The Worst Bestsellers: Recent Episodes
LiveWriters
Writer Kait and librarian Renata read bestselling books in an attempt to understand their appeal and, barring that, to become the Crow and Servo of the book world. New episodes every other Monday. Visit WorstBestsellers.com for our readers advisory booklists and other fun stuff.
Hold on to your sock wine, because we’re ending this year’s Flashback Summer with a real rager! We were joined by Courtney Summers, author of I’m The Girl and other rad books, to discuss Stacey and the Bad Girls (Baby-Sitters Club #87) by Ann M. Martin. Listen to this episode on your way to the...
By popular demand, we took Flashback Summer to the land of Tortall. Rebecca Kim Wells, author of Briar Girls and other great queer fantasy books, joined us to discuss Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. Put on your purple contact lenses and listen to this episode while you study the blade. Readers advisory: Here. Footnotes: Tamora...
We were digging through some boxes in our totally not-haunted attic and found Stonewords by Pam Conrad. It seemed like a chill Flashback Summer vibe, so we had our friend KL join us to discuss it. Be careful not to play this episode around your secret ghost friend–they might get jealous! Readers advisory: Here. Footnotes: Pam Conrad’s...
Flashback summer, eh? Ann Foster of Vulgar History joined us to read No Coins, Please, an early work by the venerable Canadian author Gordon Korman. Listen to this episode while driving cross-country with a van full of chaotic tweens! Readers advisory: Here. Footnotes: About Gordon Korman Coming up next: Stonewords by Pam Conrad.
It’s Morphin’ Time! We’re kicking off Flashback Summer Animal Style. We returned to the world of the Animorphs by reading the three books in the iconic David Saga–The Discovery (#20), The Threat (#21) and The Solution (#22), all by K.A. Applegate. We were joined by Moniquill Blackgoose, author of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. Listen...
We continue Celebrity Memoir May with another wronged woman of the early 00s, Ms. Jessica Simpson. Annie Cardi, author of Red, joined us in righteous indignation on behalf of our favorite former Newlywed after reading her memoir Open Book. Listen to this episode while practicing your Dukes of Hazzard-style stunt driving. Content warnings: Child sexual...
Unlike Scientology, Celebrity Memoir May is inescapable. Known Suppressive Person, librarian, and author Angie Manfredi (@MissKubelik) joined us to discuss Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini.
Horny dragons were fun, but we’ve moved on. Onto another planet, actually. Lily Sparks, author of The Merciless King of Moore High, joined us to discuss Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. Upload this episode directly to your alien … Continue reading →
Y’all horny for some dragons? We forged a soul bond with comedian, writer, and Scary Mommy Sarah Aswell by reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros together. Listen to this episode while pondering ways to legally murder your classmates!
The devil made us read This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. Fortunately, we were #blessed to be joined by Izzy Wasserstein, author of These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart, who helped safely guide us through this Christian thriller.
Ice, ice, baby! Annie Cardi, author of Red, returned to the podcast to discuss the sexy skater Booktok sensation Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. Join us as we skate back to college and dirty talk our way into the Olympics! Content … Continue reading →
Nora Roberts Month continues! Heidi and Emily from Romancing the Shelf podcast returned and took us back to the 90s with the vintage romantic thriller Sanctuary. Sadly, this book has zero plates of casual pasta but it does have … Continue reading →
Our Lady Nora Roberts has written a book about a handsome criminal who admires good architecture and casual pasta? We’re so back. Our friend and Nora Roberts expert Christine has returned to discuss Nightwork with us.
Once again, we’ve managed to sneak in a few good books this year! Here are our favorite books we read in 2023 (regardless of publication year. Long live backlist titles!) Footnotes: Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2023 (featuring Renata’s picks for … Cont...
We finished our adventures with the Time Traveler’s Wife but decided to linger in the 2000s for awhile longer. Friend of the Show (and the Internet’s Best Friend) Margaret H. Willison joined us to discuss Britney Spears’s memoir The Woman In … Continue...
We held our annual Patreon Choice poll and our Beloved Patrons chose to send us back in time to 2003 with The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Since the book is prominently set in Chicago, we were #blessed to be … Continue reading →
A cautionary tale: too many people complained about this book online so we were dumped into an arena and forced to publicly defend it to the death. Mackenzi Lee, author of many Best Bestselling books including The Gentleman’s Guide … Continue reading →
We’re topping off this year’s Flashback Summer with a pair of red–some would say auburn–braids. We were joined by Hannah and Marcelle, the cohosts of Witch, Please and Material Girls, to discuss Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Pour yourselves a cup of raspberry cordial and listen to this podcast on your train journey from the orphanage!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:Anne of Green Gables Raspberry Cordial recipe by Tori Avey
The Real Reason ‘Anne With an E’ Was Canceled by Netflix Is Heartbreaking by Katie Bourque
Coming up next:Crave by Tracy Wolff.
For Flashback Summer we decided to get away from it all with a visit to an exclusive desert spa. Unfortunately, the spa was plagued with black widow spiders, blackmailers, and other concerns. Fortunately, Kristin, the host of the Kristin Sleuth YouTube channel, was able to talk us through Nancy Drew #111: The Secret at Solaire by Carolyn Keene. This episode is not sponsored by Solaire moisturizer.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: Episode 55 – Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys
Kristin Sleuth on YouTube
It’s a Clue podcast
The Dream podcast
Sweet Valley High Diaries – 35’s Extended B-Story: Tofu-Glo
Coming up next: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.
Breaking Flashback Summer News: in the title of the book Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison, “Angus” refers to the cat! Renata was almost as excited about this fact as she was about convincing JJ, aka S. Jae-Jones, author of Guardians of Dawn: Zhara to return as a guest for this episode! Listen to this episode while shaving your eyebrows (or while you are homebound, waiting for your eyebrows to regrow).
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:Time 100 Best YA Books Of All Time: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Coming up next:Nancy Drew and the Secret at Solaire by Carolyn Keene.
For this Flashback Summer episode, the Bellwether Friends Anna & Alene joined Renata to discuss Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry. Sadly, Kait had to miss this one because she was busy shopping for her new poetry outfit, which would make Anastasia green with envy. Listen to this episode while you update the list of “loves” and “hates” in your notebook!
Kait’s Poetry Outfit:
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “Four Questions with Lois Lowry, Newbery Award-Winning Children’s Author” by Molly Parr
“Why Anastasia Krupnik Was Ahead of Her Time” by Grace Lapointe
Bellwether Friends #65 – Fastest and Furiousest
Coming up next: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison.
Were you looking for sound medical advice to treat snakebites and rabies? Well, we do not recommend consulting Trixie Belden #1: The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell for first aid training. However, we had a great time talking to returning guest Carrie about this Flashback Summer mystery novel.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:The Trixie Belden Series
WikiHow: How to Treat a Snake Bite
WikiHow: How to Spot Rabies in a Dog
Coming up next:Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry.
Help! We’re trapped in the bodies of millennial podcasters! Andrew and Craig from the Overdue podcast joined us to discuss the classic switcheroo tale Help! I’m Trapped In My Teacher’s Body by Todd Strasser. Listen to this episode while your coworker makes you breakfast!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:A Taste of Spongey: Help! I’m Trapped in the First Day of School
Overdue #590 – Super Mario Bros movie adaptation
Coming up next:The Secret of the Mansion (Trixie Belden #1) by Julie Campbell Tatham.
It’s–hey, calm down, no, put down your pitchforks, we’re not calling Judy Blume a “worst” bestseller! Absolutely not, just, please, let me finish this intro–it’s Flashback Summer! The time when we chill out and revisit childhood favorites, even when they are iconic classics that absolutely do not match the name of our podcast. We were joined by writer and comedian Sarah Aswell (@seaswell), also known as the Scary Mommy behind Scary Mommy Book Club, to discuss Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by the one and only Judy Blume. Listen to this episode while increasing your bust!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “Judy Blume Shares How It Felt To Finally Watch ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret’” by Sarah Aswell
“God to Margaret: Always with wings!” by Rebecca Traister
“Judy Blume Blasted An Article Linking Her To J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Views As ‘Bullshit'” by David Mack
Judy Blume embraces renewed interest in her work from her Florida book store
Coming up next: Help! I’m Trapped in my Teacher’s Body by Todd Strasser.
