The English Club Podcast: Recent Episodes
The University of Saint Balasar English Club
English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give notoriously "bad" fiction a chance for fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.
Somehow, J.A. Johnstone has returned. And she’s brought a new book that’s somehow more insane than the last. Join the SBU English Club as they tackle another ripped-from-the-headlines Johnstone thriller, and try in vain to figure out just what headlines this is supposed to be ripped from.Just as a warning, this one gets kinda real, so listen at your discretion.
The worst author ever is back with a furry mountain-climbing fever dream! This one’s so much to deal with that our heroes need to call in the help of a friend. Throw yourself to the wolves and join the fun as the English Club tackles a book that may literally be ontologically evil.
Is it safe to climb a mountain in a fursuit? How much are you (not) supposed to spend on marketing your book? Is this guy serious? Find out on our newest episode!
Somehow, Lightlark has returned. Some call it the worst YA book ever made, others call it a victim of a chemical reaction between the publishing industry and the TikTok machine. Whatever led Lightlark and Nightbane to get published, they're full of common mistakes made by newbie fantasy writers and remain some of the most controversial books.We don't care. We're hell-bent on saving it, anyways. Maybe it's something with the character introductions, the romance subplot, or even that this book needs a bit more Reylo--J and Andrew will do whatever it takes to make the world of Isla, Oro, and GRIMSHAW make sense.ABOUT THE BOOK: Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark’s seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two separate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven’t ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla’s midst who don’t believe her ascent to power was earned. As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart.ABOUT US:English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give internet famous fiction a fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.CHOOSE YOUR MAGICAL CREATURES:Antler Bear, Moss Wolf, Giant Spider: https://www.instagram.com/sbu_englishclubAn actual panther like literally just a large cat with no other cool features: https://twitter.com/sbu_englishclub
Apparently, the people who made the giant replica of Noah’s ark also wrote a pseudo-fantasy trilogy about Noah’s early life. Our intrepid heroes don’t expect much from the first book, but lo—fantasy writing tips, dinosaurs, and Renaissance-era poetry await!
Will Jay and Andrew let their differing beliefs stop them from working together to save this book? Can a work be true, even when it’s not factual? Will iron mining operations disrupt local pterodactyl habitats? Some of these questions will be answered!
Join the English Club for a deep dive into the controversial book that everyone on Twitter and TikTok has been lit up about. Journey across 18th century France, the god dimension, colonial America, another god dimension, Dinosaur Fairy hell, and probably some other places too during this whopper of a club meeting. Plus: who is Lauren M. Davis? Is she a Cait Corrain sockpuppet, or an AI writer? Who is Nova, and is her playlist any good? CAN you copyright the sun? And what makes this book so interesting and controversial anyway?Full book synopsis on our website: https://englishclubpodcast.com/2024/01/04/novas-playlist/Review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6072707343Follow Marve M Anson so something good comes out of this: https://www.instagram.com/justmarvewrites/ABOUT US:English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give internet famous fiction a fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.
From lawsuits to internet drama to a very odd trilogy of books, Onision brings it all to the SBU English Club. Join us and our friend Holly as we provide Greg Onision YouTube’s Stones To Abbigale the thoughtful and balanced critique and analysis that he definitely got and ignored before hitting the Publish button on Amazon.ABOUT THE BOOK:This book is made up of events that occurred in my own life mixed with fiction from the made-up life of James. James is essentially a better version of myself. His home, his school & his life all resemble my own at his age. The people James analyzes and is surrounded by are not so unlike those I’ve known as well. I have experienced much of the loss James has however his happier moments are more often than not also mine. I want to share my story without it being purely non-fiction. I simply felt this approach would make for a far better book. At points I cried while writing this, at others I laughed.Stones To Abbigale is not just a book I wrote; it is a piece of who I am.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25251380-stones-to-abbigaleABOUT US:English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give internet famous fiction a fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.Davis Fan Club: https://www.instagram.com/englishclubpodcast/Join the Rollerskating Team: https://twitter.com/sbu_englishclub
I only read half of Fourth Wing! Can I guess how it ends, or will I lose to a tarot prediction? Find out on this episode as Rebecca Yarros joins our club!
Also features a good bit of Fourth Wing Analysis & Review. Is this booktok darling worth the hype? Can you plot a novel using tarot cards? Hang out with the English Club and find out!
