Author Archives: renata

Episode 183 – Jay’s Journal

Jay's Journal by Anonymous

After reading Go Ask Alice last year, we were still left with some lingering questions about issues facing teens. Like, drugs are bad, but what about doing occult rituals? Are they okay if you’re only using them to win high school debate tournaments? To find out, we read another book from Beatrice Sparks’ Anonymous Diaries series, Jay’s Journal. Join us for another spine-tingling episode with our beloved former editor Becca!

Content warning: This book and our discussion of it contains non-graphic discussions of death by suicide, animal abuse, drug use, sexual assault, and a lot of confusing cultural appropriation.

Readers advisoryHere.

Footnotes: Episode 163 – Go Ask Alice

“Teen Death Diary” by Ben Dieterle

Alden’s Brother’s Amazon Review of Jay’s Journal

Grady Hendrix on Jay’s Journal

Coming up next: Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson.

 

Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

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Readers Advisory: Episode 183 – Jay’s Journal

Here’s what we suggest instead of/in addition to reading Jay’s Journal by Anonymous. Listen to the podcast to hear us talk about some of these titles in more depth!

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Episode 182 – Michelle Remembers

Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder

We were joined by our Caftan Club sisters, Grace and Ashley, to discuss a bestseller that was so bad it had to be removed from publication: Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder. The book represents irresponsible therapeutic practices as well as irresponsible journalism, but at least it’s also uncomfortably horny! Listen while assembling your 13-piece evil bench from evil Ikea.

Content warning: This book and our discussion of it contains non-graphic discussions of miscarriage, child abuse, animal abuse, sexual assault, and a lot of generally gross stuff.

Readers advisoryHere.

Footnotes: You’re Wrong About: Michelle Remembers.

The Shrink Next Door podcast

“The destructive conspiracy theory that Victoria unleashed upon the world” by Jen Gerson

“The Real Victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse” by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

“Real ‘Sybil’ Admits Multiple Personalities Were Fake” by Lynn Neary

Coming up next: Jay’s Journal by Anonymous.

 

Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Filed under Podcasts

Readers Advisory: Episode 182 – Michelle Remembers

Here’s what we suggest instead of/in addition to reading Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder. Listen to the podcast to hear us talk about some of these titles in more depth!

Continue reading

Filed under Readers Advisory

Episode 181 – The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

 

This is our seventh anniversary episode! We’ve been podcasting for much longer than the titular character of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner has been a vampire. We’d been putting off reading this Twilight novella because we suspected there wouldn’t be too much to talk about, and well, we were kinda right. Still, we had a great time talking to our all-time most frequent guest Carrie again. Plus, we experienced some of the Friendship Challenges from the Twilight: Eclipse card game, and I think it’s safe to say we all grew from the experience. Listen to this episode while politely petitioning Stephenie Meyer to write another book! #WheresFred

Readers advisoryHere.

Footnotes:

When this novella was released in 2010, Stephenie Meyer pledged $1 from the sale of each copy to go towards earthquake relief in Haiti, and ended up donating a total of $1.5 million.

As there was another earthquake in Haiti, and inspired by SMeyer’s charitable example, this month we donated $150 of our Patreon proceeds to Partners in Health, an NGO that does a lot of good work in Haiti and elsewhere.

Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Bree Tanner’ Raises $1.5 Million for Red Cross by Amy Wilkinson

Quileute Move to Higher Ground

Worst Bestsellers Drinking Game

Episode 158 – Midnight Sun

Episode 133 – The Host

Episode 107 – 4th Anniversary Twilight Spectacular

Episode 82 – Breaking Dawn

Episode 40 – Twilight Life and Death

Episode 31 – New Moon

Episode 01 – Twilight

Coming up next: Michelle Remembers by Lawrence Pazder & Michelle Smith.

 

Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Filed under Podcasts

Readers Advisory: Episode 181 – The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Here’s what we suggest instead of/in addition to reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. Listen to the podcast to hear us talk about some of these titles in more depth!

Continue reading

Filed under Readers Advisory

Episode 180 – The Dark Knight Returns

The Dark Knight Returns

We’ve read a lot of popular books over the years, but this episode might be the one most likely to make men on the internet yell at us. Oh well! We’ve already read The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley and there’s no turning back now. Phillip Mottaz, author of The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air, joined us at the local dump to discuss this extremely influential–perhaps too influential–Batman graphic novel.

Readers advisoryHere.

Footnotes: Squirrel Girl on Dump Teens

Bruno on the Batman Wiki

“What was the conflict between Green Arrow and Superman that lead him to lose his hand?” on Quora

“Frank Miller: ‘I wasn’t thinking clearly when I said those things'” by Sam Thielman

Coming up next: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer.

 

Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Filed under Podcasts

Readers Advisory: Episode 180 – The Dark Knight Returns

Here’s what we suggest instead of/in addition to reading The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. Listen to the podcast to hear us talk about some of these titles in more depth!

Continue reading

Filed under Readers Advisory

Episode 179 – Slayer

Slayer by Kiersten White

Flashback Summer is over, and yet we’re still talking about a TV show that ended almost 20 years ago. We were joined by Buffy enthusiast Talia to discuss Slayer by Kiersten White, a YA book set in the world of a TV show that ended before today’s teens were born. It’s a publishing choice that confuses us, but hey–the book itself is pretty good! Listen to this episode to get your blood pumping before vampire fight club.

Readers advisoryHere.

Footnotes: Gwendolyn Post on the Buffy Wiki

Merrick on the Buffy Wiki

“Kiersten White answers all your burning ‘Slayer’ questions” by Karen Rought

Coming up next: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley.

 

Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Filed under Podcasts

Readers Advisory: Episode 179 – Slayer

Here’s what we suggest instead of/in addition to reading Slayer by Kiersten White. Listen to the podcast to hear us talk about some of these titles in more depth!

Continue reading

Filed under Readers Advisory