Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Ready for a discussion neither Brenna or Joe wanted to have? We're ready to tackle Matthew Quick's 2010 novel Sorta Like A Rock Star and Brett Haley's 2020 (confusingly retitled) All Together Now...so that we never have to talk about them again.We're unhappy with both texts for different reasons. Quick's grating prose, inauthentic voice, and unbelievable characters are deal breakers, and while the film correctly diversifies the cast, it squanders its musical components and leans into the underlying "deserving poor" theme of the book. We can't lie: these texts are just bad!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's mailbag, Tea, Books & Chocolate follows up on her Book Club email and zeroes in on the trans elements of Naomi Kanakia's We Are Totally Normal.Plus: Brenna ponders TB&C's question about a "white lady pipeline" from slash or fan fiction to Goodreads reviewer.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with a contentious book club pick in Naomi Kanakia's We Are Totally Normal (2020), which is light on plot and big on (unimportant?) HS politics, frank sex, and questioning sexuality.With help from listeners Victoria and Tea, Books & Chocolate, Brenna and Joe unpack this divisive pick, grant it leeway considering its timing with Kanakia's own coming out as a trans woman and raise the alarm over Goodreads criticisms that it's "not gay enough."Reference:Naomi Kanakia. "If you dislike my novel, you’re really not alone!" Woman of LettersWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe travel to Germany for Andreas Steinhöfel's 1998 novel The Center of the World and (arbitrary title change alert!) Jakob M. Erwa's 2016 film adaptation, Center Of My World.While this boy-led / dysfunctional family / coming of age narrative is quite long, it is incredibly well-constructed and features fascinating characters.The film's reliance on sex and sexuality, however, feels very "queer film festival circuit". We both like it, but in trying to adapt too many key moments, Erwa simplifies the book's richness, particularly nuanced characters like Nicolas and Dianne. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's mailbag, we hear from Swedish listener Evelina about reparations for the Sami people and we endeavor to read Stolen by Ann-Helené Laestadius for Book Club.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe head to Sweden to discuss Amanda Kernell's 2016 film, Sami Blood. Thanks to listener Alex for recommending this one!This film is beautiful, features great performances, and is also very tough to watch as an Indigenous girl faces racist treatment and ultimately rejects her culture. Plus: needing additional context for the Sami people, comparisons to Canada's residential schools, and complaints about the framing device!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our eyes are watering (from all the dust in the air, of course) as we give thanks to listeners Aimee and Tea, Books and Chocolate for their recent emails, which highlight an adaptations bulletin board and a book series recommendation for Brenna's son, Groot.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raise your boombox and get your yearbook signed because we're talking Cameron Crowe's feature directorial debut, Say Anything (1989). Along for the ride is super fan Mike Snoonian of The Pod & The Pendulum and Psychoanalysis.This is a very sweet romance and we will fight anyone who says otherwise (looking at you, contemporary revisionist takes)Plus: Clash t-shirts, John Cusack's iconic Lloyd, bad adults, why Ione Skye never quite broke out, and more!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Mike: @mike_snoonianHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia (2021)> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's mailbag, Joe makes a correction about listener Miriam, who also provides insight into what books are translated in the Netherlands.Plus: we revisit an email from Tea, Books & Chocolate to discuss teaching diverse texts, relatability and Joe ponders where that intersects with likeability.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia (2021)> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's disaffected middle class white boy problems as Brenna and Joe tackle Walter Kirn's 1999 novel Thumbsucker and Mike Mills' directorial debut from 2005.While the book took some time to get into, we're both big fans of the third part which explores converting to Mormonism. The film, however, completely omits that section, favouring Garden State musical montages that feel so 2000s.Plus: child abuse, Holden Caulfield comparisons, handy js, the film's stuntcasting, and arguably one of the worst father characters we've ever encountered!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia (2021)> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat

Brenna and Joe are making it up to listener Jane, who we neglected to mention had previously written in about translated texts.We're continuing the conversation about translation, plus expanding the discussion to include popular/mass market texts and accessibility.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia (2021)> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for another book club and we have three listeners (Tea, Books, and Chocolate, Victoria, and Addie) who contributed their thoughts on Eric Gansworth's 2020 memoir in verse, Apple: Skin to the Core.We discuss why this is a memoir and not a collection of poetry, how Gansworth hooks readers and uses pop culture subversions, its depiction of queerness, and the materiality of the physical tome.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia (2021)> May 16: Ready When You Are (aka The Boy from the Mish) by Gary Lonesborough (2022) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's mailbag, Joe and Brenna go deep on a line in listener Laura's email pushing back on the challenges of reading a translated text. After apologizing for the faux pas, we debate the accessibility of translated texts, how it informs cultural structures and what story that tells. Plus: a call to arms for foreign listeners particularly Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2021) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're headed to Berlin thanks to listener Alma's suggestion to check out famed German author Erich Kästner's Emil and the Detectives (1929), as well as its 1964 Disney adaptation by Peter Tewksbury.This new-to-us middle grade book is a *massive* bestseller and survived eradication from the Nazis, so we feel pretty silly not having it on our radar. The shot on location film, however, is both too childish and too scary.Plus: why can no one pronounce Emil's name and what was Walt Disney's secret plans for Roger Mobley (Gustav)?Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2021) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're responding to listener Kaetlyn's email about Roald Dahl's books being edited, why this isn't censorship, and how the culture war outrage is selective to certain groups.Plus: a bonus conversation about whether creatives should enter review spaces to challenge takes they disagree with (short answer: no!)Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been good for too long, so it's time for some raunch courtesy of Natalie Morales' 2021 girls gross out comedy Plan B (seriously heed that R rating!)Brenna and Joe definitely appreciate the heart and the messaging, but there's some iffy tonal shifts in this one, despite great lead performances and a pair of manic pixie love interests. Strap in because we're going on a road trip!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2021) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's we're tackling listener Keith's question: why do you like YA? Bonus: the question spins us into a bit of a tangent as to why we also like doing the show!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe are checking out another Eden Robinson text: her award-winning 2000 novel Monkey Beach, along with Loretta Todd's 2020 adaptation.While we love the book - with its incisive mix of generational trauma, Haisla life and coming of age narrative - the film doesn't work for us - either as a standalone film or as an adaptation.The book includes great characters, a gripping narrative, and unflinching deaths, while the film has a handful of great performances (Adam Beach!), but is marred by a terrible script and distractingly bad CGI. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're circling back to listener Victoria's email about A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow being chosen as a Reese's Book Club selection, Joe makes a faux pas, and Brenna laments her discounted forever tea.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for Book Club as Brenna and Joe (along with input from listener Tea, Books & Chocolate) discuss Laura Taylor Namey's delightful 2019 romantic drama, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. This comfort food book feels refreshing thanks to its focus on character as opposed to romance and its ties to place, though there is one strong criticism about its depiction of "Africa."Still: we're swooning, we're hungry and we can't wait to read the sequel and watch the film adaptation when they come out!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about Own Voices book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.