How does one construct an identity? And what must you sacrifice to forge one all your own (and who is most impacted by your choices)? Bennett's acclaimed novel The Vanishing Half meditates on these questions and more in a story about passing, sister/motherhood, and acting. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for …

This book's heavier social commentary is... leavened? Heightened? By being juxtaposed with some borderline-goofy corpse-hiding heist stuff. We think it works! Not all reviewers of the book agree. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self. Our theme music …

We celebrate our 4th birthday month on the JonC Beats Show podcast, with a new mix from one of our most popular DJ's, Danny Rose. This mix is full of high energy house music bouncers! Tracklist BLOCK & CROWN X HUTCH- I'M FOR REAL BLOCK & CROWN X HUTCH - WHAT IM TALKIN' ABOUT Austin Feldman - Better (Extended Mix) [On The Way Records] Funkerman - Lo…

Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winning novel The Nickel Boys tells a haunting story of two young men whose identities are forever changed by their experiences at a brutal institute for boys in 1960s Florida. It's not easy subject matter, but Whitehead's wonderfully economic prose keeps it engaging all the way to the downright surprising end. This epis…

We are back with an amazing show to celebrate our 4th birthday! Featuring appearances from Armand Van Helden, Chris Lake and Gorgon City. Tracklist 00:00:00 Jaime Soeiro, Arzenic - Direction (Original Mix) 00:01:36 Reboot, Sirus Hood - Wonderful (Original Mix) 00:06:24 Chris Lake, Nathan Nicholson, Sammy Virji - Summertime Blues (Extended Mix) 00:1…

Sometimes you read a book that you heard about in high school, something that was taught as a sort of historical document that helped to explain why things are the way they are today. But sometimes it turns out that the book is actually about a whole lot of other stuff too! Including lots of (apparently) live debates about politics and food safety!…

Over 100 tales of trauma, inspiration, and a vague sense that Positive Thinking may not be all it's cracked up to be! This collection (and its surrounding media empire) can be heartwarming, but nothing quite as heartwarming as a sodium-rich can of condensed chicken soup with noodles. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/o…

A prime example of the "healing fiction" genre, Before The Coffee Gets Cold has uncharacteristically low stakes for a time travel novel: no future of humanity to save, no butterfly effects, no risk of destroying the present by altering the past. It's more concerned with simpler questions: if you had just a little more information about things that …

New year, new podcast ideas! Time for a few announcements that won't fit into a regular episode. In this special edition podcast update, we share some tweaks to our Patreon project. This includes the new Dusty Bookshelves newsletter, monthly Q&A streams, and more! Also, we'd like to thank you all for listening and for supporting the show. For more …

In this award-winning novella, T. Kingfisher asks, "What if you DIDN'T want to wake Sleeping Beauty?" The protagonist Toadling is most certainly not the princess in question. She is, however, an "interesting, but sad" fae creature who tells her tale with a moving mix of warmth and tragedy. Complete our listener survey at gum.fm/overdue. This episod…

Imagine waking up one day to find out that you're the heir to the throne of a tiny fictional European country. Now imagine that, after that, you still need to navigate the choppy waters of high school! Also you're flunking Algebra, which has somehow created an opening for your teacher to date your mom. Oh no! Complete our listener survey at gum.fm/…

We are back after a 4-month break with a show jam packed full of dancefloor killers from some of the biggest names in the house music scene. This show includes music from Armand Van Helden, Biscits, Gorgon City and Riordan. Tracklist Gorgon City Ft. Harry Romero - Keep your head up Feat Harry Romero Stanton Warriors, Riordan - Bring me down (extend…

For this year's Happy Hornydays celebration, we go under the covers undercover with the FBI on a fast-paced mission to infiltrate the Zicari Crime Syndicate. This steamy little novella is more criminal than Christmas, but it still makes for a fun conversation about professionalism, brotherhood, and limousine intimacy. Complete our listener survey a…

It's time to jack in and try to decode one of the ur-texts of cyberpunk: William Gibson's Neuromancer. It's got everything you'd expect from a cyberpunk story (hackers, cybernetic enhancements, malevolent AI constructs) while also being the one of the reasons you have those expectations in the first place! This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. …

Ironically this week we are succumbing to gravity, reading the book that is the source material for a musical that is the source material for a pair of major motion pictures. But if the musical or movie Wicked led you to the book Wicked, we are here to tell you: these things are not the same! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online the…

What if a play didn't need a "plot" to move you? What if all it needed was a gun on a wall and a bunch of artists besot with unrequired love? That is what Chekhov's The Seagull accomplishes. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. This episode is also sponsored b…

It's the conclusion of our show-within-a-show dedicated to Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Iliad. We read it a few books at a time and had a more in-depth chat about it than we do about most books. This episode covers Books 20-24. Episode 09: Everybody's "favorite" guy Achillies is finally back on the battlefield! The gods want this t…

Sing, goddess, of the creativity of Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles. This romance/war history deftly combines the existing canon of Greek epic and myth with a moving story about young Patroclus and his love Achilles. We read a lot of myth this year (including The Iliad) so we have a lot of feelings! This episode is sponsored by Aura…

Misanthropy, anxiety, and societal alienation? In this economy?? This week's book and author aren't the most uplifting podcast subjects we've ever covered, but our discussion ended up being an oddly cathartic way to help process election results and the feelings downstream from election results. This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Go to …

Send us a text Fat Grampa's daughter Allie talks about her son's Autism https://drive.google.com/file/d/1evpd1zKf-urlJcrO8gLVRSAafYJyZR3X/view?usp=gmail&ts=672f6863By James Riordan

The Wind in the Willows is a classic novel for young readers. But, uh, why? Is it the animals that are basically just Edwardian gentlemen? Is it the deep longing for a nostalgic pastoral past? Is it the friend who is addicted to cars?! Surely, these are all universal childhood experiences. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therap…

It's election season here in the US (please go vote if you're reading this on November 4th or 5th)! And to uh "celebrate" we have chosen to put together a one-hour-and-forty-five-minute episode on Dan Gutman's 1996 book The Kid Who Ran For President, a book that is pretty wild and only made wilder by Scholastic's characteristic late-00s-early-10s s…

An FBI agent seeks counsel from an imprisoned serial killer on how to apprehend an active serial killer. That's the elevator pitch for the *delicious* thriller Silence of the Lambs, which (along with its hugely successful film adaptation) helped to establish a lot of tropes currently *baked* in to how we tell stories about terrible crimes (whether …

I Am Legend is a foundational block for a lot of modern zombie fiction (even though its monsters are technically vampires). But it's much less interested in the dog than the 2007 Will Smith adaptation. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self. Our theme …

Do you need a ghost story to tell? Maybe one about a bunch of friends who probably shouldn’t be friends anymore? Then Cassandra Khaw has you covered with this flashy little novella about yokai, spooky weddings, and releasing one’s inhibitions. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on yo…

Spooktober 2024 is here! And we're opening this month's spooktacular with a book about a cannibal dystopia, where people eat other people and where maybe we draw some parallels between how Special Meat is treated and how real-world non-special meat is treated?? Also we deal with the spookiness of a protagonist who Sucks. This episode is also sponso…

For this new show-within-a-show, Craig and Andrew will be learning about the world of babysitting! We're going to read eight books in this seminal series, picking books where we meet new Club members. This episode is a free teaser for our Sit Me Baby One More Time longread project. Patreon supporters can get new episodes monthly (Episode 1 is up ri…

Four wounded souls try to endure the end of WW2 in a bombed out Tuscan monastery. Ondaatje's novel digs into these liminal lives as they project themselves onto the blank slate that is [dramatic music] the English patient. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your …

We want to be the very best (podcasters)! The best (podcasters) there ever were! And our true test was to talk about the novelization of the first film in the most successful media franchise in the world: Pokémon. To join us for future bonus recordings, head to patreon.com/overduepod. Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Our theme music was …

Real horrorshow episode for you this week, malchicks and devotchkas! The best-known version of A Clockwork Orange might be Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film, which is based on a version of the story that is missing its last chapter. Burgess wants us all to know that he'd disown this story if he could, but if we're going to read it, we might as well get t…

For our latest show-within-a-show, we'll revisit Ancient Greece through Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Iliad. We'll be reading it a few books at a time and having a more in-depth chat about it than we do about most books. These two episodes cover Books 15-19 Episode 7: Things start heating up in books 15 and 16, as Achilles finally s…

Are you in your prime? If you were, would you know it? And would you know what to do with it?! Miss Jean Brodie's in her prime, and she's going to teach all these girls about art history, being the creme de la creme, and how Mussolini made the trains run on time. Tune in for a story about how teachers can have a huge impact on your life while still…

