Let the fighting begin! In this episode, Marissa and Megan discuss, argue, and fight over who would win between fictional characters in fictional fights. From Dracula and Rhysand to Emma and Lizzie Bennet, this episode is throwing everything down and everyone with them! So, join us while we fight it out. As usual, the three readers start by reviewing their most recent reads and finish by discussing their upcoming reads. They also announce their next topic from the Book Jar. Expect us to discuss:...
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 78
It's time to share our deepest reader secrets. In this episode, Marissa and Megan are joined by Alix Calfa from the Queens of Fantasy podcast, to discuss all those things we usually keep to ourselves. We're talking about our bookish confessions, from dust jacket behaviour to reading challenges and even cheating on reading goals. Get ready to see us in a different light! As usual, the three readers start by reviewing their most recent reads and finish by discussing their upcoming reads. They also...
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 77
Besides that one overly comfortable chair in the corner, every reader's favourite place to be is a bookstore. In this episode, Marissa and Megan share the best bookstores they've explored. From local gems to international stars, these bookstores have one thing in common: they are well-loved and well-read. As usual, the two readers start by reviewing their most recent reads and finish by discussing their upcoming reads. They also draw their next topic from the Book Jar. Expect us to discuss: Ink,...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 76
Ever heard of audiobooks? How much do you really know about them? In this episode, Megan explores everything audiobook. From the history of audiobooks to its formats, uses, and styles, join along as your two favourite readers explore the world of audiobooks! As usual, the two readers start by reviewing their most recent reads and finish by discussing their upcoming reads. They also draw their next topic from the Book Jar. Expect us to discuss: White Horse, Black Nights by Evie Marceau Silver Win...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 75
It's time to go back to school! And, what better way to celebrate school than with a test? In this episode, Marissa and Megan review literary terms . Or rather, Marissa quizzes Megan on this terminology while putting her friendship at risk. From metaphor and simile to allusions and character foils , Marissa puts on her teaching hat to share the top literary terms every reader should know -- or learn! As usual, the two readers start by reviewing their most recent reads and finish by discussing th...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 74
Books are made to be read, not banned. In this episode, Megan and Marissa discuss banned books. From the most commonly banned novels to their favourite illicit reads, these two readers dive into why the books are banned and why they disagree. As always, they start the podcast with their most recent reads and end it by drawing a new topic from the jar. Articles referenced in the episode: Most Banned Books of All Time (Containing list of top 25 banned books) Plot twist: Activists skirt book bans w...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 73
This one is dedicated to all the book stacks on all those book shelves just waiting to be read. In this episode, Marissa and Megan uncover their most shameful -- or most interesting -- books on their TBRs that they've been avoiding. From books they didn't even know they owned to books they've been waiting for the perfect moment to pick up, join these two readers as they dive into their TBRs. As always, they start the podcast with their most recent reads and end it by drawing a new topic from the...
Aug 22, 2024•55 min•Ep. 72
All the things that make us cringe, gag, and recoil away from a book within an instant. From abhorrent stickers on book covers to the worst plot devices we've ever read, this week Megan and Marissa discuss their biggest book pet peeves. Marissa also shares an embarrassing reader faux pas she committed and Megan pretends she's very much over it. As always, they start the podcast with their most recent reads and end it by drawing a new topic from the jar and discussing their upcoming reads. Conten...
Aug 08, 2024•57 min•Ep. 71
Anybody up for a challenge? Reading challenges are popular across TikTok, StoryGraph, and pretty much anywhere you find readers. Megan and Marissa give their thoughts on reading challenges – which ones they love and which ones they can't quite get into. Megan compares reading challenges to playing the Sims and Marissa changes her opinion quickly as the podcast progresses. As always, they start the podcast with their most recent reads and end it by drawing a new topic from the jar and discussing ...
Jul 11, 2024•46 min•Ep. 70
Alix Calfa joins us for a surprise guest episode! Marissa and Alix discuss BookTok – and, in fact, all things about books online. The readers tackle discussing good recommendations and poor ones, as well as some of the more popular BookTok books and whether they are worth the read. As always, we start the podcast with some of our more recent reads. And, this time, we end by reviewing Marissa's ever-growing TBR pile. Expect us to discuss: Sarah J. Maas Colleen Hoover The Wheel of Time by Robert J...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 69
Do you use bookmarks? Marissa and Megan discuss the most remarkable bookmarks they've had over the years. From American one-dollar bills to a leather marker with a flower that seems one petal short, both readers talk about whether or not they use them, what will count as a bookmark, and whether dog-earring is ever an option. We start the podcast with our most recent reads and end it by drawing our next topic from our book jar! Expect us to discuss: A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene Radiance by G...