Hey, we’ll be honest: we kind of phoned this one in. On a landline. You screened it? On your answering machine? Haha, a topical reference. See, we read Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and The Musical Rent by Anthony Rapp. He was in Rent! Listen to this episode while waiting in line for rush tickets for Rent. Or, honestly, don’t listen to this episode if you don’t care about Rent the musical. You’ve been warned!
Content warning: Sexual assault, death of a parent.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: This American Life: Hoaxing Yourself
‘Without You’ Review: Anthony Rapp’s Seasons of Love, and Loss by Elisabeth Vincentelli
“Actor Anthony Rapp: Kevin Spacey Made A Sexual Advance Toward Me When I Was 14” by Adam Vary
Rentheads FAQ
Josh’s Website
Coming up next: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.
Pamela Anderson: model, actress, activist…poet. Dame Karen Corday (of Two Bossy Dames and elsewhere on the internet!) joined us to read Love, Pamela, which…we kinda loved. Join us as we revisit the 90s with increased feminist rage!
Content warning:Child abuse/child sexual abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “What to Read, Watch, and Listen to After the Pam & Tommy Finale” by Sophie Brookover and Karen Corday
Pamela Anderson Blue Zone Girl ad
Pamela Anderson’s Playboy Covers Through the Years
Coming up next:Without You by Anthony Rapp.
As Americans, it’s our right to not pay attention to the British royal family. However, we’re waiving that right in order to read Spare by Prince Harry. We were thrilled to be joined by Dame Sophie of Two Bossy Dames–even more thrilled than Harry was to meet Will Arnett at a party at Courtney Cox’s house. Listen to this episode on your way to throw more tea into Boston Harbor.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: Prince Harry Holds Spike the Echidna
The Victorian Society in America
“Royal Bodies” by Hilary Mantel
BrainyQuote.com
Jimenez’s “Wolverine” Savages the Poaching Trade
Coming up next: Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson.
Divorced, beheaded, subjected to an extremely long and boring work of historical fiction. Ann Foster from Vulgar History joined us to discuss The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. We were glad for Ann’s expertise, because now we now that it’s historically inaccurate in addition to being super boring. Listen to this episode on your way to your next gay witchcraft circle!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:Brimping.
Gable hoods.
Coming up next:Spare by Prince Harry.
Did you read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and think, “This could really use more victim blaming?” If so: have we got a book for you! Kristen and Jolenta from How To Be Fine (and By the Book) joined us to discuss Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever: The Making of a Happy Woman by Judge Judy Sheindlin. Listen to this episode on your way to pick up your husband’s dry cleaning!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:By The Book: Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever
Judge Judy To Megyn Kelly: ‘I’m Not A Feminist’
Coming up next: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.
We got tired of waiting for Stephenie Meyer’s latest book, so we checked out a book that some book bloggers are saying Stephenie Meyer wrote. Corinne is written by Rebecca Morrow, whose author bio simply states, “Rebecca Morrow is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author.” We had our friend Margaret H. Willison (of Two Bossy Dames, among other projects) join us to investigate Morrow’s identity: is she Stephenie Meyer? Or perhaps an even more dazzling author? Listen to this episode to find out!
Content warning: Religious trauma.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: Reddit post: “Pretty sure Stephanie Meyer is wrote a new novel that’s slightly anti-religious under another name to avoid getting in trouble with the Mormon church.”
“Who Really Wrote Corinne by Rebecca Morrow?”
“Elin Hilderbrand to retire from writing beach reads in 2024”
Village Inn
Cream Cheese Mints
Coming up next: Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever by Judge Judith Sheindlin.
Dear Ellen, our friend Vanessa from the podcast Hot and Bothered flew in from Plethora, Maine to discuss Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. Millions of BookTokkers can’t be wrong…can they? Listen to this episode in Boston, where everything is better.
Content warning:Domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, death of a child.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “Bestselling writer Colleen Hoover apologizes for planned coloring book based on domestic violence novel” by Issy Ronald.
