Book Club for Masochists: a Readers' Advisory Podcast

Episode 223 - 2025 Favourites

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 223 and time for us to talk about our favourite reads (and other things) from 2025! We talk vampires, monster romance, cultural studies, ...

Episode 222 - Books from the 1980s

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 220 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 ...

Episode 221 - Epic & High Fantasy

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 221 and time for us to talk about Epic & High Fantasy! We talk about maps, magic, monsters, whether Pokémon counts as epic fantasy, and ...

Episode 220 - How Far the Light Reaches

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 220 and time for us to talk about the winner of our One Book One Podcast / Battle of the Books: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten ...

Episode 219 - Vampire Fiction

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 219 and time for us to talk about the genre(?) of Vampires! We discuss the difference between thralls and familiars, why vampires love ma...

Episode 218 - Book Club Books

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 218 and time for us to talk about the Book Club Books! We discuss what counts as a book club, religion, food memoirs, historical fiction,...

Episode 217 - Summer Media 2025

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 217 and time for our Summer Media Update! We discuss shelf trophies, sumo wrestling, Kpop Demon Hunters, blogs in book form, and more! Yo...

Episode 216 - Rural Noir & Grit Lit

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 216 and time for us to talk about the genre of Rural Noir / Grit Lit! We discuss what counts as "rural," whether "coastal noir" is a thin...

Episode 215 - Battle of the Books 2025

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 215 and time for our annual Battle of the Books! This year we're each pitching a non-fiction book we think we should all read and discuss...

Episode 214 - Non-Traditional Storytelling

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 214 and time for us to talk about the genre/topic of Non-Traditional Storytelling! We discuss epistolary novels, novels in verse, punctua...

Episode 213 - Found Books

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 213 and time for us to talk about "Found Books,"  that is books that we've found in public little free libraries, book exchanges, and bo...

Episode 212 - Language & Linguistics

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 212 and time for us to talk about excellently complicate the non-fiction genre of Linguistics & Language! We discuss 🤔, our academic b...

Episode 211 - Spring Media Update 2025

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 It's episode 211 and we're talking about books and other media we've enjoyed recently! We discuss early internet chatrooms, shuttlecocks, haunted do...

Episode 210 - Romantasy

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 210 and time for us to talk about the genre of Romantasy! We discuss romance series, happily ever afters, tropes, social media, and more!...

Episode 209 - Design

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 It'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, fon...

Episode 208 - 2025 Reading Resolutions

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 208 and time for us to talk about our Reading Resolutions for 2025! We discuss our love of spreadsheets, the churn of books in public lib...

Episode 207 - Monster Romance

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 It's episode 207 and time for us to talk about the genre of Monster Romance! We discuss what counts as a "monster," massive hogs, Beautify and the B...

Episode 206 - Cultural Studies

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 206 and time for us to talk about the genre of Cultural Studies! We discuss bureaucracy, affluenza, dinosaurs, Dungeons & Dragons, Batman...

Episode 205 - Favourite Reads (and Media) of 2024

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 It's episode 205 and time for us to talk about our favourite reads of 2024! We discuss fiction and non-fiction books we read for the podcast, plus c...

Episode 204 - Cozy Fantasy

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 204 and time for us to talk about the genre of Cozy Fantasy! We discuss what makes something cozy, romantasy, breakneck cozy fantasies, h...

Episode 203 - Dark Academia

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 It's episode 203 and time for us to discuss the genre of Dark Academia! We discuss aesthetics as genres, cosplaying as academics, anti-intellectuali...

Episode 202 - A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 202 and that means it's time for our One Book One Podcast Battle of the Books episode where we discuss A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baki...

Episode 201 - Weird West

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 It's episode 201 and time for us to discuss the genre of Weird West! (Just in time for Halloween!). We talk about the potential temporal and geograp...

Episode 200 - Library Fiction

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's episode 200, which means it's (finally) time for us to discuss Library Fiction! We talk about the stereotypes and tropes of library fiction, unac...

Episode 199 - Summer Media Update

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for our Summer Media Update! We're talking about podcasts, videos, books, comics, games and more that we've recently enjoyed! We discuss Bal...

Episode 198 - Yaoi, Danmei, and BL

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the romance(?) genre(s?) of Yaoi, Danmei, and BL. We talk about tropes, themes, shelving, not understanding fiction from...

Episode 197 - Law & Legal Non-Fiction (for the layperson)

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the genre of Law & Legal Non-Fiction (for the layperson)! We talk about how so much of our lives are affected by laws, t...

Episode 196 - Battle of the Books 2024: One Book One Podcast

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're giving our book pitches for our Battle of the Books 2023! Each of us has picked one title that we think we should all read and disc...

Episode 195 - Pop(ular) Culture Non-Fiction

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the topic of non-fiction Pop Culture books! We talk about cult classics, the Disney channel, the futch scale, and being ...

Episode 194 - Indie Publishers

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the topic(?) of Indie Publishers! We talk about how to define an indie publisher, weirdo metro stories, song lyrics, and...

Episode 193 - Spring Media Update

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for our Spring Media Update episode! We talk about art installations, manga, board games, comics, and birds. So many birds. You can download...

Episode 192 - Non-Fiction Graphic Novels & Comics

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the format of Non-Fiction Graphic Novels & Comics! We talk about what we even mean when we say "non-fiction," comics vs....

Episode 191 - Dark Fantasy

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Dark Fantasy! We talk about horror, grimdark, violence, amoral protagonists, epic fantasy vs small ...

Episode 190 - Reading Resolutions and Rants

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing our 2024 Reading Resolutions (and Rants)! We talk about how we've already failed our 2024 reading resolutions, audio boo...

Episode 189 - Romantic Comedies & Humorous Romance

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Romantic Comedies! We talk about the difference between "fun" and "funny," crossover romance genres...

Episode 188 - Transportation and Transit Non-Fiction

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

All aboard! This episode we're discussing the non-fiction genre of Transportation and Transit! We talk trains, buses, bicycles, spaceships, and more! ...

Episode 187 - Favourite Reads of 2023

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing our Favourite Reads of 2023! We talk about our favourite fiction and non-fiction books we read this year! Plus: Our favo...

Episode 186 - Suspense Fiction

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Suspense! We talk about crime, mysteries, horror, and even suspense! You can download the podcast ...

Bonus Episode: What About Crowdfunded Comics?

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What About Crowdfunded Comics? By Matthew Murray 🦇 and Mara L. Thacker Published in Comic Books, Special Collections, and the Academic Library edi...

Episode 185 - Crafts & Crafting

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the non-fiction genre of Crafts and Crafting! We talk about art vs craft, makerspaces vs crafting spaces, the challenges...

Episode 184 - Horror

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing the fiction genre of Horror! We talk about fear, control, Goosebumps, bad dogs, horror-comedy, creepypasta, the apocalyp...

Episode 183 - One Book One Podcast: Upright Women Wanted

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode it's time for One Book One Podcast as we discuss the novel Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. We talk about spoilers, horse operas, sp...

Episode 182 - Lyric Poetry

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the format of Lyric Poetry! We talk about reading poetry out loud, translation, French Canadian dialects, and more! Y...

Episode 181 - Summer 2023 Media Update

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode it's time for our Summer 2023 Media Update! We talk about chairs, orangutans, weird music, and 17 novellas! Plus, lots more! You can down...

Episode 180 - Pulp

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the fiction genre of Pulp! We talk about aliens, Mounties, sleuths, and vigilantes as discuss what counts as pulp and...

Schedule Update (August 2023)

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

No new episode this week, but we'll still be releasing two episodes this month! Vote in our 2023 Battle of the Books! Vote for which we should read!...

Episode 179 - Battle of the Books 2023

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're giving our book pitches for our Battle of the Books 2023! Each of us has picked one title that we think we should all read and disc...

Episode 178 - Aliens, Extraterrestrials, and UFOs

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about non-fiction books about Aliens, Extraterrestrials, and UFOs! We discuss unexplained aerial phenomenon, owls, exobiolo...

Episode 177 - Book Clubs

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the concept of mass promotional book clubs! Whether it's One City, One Read, Canada Reads, or Oprah's book club, list...

Episode 176 - Fantasy

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the genre of Fantasy! We discuss whether fantasy needs magic, clam powers, forklore, Tears of the Kingdom, worksonas,...

Episode 175 - Revisiting Genres

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the very many genres we've read for the podcast…and which ones we'd read again! We discuss Jeff VanderMeer's Zorro,...

Episode 174 - Economics

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about the genre of Economics! We discuss economic philosophy, Excel spreadsheets, micro vs macro, and more! You can downloa...

Episode 173 - Spring 2023 Media Update

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about recent media we've experienced and enjoyed! We discuss Return of the Obra Dinn, Worlds Beyond Number, Horror Queers, ...

Episode 172 - Domestic Thrillers

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Domestic Thrillers! We discuss lies, stressful reading, spoiling endings, characters who are not great people, and wh...

Episode 171 - The Moving and Management of Books

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about The Moving and Management of Books! We all own a lot of books. And we've all made big moves! We talk about when we le...

Episode 170 - Gender Theory & Gender Studies

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Gender Theory & Gender Studies! We discuss theory vs studies, memes, feminism, books that should exist but don't, and...

Episode 169 - What is a Book? (Part 2)

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're continuing our conversation from last year and talking about What is a Book? We talk about hypertext, instruction manuals, visual n...

Episode 168 - Holiday Romance

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's almost Valentine's Day, so this episode we're talking about Holiday Romance! We discuss what counts as a holiday, Christmas, nostalgia, 1st vs. 3...

Episode 167 (version 2) - 2023 Reading Goals & 2022 Reading Report

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

(Hello! This is a re-upload. The first version had a syncing error that snuck in at the very end of the editing process. We've re-exported it and this...

Episode 166 - Sports (Non-Fiction)

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Non-Fiction Sports books! We discuss how to define sports, live sports, weird rules, and more! You can download the p...

Episode 165 - Favourite Reads of 2022

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about our Favourite Reads of 2022! (Some of them were even published in 2022!) We discuss our favourite things we read for ...

Episode 164 - Military Fiction

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Military Fiction! We discuss jingoism, how war is hell, war stories vs military fiction, clichés, historical fiction...

Episode 163 - Podcasts

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Podcasts! We talk about the first podcasts we listened to (and whether we still listen to them), how we find new podc...

Episode 162 - Investigative Journalism

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Investigative Journalism! We talk about what makes something journalism, when we don't read articles, enjoying vs. ap...

Episode 161 - Hate Reads

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Hate Reads! We discuss annoyance reading, hate reading vs reading something you hate, completionism, experiencing bad...

Episode 160 - Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies! We talk about metafiction, superhero origins as cover songs, spaceship ...

Episode 159 - Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart! We discuss how much science a book needs t...

Episode 158 - Audiobook Fiction

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Audiobook Fiction! We discuss narrators vs casts, sound effects, music, adaptations, footnotes, and more! Plus: How d...

Episode 157 - Public Domain Superheroes

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You asked for it, so in this special bonus episode we're talking about Public Domain Superheroes! We discuss the Golden Age of Comics, masked adventur...

Episode 156 - Summer 2022 Media Update

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week it's time for our Summer 2022 Media Update episode as we talk about media we've recently enjoyed including video games, comics, books, podca...

Episode 155 - Literary Fan Fiction

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Literary Fan Fiction! We discuss ancient myths, fairy tales, Sherlock Holmes, copyright, Sherlock Holmes, authorized ...

Apology for Late Episode

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

No episode this week due to a variety of technical issues. We'll be back next week with out episode on Literary Fan Fiction! In the mean time you can ...

Episode 154 - Battle of the Books 2022

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're giving our book pitches for our Battle of the Books 2022! Each of us has picked one title that we think we should all read and disc...

Episode 153 - Humour (non-fiction)

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Humour Non-fiction! We talk about how truthful stand-up comedy is, identifying books from the call number, giant mosq...

Episode 152 - Beach Reads

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Beach Reads! We discuss what counts as a beach read, what doesn't count as a beach read, whether any of us has even b...

Episode 151 - Classics

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Classics! We talk about what makes a book a classic, whether a classic has to be good or not, fiction vs non-fiction ...

Episode 150 - Chaos Reigns

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For our 150th episode, Chaos Reigns! We discuss the differences between talking about fiction and non-fiction, genres that don't get the respect they ...

Episode 149 - Astronomy & Space

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Astronomy and Space Non-Fiction! We talk about astronauts, planets, moons, rocks, and more! Plus: We despair about al...

Episode 148 - Spring 2022 Media Update

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about recent media we enjoyed! We discuss TikTok food, video games about boxes, French language books, Pokemon, and more! Y...

Episode 147 - Contemporary Fantasy

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Contemporary Fantasy! We discuss drunk mermaids, elderly ghosts, assholes magicians, and hot gargoyles! You can downl...

Episode 146 - Books and Food

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Books and Food! (Or Comestibles while Consuming Content!) We discuss finding podcasts in the woods, reading in cafes,...

Episode 145 - Anthropology Non-Fiction

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Anthropology Non-Fiction! We discuss culture, society, linguistics, and more! Plus: Teeth, teeth, teeth! You can down...

Episode 144 - What is a Book?

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing "What is a Book?" Is it our most self-indulgent episode yet? We don't know, but we do know that the conversation gets pr...

Episode 143 - Amish Romance

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You voted for it, so this episode we're talking about Amish Romance! (Just in time for Valentine's Day!) We discuss romance, sex, chasteness, cultural...

Episode 142 - Sequels and 2022: The Year of Book Two

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about 2022: The Year of Book Two! (And sequels!) We discuss why we read (or don't read) sequels, favourite book twos, readi...

Episode 141 - Architecture Non-Fiction

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Architecture Non-Fiction! We discuss statement architecture vs everyday architecture, subway stations, terrible peopl...

Episode 140 - Favourite Reads of 2021

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about our Favourite Reads of 2021! We discuss our favourite fiction and non-fiction reads for the podcast (and not for the...

Episode 139 - Thrillers

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Thrillers! We discuss what makes a thriller thrilling, characters running around, helicopters, cozy thrillers, non-th...

Episode 138 - Adaptations

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Adaptations! We discuss (the fictional) Junji Ito's Anne of Green Gables, The Muppets presents Dune the Musical, bad ...

Episode 137 - Music Non-Fiction

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we discuss non-fiction books about Music! We talk about sea shanties, whether musical scores count as non-fiction, reading about music we...

Episode 136 - Hearts of Magic: Threads Entangled

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're playing Hearts of Magic: Threads Entangled! There's illegal printing presses, malformed creatures, rooftop chases, stolen hats, tea...

Episode 135 - Erotica

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Erotica! We discuss the relationship between erotica and porn, the differences between erotica and romance fiction, f...

Episode 134 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're discussing Piranesi by Susanna Clarke! Major spoiler warning for this episode as we talk about a lot of various plot points! (Thoug...

Episode 133 - Flash Fiction

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Flash Fiction (aka: microfiction, sudden fiction, micro-stories, & short-short stories)! We discuss poetry hating bar...

Episode 132 - Recent Media We've Enjoyed

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week it's another episode where we talk about Media We've Recently Enjoyed! We talk about woman's basketball, resource mining, musicals, translat...

Episode 131 - Cyberpunk

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Cyberpunk fiction! We discuss the aesthetics of neon and grime, cultural fears and xenophobia, techno-pessimism, surv...

Episode 130 - Battle of the Books 2021

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode it's the first part of our 2021 Battle of the Books! We're each pitching a book that we think we should all read and discuss, and you get...

Episode 129 - Non-Fiction Film & TV Books

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Non-Fiction Film & TV books! We discuss media about media, self-pity book purchasing, spoilers, and more! Plus: Kakap...

Episode 128 - Plucky Kid Detective

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're playing the storytelling game Plucky Kid Detective! Charles and Meep investigate the summer reading club kickoff party's missing ca...

Episode 127 - Crime Fiction

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we're talking about Crime Fiction! We discuss the Venn diagram of crime, mysteries, and thrillers, teenage girls punching robots, whether...