Susan Lyons

Episode 45: American War: We're the Old Guy on the Bus

February 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 6 mins

american war, dystopian, fiction, just trust me, weird books

Party for 2 with Meredith and Susan! They discuss weird books that they love to recommend and just needs people to trust them on it. Then they discuss Sarat from American War on how war changes a person and how likely another American Civil can be.

Episode 44: Sorcerer to the Crown: He’s Good-looking, I Trust Him, Too Bad He’s Such a Drag

January 15th, 2018  |  1 hr 16 mins

book resolutions, bookolutions, fantasy, regency, sorcerer to the crown, zen cho

In this episode, Susan, Tara, and Jeannette review how they did on last year’s reading resolutions and set new goals for this year. Then they discuss Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown and discuss all the ways Regency romances and fantasy novels both work and don’t work when mixed together.

Episode 43: Her Body and Other Parties: It's OK to Not Be OK

December 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 45 mins

carmen maria machado, feminism, her body and other parties, horror, lgbtq, short stories

All 4 hosts come together to wrap up 2017 with favorite books they have read. Also, 2 fun announcements about the 11th Hour Readathon and the ER Mad Libs reading challenge! Then they dive into the Main Read of Her Body and Other Parties. WARNING: Adult themes and trigger warnings of sexual violence.

Episode 42: Pachinko: I Get It!

November 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 12 mins

historical fiction, holiday, immigration, min jin lee, pachinko, south korea, wish list

The hosts discuss what’s on their holiday wish list because we can always use more bookish things. Then they discuss the characters of Pachinko as well as the symbolism of Pachinko and Korean society in Japan.

Episode 41: Dark Matter: My Brain Hurts!

October 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 9 mins

banned books, blake crouch, dark matter, scifi

Meredith, Susan, and Tara discuss book banning along with some of their favorite banned books. Do you think books should ever be banned? Then they take a deep dive into the novel Dark Matter and leave with headaches after talking about the multiverse...though, there’s probably other versions of the co-hosts out there that have a total grasp on this science…is your head spinning yet?

Episode 40: This Savage Song: Heavy-Handed But Awesome

September 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 18 mins

authors, auto-buy authors, this savage song, ve schwab, victoria schwab

The hosts discuss auto-buy authors where they can't help but give them our money. They also discuss Schwab's upcoming books. Then they dive in to This Savage Song and cut the discussion short because they could all talk about this book for hours.

Episode 39: The Captive Mind: Finish A Chapter, Eat A Cookie

August 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 7 mins

captive mind, did not finish, dnf, nonfiction, philosophy, political, socialism

Susan, Tara, and Jeannette talk about DNF'ing a book; why do you DNF, what makes you DNF, would you go back to a DNF? All this leads to a discussion of The Captive Mind. We discuss if it has captivated our minds.

Episode 38: Wallbanger: Entertain Me, Please

July 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 15 mins

alice clayton, contemporary, romance, wallbanger

In this episode, Meredith, Susan, and Jeannette wrap up the Eclectic Readathon and ER Madlibs and announce the winners! We speak on the weird happiness of adulthood, and how we overcome reading slumps. Finally, we discuss Wallbanger - its characters, the unreality of Caroline’s cat, and the reality of sex in romance. Disclaimer: Slight Mature Content

Episode 36: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: A YA With Parents!

June 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 28 mins

benjamin alire saenz, coming of age, lgbtq, sexuality, ya

The Eclectic Readers Podcast is two years old! In celebration, we’re gearing up for our next Eclectic Readathon (starting Friday, June 23rd at 8:00pm EST) and the end of our first ER Mad Libs Reading Challenge (submissions due at the end of the Readathon.)

In this episode we talk about books that helped shape us into who we are today and discuss the Young Adult (YA) book “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” which focuses on two teenage boys discovering their personal, cultural, and sexual identities.

Episode 34: Love Warrior: Mind the Gap

April 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 3 mins

glennon doyle melton, love warrior, marriage, memoir

Susan has updates on our reading challenges, while Jeannette has a stack of new books to recommend. And we’re all excited about the PRIZES we’ll be handing out in June! Then we talk about the memoir Love Warrior and gaps between what we want and what authors give us.

Episode 33: Girl Waits With Gun: Future Historical Fiction

March 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 6 mins

amy stewart, girl waits with gun, historical fiction

Susan, Meredith, and Jeannette discuss historical fiction: what is it, what isn’t it, and do we like it? Then we dig into Amy Stewart’s novel Girl Waits with Gun, and the complicated relationship between sisters, mothers and daughters, and women, sheriffs, and Singer salesmen.

Episode 32: Interview With Tara Clancy

March 1st, 2017  |  37 mins 58 secs

feminism, interview, lgbt, memoir, new york, nyc, queens

Susan and Meredith interview the amazing Tara Clancy, author of The Clancys of Queens. We talk about her reasons to writing her memoirs of growing up and how became the woman she is today.

Episode 30: Men Explain Things to Me: We’re So Witty

January 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 11 mins

Susan, Tara, and Meredith start off the new year with their read-olutions and goals for 2017. A small update on our ER MadLibs Challenge and then we dive into Men Explain Things to Me. We talk about how Rebecca Solnit addresses hard and upsetting issues that women experience through 9 essays.

Episode 26: Zodiac: In Michelle Obama’s Arms We Trust

December 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 14 mins

Meredith, Susan, Tara, and Jeannette have some announcements - some sad, some happy - including a NEW reading challenge for the new year! We also wrap up 2016 with favorite topics, topics we missed, and which Eclectic Readers books we loved most this year. And the stars align for our last book of the year, Romina Russell's Zodiac.

Episode 25: Blankets: You're a Middle Child, so You Get a Pass

November 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 13 mins

Susan, Tara, and Meredith talk about their favorite graphic novels and discuss the graphic novel/memoir 'Blankets' while reminiscing over their own childhood memories.

Episode 24: Station Eleven: And They Go Shwarma

October 15th, 2016  |  1 hr 36 secs

We talk about our favorite Shakespeare play, moments and versions. Then we go forwards into the near future where the world is ending. Who did we relate to the most? We all want to be in the Travelling Symphony.