Bimbo Book Club

We're getting cozy and talking about our comfort reads while we talk about this week's books Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree and NPCs by Drew Hayes.


We talk about what makes a comfort read vs a cozy read, classes in fantasy games and low stakes reads.


We also talk about the stories we love when we're seeking comfort, side quests and books that lean hard into their target audience.


Harley is crying over Finnick's death again and Holly is asking 'what the fuck is a paladin?'


For the full list of other media discussed check out our website: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-029


To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we're reading Hooked, book number one in the Never After series by Emily McIntire.

We're talking ick factors,  the dangers of romanticising violence and main characters who need therapy.

We're also talking books that don't match the sales pitch, safe words and whether or not we're just spoiled readers.

Holly offers to teach people a safety class on breath play and Harley admits she was wrong.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-028

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we're reading The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager.

We're talking atmospheric settings, genre fiction and men who write women well.

We're also talking incompetent police officers, the parts of a story that give you the ick and how no one under the age of 35 has zero attachment issues to their phone.

Holly might be the Final Girl but Harley is on high alert for potential horror movies at all times and will be legging it out of there in order to Survive the Night.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-027

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

We’re talking people as addictions, the mixed bag of recollections and the Amazon Prime series we’re excited to binge.

We’re also talking stylistic choices we love, nuanced female characters and the way a novel can feel so real that some people mistake fiction for fact.

Holly is resenting having to go to work mid read and Harley isn’t a fan of spoiling an otherwise perfect thing with saint like characters.

Thank you to Lateral Pharma for sponsoring this episode.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-026

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Bunny by Mona Awad

We’re talking unsettling books, separating delusion from reality and Holly’s theory that might make it all make sense.

We’re also talking pointlessness as a point, obfuscation in storytelling and the dangers of throwing stones in glass houses.

Holly’s not sure how she feels about this book but she thinks she likes it, Harley’s not sure how she feel about this book but she's increasingly certain she doesn't like it.

Before we get to the other media mentioned in this episode we would like to thank our sponsor, Lateral Pharma.

We mention too many other books and movies to link to here. Check out our show notes on the website for a full list of media discussed in this week's episode.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-025

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

We’re talking the idea of tainted blood, books that give you a perspective outside your own, and the alarming amount of history we were never taught growing up.

We’re also talking the ways people drift in and out of our lives over time, the history we don’t know and all the times we realised in all the worst ways that we are sheltered white people.

Holly is trying to keep track of generations of characters with multiple names and Harley gets lightly ranty about judging women’s choices when they’re limited to survive … or don’t.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-024

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean.

We’re talking the challenges of debut novels, the ideas vs execution pipeline, and why having the right expectations for a book is sometimes more important than whether or not it’s actually good.

We’re also talking books that give us déjà vu, an overwhelming amount of ideas, and the concept of books as meals (even if we’re not chowing down Book Eater style).

Harley is not taking disappointment well and Holly is rather fixated on the number 7.

Some of the other books mentioned are Isobelle Carmody’s many unfinished series, Carrie by Stephen King, and Dear Writer by Carmel Bird (which, while it is out of print, Harley recommends to all writers going through the editing process).

We also talk about Charmed – for the record, the episode was They’re Everywhere and the brain-zapping bad guys were actually just warlocks (also Harley got basically all the other details wrong and will now be rewatching Charmed in between devouring books).

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-023

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

We’re talking our sketchy knowledge of Homer’s The Illiad and The Odyssey, the changing styles of storytelling throughout history and the often disappointing reality of reading something that everyone has hyped up before you got to it.

We’re also talking the nature of Greek tragedies, characters you’re not supposed to like and the moments that don’t land because they’re still true to the original story. 

Despite wildly different plots Holly can’t tell the difference between 300 and Troy, Harley realises that her general knowledge of historical legends is more extensive than she thought.

We also mention the author’s other book, Circe; the plays Oedipus and Antigone by Sophocles; Neon Gods by Katee Roberts and Disney’s The Lion King.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-022

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham.

Once again this episode is sponsored by Lateral Pharma. Find out more here: https://lateral-pharma.com/

We’re talking guilt, the myriad ways women in general – and mothers in particular – get judged and a plethora of complex female characters.

We’re also talking unexpected plot twists, rose-coloured glasses, and the many actual mothers who experience a trial by media.

We mention the very real case of Madeleine McCann and go into more detail about Lindy Chamberlain, who can be heard in her own words here.

Holly’s impressed by the gentle handling of some heavy themes and Harley is demanding everyone reads the author’s note before considering the book ‘finished’.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-021

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.

We’re talking stories that are a break for your brain, how to explain without over-explaining and why it’s sometimes okay to hit some tropes in the service of a good story.

We’re also talking covid doom and gloom, the different ways we saw the resident Kaiju and why an author’s note or introduction is better at the end.

We also introduce our first-ever sponsor, Lateral Pharma.

Other works up for discussion are King Kong, Godzilla, H.P. Lovecraft, Warehouse 13, and the author’s other works.