SEASON 1 FINALE! I've never seen a (normal-seeming) book with such a low goodreads score. But does Rin, Tongue and Dorner actually deserve the negativity? Find out as we face the final boss of English Club Podcast, Season 1!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Take a delirious hyper-metaphorical ride with a love triangle into a fiery cosmos. Shapero’s outer space uncannily mirrors inner space, daring us to ditch our expectations and probe the depths of human desire.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40937423-rin-tongue-and-dorner
ABOUT US:
Hee naur naur hee naur naur hee
https://twitter.com/sbu_englishclub
https://www.instagram.com/englishclubpodcast/
englishclubpodcast@gmail.com
The critique group no one asked for is back with Alex Aster’s booktok famous novel Lightlark! Is this book really that bad, or is it a misunderstood work of art (over)stuffed with good ideas? Join us as we discuss worldbuilding, romance, Gus Dapperton, Tarot readings, Elden Ring, and more!ABOUT THE BOOK:Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60310757-lightlark#SocialReviewsABOUT US:English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give notoriously "bad" fiction a chance for fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.https://twitter.com/sbu_englishclubhttps://www.instagram.com/englishclubpodcast/englishclubpodcast@gmail.com
Hang out with the English Club as we discuss Ernest Kline's Ready Player One! We both read our own half, and together, we try to put the pieces together.ABOUT THE BOOK:IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969571-ready-player-one#ABOUT US:English Club Podcast is a joint venture between two critique partners at "Saint Balasar University". The goal of each episode is to give notoriously "bad" fiction a chance for fair critique, as if the authors were members of a writing group themselves.https://twitter.com/sbu_englishclubhttps://www.instagram.com/englishclubpodcast/englishclubpodcast@gmail.com
If you've ever wondered what it's like being an English major, or wanted to study literature but not known exactly what that entails, come hang out with us! We're walking step by step through our experiences at university. The books we had to read, the clubs we joined, and the reason we did it.
Today the English Club reads Gothikana, RuNyx's TikTok famous dark adacemia teacher student romance! Well, they read half of it. BUT, both read a different half, so together, they know the full story. How good do our hosts do at piecing together this chilling, bodice-ripping romance?ABOUT THE BOOK:An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an olden, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his paths cross with Corvina, she's dangerous to everything that he is.They shouldn't have caught each other's eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years for over a hundred years, and Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.And so begins a tale of the mystique, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
Spend your evening with the English Club wrestling with one of the most challenging books we've encountered to date--Ben Shapiro's True Allegiance! Like Trigger Warning, True Allegiance is a "espionage-esque" action thriller with a... distinct... political bent. Unlike Trigger Warning, True Allegiance is something much more complex. Something much more insidious.Music by Benjamin Davis.
Reaper's Creek (2018) the last of a spiritual trilogy by notable YouTube personality Onision. It follows Daniel, a young boy in the rural midwest whose recurring nightmares of alien abductions suddenly become all too real. And then later he kills god.
Join the English Club in a discussion of Andrew’s Shakespeare themed birthday Pokémon, Eragon, Fire Emblem, The Office, John Green, and Gnosticism as we unpack one of the most complex books we’ve encountered on this podcast.
What can we learn from this tragically autobiographical tale? And how is this book similar to Empress Theresa? Find out on this episode of the English Club Podcast!
SPECIAL EPISODE PART 2 of 2: Our interview with Lani Sarem continues! This one is more light-hearted, focusing on Lani's creative background and her responses to various critiques we had in our episode.
SPECIAL EPISODE PART 1 of 2: After our last episode, we received an interesting phone call from a club member you might be familiar with. We think it's time we share it with you all! One thing's for sure--the University of Saint Balasar's English Club will never be the same.
Part 1 of our Lani Sarem interview focuses on Sarem's background, the origins of Handbook for Mortals, and the trials she faced before and after its publication.
Lani Sarem's Handbook for Mortals has been the subject of derision on the internet ever since its first publication. While there's no excusing the "magic trick" allegedly used to get it on the NYT Bestseller's list, is the book really that bad? Is there perhaps a great story for young adults hidden within? Join the English Club as they take a look at this controversial novel and find the magic hidden within... "OR DO THEY?"
William W. Johnstone (and Jo) joins the English Club with their controversial novel Trigger Warning. Is it really "one of the worst books of all time", or is it a satirical, tongue-in-cheek masterpiece? Our hosts will find out!
In Episode 1, the Saint Balasar University English Club critiques Norman Boutin's Empress Theresa. Music by Benjamin Davis.