Overdue Podcast discussion

I kept putting off reading The Fifth Season and the recent episode about it finally convinced me to pick it up. Now it’s one of my favorite books.

What’s your favorite book that you’ve read because it was featured on Overdue?

I think I have to divide this into two categories. The only book I've ever read because it had been sitting on my shelf for ages (as per the premise) and I knew they were reading it soon was Americanah, and I really enjoyed it and wished I had read it sooner.

Books that I've read after they were discussed on this podcast that I've loved were mostly all speculative fiction, oddly enough: The Sparrow, A Tale for the Time Being, and Never Let Me Go. I also really enjoyed Across a Hundred Mountains and have, unsurprisingly, been thinking about it a lot lately, so I should probably revisit that one.

The Book Thief, although I can't remember if I started reading it before or after the episode. It was around that time though.

The Sparrow is the first one I’ve read that they’ve recommended and I’m halfway through and think it’s brilliant.
I don’t listen to the episodes unless I’ve already read the book and this book was mentioned in another episode.

Recently got into this podcast and they had already done something like 40 episodes on books I've already read, which is what I've been listening to. Was part of what made me give them a shot in the first place, tbh. I was so flabbergasted that they had covered so many books I've read. Unsure if I want to listen to episodes of books I haven't read yet, tbh, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

However, there are a few books I saw that they covered which I've been meaning to read anyway and knowing I'll get to listen to them talk about it afterwards is a nice little push towards finally pulling the trigger. I expect I'll be reading either Hell House, Gravity's Rainbow, or Fifth Season in the next couple of months =)

I reread The Diary of a Young Girl by Anna Frank, since I was sure I had read the censored book after A&C commented on it.

I read Behold the Dreamers this summer and I enjoyed their discussion on it.

My son read the Borrowers in his book club, so we also read Mr. Popper's Penguins so we could hear the podcast that discussed both. It is special for me that even my children know about Overdue.

The best book I read because of Overdue has to be One Hundred Years of Solitude. When I finished that book I felt so sad that I would never have the first read experience of it again. I devoured it in less than a week, which is quite a feat for me as a busy mom and teacher. The whole family dynamic and drama, not to mention the setting, was so intricate. I am in awe of how Gabo was able to make Macondo, the house, and the Buendia family come alive. Needless to say, I had a book hangover for a few days after that book!

I probably would never have picked up Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey if they weren’t doing a minicast of it, but I really enjoyed reading her version. Cloud Atlas is certainly the best book I read last year (Andrew’s dislike notwithstanding), and I read it mostly because of their episode. Another book I probably wouldn’t have picked up but enjoyed was Alias Hook.

Not me but it worked on my now 13 year old to get him to read Phantom Tollbooth. He never takes my recommendations but he LOVES the podcast so I use it to get him to read books I like.

Amy wrote: "The best book I read because of Overdue has to be One Hundred Years of Solitude. When I finished that book I felt so sad that I would never have the first read experience of it again. I devoured it..."

One of my favorite books of all time. :)

I stopped listening to the episode of Spinning Silver halfway through because it sounded so amazing that I wanted to read it pre-spoilers. Loved it! Now halfway through Outlander for the same reason and thoroughly enjoying it.

I know its sounds silly, but I recently picked up some classic Goosebumps books because of the pod. I remembered reading them as a kid and listening to the podcast brought back a lot of nostalgia. They're not exactly high literature but they're silly and fun.

After the Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan episode it was a must read!...and was excellent!

Akata Witch, World War Z, and the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey are probably my top three.

Replay was not even on my radar but after reading it, it is probably somewhere in my top 5 favorite books. I just found this podcast maybe 2 months ago so I have quite the back catalog to get through. I decided I would listen to episodes for books that I have already read and then choose books to read based on what has already been done on the pod. That’s how I found Replay. I read the book then listened to the episode and it was great to hear they had similar thoughts to me. I passed off my used copy to my GF who also loved it and I am debating making it a future book club choice.

I finally got to reading Circe because of Overdue and it’s still one of my favorites.

Sarina wrote: "I finally got to reading Circe because of Overdue and it’s still one of my favorites."
I finished Circe this week (also because of Overdue), and immediately picked up The Song of Achilles.
I finished it today. I am not ok. Highly recommend, if you haven't read it yet

I need to add to this, because I picked up Hamnet on Audible after listening (again, only halfway) to Overdue. So incredible! I always go back and listen to Andrew and Craig's take if I've decided to avoid spoilers to read the book for myself. One of the more moving episodes I've listened to.