Episode 100: Our Namesake! Connie Willis’s BELLWETHER with @papersquared, @twobossydames, and @aswatki1

download

Can you believe there have been a hundred episodes of Bellwether Friends? Well, there haven’t. THIS is the one hundredth episode! Carolyn, Margaret, Sophie, and Ally joined us to discuss our inspiration and beloved novel Bellwether, by our beloved and inspiring Connie Willis, complete with all the digressions you’ve come to love over our past 99 episodes, readalikes, and other suggestions!

aardman sheep.gif

Links
Connie Willis
bellwether
Bellwether
Audiobook (read by Kate Reading)
YouTube: Technique Critique by Wired
Charles Entertainment Cheese
L.O.L. Surprise! dolls
Owlcrate Jr
Connie Willis on library weeding
Jo Walton on Bellwether
Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold
To Say Nothing of the Dog on Episode 31
Cory Doctorow on Bellwether

alene tattoo

Exhibit A: Alene’s Bellwether tattoo

Read-/Listen-/Watchalikes
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
The Office
Level Up by Cathy Yardley
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Desk Set
Intermediate Thermodynamics by Susannah Nix
His Girl Friday
Working Girl
Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia
Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

hula hoop

Each chapter begins with the description of a fad, such as the HULA HOOP

Musical Obsessions
Carolyn: A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (album) by The 1975, “Love Somebody Like You” by Joan
Ally: “Free Man in Paris” by Joni Mitchell
Margaret: “The Heartache Can Wait” by Brandi Carlile
Sophie: “Precious Lord Take My Hand/You’ve Got A Friend” by Aretha Franklin [mention: “Wonder Woman” by Kacey Musgraves]
Anna: “Somebody to Love” by Queen (or George Michael) [or Glee]
Alene: “When Can I See You Again” by Owl City from Wreck-It Ralph

Obsessions
Carolyn: family karaoke night
Ally: Amelia Bloomer Project committee reading
Margaret: NPR and Boston Globe Best Books coverage: The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding, Odd One Out by Nic Stone, Check Please by Ngozi Ukazu, The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang [mention: Fence by C. S. Pacat]
Sophie: Bodyguard (more in Two Bossy Dames)
Anna: Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart (there’s no sex in space!)
Alene: Not Your Sidekick and Not Your Villain by C. B. Lee

@aswatki1, @papersquared, @mrsfridaynext, @twobossydames, @atvpodcast, @sophiebiblio

Pop Culture Happy Hour on The Favourite

sheep tongue

Episode 91: Content Warning Part II–Alene’s Hard Pass

download

In this episode, we continue what we began in Episode 90  and bring you Alene’s hard pass. Content warning for discussion of various unpleasant topics, primarily suicide. Apologies for the poor sound quality, we didn’t feel like we would make it through this one again if we tried to re-record it.

Links
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Romeo and Juliet
Heathers
The Big Chill
Dear Evan Hansen
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
deadpoets.gif
Dead Poets Society
Harold and Maude
Death With Dignity (right to die)
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
delirious.gif
Lost and Delirious
The Children’s Hour (play)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Morvern Callar by Alan Warner (film)
In Bruges
13 Reasons Why (book)
U.S. News & World Report: Why Suicide Keeps Rising for Middle-Aged Men
funhome.gif
Fun Home (book)
Reuben, Reuben
A Single Man
Tumblr: Is There Suicide In It?
goodreads: Suicide
Wikipedia: List of suicides in fiction
Wikipedia: List of suicides
Slate: Alone in the Dark: Why we need more children’s books about suicide and severe depression.
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Better Off Dead
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Captain America: The First Avenger
steve.gif
Wonder Woman
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Musical Obsessions
Alene: “Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler
pynk
Anna: “Pynk” by Janelle Monae

Obsessions
Alene: Minerva by Marion Chesney
Anna: Fence comic by C. S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad