Episode 233 - Battle of the Books 2026

It's episode 233 and time for Battle of the Books 2026! Which book will we all read and discuss? You decide!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

What Book Should We Read? (Click to vote by July 31st!)

• Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic (2025)
• Starter Villain by John Scalzi (2023)
• Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (2025)
• The Forest of a Thousand Eyes by Frances Hardinge (2025)

Runners Up

• Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women by Victoria Smith (2024)
• How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability, and Doom by Johanna Hedva (2024)
• The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (2018)
• Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas (2024)
• How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva (2026)
• Cannon by Lee Lai (2025)
• Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky (2023)
• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz (1995/1998)
• Stoner by John Williams (1965)

Other Media We Mentioned

• Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara
• Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly
• How to Read Now: Essays by Elaine Castillo
• How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
• Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
• How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America edited by Lee Child and Laurie R. King
• Miike Snow - Genghis Khan 
• 007 First Light
• You Only Live Twice
• Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots