Mark Haddon's book about a teenager with "Behavioral Problems" is notable less for what happens in it and more for its perspective. It's an affecting study of human thought and behavior that we can't ruin even by talking about Subway for five minutes! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I am an invisible man," says the unnamed narrator at the beginning of Ralph Ellison's masterpiece Invisible Man. He then walks the reader through the painful journey that led to this realization, from the Jim Crow South to a less explicitly divided New York City. When we aren't discussing the narrator's struggle to fight for racial justice through and within a Communist party analog, we spend time chatting about the Pigskin Classic, dragging Harold Bloom, and unpacking stereo equipment. This week's show is brought to you in part by the fine folks at Blue Apron and Penn State World Campus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who has the conch? Somebody find the glasses! We're trapped on a podcast island with the amazing Gwen Glazer and Frank Collerius of the New York Public Library's show The Librarian Is In. Actually, Gwen and Frank were kind enough to have us in their studio to chat about William Golding's novel The Lord of the Flies. Possible television-related tangents include LOST, Kid Nation, and Kids Say the Darnedest Things! This episode is brought to you in part by Squarespace and Penn State World Campus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What will you remember? What will you be remembered for? Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven asks these questions of most of its characters as they struggle to survive before and after an apocalyptic flu outbreak. We also talk Mandel's work crunching data on novels, National Days, Corporate Speak, and what we won't miss when we lose the Internet. Don't forget to book tickets to our live show at bit.ly/libraryshow! This week's show is brought to you in part by the fine folks at Blue Apron and Penn State World Campus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We the Hosts of Overdue, in Order to form a more perfect Podcast, establish Humor, insure earbud Tranquility, provide for uncommon offense, promote our listeners’ Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Goofs to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this podcast on the Constitution for the United States of America. No really, we did it. A whole podcast on the Constitution, its origins, and the Bill of Rights. We talk about what the Framers didn’t say, what they didn’t predict, and what we wish people WOULDN’T do with the Constitution in years to come. This week’s show is brought to you in part by Blue Apron, Penn State World Campus, and Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Andrew brings his oddly deep and specific knowledge of The Simpsons to bear on Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play. In a post-apocalyptic world in which Simpsons quotes were treated as currency, he would pretty much run the place. This week's show brought to you by Penn State World Campus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to 2017! Our first book of the year is Angel by Elizabeth Taylor, a somewhat forgotten mid-century classic about an author shaping her world through fiction. Because it's us, we HAD to spend time talking about the other Angels and Elizabeths Taylor in our lives. We also find time to cover cheaters and lies, Ferris Buellering, and Jerry the Internet Editor. This week's show is brought to you in part by Penn State World Campus and Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up in the sky, look! It's a bird...it's a plane...it's a podcast about Superman! Lucas Brown (host of the podcast "The Math of You") joins us for a discussion of Grant Morrison's timeless Man of Steel collection All-Star Superman. We talk about origin story troubles, Superman's ever expanding powerset, and one of the most affecting Superman panels in recent memory.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For our last regular show of 2016, we come to Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being and get schooled on the relationship between the writer and reader and the nature of time itself. We also touch on Christmas gifts from the future-past, good names for blogs, and more. This week’s show is sponsored by Penn State World Campus, and you can check out our merch store between now and January 31 at overduepodcast.com/store.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn all about the "quick, dirty, and over-the-top" erotic fiction of Alexa Riley - and since Stealing Christmas is holiday-themed, we get into the spirit of the season, too! Join us for a frank and explicit discussion of mall barons, safe unsafeness, and sexy, sexy sexual intercourse.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Show me Zadie Smith's WHITE TEETH! Join us for a discussion about her debut novel that tackles immigration, assimilation, and our collective struggle to control the lives we lead. We'll also reference Lady Gaga, share some rules for fistfighting (and writing), and discover the sad clown Pa(g)liacci.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders was written when the author was just 16, which is impressive not just because the book has an atypical amount of empathy and perspective for something written by a teenager, but because the author is especially close to her characters’ circumstances. Also on tap for this week: sick raps, tales from the McDonald’s drive-thru, and a whole lot more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The History of Love is littered with catchphrases. Bazinga! Time to make the donuts! Not the Mama! That is to say, our episode on The History of Love is littered with catchphrases. The 2005 novel by Nicole Krauss stars Leo and Alma, whose fates are intertwined by the success of a powerful book. The name of that book? The History of Love. It's a book-within-a-book. Get it?! We also chat about pen pals, t-shirts, saccharine texts, and the need to be seen.