My Favorite Apocalpyse #3: And We're All Out of Bubble Gum

Em and EJ get their act together long enough to rehash the best stories they consumed in books and screen over the past year. Stay tuned for a deep dive into Bunny, Saltburn, Poor Things, among others, and a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from Em about what to look forward to in 2024. 

As we wrap up the summer, E. J. and Emma have completed their summer reading and are ready to report back. Emma assigned E. J. to read Bunny by Mona Awad, a speculative/horror cult favorite with shocking twists and a lot of takes. Bunny, we have a lot to talk about. Egregious spoilers ahead. 

FANTASY+GIRL is going back to school with a series dedicated to the nostalgia of summer reading assignments! For the series, Emma C. Wells and EJ Wenstrom will be challenging each other with SFF books to read, and then come back to discuss.

Keep going--Emma and EJ have already announced what they're challenging each other to read first: 

Tune and and read along to join the discussion in the next episodes:

• What EJ is Assignging Emma to Read
• What Emma is Assignment EJ to Read

FANTASY+GIRL Podcast is back with a new series celebrating summer reading! Emma and EJ are
choosing a book for the other to read. The duo will then lead a deep dive into the chosen stories on the podcast! Which book did Emma choose for EJ?

BUNNY by Mona Awad. Emma chose this book hoping to appeal to EJ’s love of weird—but well
written—speculative fiction. EJ loves Catherine House and Her Fearful Symmetry—and Emma thinks
Bunny fits nicely with those titles (even if it is a bit weirder…possibly even darker?). The story has dark academia vibes with a dose of Mean Girls…but with magic and monsters. Sort of…

How can you join the fun? Easy! Read Bunny, and let the Emma and EJ know what you think!

You can comment on their social media or email them at fantasygirlpodcast@gmail.com

Bunny, we can’t wait to hear from you!

FANTASY+GIRL is going back to school with a series dedicated to the nostalgia of summer reading assignments! For the series, Emma C. Wells and E. J. Wenstrom will be challenging each other with SFF books to read, and then come back to discuss. Here, E. J. reveals what she's challenging Emma to read first, and why.

EJ is assigning Emma to read HOW TO LIVE SAVELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu.

EJ has been a Charles Yu fan for years and this was the novel that started the obsession. This story starts with a time travel repairman stuck in a mutliverse full of tropey playfulness that any science fiction fan is going to get a kick out of, but underneath it, this is a story about a man trying to untangle the mess left behind when his father mysteriously disappeared, and what that means for himself and his mother left behind.

(Hint: EJ loves audiobooks but says to read this one in print because of the mathematical formulas and creative use of space on the page)

How can you join the fun? Easy! Read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and let the Emma and EJ know what you think!

You can comment on their social media or email them at fantasygirlpodcast@gmail.com

In which we ramble on about random things we like and a few things we don’t. 

NOTE: FANTASY+GIRLS stands with the HarperCollins union.

• Wow! It’s been an entire year since Emma and EJ hosted their last episode of SFF Girls. Last we saw our heroes, they were in a cabin in the Georgia mountains, drinking and making s’mores.
• Em plugs TikTok bc why not?
• It has been a good year for speculative fiction—but especially horror. 2021 was the year for Rom-Coms—but 2022 is all about the horror (and okay—rom-coms still reign supreme…but horror is having a moment!)
• Em shares how she went on sub in 2020 with a dark book, and it didn’t do well because no one was in the headspace to deal with a really dark book—but now it seems readers (and editors) have come back to the dark side.
• EJ talks about films like BARBARIAN, THE MENU, and NOPE. 
• Female cannibal stories are also having a moment. Em talks about the cannibal to smutty smut pipeline. 
• Em read WE WERE EARTHLINGS. Em suggests checking the trigger warnings before beginning this book. 
• The second book was BONES AND ALL—the book came out in 2015, and the movie was released recently. BONES AND ALL is a warm, coming of age story—except she eats people she cares about. Again, check the trigger warnings.
• Next up was TENDER IS THE FLESH. Holy crap. This book broke Em. 
• Em says the ending of the book is bad—but not BAD as in not good. Bad as in everything. Devastating.
• Next up for Em was A CERTAIN HUNGER—but after TENDER IS THE FLESH, she had to take a break from dark books, and this is how she discovered Ruby Dixon and alien corn. 
• EJ read and liked the book MANHUNT by Gretchen Felker-Martin.
• MANHUNT is a futuristic dystopian where there are no men. 
• The book centers on trans characters who are attempting to navigate this post-apocalyptic world that is being ransacked by an army of TERFs who are trying to reorganize society.
• Em asked EJ what horror movies she watched in 2022 that made her stand up and take notice.
• EJ segways into mentioning the amount of really good content that came out in 2022 and how it was almost too much—talk about decision paralysis. 
• EJ points out how she is over big franchises—simply because of the sheer amount of content. She says the exception is WANDAVISION. 
• Em asks if she has seen DOCTOR STRANGE and says that Marvel did Wanda very dirty in that movie.
• Em asks EJ if she watched HOUSE OF DRAGONS. EJ hasn’t and Em says she believes it is worth sticking out the slow first couple of episodes because it gets good…but adds that EJ could probably just wait for next season.
• Em points out that Matt Smith is in HOUSE OF DRAGONS—and Em was a huge Doctor Who fan, so it was fun to see him in this completely different role.
• EJ points out that there was a big announcement in the DOCTOR WHO universe. The next Doctor was announced and will be Ncuti Gatwa—who will be the first Doctor Who of color.
• EJ asked Em if she is still following Doctor Who and Em explains how she hasn’t watched as much as she usually does. She wanted to really like Jodi Whitaker—the first female Doctor Who—but felt the writers did the character dirty and couldn’t sink into any of the story lines.
• Of course, we must talk about WEDNESDAY. Em is still watching—but EJ devoured the entire series. Jenna Ortega is perfect as the titular character.
• EJ and Em make plans to unpack the series once Em finishes the show. EJ isn’t 100% with how the story arc wraps up.
• We must talk about STRANGER THINGS. EJ points out that it ended on a cliffhanger—and Em says she didn’t remember that. Em thinks that EJ missed the release of the second half. However, since this episode wrapped—Em has concluded that EJ is correct.
• Em keeps calling Vecna, Vecnal. Oops.
• Em really is just inventing STRANGER THINGS facts at this point. 
• Here is a link to an article that summarizes what EJ and Em are discussing and gives detailed information in case, like Em, you are a bit foggy on the subject: How Many Kids Were In Hawkins Lab (& How Many Are Dead?) (screenrant.com)
• STOP SAYING VECNAL. Lol.
• Em brings the conversation back to horror in 2022. She follows a Big Five editor on Tik Tok who does publishing question and answers. One of the questions was, why have so many witch books come out recently.
• The editor (on TikTok as @bhvide) speculates that the books that are coming out now were written by authors who got their first spark of an idea for the stories years ago during the women’s march. Witches have long been a symbol of women’s pain and rage and one of the slogans chanted during the march was something like, “We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” 
• Em asks EJ about her witch novel. EJ worries that she is missing her moment, since her novel is not yet out. Em says that she doesn’t think EJ has anything to worry about—witches aren’t going anywhere. 
• EJ asks Em if she watched OUTER RANGE on Amazon.
• OUTER RANGE science fiction with a Western motif. 
• EJ explains the general concept of the story. 
• Segway into WESTWORLD and then THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE.
• PAPER GIRLS got an Amazon adaptation. EJ has loved the comic for a long time and says that the Amazon adaptation is spot on. Sadly, it is already cancelled.
• Segway to SFF books. 
• EJ read BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black. Em is in the middle of it right now!
• Speaking of Holly Black, EJ saw her and got her book signed and the National Book Festival. 
• WHAT BIG TEETH by Rose Szabo came out in 2022. Em points out that it has an Addam’s Family vibe. 
• It reminds EJ of WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson.
• Em brings up the book BUNNY—which is one of the strangest books she read in 2022. EJ says it sounds right up her alley (Em agrees).
• EJ and Em talk about their TBR which includes books such as:
• JUST LIKE HOME by Sarah Gailey
• THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THE END by C.L. Polk
• In 2022, Sabaa Tahir, who has written in the fantasy genre, won the National Book Award for her contemporary novel, ALL MY RAGE. She is the first Muslim woman to win the award.
• This episode wraps with a tangent about Book-Tok (bookish tik tok) and how authors should give it a try.
• Another quick trip to movies including THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER.
• A brief recap of THE BOYS. 
• And finally—the space opera, western noir: COWBOY BEBOP. 
• 2022: The year of SO MUCH content. 

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Welcome to the Star Crossed Lovers episode. EJ researched to find out what *really* qualifies as star-crossed-lovers and Em just winged it (which is pretty obvious because at least one of her picks barely counts). The phrase comes directly from Shakespeare and the ladies discuss the classic trope—which brings EJ to her first pick for the podcast: SAGA. 

Saga is a loose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet set in the realm of a futuristic space opera. This comic is one of EJ’s favorites.

Em’s first contribution is dark and sad (perfect for a Valentine’s Day special, no?). Her pick is the movie NEVER LET ME GO. The movie is based on Kazuo Ishiguro's bestselling, Booker Prize short listed novel with the same name. Em hasn’t watched in a while and thinks it warrants a rewatch. She had no idea what she was getting into the first time. Listener, you won’t either!

EJ and Em muse how this year’s picks are so much darker, even though Em’s pick last year *was* a BLACK MIRROR episode (San Junipero).

EJ’s next pick is the THREE DARK CROWNS series by Kendra Blake. This YA fantasy novel focuses on triplet Princess’s who are to be the next generation of Queens. HOWEVER they don’t all become Queen. In fact, they don’t all get to live. They spend their lives studying magic to prepare for a deathly duel. There is a lusty, dark relationship that can go nowhere good. Except, listener, it is so so so good. Check it out! 

Em chats about how, while researching, several movies from childhood came up. A few titles that kept popping up were Enemy Mine (who doesn’t love a good self-reproducing, bipedal, reptilian-humanoid?) and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.

Em’s next real pick is SONG OF ACHILLES (bc of course it is). Em is obsessed with Madeline Miller’s take on this myth, which is evidenced by the long, long explanation she gives.

EJ mentions THE NIGHT CIRCUS. Marco and Celia *are* the definition of star-crossed-lovers. Em has a hot take that may not be super popular about Marco, but the hosts agree that the book is beautiful and one of the best written pieces of literature they’ve read.

A title that EJ kept coming across was WUTHERING HEIGHTS. EJ vehemently disagrees that Heathcliff and Kathy are star-crossed. They are simply terrible people. This is the twisted book of Em’s heart. Em would love to do a modern retelling but there is no way—these characters are so toxic. If a better writer does it—she’d love to read it (hint hint). Around the 23 minute mark, Em gives a very long, rough retelling of the story and pretty much ruins it—but she can’t help it. She loves it. (Correction: Em says that Heathcliff marries and that isn’t true. He impregnates a woman and refuses to marry her thus ruining her in society in the book.)

Em’s next pick is (surprise surprise) DOCTOR WHO: River Song and The Doctor. Everyone’s favorite Time Lord and River Song are in love—but they have different timeline’s as they travel through time and space. What are lovers coming from different timey-wimey directions to do? Keep a journal and don’t give spoilers, of course! This is Em’s favorite story arc. The story begins in Silence at the Library (which is an episode with Doctor 10).

EJ is reminded of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. (Correction: Em says that this is her friend Rhonda's absolute favorite book, but that may not be true). The women discuss how involuntary and compulsory time travel creates star-crossed-lovers.

EJ’s next pic is LEGEND by Marie Lu. This book is YA Sci-fi at its best. The book features the haves and the have-nots. June is a prodigy whose entire life goal is to catch this most-wanted criminal who is seen as uncatchable. Day…is that criminal. They fall in love without realizing who it is they are falling for. 

Em’s final pick is THE REINCARNATION BLUES by Michael Poore. In this book, Milo, is trying to live a life worth reincarnating to the next level of existence. Every time he dies, he meets death (literally meets them). Spoiler: They fall in love. What can you do when the person you love is death?

EJ’s number one pick is none other than THE HUNGER GAMES. Does it even get more star-crossed than Katniss and Peta? You tell us!

Shop the list of recommendations from this miniseries at BookShop.org