emotionally bewildered phenomenon that is Geralt of Rivia in The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski, and finds surprising parallels to our modern climate - despite it having been published nearly 30 years ago! And Jess raves about the teenage perspective of rape, assault, and justice in The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis. Alex is definitely not someone to be trifled with.. but at what cost to herself? As per usual: spoilers ahoy! As...
Toss a Coin to Your Badass
February 13, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBVee talks about the adorable and emotionally bewildered phenomenon that is Geralt of Rivia in The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski, and finds surprising parallels to our modern climate - despite it having been published nearly 30 years ago! And Jess raves about the teenage perspective of rape, assault, and justice in The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis. Alex is definitely not someone to be trifled with.. but at what cost to herself? As per usual: spoilers ahoy! As...
The Naomi Novik Polish Pierogi Special
January 30, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBFresh from the front lines of the Polish Appreciation Club, we bring you our Naomi Novik and Witcher extravaganza episode, in which we talk about how amazing the new Witcher show is and share our love (and criticism) about two of Naomi Novik's bestsellers. Jess reads Spinning Silver, Novik's most recent standalone novel about a young moneylender who becomes entangled in the world of magic and winter faeries. Vee talks about Uprooted, another standalone by Novik that won the Nebula Award fo...
The Naomi Novik Polish Pierogi Special
January 30, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBFresh from the front lines of the Polish Appreciation Club, we bring you our Naomi Novik and Witcher extravaganza episode, in which we talk about how amazing the new Witcher show is and share our love (and criticism) about two of Naomi Novik's bestsellers. Jess reads Spinning Silver, Novik's most recent standalone novel about a young moneylender who becomes entangled in the world of magic and winter faeries. Vee talks about Uprooted, another standalone by Novik that won the Nebula Award fo...
Why We Read
January 17, 2020 01:00 - 1 hour - 46.1 MBWelcome to our most off the wall, uninhibited, nonsensical and rant-fuelled episode yet. I mean, we’ve gotta live up to the “Rant” in our name somehow, right? Vee breaks in the new year with the worst book she’s ever had the joy of reading, Three Princes by Ramona Pierce, and Jess gushes about her favourite faerie smut, A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas. Rants include fluffy misogyny, the importance of caring about characters when revelations are d...
An Education in Mayan Mythology
December 19, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 42.3 MBThis episode, we talk about the books that we gifted each other for our annual Christmas book exchange. Jess reads Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a fantastical tale of Mayan myth and love in the backdrop of early 20th century Mexico. And Vee reads Educated by Tara Westover, a memoir that untangles the deep-rooted threads of brainwashing, gaslighting, and neglect. Vee’s dogs generously add some background noises, we talk about the joys of recommending books, the narrative l...
Queen of Hype
December 05, 2019 17:00 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBVee reads The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a regionally-inspired story set in the Alaskan wilderness of the 1920s and fashioned after the fairy tale The Snow Maiden. Then Jess jumps on and then swiftly off the hype train that is Holly Black’s newest novel, The Queen of Nothing, the last book in The Folk of the Air trilogy about the wicked drama of Faerie. We talk about implementing a decimal rating system on Goodreads (and creating our own Rant Reads service), the best times to read, honest ...
Uncategorizable Myth
November 21, 2019 17:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBEpisode 4! We’ve come so far. Jess relishes the treasure that is The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones at a time when this story is most needed, and Vee struggles to find words even remotely adequate enough to describe the wild force that is Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq. We talk about stories slipping in and through myth and the understanding that stories give our own lived experiences. Then we ramble about intentional breaks while reading, reading on a treadmill, bizarre books, well-fleshe...
Spreeding Bumps
November 07, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 41.9 MBIn this week’s episode we talk about speed bumps in our reading (aptly and awkwardly named spreeding bumps), Vee accepts a Contact challenge, and Jess breaks her book buying ban. Also of note: the need for good male role models, ~mood books~, not-quite-fantasy books, Monday meltdowns, The Four Doorways, and our very first fan mail! Vee reviews La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust # 1) by Philip Pullman, the prequel to the His Dark Materials series: an ageless Gaslamp fantasy whose mundane spy...
Third Book Curse
October 24, 2019 14:00 - 1 hour - 42.7 MBIn this week’s episode, we delve into the finales of two vastly different fantasy series. Jess talks about Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns #4), a YA fantasy quartet about sister queens fighting to the death for their crown, amid the tatters of unravelling allegiances and lore. Vee fawns over The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth #3), an eerily familiar post-apocalyptic world where magical prowess or brute force hold nothing against the sheer perseverance of un...
My Favouritest Book(s)
October 10, 2019 15:00 - 1 hour - 46.4 MBOur Favouritest Book(s) Welcome to our podcast where we rant about books. In this very first episode we talk about our favourite books - the ones that brought us to where we are today, the ones that we’ll never shake loose. Vee discovers she’s a witch and Jess confesses her childhood truths. A lot of giggling, a generous serving of awko taco, and a whole load of opinions all around. Recommendations for future books welcome!