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Neil Gaiman started 2013's The Ocean at the End of the Lane as a novella for his wife, who "doesn't really like fantasy." This gives the book a different vibe from some of Gaiman's other work, though any book that features a tattered sentient bedsheet clears the "fantastical" bar for us. This breezy book deals mostly in Bradbury-esque musings on the nature of childhood and adulthood, and we spend a lot of time on that as well as the Great Page Count Race of 2016 and our new t-shirt empire.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No book for this month's bonus episode, gang, and we're also releasing it at the same time for both patrons and everyone else in the interest of being timely. We were both deeply saddened by the results of last week's United States presidential election, and we've spent most of the last week dissecting our feelings about it and trying to figure out where we go from here. In this episode, we provide some context for our international listeners, attempt to commiserate with those who agree with us and reach out to those who don't, and lay out a path for getting more involved if that's something you want to do. Thanks for listening, everyone. Your support means the world to us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does pizza murder have to do with a linguistic virus that dates all the way back to Ancient Sumeria? Find out as we discuss Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. Other talking points include Stephenson's "Multiverse," anime, and "pooning." Thanks again to all of our listeners. It's been a hard week, but you folks are amazing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Magic Bites, the first novel in a longrunning series by wife-and-husband writing team Ilona and Andrew Gordon (known collectively as Ilona Andrews) does throw out some interesting ideas. The relationship between magic and science is neat, and some of the action set pieces work well. But in other places, unfortunately, it fell flat for Andrew—characterization is often two-dimensional, the magical near-future Atlanta often feels contradictory and hastily drawn, and the prose is just clunky enough to highlight the novel’s problems rather than mask them. We talk about all of this plus voting, how phones work, and the pitfalls of judging an entire body of work by the strength of the debut. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listener beware, we're choosing the scares! In this, our final Spooktober entry of 2016, we bounce around the pages of R.L. Stine's Give Yourself Goosebumps #6: Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter. It's time to get the heebies AND the jeebies as we discuss unhelpful childhood nicknames, clash with Bad News Barney and Drippy Dora, and try to survive the sickest Goosebumps reference ever included in a Goosebumps book.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hold on to your VHS tapes! It's time to talk about Koji Suzuki's Ring, the 1991 novel that inspired that movie everyone's heard of with the tape and the phone call and the seven days until your death. He may not be Stephen King, and he may not like horror - but Suzuki does know how to turn a mystery about a murderous videotape into quite the page-turner. Additional talking points include MST3K cons, horror lessons, and evil viruses.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s time to get *very* professional with the fourth book of Spooktober 2016!Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris is widely regarded as The Werewolf Novel, but it isn’t all full moons and silver bullets. Set in and around in the Paris Commune of 1871, the novel tackles class, sex, and the human desire to control our own impulses.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as "the greatest haunted-house story ever written." The house itself is vile. It's dark and impossible to navigate. It's dripping with blood. So why are four people trying to spend their summer there?!? This week's paranormal activity is brought to you in part by the fine website wizards at Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Come Peter Panning with us as we discuss the 1991 Steven Spielberg film Hook, inspired by the classic book Peter Pan (Episode 165). It's time to name of a bunch of films, discuss the perils of overstaying your welcome in Neverland, and explore how such a stellar cast turned out a less-than-stellar movie. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We get Spooktober rolling in earnest this week with Susan Hill's The Woman in Black, a ghost story written in the 1980s that intentionally invokes Gothic and Victorian storytelling techniques and language to create a tale that feels timeless. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week is the start of Overdue’s third-annual Spooktober spookfest, a month full of scary (or at least somewhat spooky) books that will get you in the mood for Halloween! Our first book is Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle, a book about a young girl transformed into an elderly woman, who gets wrapped up in a charming wizard's quest to avoid all responsibility whatsoever. With our special guests Siri and the Christmas Creep, we touch upon the horrors and benefits of aging, the Billboard Magic Charts, Prince Justin, and WitchYelp. This week's episode is brought to you in part by our good (totally not haunted) friends at Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here it is: the big two-hundo! This week, Andrew tackles David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest in a show that is nearly 2.5 hours long and yet somehow still not quite long enough to get to everything. We break down the plot and the structure, such as they are, and we also dive deeper into the role of addiction and depression in the book and the book’s at-times antagonistic relationship with the reader. It’s a book worth reading, but perhaps more than anything we’ve yet done for the show, it resists being read.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's my life...and it's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever! OR AM I? Natalie Babbitt's beloved children's novel Tuck Everlasting tackles the tough questions. What would happen if I could live forever? What will I do with the time I'm allotted on this mortal coil? Would it be creepy for a teenager to tell a ten-year old to drink immortality water in seven years so that he can be her forever husband?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if magic were real? What if your favorite fantasy world was a place you could actually go? Would you be happy? Could you be happy? These are the questions posed by Lev Grossman's The Magicians, an en*gross*ing urban fantasy novel that's spawned two sequels and a SyFy original series. Other questions we pose ask about the following: the Fall of Flirting, One-Star Amazon Reviews, Jurassic Park Trespasser, and sexy foxes (we're sorry).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Something a little different this week: Andrew read a non-fiction book about the personal computer era, something he was reading about mostly because he was also watching AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire. There’s an interesting story at the heart of it, but delivered through the dry and often sterilized viewpoint of its one-time CEO it often seems lifeless. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you came out to our second-ever live show at the Philadelphia Podcast Festival, you've already heard this one! But for the rest of you, settle in for a conversation about bunny theology, rabbit puns, tattooed moms, and our normal shenanigans. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With The Beggar's Opera, John Gay attempted to skewer 18th-century British government, the rich, and Italian operas. Did his satire succeed? Maybe you'll find out on this rather free-wheeling episode. Off-topic topics include: the firm of Borowitz, Onion and Yankovic; the Ginger Ale Dimension; 99 Degrees; and "Celebration by Kool & the Gang" a new musical by Kool & the Gang.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shrink your bodies and expand your minds with this week's Choose Your Own Adventure book: Prisoner of the Ant People by R.A. Montgomery. This week's choices include tossing out the rules, annoying robots and nicely-shaped Martians, and starting almost as many stories as we finish. Come join us in Zondo Quest Group II!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when you take some Ray Bradbury, add some undead, stir in a pinch of Doctor Who, sprinkle with dark humor, and bake in the eternal flames of Hell? You get Jonathan L. Howard's Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, the first in a series of books about a guy who's trying to do what he thinks is the "right" thing in all the wrong ways. We also talk about some of your First Smooch stories, what we'd want if we sold our souls to the devil, and what it might sound like if Marc Maron got Jesus on WTF.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Bond. James Bond." "Shaken, not stirred." "It's no good crying over spilt milk." This week we find out which one of these classic James Bond catchphrases does NOT appear in Ian Fleming's debut novel Casino Royale. We also discuss test tube Olympians, Cold War capers, and the Communist leanings of your favorite Smurfs. Wake up sheeple! This week's episode is brought to you in part by the fine folks at Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andrew's other podcast pals Margaret and Kathryn give Craig a break this month, and we all talk about Norton Juster's classic The Phantom Tollbooth. Kathryn wasn't totally on board since she never read the book as a kid, but there are plenty of puns and an ample supply of wordplay to keep the gang invested. If you like the Appointment Television crew, you can find out more at atvpodcast.com!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Andrew reads Rainbow Rowell’s pitch-perfect YA novel Eleanor and Park, and it spurs a discussion of 80s nostalgia, first kisses, censorship, body image issues, and teen life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Daniel José Older's novel Shadowshaper is the story of Sierra Santiago, a young woman with the power to infuse art with spirits and save her community from destruction. Set in Older's modern, magical Brooklyn, Shadowshaper shows us the supernatural power of heritage while also tackling subjects like gentrification, cultural tourism, and young love. Of course, we find time to riff on nighttime salsa, bone mots, and Harold and the Purple Crayon. Enjoy!