Hot and Bothered: It Ends With Us
Coming up next:Corinne by Rebecca Morrow.
Although we had to check out of the real life Inn BoonsBoro, we were able to return there through the power of fiction. We read the second book in the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy, The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts, with our returning guest and Nora Roberts expert Christine.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:Inn BoonsBoro
Coming up next:It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.
Thanks to our wonderful Patreon Patrons, we recently traveled to Nora Roberts’ bed and breakfast in Maryland, Inn BoonsBoro, along with our Resident Nora Roberts Expert, Christine, and Resident Robe Expert, Nicole! Please enjoy this bonus episode where the four of us talk about our luxurious weekend stay, debate the content of a dolphin massage, and fail to accurately describe the size of a pretzel.
Footnotes:Romancing The Shelf: Our Trip to BoonsBoro!
Inn BoonsBoro
Gifts Inn BoonsBoro
Ghost-scented lotion!
Bespoke tea blends!
Dan’s Restaurant and Taproom
Renata’s Instagram Post
Big Pretzel:
Coming up next:The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts.
It’s our first episode of the year and we’re already longing to get away from it all. So we were joined by Heidi and Emily of the Romancing the Shelf podcast to discuss the book The Next Always by Nora Roberts. But also more importantly, we discussed Inn BoonsBoro, the B&B where this book is set, but also the B&B that Nora Roberts owns in real life! Heidi and Emily gave Kait and Renata travel tips for their upcoming stay in BoonsBoro. Listen to this episode on your way to pick up your next pizza.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:Romancing The Shelf: Our Trip to BoonsBoro!
Inn BoonsBoro
Coming up next:The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts.
The day has arrived: Renata read her very first Goosebump novel. Courtney Summers, Best Bestselling author of books like The Project and the upcoming I’m The Girl, joined us to discuss Night of the Living Dummy by R. L. Stine. Please rate this episode 10/10 Splats in the Apple Podcasts store.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:
Episode #54 – R. L. Stine
Episode #152 – Mallory and the Trouble With Twins
Episode #177 – Baby-Sitters Beware
Slappy the Dummy on Goosebumps Fan Wiki
‘A small corner of the internet is obsessed with ‘Long Furbies’ and the creations are both disturbing and hilarious” by Julie Gerstein
Pangur & Grim
Coming up next: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
As the earth makes another journey around the sun (allegedly), we return to Flashback Summer. Writer Annie Cardi (@AnnieCardi) returned to the show to discuss A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle, a formative read for many 90s children who aspired to be psychic marine biologists. Listen on your way to the beach, and make sure to share it with any dolphins who might want to listen in!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “The World” by Henry Vaughn
Depresh Mode #61 – Maggie Smith
“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith
“Try to Praise the Mutilated World” by Adam Zagajewski
Mariah Carey Can Speak Dolphin
Coming up next: Goosebumps #1: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine.
Sure, we at Worst Bestsellers have read several self-help books over the years, but you may be asking: what about the men? Oh, you weren’t asking? Well, Dave Hollis (ex-husband of Rachel) is concerned, and he wrote Get Out Of Your Own Way to help men understand that they have problems too. And we made that Margaret Willison‘s problem, as she returned to discuss this book with us. Turn your volume up to bless up!
Our friends at Porter Square Books hosted us for this virtual live show! If you watched it on Crowdcast: thank you so much for joining us! This is just the audio from that event for those of you who prefer not to see our faces. (The video is still archived and you can watch it here if you’d like. You can also watch the archived video of our previous virtual live show at PSB discussing Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis here.)
Readers advisory: Here (via Porter Square Books).
Footnotes: Ally, Ally, Ally, or Ali Slides
Episode 170 – Didn’t See That Coming
Episode 144 – Girl, Wash Your Face
Appointment Television
Coming up next: A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle.
We asked a djinn to bring us a book that could be adapted into a video game, a Netflix series, and a podcast episode, and we got The Witcher: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. We were joined by Arielle to discuss this book that, to our great surprise, was actually pretty good–and best of all, didn’t even have a fantasy map in it. Hire a bard to perform this episode for you in your local tavern!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “What Was Geralt’s Last Wish in The Witcher?” by Sadie Gennis.