Jun 13, 2024•52 min•Ep. 68
Slumps suck. Reading slumps extra suck. Every avid reader has been through one reading slump or another and, while sometimes they are inevitable, there are some ways to get through them without losing your mind. Marissa and Megan discuss their experiences with their own reading slumps, and all the top tips they have to prevent them. From reading challenges and book clubs to DNF-ing and taking breaks, these two readers discuss everything related to reading slumps. We start the podcast with our mo...
May 30, 2024•49 min•Ep. 67
Everybody loves a good villain. From the most sinister non-human entities to the humans we start to empathize with, we've got all the best baddies from books we've read. We start with a classic President Snow and end with an even more classic villain who will suck your blood, and we hit every bad guy in between. We start the podcast with our most-recent reads and end it by drawing our next topic from our book jar! Expect us to discuss: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Lord of the Rings by J.R...
May 16, 2024•46 min•Ep. 66
From the rawest insight into people's lives to illuminating spotlights on important issues, biographies and memoirs can leave a long-lasting impact. In this episode, Marissa and Megan discuss their favourite memoirs and autobiographies. Marissa discusses several dancer and a few artists' memoirs, while Megan talks about reading about therapy and dealing with trauma. We hope you enjoy hearing about our favourite autobiographies we've read so far. We end the podcast with our currently reading list...
May 02, 2024•49 min•Ep. 65
Welcome to Poetry 101. Marissa is a big poetry buff, and this week we're discussing all our best tips for getting into poetry. Throughout this podcast, Marissa and Megan share their experiences with poems and poetry – and give you all the reasons why you shouldn't be scared of them, no matter what your high school English teacher made you feel. From Marissa's top tips to reading poetry to Megan's personal experience with reading poetry and enjoying it, this is your starter guide to poetry. We en...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 64
Will we hurt each other's feelings? You'll have to listen to find out! In this episode of The Book Jar Pod, Megan and Marissa discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of the books they've recommended to each other over the years. From some classic recommendations like Sabriel and Iron Widow to some newer ones like Emma and Throne of Glass, expect to hear all about the best – and perhaps the worst – recommendations exchanged between these two readers. We end the podcast with our currently reading ...
Mar 21, 2024•59 min•Ep. 63
Megan is back! And we have some book talk to catch up. Marissa and Megan go through their most recent reads – all 25 books they've read since they've last met. From Heartstopper and Fly By Night to The Fires of Heaven and The City of Brass, join your fave readers as they rate and discuss all the books they've read to start this year. We end the podcast with our currently reading, and then we draw our next topic from our book jar! Expect us to discuss: Cage of Dreams by Rebecca Schaeffer The Cler...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 62
Let's have some girl talk. And by girl talk, we're talking about our fave girlies in books. To top it off, Marissa is joined by both Alix Calfa and Taylor Andresen, from our sister podcast, The Queens of Fantasy . The three readers discuss an abundance of amazing female characters they've read in novels. From Sabriel and Katniss Everdeen to the leading characters in Throne of Glass and The Poppy War, the readers give credit where credit is due, recounting the best, strongest, and smartest fictio...
Feb 22, 2024•50 min•Ep. 61
Another week, another guest. Alix Calfa, from our sister podcast, The Queens of Fantasy podcast, joins Marissa to discuss a truly industry-changing social media platform: BookTok. Both Alix and Marissa point out the good, the bad, the ugly, and the inspirational aspects of such a whirlwind force as BookTok is. We mention fave creators, fave book recommendations, and so much more in this episode of the Book Jar Podcast. Alix starts by recounting some of her most recent reads, and then the two rea...
