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

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!

Links
Connie Willis

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

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

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

Episode 39: Persuasion Deep Dive

In this Especially Long Episode, we bring you a discussion of Jane Austen’s best work (come at us), Persuasion, featuring Margaret and Sophie of Two Bossy Dames and Ally of the Girl Gang. The discussion includes some diving into the gay subtext, some trips down memory lane, and some heated pros and cons of different movie adaptations. Plus: readalikes and watchalikes!

Links:
Persuasion‘s cast of characters
Every Jane Austen Novel If They Were Gay and Also Historically Inaccurate from Autostraddle
Personality Quiz: Which Jane Austen Heroine are You?
1995 Persuasion movie trailer
2007 Persuasion movie trailer

Advanced Studies in England
Emotional Labor Thread condensed

Readalikes:
Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion by Regina Jeffers
Frederick Wentworth, Captain series by Susan Kaye
Jane Austen in Scarsdale: or Love, Death, and the SATs by Paula Marantz Cohen
Persuasion, Captain Wentworth, and Cracklin’ Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
The Mr. and Mrs. Darcy series by Carrie Bebris
The Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane stories by Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, Busman’s Honeymoon
The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin

Watchalikes:
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Royal Tenenbaums

Half Agony, Half Hope: a Playlist by @MrsFridayNext

Musical Obsessions:
Ally: “Faint of Heart” by Tegan and Sara
Margaret: “You and I” by Margaret Glaspy
“She Used to be Mine” and “You Matter to Me” from Waitress
Sophie: fleetwood mac’s album tusk, “Sorry” by Beyoncé
Anna: “Alexander Hamilton” from Hamilton
Alene: “L.A. Hallucinations” by Carly Rae Jepsen

Obsessions:
Ally: 2 Dope Queens podcast
Margaret: Playing House TV show
Sophie: Laurinda by Alice Pung (look for it in the US under the title Lucy and Linh; buy Australian at fishpond.com)
Anna: Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix
Alene: Lady Power: Hillary, WNBA, Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Maddow