Susan Lyons

Episode 69: The Scarlet Pimpernel: Winnie-the-Pooh

September 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 9 mins

classic, emma orczy, french revolution, scarlet pimplernel

This month Susan, Jeannette, and Meredith talk about how pressured they feel about reading classic books and how it affects their TBR and just maybe realizing it’s time to Marie Kondo their TBR. But they do cross a classic off their list with The Scarlet Pimpernel and discuss how it’s more about a relationship than who the Scarlet Pimpernel is.

Episode 67: The Importance of Being Earnest: Bumbleberry

July 15th, 2019  |  50 mins 59 secs

importance of being earnest, oscar wilde, play, satire

All 4 ladies are in one place celebrating the book club’s 10th anniversary! We talk a little about the Good Omens TV show on Amazon Prime, a little about how we love the theater, and a lot about being earnest.

Episode 65: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: All Hail Oprah

May 14th, 2019  |  1 hr 29 mins

Meredith, Jeannette, and Susan discuss some ahem mature content when it comes to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and also talk about celebrity books clubs.

Episode 60: Signal to Noise: You Never Figure Out Adulting

April 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 16 mins

80s, fantasy, magic, signal to noise, silvia moreno-garcia

Susan, Meredith, and Jeannette discuss the pros and cons of specific genre categories, and whether having really specific categories is great or too many! Also, what do we do with those genre-benders? Then we talk Signal to Noise and figure out our power objects

Episode 59: City of Ghosts: Un-Veiled

March 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 1 min

city of ghosts, ghosts, middle grade, victoria schwab

Tara, Susan, and Jeannette discuss Middle-Grade books and how they may be subject to 'middle child syndrome'. They discuss what makes a middle-grade book and what their favorites were. Then they go into City of Ghosts and this could be a solid middle-grade book.

Episode 58: Good Omens: I Will Do A Seance For That

February 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 10 mins

Susan, Tara, and Meredith talk about the ineffable. But before that they discuss books that have been co-authored. Have they really not read that many? And the most important question: Who would they love to see team up on a book. Then, they go into the ineffable event of the apocalypse.

Episode 57: Educated: Let Me Get My Serious Face On

January 15th, 2019  |  1 hr 14 mins

All four ladies are here to set their 2019 reading resolutions and to look back on how they did with their 2018 ones. Then they discuss the life of Tara Westover as told in her memoir “Educated.”

Episode 56: The Drunken Botanist: Fantastic Booze and Where to Find Them

December 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 13 mins

amy stewart, drunken botanist, nonfiction, reference

ALL FOUR OF US are here to review the year and pick our favorite books and episode discussions! We talk The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart - the facts we found intoxicating and the drinks we found tempting. Meredith also has gift discounts, Jeannette goes sleuthing, Tara shares her travels, and Susan sneaks new books between rereads! Last but not least, we’ve got a new Readathon coming at you (with a prize!)!

Episode 55: The Fifth Season: Are They Robots?

November 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 14 mins

fantasy, female protagonist, fifth season, nk jemisen, poc

Jeannette and Meredith are taking a stab at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and talk about their experiences so far while Susan cheers them on, and then they discuss the earth-shattering Fantasy The Fifth Season in which the world is ending...again.

Episode 53: The Round House: All the Silver Badges

October 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 19 mins

fiction, louise erdrich, national book award winner, native american, round house, trigger warning

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, Violence Against Women. Tara, Meredith, and Susan meet to talk about award-winning books. Does it matter? Do they care? Are award winning books reflective of the current culture? Then they discuss The Round House; not just about the terrible event, but how the government had affected their society and their sense of justice.

Episode 52: The Bear and the Nightingale: Two Rants for the Price of One

September 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 14 mins

book to movie, fantasy, female protagonist, katherine arden, russian folklore, the bear and the nightingale

Susan loves Crazy Rich Asians, so we had to discuss film adaptations! Are they ever better than the book? Jeannette and Meredith may have Feelings about this. Then we talk The Bear and the Nightingale, Vasya’s house elves, and country bumpkins who end up in cities.

Episode 51: America's First Daughter: Foiled Again!

August 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 6 mins

america's first daughter, historical fiction, laura kamoie, patsy jefferson, stephanie dray, thomas jefferson

School is back in session! Tara, Susan, and Jeannette talk about prepping for the school year, Harry’s 20th (31st) Birthday, and the American Revolution. Listen in as they talk about their fav Harry memories and whether Jefferson was kind of… you know… a manipulative $#^!

Episode 50: A Man Called Ove: Is Curmudgeon a Lifestyle Choice?

July 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 15 mins

a man called ove, curmudgeon, fredrik backman, translated books

Susan, Jeannette, and Meredith look into translated books and what makes it a good translation or not. Then they bring out their inner curmudgeon as they discuss A Man Called Ove.

Episode 48: The Last Black Unicorn: I Listened With My Eyes

May 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 14 mins

last black unicorn, memoir, poc, tiffany haddish

Jeannette, Susan, and Tara discuss free comics, what our memoirs would be about, and give you dates for the upcoming Eclectic Readathon in June! Then we discuss Tiffany Haddish’s memoir The Last Black Unicorn and all the many humorous and not-so-humorous topics it covers.

Episode 47: The Sparrow: This is Why the Prime Directive Exists!

April 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 19 mins

Susan, Jeannette, and Meredith confess the size of their TBR along with habits like how they decide what goes on their TBR and how they remove a book from their TBR. Then they take flight and discuss The Sparrow and how it’s more than just Jesuits in space.

Episode 46: Shadow and Bone: We’re Smart, Okay, We Know Things

March 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 26 mins

fantasy, leigh bardugo, shadow and bone, world building, ya fantasy

Susan, Jeannette, and Meredith talk about what they like and don’t like when it comes to world-building, (hint: food descriptions are always appreciated) and mention some books they think did it well. They then discuss Shadow and Bone, the first book in a Young Adult Fantasy Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and are quite happy with the color-coded science-based magic system. Yay, organization!