Paperback Friends

In this episode of Paperback Friends, we dive into one of the most beloved science-fiction novels ever written: Dune by Frank Herbert. I have to tread lightly on this one, to avoid the drum sand and the fans… While Dune...

Martha Wells continues to prove why The Murderbot Diaries has become one of modern science fiction's most beloved series. In Rogue Protocol , Murderbot infiltrates an abandoned research station to uncover the truth...

Can ambition be moral? In this episode, I review Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman—a book arguing that too many of us spend our lives chasing status instead of solving meaningful problems. We talk about how Bregman...

What if the wilderness doesn't destroy you—but reveals who you really are? This week on Paperback Friends , we return to John Williams to review Butcher's Crossing , the novel that came before Stoner and helped...

We’re back with Martha Wells and The Murderbot Diaries! I really enjoyed All Systems Red, and Artificial Condition continues to show me why I like this series so much. Wells writing is remarkable restraint, building a...

In this episode of Paperback Friends, I try to answer a question I've been asking myself ever since I finished the novel: why is this book considered such a fantastic novel? Together we explore why To the Lighthouse...

Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day is my favorite novel – not because I believe it's objectively the greatest ever written, but because it was the first book that truly showed me what literature could do. It...

In this episode of Paperback Friends, I return to Frances Hardinge with The Lie Tree, a Victorian mystery where science, religion, reputation, and social systems collide. This is a novel about deception, but more...

What does it really mean to "not get" a novel? Can an interpretation be wrong, or are books simply open to whatever we bring to them? In this episode of Paperback Friends , we dive into one of my favorite topics...

Parable of the Sower left a massive impression on me, so I expected Parable of the Talents to hit just as hard. It didn't. At least... not in the way I expected. In this episode, we dive into Octavia E. Butler's final...

Some books comfort us. Others challenge us. Some make us uncomfortable, and maybe that's exactly why they're worth reading. In this episode, we talk about why stepping outside your comfort zone as a reader can be one of...

<p>Some books comfort us. Others challenge us. Some make us uncomfortable, and maybe that's exactly why they're worth reading.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, we talk about why stepping outside your comfort zone as a...

Life of Pi is one a beloved novels of the 21st century. It has sold millions of copies, won major awards, inspired a successful film adaptation, and continues to be recommended as a modern classic. So why did I spend...

<p>Life of Pi is one a beloved novels of the 21st century. It has sold millions of copies, won major awards, inspired a successful film adaptation, and continues to be recommended as a modern classic.</p><p>So why did I...

<p>In this episode of Paperback Friends, I review Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.</p><p>A squad of academy rejects, an ancient galactic threat, a girl lost in time, and enough banter to power a small...