In The Odyssey, Penelope is mostly a side character who exists to be faithful to Odysseus (and clever enough to be compatible with him). Atwood's Penelopiad asks: what was Penelope up to? What did she want? What if the Homeric version of Odysseus' story isn't the true one? And what if Penelope's version isn't either? This episode is sponsored by Be…

In this classic novella, Leo Tolstoy asks, "What would it take for a guy who stinks to realize he stinks? And how would he feel about that at the end of his life?" This episode is sponsored by the PBS American Masters: Creative Spark, find it on your favorite listening app. This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdu…

And so the (initial) story of the world of Percy Jackson draws to a close. It's time to discuss the Battle of New York, the resolution of a prophecy, and the ultimate theme(s) of Riordan's blockbuster series. This episode is sponsored by the PBS American Masters: Creative Spark and Jordan J. Hall's new story collection Mammoth, Massachusetts: A Col…

The Magic School Bus series, beloved of 80s and 90s kids as both a book series and a TV show, depicts a school where every day is a field trip and every field trip is actually a fantastical voyage through time and space. I don't want to think what these permission slips look like. This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com…

Charlie Clarke returns for another mix as we celebrate his 22nd Birthday. This house mix is bouncy, high energy and features music from CASSIMM, Joshwa, Jamiroquai, Blackchild and Sidney Charles. Tracklist Downstream (Butch remix) - Makèz & life on planets Are they real - Grove P Space cowboy (Damaskus edit) - Jamiroquai Burnin’ (Art edit) - ANOTR …

The book that put Murakami on the map in Japan is an intimate tale about youth, love, sex, and grief. So it's not surprise he settled on a Beatles song for his novel's title?? Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California…

Hello, cats and kittypets! If you're up for a Redwall-y, Watership Down-y exploration of warrior cat societies and territorial conflicts, boy do we have the dozens and dozens of books for you! Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priva…

We are back with an awesome summer house mix from JonC. It's full of of high energy house music, perfect for summer 24. We have loads of new releases and 4 unreleased tracks, due to be out on labels later this year. Tracklist Cinthie - You Know How (Original Mix) Alex Adair, Bottom Lip - Body Next To Mine (Original mIx) Sidney Charles - Rawline 98 …

Communities collide in the Chicken Hill neighborhood of 1930s Pottstown. Will the tensions become more than this town can manage? Since this is a James McBride novel, probably not! His work is characterized by a warmth of spirit that feels optimistic without naivete. So it shouldn't surprised you that folks of different backgrounds are finding comm…

Emily Henry's Beach Read is a romance novel that's light on the romance, and also on beaches and reading. But it's still fun! An a good argument against aggressively pigeonholing books or their authors into any given genre box. Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See Privac…

We are back with a very different vibe this week. Danny Rose returns with an all vinyl record mix full of classic trance tracks.By JonC

Garfield creator Jim Davis decided to turn his PAWS, Inc. artists loose on multiple interpretations of our favorite orange feline. Behold, a truly absurd collection of tails -- I mean, tales. EXPLICIT CONTENT WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DISCUSSION OF AT LEAST ONE ODDLY EXPLICIT TURN OF PHRASE THAT REALLY CONFUSED US. To join us for future bonus …

Caw caw! Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a New Age messiah. Or is it? All we know is that this seagull loves to fly and craves perfection -- which is somehow an allegory for self-improvement? This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. Our theme music was compose…

This podcast is about to REAL! In that we are about to talk about Realism and Naturalism, two things we definitely have an amazing handle on. And did Émile Zola have a handle on them in his notable novel Thérèse Raquin? Tune in to find out. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Advertise on Overd…

Nora Ephron is known mainly for her films, but her voice comes through loud and clear in Heartburn, a thinly-veiled autobiographical novel about love and divorce and how much she doesn't like Washington DC. This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. Our theme m…

You find yourself facing a cherry tree. Is it on the level? Is it secretly plotting revenge against the President? Make a choice and dive into this revolutionary tale. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky Advertise on Overdue See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy…

To celebrate Bloomsday (however inadvertently), we decided to make our first foray in the work of James Joyce. His debut novel riffs on themes and characters that feature prominently in the rest of his canon, so join us for a discussion of modernist novel structure, semi-autobiographical lyricism, and what you should run off to smell if you find yo…

Sometimes you read a book from 1940 and you get a little upset about how relevant its characters and themes remain more than 80 years later. Sometimes! McCullers' debut novel explores capitalism, alienation, and poverty in the American South at the tail end of the Great Depression. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Follow @overduepod o…