Coming up next: Get Out Of Your Own Way by Dave Hollis.
Every once in awhile it’s nice to read something that’s so bad it truly reminds us why we do what we do. We were joined by Rachel Andelman (of Union Comedy, Improv Boston, 2MB Studios, and Smiling Women Comix) to discuss The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Listen to this episode on your next long, pointless run!
Content warning: It turns out that James Dashner was dropped by his agent and publisher following accusations of sexual harassment in 2018 and we didn’t find that out until we checked his wiki page at the very end of recording, so sorry for not mentioning that earlier in the episode!
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: “Dylan O’Brien Is Ready to Talk About That Accident” by Kyle Buchanan
I Don’t Even Own a Television #119 – The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner IMDB Trivia
Coming up next: The Witcher: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.
What’s new, pussycat? We were joined by Meredith Goldstein, the Boston Globe’s Love Letters columnist and podcaster (and author of Things That Grow), to discuss Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas. It’s a book about DC’s horniest character written by one of the horniest YA authors of our time, so why was this book so focused on serious medical conditions? Listen to this episode while you prepare for your next gala.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes:“Ranking 10 Batman actors from best to worst” by Meredith Goldstein
Coming up next:The Maze Runner by James Dashner.
Announcement: On Thursday, April 14th at 8PM Eastern, we’ll be doing a virtual live show presented by Porter Square Books! Our very special guest Margaret H. Willison will join us to discuss Get Out Of Your Own Way by Dave Hollis (aka the man whose divorce was washed by Rachel Hollis). The event is free and will be recorded and archived if you can’t make it on the 14th.
Register here!
The Worst Best Friends have reconvened at the high school carnival! Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the kissing booth is closed, but returning guests Anna and Alene (aka the Bellwether Friends) still joined us to discuss The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles. We discussed Wattpad, why the movie is better than the book, and what our own summer dance prom masquerades were like. If you ask nicely, maybe the barista will play this episode over the sound system at the sit-down Starbucks.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: Episode #79 – Dark Archer
“The Kissing Booth: How a Newport teen author inspired Netflix”
“‘Kissing Booth 2’: Meet Beth Reekles, the young author behind the popular Netflix rom-coms” by Carly Mallenbaum
“Netflix Releases Some More Fuzzy Viewing Data: Congrats, ‘The Kissing Booth’!” by Rick Porter
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
Plain White Ts – I Really Want You
Coming up next:Catwoman: Soul Stealer by Sarah J. Maas.
Kait and Renata were left unattended and their love tanks were running pretty low, so they turned to The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman. This one has been kicking around since 1992, and you know what? Some parts of it were not that bad. Unfortunately, there are also…other parts of it. Listen to this one on your way to your next softball game or funeral!
Readers advisory: Here.
Candy pairing: Kait says M&Ms, Renata says Skittles (with green apple flavor).
Footnotes: What’s Your Love Language Quiz?
“The Creator Of The 5 Love Languages Is A Homophobe And This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” by Kristen Mae
“There’s No Escaping the Five Love Languages” by Katie Heaney
The Gottman Institute on Same-Sex Couples
“Tucker Carlson complains new M&M’s mascots are ‘less sexy'” by Grayson Quay
This American Life Episode #291 – Reunited (And It Feels So Good)
Coming up next:The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles.
Nora Roberts Month continues with a gracious Southern-style housecall from Heidi and Emily, the cohosts of the Nora Roberts podcast Romancing the Shelf. For this podcast crossover event, we discussed Nora’s 1991 thriller Carnal Innocence. It’s the story of a serial killer in a small Southern town and aspects of it have not aged well. Listen now to find out how to sign up for a true crime LARP!
Content warning: This book and our discussion of it includes sexual assault, murder, child abuse, racism, and hate crimes.
Readers advisory: Here.
Footnotes: Romancing the Shelf: Carnal Innocence
Romancing the Shelf on Instagram
Worst Bestsellers Episode #169 – Divine Evil
Coming up next:The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.