Holly’s asking what the heck a kaiju is and Harley’s waiting for this to become a sci-fi show already.

For more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-020

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Spare by some bloke called Haz (you may know him as Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex).

 
 We mention in the show that this episode is a spare or bonus episode however like an extra getting a speaking role just for being in the right place at the right time it got promoted when some scheduling issues arose.

 
 We’re talking way too much information about his frosty todger, the intense violence with no trigger warnings and the overdose of self-pity.

 
 We’re also talking the reality that not every animal is trying to send the future former prince a message (unless it’s smoke less weed), the realities of older siblings and the frustrating lack of self-awareness throughout this book.

 
 Harley regrets listening to the audiobook instead of speed reading the damn thing, Holly regrets even putting this on the to-read list, neither of us can manage strong feelings about Meghan Markle.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-019

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

Since there are no rules in love and war we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with something a little different.

We’re talking about the self love required to put a book down, the stories we can’t help but adore and the ethics of unusual relationships.

We’re also talking about a whole lot of stories: Underbelly, The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham, Polysecure by Jessica Fern, The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue by V.E. Schwab, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Chocolat by Joanne Harris, 1999’s cinematic masterpiece The Mummy, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson, The Blair Witch Project and last, but certainly not least, Wolf Creek.

Holly is realising that she really isn’t into romance novels and Harley is looking for next year’s v-day cohost.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-018

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

We’re talking chronic illness, platonic love and coming of age.

We’re also talking the trauma we ignore, the family we choose and the history of video games. 

Holly’s not entirely sure what a game engine is and Harley is throwing her word of the day calendar in the bin.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-017

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

This week we’re reading Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

We’re talking gothic pacing, archetypes and the dollar princesses that inspired them. We’re talking the challenges of a well-explored genre and the ways that they’re nailed in this story.

We’re also talking eugenics, keeping it in the family and the blurry lines between fantasy and reality (especially when shrooms get involved).

Harley is thrilled at the decision to split the anaemic lead and the girl who has enough character to save the day. Holly demonstrates her gothic literature knowledge with an in-depth comparison to The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe.

Honourable mentions go to Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and Wilkie Collins also get a mention.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-016

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham.

We’re talking the weird genre that is Australian Gothic, small-town gossip and the books we’re forced to read in school.

We’re also talking the village slut, the slow burn of revenge and why you should stay out of silos.

Holly’s still trying to figure out whether she actually liked the book and Harley’s trying to find the time to bust out her sewing machine.

While remembering the English curriculum when we were in year 11 we mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Boys of Blood and Bone by David Metzenthen.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-015

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

Like what we’re doing and want to support us? Subscribe to our Patreon.

This week we’re reading Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang.

We’re talking the science of magic, colonialism and the joy of reading a great book for the first time.

We’re also talking the nuances of otherness, transmutation and the tightrope of keeping heavy topics simple.

Holly’s struggling to find the right genre for this book and Harley’s getting ADHD brain tingles.

While talking first reads and adventure stories we also give an honourable mention to The Hunger Games, A Little Princess, Indiana Jones, and The 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Mummy.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-014

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

This week we’re reading Neon Gods by Katee Roberts.

We’re talking how spicy a book needs to be to really be considered smut, the pacing of turning up the heat in fiction and the complexities of consent.

We also talk about tall, dark and brooding leads that are just a little too cuddly to deliver, expecting the kinkiest dom in all of Olympus to offer a little more variety in his play and how the author both nails it and falls short at the same time.

Holly puts in a request for the perfect daddy dom content creator to call her a good girl for drinking her water today and Harley wonders if the Goodreads reviews are actually better than the book.

While talking about visual versus written smut we also mention The Story of O by Pauline Réage.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-013

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

This week we’re reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

We’re talking multiverses, authors with agendas and the tree of life.

We’re also talking regrets, relationships and being a good cat mum.

Holly’s looking at things with a new perspective and Harley’s in charge of New Year’s resolutions.

There’s some talk about Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist (not to be confused with Fairy Tale by Stephen King) and about another universe where Tabitha King didn’t pull Carrie out of the wastepaper basket.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-012

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

This week we’re reading the Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

We’re talking moments that hit you in the feels, angels being close enough to Christmas for our reading habits and vagina dentata. 

We’re also talking the complex nature of good vs. evil, tiny fairies that bite and the challenges of a book hangover.

Harley tries to figure out how the hell she lost an entire book and Holly is falling in love with the incredible imagery

There’s also a drive-by mention of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley if you’re more interested in King Arthur mythology than angels and not-quite-demons.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-011

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo

This week we’re celebrating a very bimbo Christmas by reading The Stupidest Angel

We’re talking finding the right medium for your story, nailing the tagline, and why angels are attracted to crazy people.

We talk warrior babes, the line between b grade sci-fi and softcore porn, and being yourself in all your weird glory.

Harley’s quick to triage characters and Holly has questions about fruit bats.

For the full show transcript and more information go to: https://www.bimbobookclub.com/episodes/episode-010

To follow Bimbo Book club on your favourite social media platform click here: https://bio.link/bimbo