Feb 08, 2024•53 min•Ep. 60
We have another guest on this episode of The Book Jar Pod: Taylor, from our sister podcast, The Queens of Fantasy podcast. Together, Marissa and Tay discuss a topic close to their hearts: What are some of your fave feminist reads? Taylor starts by recounting some of her most recent reads, and then the two readers dive into the topic. Let us know how you did in our trivia contest on our Discord channel or Instagram ! We begin with Taylor's most-recently read novels and finish the episode by discu...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 59
It's a crossover episode! We have two fabulous guests from our sister podcast, The Queens of Fantasy podcast, with us and we've decided to use a totally legitimate trivia contest and not-at-all-random scoring system to determine the reader who knows the most chaotic facts. Marissa, Megan, Alix, and Tay all have ten questions to ask and far too many answers to give. From Marissa cursing how long its been since she read Lord of the Rings and Little Women to Megan treating trivia like a creative wr...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 58
It's been one heck of a year! And, we feel like we need to talk about the best – and the worst – books we read this year. So, join us, as both readers recap their year. From the number of books and pages read to the genres that filled those pages, these readers are going over it all – and we're thrilled to have you come along for the ride! We begin with our most currently read novels and finish the episode by discussing next week's topic! Expect us to discuss: Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 57
Megan and Marissa switch up their topic to talk about some amazing authors who also seem like great human beings. From calling out racism and misogyny and talking about hard-to-talk-about topics to donating time, money, and resources to charity, these authors are some of our favourites to read and recommend – on and off the page. Inspired by some recent events in the book world , this topic aims to talk about authors we'd happily recommend to anyone – and we're starting with you! We begin with o...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 56
Casting movies and TV shows is a hard task. Naturally, this means we have to try it out for ourselves. In this episode, Marissa and Megan fan-cast some popular and some of their favourite novels. Marissa personally takes a hand at casting for Dracula, Throne of Glass, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Megan decides that Ninth House, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and Sabriel are all in desperate need of an adaptation. Plus, Marissa adds a small twist of her own with a second list, just for fun. ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 55
Talk dirty to me... or maybe don't. In this NSFW episode of The Book Jar Podcast, Marissa and Megan share the best and the worst sex scenes they've read in novels. From terrible anatomy to euphemisms sheathed between lines, these sex scenes will leave you with questions you don't want answered. The first portion of this podcast is safe for work, with Marissa and Megan recounting the books they've read since our last podcast. Then, after a warning, we switch to Explicit mode, talking about this e...
Nov 16, 2023•2 hr•Ep. 54
Content Warnings: Incest, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia Straight to Trope Jail! Alright, we're talking about all the tropes that make us the most irritated. In short, the ones that make us wish we could make writing those tropes absolutely illegal. As always, we start by discussing our most recent reads and then dive straight into our topic. At the end of the pod, we discuss our upcoming reads and reveal our next topic (which, be warned, is a bit spicy 🥵) Expect us to talk abou...
Nov 02, 2023•53 min•Ep. 53
No matter your reading speed, some books just sit on your "currently reading" shelf for longer than others. From being a bit on the slow side to being a more challenging read, these books aren't necessarily bad (though, sometimes, they are) but they do take extra time, dedication, and perserverance to finish. We're talking about those books this week: the ones who carried around for a bit longer than normal in order to finish. We start the pod as always by talking about our most recent reads and...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 52
Megan returns and we're using the first podcast to catch up on all the great books both readers have read over the past few months. They end by discussing their current reads and revealing the next topic pulled from the book jar. Expect us to discuss: Angel Mage by Garth Nix A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green All of Us Villains by C.L. Herman & Amanda Foody Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan Strike the Zither by Joan He The Hating Game by Sally Throne The Sunbearer Trials by A...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 51
Dragons, elves, witches, warlocks, adventures with Hobbits, fae kings and queens: what's not to love about fantasy novels? While fantasy is a fun and captivating genre to read, some fantasy books hit us harder. From high fantasy worlds dreamt up by Tolkien, Sanderson, and Maas to gripping low fantasy adventures from Chloe Gong and Leigh Bardugo, this week we're talking about the fantasy books and series we love. Oh, and we're doing it with two guests! Meet Alix and Tay, two queens of fantasy. We...
Sep 21, 2023•47 min•Ep. 50
What makes a good book ending? From the nicely wrapped-up books written by Jane Austen to the frustrating, hand-wringing cliffhangers by Sarah J. Maas, Marissa and Alix, our guest star, discuss all the books that ended perfectly – at least for them. We end with an exciting announcement about our newest project! Expect us to talk about: Emma by Jane Austen The Way of Kings & Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson) The Ones We're...
Sep 07, 2023•53 min•Ep. 49
