Overdue

As someone who studied English lit, I really like this podcast! I like that Andrew and Craig summarize and give their thoughts on each book while also providing background info on each author/sharing info about film adaptations/etc. They also choose a wide range of books/genres to discuss, and include more recent publications in their catalog along with some classics. It feels like I’m sitting in on a bookclub between friends! They also publish their monthly reading schedule on the Overdue website so listeners can read along with them. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun book podcast isn’t too analysis-heavy.

If you’re into deep, at length high-brow analysis then perhaps this isn’t for you. But for me, this is the perfect blend of listening to a friend (or friendly acquaintance) talk about a book they read and why it did or didn’t resonate with them. The structure of (usually) one person reading the book while the other asks questions makes for a great experience as a listener who always has similar questions they would ask of someone explaining a book they haven’t read. Thanks for all the years of laughs Craig and Andrew!

These gentlemen do a great job when the discussion is focused on the book. They lose their appeal when they spend an inordinate amount of time disparaging the author. So much of the Ender’s Game episode was the hosts expressing their contempt and disdain for Orson Scott Card. To say they disagreed with the author’s politics and move on would have sufficed. Instead they pronounced Card a bad person and encouraged readers to not financially support him. At the time of listening, I did not realize that the episode was released in 2017, a time before wokeness’s peak and eventual retreat. Everything about the culture then would have pushed the hosts to make moral judgments without restraint. So while the vitriol is understandable in that light, it doesn’t make for good podcasting. At the end of the episode the hosts laugh that they will get a bunch of one-star reviews, which gave me the idea to rate and review; but, since I am nicer than they were, I am giving them a two-star review!

Only play this podcast if you enjoy lip smacking, voice grinding, and snarky up speak with no point.

7 minutes of ads before the show even starts is a bit much. Also they spend way too much time on the plot and not much on review or analysis. The hosts are likeable and I find them funny so not all bad