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we use Tana French’s outstanding sequel The Likeness as an opportunity to comment on everything from the semi-serialized nature of crime stories to tips for going undercover to Pokémon Go. We read French’s first novel, In The Woods, for the show a couple of years back, and while you don’t need to have read that book to enjoy this one, we will spoil minor elements of both books in our discussion this week. You’ve been warned!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes an author’s prose is so distracting in so many ways that it totally derails their stories—such is the case with Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember. Sparks always tells but rarely shows. He gives us one- or two-word descriptions that are meant to serve as “characterization,” but those characters don’t always act the way Sparks tells us they act. And people talk to each other not like human beings, but like aliens in human skin-suits. This week, Unfriendly Black Hotties co-hosts Christina and Kamille help us break down Sparks’ writing and the man himself, and we try to figure out the stuff in Sparks’ work that makes his books bestsellers. (Note the Explicit tag this week, for some light swearing and Sexual Discussions.)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Scott O'Dell began writing Island of the Blue Dolphins because of "anger, anger at the hunters who [...] slaughter everything that creeps or walks or flies." The Newberry Award-winning story that resulted is a compelling account of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island and a powerful story of perseverance. In between dishing on animal companions, we find time to talk about email etiquette, dog-focused action sequences, and why Overdue is the #1 Podcast for Teens.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You asked, we answered! For this month's bonus show we didn't read a specific book, but instead went through some listener-submitted questions about the show and about us and gave semi-thoughtful answers. Join us to hear a dramatic reading of our first real chat about the show, some not-too-great names we tried out before we settled on Overdue, and a whole lot more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joanne Harris’ The Gospel of Loki is part straightforward myth written for a modern audience and part fanfiction, and we don’t mean that in any sort of pejorative sense. Harris sees the Norse pantheon as inherently modern, and it’s hard to disagree - it’s full of prideful, flawed sex maniacs who are so insecure that’s it’s almost funny, at least when their spats aren’t breaking and remaking the world. Join us for all of this plus some thoughts on Chuckie Finster’s Greatest Hits.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"In Soviet Hungary...nanny hires you!" Time to talk about The Door, a lesser known but very powerful book by celebrated Hungarian author Magda Szabo. It's set in the 1960s and 70s, so we read up a little on the Eastern Bloc to make sure we knew what we're talking about. Instead we just make Yakov Smirnoff jokes. Other topics include old guitar ladies, "groupie states," and Craig's love language.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Andrew completes the Brontë trilogy with Charlotte Brontë's seminal novel Jane Eyre. Is it a romance? Is it spooky? Do we like Mr. Rochester or does he well and truly stink? We'll attempt to answer these questions and more in between revisiting #MomSwears, solving some Scooby Doo mysteries, and traveling through Internet tubes. This week's episode is brought to you in part by Kinyo Poetry and Squarespace.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here's a fun fact: Did you know that Marcia Clark, lead prosecutor on the OJ Simpson case, wrote legal thrillers? Neither did we! But Craig's fascination with the American Crime Story version of the trial and a well-placed ad on Andrew's Kindle led to Craig cracking open her first novel. It can be clunky, but it's also a surprisingly fun read! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if God walked away from it all? And left behind a Gomorrah-like stew of sex and bloodshed out of which emerged a superpowered preacher, seeking revenge on the almighty? That's the set up for Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's graphic novel Preacher. This week, Craig tackles the first two volumes of the series and explains what's preventing him from pressing onward in the story. We also touch on how best to subvert the comic code, American Movie Classic, and how far is far too far when depicting taboo behavior.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's alternate universes, murderous plots, and ghostwritten novels all the way down this week—1Q84 is Andrew's first Haruki Murakami novel, and there's a lot of good stuff here even if the book could stand to shed a couple hundred pages. Come for the book talk, stick around for references to Highlights For Children, the Tostitos Bowl, and the usual nonsense.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get in touch with your inner wolf-dog and answer The Call of the Wild by Jack London! We apologize that our Murakami episode will take another week, but we didn't want to leave you in the literary lurch. So we take a trip on the Yukon trail with one heck of a dog named Buck. It's time to talk instinct, dog names, oyster pirates, and Calvin & Hobbes and John Locke from LOST.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are dinosaurs! Lots of dinosaurs! And they rule Jurassic Park!Michael Crichton's techno-thriller classic Jurassic Park kicked off a generation's dinomania. But it's also a chilling tale of science run amok. A story about what happens when advancement for advancement's sake breaks the rules of nature.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.